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STORY 


OP 


•  -  »  ,    * » 


«    •  »         _      4> 


GOVERNMENT. 


I     •  •■  ^ 


*  -, 


From  Savagef5^to  Civilizatfon. 


RUDIMENTS    AMONG    ANIMALS.  —  TRACB5    AMONG    GYPSIES,    BRIGAND5    AND 

THIEVES.  —  EMPIRES    AND    OLIGARCHIES.  —  MONARCHIES,    FEUDAL    AND 

CONSTITUTIONAL.  — THEOCRACY   OR  PRIESTLY   RULE.  — WOMAN  IN 

OOVERNMENT.-riASONRY  AND  SECRET  ORDERS.— REPUBLICS. 


•.  'X- 


Henry  Austin,  Editor. 


Illustrated  with  over  350  engravings  and  many  double-page  plates  by 

the  best  American  and  European  Artists. 


1893: 
A.  M.  THAYER  &  CO.,  PublUhers, 

BOSTON  AND  LONDON. 


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THE  SKW  YOIIK 
PrBI.IC  I.imiARY    j 


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•       •        .  •       •  -.'•     .•       •*       • 

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Copyrishty  1893. 
By  a.  M.  Thayer  &  Co. 


^  //  ri^A/«  rtstrvtd. 


SOLD  ONLY  BY  SUBSCRIPTION. 


Typography  and  Prcsswork  by 
Thb  Barta  Press,  Boston. 


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WHO  reads  a  preface  ?  Not  the  public  as  a  rule,  and  yet 
this  preface  is  written  in  the  hope  of  being  the  excep- 
tion that  proves  the  rule  —  an  exception  made  in  favor, 
of  this  book  by  a  majority  of  thinking  people.  For  this  cause  : 
it  has  no  excuse  to  ofifer  for  its  existence,  but  a  reason  and  a  right. 

Last  winter,  the  publishing  firm,  A.  M.  Thayer  &  Co.,  of 
Boston  and  London,  realizing  that  the  people  lyere  beginning  to 
show  a  deep  and  deepening  interest  in  questions  of  government, 
and  that  they  were  studying  how  to  improve  the  American  republic 
in  spite  of  the  politicians,  conceived  the  idea  of  having  a  book 
that  should  show  as  picturesquely  as  possible  all  the  forms  of 
government  under  which  mankind  has  lived,  so  that  the  people 
could  study  governmental  problems  by  the  light  of  comparison. 

Chosen  to  compose  this  work,  I  have  been  embarrassed  from  the 
start  by  the  riches  of  the  mines  from  which  my  material  was  to  be 
drawn,  and  I  am  conscious  that  many  other  journalists  might  have 
done  this  selection,  connection  and  addition  of  thoughts  and  pic- 
tures much  better  than  I.  Yet,  as  one  of  the  Titans  of  this  age 
has  said  :  "  What  is  writ  is  writ.      Would  it  were  worthier  !  " 

If  it  were,  I  would  like  to  have  paid  my  friend,  Hezekiah  But- 
terworth,  of  The  Youth^s  Companion^  that  deservedly  popular 
paper,  the  slight  compliment  of  inscribing  his  honored  name 
on  a  dedicatory  page.  As  it  is,  I  make  no  dedication  of  my 
labor,  except  to  those  men  and  women  who  find  attraction  in 
these  pages. 


rv 


6  PBEFACE. 

Well  aware  how  much  more  might  have  been  put  between 
the  covers,  I  still  hope  and  believe  that  this  book  will  not  merely 
feed  the  temporary  curiosity  of  the  average  mind,  but  will  stim- 
ulate the  toiling  men  and  women  of  America  to  desire,  to  demand, 
and  to  obtain  better  conditions  of  environment  if  not  for  them- 
selves, at  least  for  their  children. 

As  to  the  help  I  have  had  in  composing  this  book  let  me 
say  a  few  words.  Several  chapters,  perhaps  the  weightiest,  were 
written  by  the  veteran  Irish  journalist,  O'Neil  Larkin,  and  one, 
the  Sixteenth,  by  Frederick  Haynes,  with  only  slight  additions 
from  my  pen,  and  in  some  other  chapters  I  have  used  so  freely 
the  work  of  other  writers,  English,  French,  and  German,  that  I 
feel  myself  rather  an  editor  than  an  author  in  this  case. 

Nevertheless,  I  dare  to  hope  that  some  critics  who  are  familiar  with 
former  work  of  mine  may  find  some  original  and  suggestive  obser- 
vations scattered  through  this  book.     In  that  hope  I  rest. 

Very  sincerely, 

Henry  Austin. 


During  th.e  composition  of  this  book,  Mr.  Austin,  at  our  sug- 
gestion, for  tlie  sake  of  ensuring  accuracy,  cheerfully  submitted 
most  of  th.e  chapters  to  various  authors  ^vho  are  authorities  on 
certain  subjects.  We  reproduce  of  the  letters  received  by  him 
just  a  few, —  one  from  Gen.  Douglas  Frazar,  the  well-known 
traveller  and  author  of  "Perseverance  Island,"  "The  Log  of  the 
Maryland, '*  *'  Practical  Boat^sailing, "  etc.,  etc.;  and  one  from 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  the  famous  author  and  lecturer,  and 
one  from  the  true  philanthropist  and  world-renowned  author 
of  "The  Man  Without  a  Country,"  etc.,  etc.,  the  Rev.  Edward 
Everett  Hale.  These  letters  indicate  to  the  public,  better  than 
any  amount  of  advertising  could,  the  character- value  of  this 
book. 

A.  M.  THAYER  &  CO., 

Publishers. 


9 


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■DWARD  E.  HALB. 


39  HIGHLAND  ST 
ROXBURY.  MASS \Jt4~^.^0^^^.xB^ 


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13 


CHAPTER   I. 

ORIGIN  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Great  Antiquity  of  Man  —  Periods  of  development  classified  as  Savagery, 
Barbarism,  and  Civilization — How  pottery  came  to  be  made  —  The 
invention  of  an  alphabet — An  approximate  Table  of  Centuries  showing 
the  great,  slow  steps  of  the  race  —  Definition  of  the  word  Government 
—  The  family  as  the  germ  —  Different  forms,  such  as  the  Consanguine, 
the  Punaluan,  Syndyasmian,  the  Patriarchal,  and  the  Monogamic  — 
Development  of  the  single  family  into  the  Gens  —  Growth  of  the  Gens 
into  the  Phratry  —  Development  as  shown  by  a  tribe  of  American  In- 
dians—  The  American  Indian^s  true  character —  Incident  in  the  life  of 
Wamsutta  —  Division  of  the  Seneca-Iroquois  into  Gentcs,  Phratries,  and 
Tribes  —  Political  rights  of  the  Gens  —  Duties  of  the  Sachem,  or  peace- 
governor —  Installing  a  Sachem  —  Horns  as  an  emblem  of  office  and 
authority — The  election  and  confirmation  of  the  War  Chief  —  Safe- 
guards to  prevent  usurpations  —  Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity  the 
cardinal  principles  of  Iroquois  government  —  A  council  of  Indian  chiefs 
the  germ  of  a  modern  congress  —  The  first  stage  of  tribal  government  a 
one-power  government  —  The  second  stage  a  double  government  — 
Creation  of  a  three-power  government  —  The  Iroquois'  further  step  — 
Striking  resemblance  in  sentiment  between  the  American  Indians  and 
Homeric  Greeks 35 

CHAPTER  II. 

RUDIMENTS   AMONG   ANIMALS. 

Instinct,"  as  a  mysterious  line  of  separation  between  man  and  other 
animals,  wiped  out — Opinions  of  Descartes  and  Bonjeant  on  dogs  — 
The  brain  of  the  ant  as  a  wonderful  atom  —  Political  and  Industrial 
equality  a  feature  of  the  ant  republic  —  Slavery  among  ants  far  gentler 
tlian  that  among  men  —  Only  larvae  and  pupa)  stolen  by  Ant- kidnap- 
pers to  bring  up  as  regular  slaves  —  Government  among  the  Termites  — 
Their  architectural  talent  —  Buildings  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  high  — 
A  Termite  town  an  example  of  cooperation  —  Possession  of  a  standing 
army  —  The  Bee  state  a  communistic  monarchy  —  The  Queen  the  nec- 
essary centre  and  bond  of  the  hive  —  Labor  among  bees  offering  the 
highest  ideal  of  Communism,  free,  voluntary,  and  uncompulsory— 
Many  work  themselves  to  death,  thus  disproving  'Mnstinct "  again  — 

15 


16  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Qualifications  for  office  among  animal  leaders —  The  donkey  as  a  leader 
of  a  caravan  of  camels  —  Mares  as  leaders  of  mules  in  Central  America 
The  principle  of  appointment  among  animal  leaders  —  Ample  evidence 
of  self -appointment  to  leadership  among  social  animals  —  Street-dog 
republics  of  Constantinople  —  Division  of  labor  and  duty  among  ani- 
mals —  Strength  in  Union  a  recognized  principle  —  Cooperation  clearly 
evidenced  in  animal  conventions,  conferences,  etc.  — Trials  by  jury 
witnessed  among  rooks  and  storks  —  Public  punisliment  among  spar- 
rows and  apes 61 

CHAPTER  III. 

TRACKS  AMONG   GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS   AND  THIEVES. 

A  people  opposed  to  order  or  authority  from  outside  —  Physiognomy  and 
habits  of  the  Gypsy  —  Their  beauty  —  Known  to  Europeans  for  eight 
centuries  and  still  conundrums  —  Disputed  origin  —  *' Dukes  of  Little 
Egypt'' — Halcyon  times  followed  by  persecutions  —  The  passion  for 
wandering —  A  study  of  their  language  —  Extremely  unwilling  to  unfold 
themselves  to  strangers  —  A  warm  family  affection  —  Superstitions  and 
customs  —  Odd  reasons  for  swearing  off  from  liquor  or  tobacco  — 
Curious  burial  rites  —  Seven  hundred  thousand  pure  blooded  gypsies  — 
Ineffectual  attempts  to  civilize  them  —  Tlie  Abb^  Liszt  and  a  Gypsy 
boy — **Five  florins  for  hanging  a  man'' — The  real  home  of  the 
continental  gypsy  —  Odd  specimen  of  Gypsy  poetry  —  The  Camorra  — 
History  as  remarkable  as  a  fable — The  Camonistic  treasury  supplied 
from  every  quarter — Violence,  robbery,  and  murder  their  weapons  — 
Many  names  in  different  places  —  The  Mafia  or  Maffia  —  Suppressed  in 
Italy  it  plants  itself  in  America — Mysterious  murders  —  Singular 
stories  from  New  Orleans  — Its  suppression  in  March,  1891  — The  beam 
in  our  own  eye  in  the  shape  of  Pinkerton's  band  —  A  certain  tendency 
to  order  among  thieves  in  London  and  Paris  —  Hank  —  The  common 
pickpocket  not  recognized  publicly  by  the  **  swell  mobsmen,"  or  by 
house-breakers — Fascinating  interview  with  a  retired  pickpocket  and 
brief  sketch  of  his  life  in  his  own  words  —  '*  Thieves'  Latin  "  —  **  Sus- 
picion always  haunts  the  guilty  mind"  painfully  illustrated  in  the 
thieves' quarter — Pathetic  remarks  of  a  professional  thief  —  Difficulty 
of  a  discharged  prisoner  in  escaping  from  old  habits  —  The  boy  thief 
gets  a  fourth  of  the  value  of  what  he  steals  —  Infinitely  worse  in  their  con- 
sequences than  petty  larceny  or  burglary  are  some  of  the  ways  of 
commerce  —  The  adulteration  of  food  —  The  Juggernaut  of  Avarice 
and  Ignorance 89 

CHAPTER  IV. 

FEUDALISTIC   MOXARCHY. 

A  Gk>vemment  of  Chiefs  with  a  loose  or  elastic  allegiance  to  a  Head  Chief  or 
King  —  The  **Rundo"  —  Affectation  of  political  modesty  among  the 
Banyai  —  A  curious  Waliuman  law  —  Treatment  of  women  in  Central 
Africa  —  Killing  a  wife  a  mere  trifle  —  A  hundred  wives  buried  alive 
with  one  king  in  the  bed  of  a  river — Captives  reserved  for  slaves  — 
The  immortality  of  the  soul  generally  believed —  Curious  cu8t*>m  of 
cementing  friendship  by  mixing  blood  and  butter  —  The  African  idea  of  a 
Fetish  —  The  Priest  of  the  Nile  —  Horrible  devices  of  magicians  — 
Human  sacrifice  —  The  rain-maker  a  popular  figure  —  Baker's  amusing 
interview  —  The  "Gold  Coast" — Fanti  women —•  Innocence  tested  by 
means  of  **  ordeals"  —  Morals  —  European  influence  corrupting —  Belief 
in  a  mysterious  child  **  who  has  existed  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world" — The  women  the  more  intellectual  and  energetic  sex  on  the 
Gold  Coast  —  The  man  who  buries  another  succeeds  to  his  property, 
^Isahis  debts  ~  Statesman-like  ability  and  military  skill  in  the  Ashanti 


r.» 


r^  CONTENTS.  17 


V 


kingdom  —  Women  a  regular  article  of  merchandise  reckoned  by  cows  — 
The  powers  of  the '*  Ko toko,"  or  council  —  An  Ashanti  king  —  Gold 
mining  —  "Three  hundred  ounces  of  gold  taken  in  a  single  day"  — 
Industries  apai-t  from  mining  —  The  Ashanti  army  —  In  battle  the  women 
stand  behind  their  husbands  —  The  *'  Encouragei's  "  —  Police  regulations 
in  Coomassio  —  The  King  as  head  of  the  Fire  Department  —  The  skull 
of  Governor  Sir  Charles  Macaithy,  killed  in  the  iirst  war,  kept  in  the 
Bantama,  the  mausoleum  of  the  kings,  as  a  drinking  cup  —  "  By  Wednes- 
day and  Macarthy  "  a  sacred  Ashanti  oath  —  The  *' Customs'*  in  Ashanti 
and  Dahomey  —  Decapitation  as  a  fine  art — The  Yam  and  the  Adai 
customs — "Kra,"  the  soul  of  man  —  The  kingdom  of  Dahomey  —  Odd 
origin  of  the  **  bush-king,"  or  double  of  the  real  monarch  —  Tlie  **  Nin- 
gan,"  or  prime  minister  —  The  *'Meu,"  the  second  minister  —  The 
soldiei*s  divided  into  several  corps;  each  soldier  equipped  at  the  expense 
of  the  government  —  Tlie  corps  of  Amazons,  or  female  wamors  —  Origin 
of  these  Amazons  —  Their  number  at  present  four  thousand;  divided 
into  three  brigades  —  The  Dahoman  eminently  religious  —  Tlie  worship 
of  Danli-gbwe  —  The  Danh-hweh,  or  fetish  snake-house  —  Tlie  Danhsi, 
or  snake  priests  —  "  Atinbodun  "  —  Tlie  Dahoman  *'  Neptune  "  —  Khevy- 
osoh,  the  Thunder-god — Missionary  failure  in  Africa  —  The  reasons  — 
A  better  field  for  effort  suggested 141 

CHAPTER  V. 

ABSOLUTISM. 

Persia  a  perfect  type  of  despotism  —  Chai-acter  of  the  courtier — Many 
public  functionaries  selected  by  the  Persian  monarchs  from  the  order  of 
Mirzas,  or  *'  men  of  business  "  —  The  Collector  of  the  public  revenue  — 
Small  salaries  of  government  officials — Precarious  life  of  a  courtier  — 
The  pardoned  rebel  of  one  province  appointed  to  the  supreme  command 
in  another — No  official,  however  high,  sure  of  his  life  —  The  Gholams, 
or  king's  guards  —  The  mooshteheds,  the  highest  order  of  priests,  the 
supreme  pontiffs  of  the  kingdom  —  The  Sheik  al  Islam  —  The  character 
of  the  moUalis  or  priests —  **  To  cheat  like  a  mollali "  a  frequent  saying 
in  the  mouth  of  a  Persian  —  Persian  women  believed  not  to  have  souls 
by  some  Moslem  priests  —  An  Eastern  seraglio  a  "gilded  cage" — De- 
scription of  harem  life  —  The  gala  dress  of  a  lady  of  high  rank  — Mar- 
riage ceremonies  —  Ungovernable  temper  of  Persian  women  —  Persia 
no  longer  the  granary  of  the  world  —  The  population  of  Persia  less  than 
8,000,000 — No  navigable  rivers,  and  railways  a  thing  of  the  future  — 
The  whole  revenue  of  the  empire  considerably  less  than  $10,000,000  — 
The  Koran  as  the  basis  of  civil  and  criminal  law  —  The  t/r/*,  or  "  common 
law"  —  The  goverainj^  principle  in  Mohammedan  law,  an  eye  for  an  eye, 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth  —  Ancient  religion  of  the  Persians  —  The  Par- 
sees,  like  the  Jews,  a  persecuted  race  —  Learning  of  Persia  —  The  stone 
and  seal  cutters  of  Shirazand  Ispahan  famous  for  their  skill  —  Literature 
—  Adoption  of  European  habits 197 

CHAPTER  VI. 

TFIE    RULE    OF    CASTE. 

A  marvel  and  a  mystery  to  Western  minds — Religious  despotism  still  flour- 
ishing throughout  India — The  Vedas,  or  Hindoo  Scriptures  —  The 
foundation  of  Brahminism  —  Compared  with  the  Greek  mythology,  that 
of  India  infinitely  deeper,  more  mysterious,  and  vastly  more  sublime  — 
AVater- worship — Self-drowning  in  the  Ganges  —  Brahmins  propitiated 
with  divine  honors  —  Siva  and  Vishnoo —  Vishnooism  a  sort  of  reformed 
Sivaism — In  addition  to  the»  Hindoo  Trinity  many  inferior  gods  — 
Animals  also  venerated  —  The  two  aspects  of  Brahminism  —  Caste  every- 
where an  essentia]  part  of  religion  —  In  the  "  Institutes  of  Menu"  four 


18  THB  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

castes  defined  as  composing  the  nation  —  For  three  thousand  years  by 
means  of  caste  the  Brahmins  have  preserved  their  ascendency — ^No  other 
example  of  such  a  lease  of  power  —  The  life  of  a  Brahmin  divided  into 
four  periods — The  high  caste  man  defiled  by  the  low  caste  man  —  Tlie 
Brahmin  *'can  cook  for  every  man,  whilst  no  one  can  cook  for  him'*  — 
The  home  of  human  horrors — The  Hindoo  Fakir  preeminent  among 
cranks  —  Strange  self -martyrdoms — Remarkable  municipal  institutions 
of  Hindostan  —  The  famous  "  village  system  "  —  Thieving  and  burglary 
raised  to  the  rank  of  science  —  The  riches  of  India  —  Anecdote  of  Mali- 
moud,  the  idol-breaker  —  Temples  and  shrines — The  sacred  rivers  — 
The  idol  of  Juggernaut  and  its  procession  —  Pinkerton  Thugs;  the 
word  and  comparison  taken  from  India — Origin  of  the  religious  crime. 
Thuggee  —  Early  training  of  Thugs  —  Secrecy  one  of  the  essentials  of 
their  work —  Manner  of  strangling  and  burying  their  victims  —  Account 
of  the  founder  of  Buddhism  —  Buddhism  now  closely  studied  by  Eu- 
ropean scholars  —  Marriage  customs  —  Qualifications  for  a  Brahmin's 
bride  —  Elaborate  festival  rites  and  ceremonies — Celibacy  a  disgrace 
both  to  men  and  women  —  The  Hindoo  women's  taste  for  ill-treatment 

—  The  women  of  Northern  India  trea«^ed  with  respect  and  devotion  — 
The  ** Festival  of  tlie  Bracelet"  —  A  whole  province  often  accompanies 
the  return  of  the  pledge  —  The  temple- women  —  The  Suttee  —  Laws  of 
inheritance  —  Education  —  Architecture  and  the  manufacture  of  jewelry 

—  Snake-charming  —  The  moral  character  of  the  Hindoo  —  The  Indian 
not  the  same  all  over  India  —  A  Bengalee  the  most  despicable —  Macau- 
lay  on  the  character  of  the  Bengalee —  Political  future 225 

CHAPTER  VII. 

A   SCHOLASTIC    OLIGARCHY. 

Oldest  and  oddest  of  nations  and  governments  —  An  eclipse  calculated  2155 
years  before  our  era — Topography  of  China  —  Division  into  eighteen 
provinces;  each  province  into  poos,  counties,  and  prefectures — The 
great  wall  —  The  gate  of  honor —  Chicese  streets  —  The  umbrellaed  side- 
walks —  The  sewerage  system  —  High-sounding  titles  of  streets  —  Shops 

—  Monumental  arches  —  Hoo  Chow  Foo  —  Governmental  precaution 
against  fires  —  The  Emperor  of  China  assisted  in  the  management  of  his 
government  by  a  cabinet  of  four  ministers;  in  addition  to  this,  six 
supreme  tribunals  —  Duties  of  each  tribunal  —  The  Empress,  or  head 
wife,  is  the  representative  of  Mother  Earth  —  The  choice  of  an  empi-ess 
and  of  sub-wives  —  A  formidable  ari-ay  of  officials  in  each  province  —  All 
supposed  to  be  appointed  by  the  Emperor  on  recommendation  of  the 
Board  of  Ceremonies  — Nine  marks  of  distinction  by  which  the  rank  of 
a  Chinese  officer  may  be  recognized  —  Dress  —  Custom  of  an  officer 
approaching  the  Imperial  presence  —  The  army  made  up  of  the  lowest 
class  —  Government  residences  for  all  officials  —  A  curious  sort  of  lot- 
tery adds  a  certain  spice  to  the  life  of  convicted  criminals — Justice  in 
China  a  ''Serial  Story  of  Torture" — The  process  in  civil  cases  — 
Another  peculiarity  of  Chinese  government —  Imperial  clemency  extends 
to  all  offenders  who  are  crippled  —  Religion  of  China  interfuses  with  its 
laws — The  original  i*eligion  —  No  hereditary  nobility  —  Rank  graded  by 
literary  examinations  —  Every  office  except  that  of  the  Emperor  deter- 
mined by  these  —  Severity  of  the  examinations  —  Fifteen  candidates  suc- 
cessful out  of  five  hundred  considered  remarkable  —  The  degree  of 
Han-lin;  the  few  who  attain  it  become  membei*s  of  the  Han-lin  College  and 
receive  fixed  salaries  —  The  greatest  care  taken  that  these  examinations 
shall  be  fair  —  Daring  devices  of  the  candidates  to  elude  the  lynx-eyed 
examiners  —  Ancestral  worship  —  The  penalty  of  striking  or  cursing 
parents  —  Ideas  of  beauty  —  Deformed  feet  of  the  women  and  leavings  of 
Chinese  poets  thereon  —  The  Kow-tow  —  Modesty  of  the  ladies  — 
Chinese  handmaids  —  Seven  different   reasons  for  divorce  —  Amusing 


^♦. 


CONTENTS.  19 

contrariety  of  Chinese  customs  —  Curious  census  anecdote  —  History  of 
Confucius  and  his  doctrines  —  The  five  canonical  hooks  —  Tlie  writings 
which  ranlc  next  —  Chinese  literature  —  All  classes  read  —  Proverbs     .    281 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

PATERNAL    SOCIALISM. 

A  system  of  government  especially  worthy  of  study — Difference  in  the  mean- 
ing or  value  of  the  word  Socialism  twenty  years  ago  and  to-day  —  The 
electric  shock  of  a  new  idea — Tlie  chief  moral  argument  of  modern 
Socialism  —  Men  to-day  in  tlie  mass  becoming  too  much  like  the 
machines  tliey  tend — Tlie  ultimate  economic  proposition  of  Socialism 
—  The  Post-office  a  shining  example — The  best  illustration  on  a  na- 
tional scale  —  A  miraculous  land  in  which  the  sum  of  human  happiness 
was  large  and  increasing  —Vast  extent  and  singular  shape  of  Peru  — 
The  naturally  barren  coast  fertilized  by  a  system  of  canals  and  under- 
ground aqueducts  —  The  Maguey  suspension  bridges  —  Cuzco  the  chief 
capital  —  A  miniature  of  the  empire  —  The  decimal  system  used  by  the 
Incas  of  Peru  with  remarkable  results  —  The  whole  empire  arranged  in 
departments  of  ten  thousand  with  a  special  governor  appointed  from  the 
Inca  nobility  —  Officialism  prevented  from  being  an  evil  by  being  all- 
pervasive  —  Few  laws  and  crime  a  rarity  —  Worship  of  the  Sun  —  Fable 
of  the  founding  of  the  City  of  the  Sun  by  the  children  of  the  Sun-God  — 
Personal  pomp  of  an  Inca  —  Magnificence  of  his  palaces  —  The  Baths  of 
Yucay — Burial  customs — Remarkable  skill  in  embalming  —  Fiscal 
regulations  and  the  laws  of  property — The  cultivation  of  the  king's 
lands  a  holiday  performance  —  The  llamas  —  Idleness  a  crime  and  indus- 
try a  matter  of  public  honor  and  reward  —  The  Peruvians  had  a  chance 
to  cultivate  the  graces  and  dignities  of  life  —  Two  orders  of  nobility  — 
Superior  method  of  taking  the  census  —  The  <irtisan  provided  by  the 
government  with  his  materials,  and  only  required  to  give  a  certain  por- 
tion of  his  time  to  public  service  —  Peruvian  literature — Method  of 
preserving  thought  —  Description  of  the  quipus — Anecdote  of  Atah- 
ualpa 325 

CHAPTER   IX. 

THEOCRACY  OH  PRIESTLY   GOVERNMENT. 

Basic  principle  of  theocracy  —  The  Pythoness  or  Priestess  of  Delphi,  how 
inspired  —  Pagan  priests  the  first  librarians  —  The  crystallization  of  the 
Hebrew  nation  —  Singularity  of  the  Mosaic  laws  —  Strikinj^  anecdote  of 
Solomon  —  The  Sanhedrim  —  The  functions  of  the  Levite  —  The  syna- 
gogues as  schools  —  Caiphas  the  head  of  the  theocracy  —  Crucifixion  of 
Jesus  —  Jerusalem  battered  down  by  Titus  thirty-seven  years  later  — 
Dispersion  of  the  Jewish  nation —  Meeting  of  the  Apostles  and  framing 
of  the  Apostles'  Creed  —  St.  Paul  before  the  Sanhedrim  —  Condition  of 
the  world  at  this  period  —  **  Eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,  for  to-morrow  we 
die,"  the  motto  of  the  Roman  Empire  —  Frightful  persecution  of  the 
Christians  by  Xero  —  The  infant  church  driven  to  underground  refuges  — 
Christian  theocracy  assuming  shape  — The  Cross  a<lopted  by  Constivntine 
as  the  imperial  standard  —  The  combat  practically  closed  by  the  imperial 
decree,  A.  D.  313  —  Two  sovereignties  recognized  and  proclaimed,  that 
of  Pope  and  Emperor — The  heresy  of  Arius  of  Alexandria —  Ecumeni- 
cal council  summoned  at  Nice  by  Constantine — Summary  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Canons  —  Endeavors  of  Julian,  the  apostate,  to  restore  the  worship 
of  the  Pagan  gods  —  Decline  of  the  Roman  Empire  —  Attila,  **the 
Scourge  of  God" — Meeting  between  Saint  Leo  I.  and  Attila — Roman 
empire  of  the  West  extinguished  —  A  universal  Papal  protectorate  — 
Simoniacal  bishops — *'Tlie  poisonous  viper  of  the  Church" — Extent 
of  Simony  —  Struggle  between  Henry  IV.  and  Hildebrand  opened  by  the 
election  of  Pope  Alexander  II.— The  election  of  Alexander  II.  declared 


20  THE  STORV  OF   GO\'ERXMENT. 

nail  bjT  Henrj,  who  nominates  Honorios  IL  as  mn  anti-pope  —  Death  of 
Alexander  IL  and  election  of  Hildebrand — Decree  issued  against  im- 
moral priests — Attempt  of  Henry  to  imprison  and  depose  the  Pope  — 
Gregory  pronoonces  the  famous  sentence  of  excommunication  and  depo- 
sition against  Henry — Decisive  battle  of  spiritual  service  reform  begun 

—  Gregory  YIL  deposed  by  the  simoniacal  bishops,  and  Gilbert  of 
Ravenna  elected  as  Pope  Clement  III.  —  Conflict  between  Pope  Innocent 
III.  and  Philip  Augustus  on  the  marriage  question — Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
l>ella  establish  the  *'  Spanish  Inquisition"  — Cause  of  the  Great  Schism 

—  Luther —  The  Peasants'  War — Cause  of  the  Reformation  in  England 

—  Tlie  "  Society  of  Jesus  "  founded  by  Ignatius  of  Loyola  —  Summary  of 
the  constitution  of  the  Jesuits — The  onder  dissolve<i  by  Pope  Clement 
XIV.  under  pressure  of  Catholic  Governments — Emperor  Xapoleon 
crowned  in  Paris  by  Pope  Pius  VII. —  Reestablishment  of  the  order  of 
the  Jesuits  by  Pius  VII. —  Explanation  of  the  administration  of  the 
Catholic  Church  —  Religious  feeling  expressed  in  architecture  —  Macau- 
lay  on  the  Church —  Future  of  the  Church  in  America 357 

CHAPTER    X. 

SIMPLE  REPUBLICAKISM. 

Switzerland,  the  democracy  most  near  to  perfection  —  Her  history  a  polit- 
ical romance  of  intense  interest — The  First  Federal  Constitution  — 
**  Each  for  all  and  all  for  each  " — The  growth  of  the  national  germ  — 
Gradual  union  of  the  different  cantons  —  Battle  of  Sempach  —  The  last 
attempt  of  Austria  to  subdue  the  confederation  —  Capture  of  the  town 
of  Grandson  by  Charles  the  Bold  —  A  new  treaty  signed  —  The  federal 
H^>vereignty  much  strengthened  —  The  Helvetic  Republic  established  in 
Switzerland  by  the  French  directory  —  A  new  constitution  called  the  Act 
of  Mediation  drawn  up  by  Bonaparte  —  A  federal  declaration  lasting 
until  1848  takes  the  place  of  the  Act  of  Mediation  —  Two  legislative 
chambers  created  by  tlie  new  constitution  —  Government  ownership  and 
management  of  postal,  telegraphic,  and  telephonic  systems  —  No  stand- 
ing army  —  Rules  of  the  Federal  Assembly  —  Democratic  character  of 
the  executive  —  The  Council  of  States  —  The  National  Council  —  The 
Federal  census  the  basis  of  representation  to  the  National  Council  — 
Method  of  voting — The  right  of  initiative —  Tlie  famous  Swiss  Referen- 
dum —  Meaning  of  the  referendum  —  If  the  initiative  and  referendum 
systems  prevailed  in  the  United  States,  what  then  ?  —  Professor  Ely's 
illustration  —  The  ancient  Land sgeraeinden,  or  open-air  assemblies — A 
lively  interest  taken  in  national  and  communal  affairs  by  Sw^iss  voters  — 
Socialistic  undertakings  of  the  Communes  —  The  local  self-govei*nment 
of  the  commune  the  cradle  and  the  schoolhouse  which  evolved  the 
present  Swiss  Confederation —  Swiss  traditions  —  Industries  —  Switzer- 
land ti>o  small  for  the  support  of  its  population  — The  **  playground  of 
Europe  *'  —  Peasant  proprietors  numerous  —  A  passion  for  borrowing 
on  mortgage  —  The  Vaudois  peasant  —  Poverty  in  Canton  Vaud  almost 
UAiknown  —  Education  free  of  cost 435 

CHAPTER    XI. 

CONSTITUTION  AX     MONARCHY. 

England  —  The  growth  of  constitutional  monarchy  a  story  full  of  the  most 
startling  contrasts  —  Military  despotism  of  William  the  Norman  — 
The  reign  of  Henry  11.  the  first  in  which  the  people  came  into  promi- 
nence —  One  of  the  greatest  and  saddest  of  regal  histories  —  A  true  step 
toward  the  equalization  of  all  men  before  the  law  —  Henry's  character 
— King  John  as  the  most  expensive  dentist  on  record  —  The  signing  of 
the  Great  (Charter  at  Runymede  —  One  of  the  most  curious  reigns  in 
England  —  Great  gains  made  for  the  people  in  the  development  of  con- 


CONTENTS.  21 

stitutional  government  —  Magna  Charta  revised,  and  Lord  Pembroke 
made  Protector — Amusing  episode  of  tlie  Sicilian  throne  —  Simon  de 
Hontfort^s  check  upon  the  regal  power  the  germ  of  the  present  Britisli 
Ministry  —  Tlie  first  parliament  in  which  the  people  had  any  real  share 
summoned  by  De  Montfort  in  1205  —  **  Sir  Simon  the  Righteous''  — 
Prince  Edward's  return  from  a  successful  crusade  and  public  ovation  — 
Royal  schemes  for  raising  money  —  Germ  of  the  phi-ase  **  Taxation 
witliout  representation  is  tyranny" — King  Edward's  attempt  to  unite 
Scotland,  Wales,  and  England  in  one  country,  and  lay  the  foundation  of 
English  unity — The  Welsh  insurrection  —  Origin  of  the  title  *' Prince 
of  Wales" — The  rising  of  the  popular  tide  and  the  eating  away  of 
tlie  stubborn  rocks  of  royal  privilege  and  prerogative  —  Lawless  career 
of  Edward  IL  —  Appointment  of  a  Committee  of  Government  to  connect 
abuses  in  the  State  —  Gaveston  beheaded  by  order  of  the  nobles  —  A 
new  encroachment  on  royal  power  —  Deposition  of  Edward — Institu- 
tion of  the  poll  tax  —  Insurrection  of  Ihe  peasants  under  Wat,  the  Tiler 

—  Attempt  of  Wat,  the  Tiler,  to  abolish  tlie  cruel  forest  laws  —  Defeat 
of  the  insurgents;  The  beginning  of  the  custom  of  hanging  in  chains  — 
Quarrel  between  Parliament  and  King  Richard  —  Richard  impeached 
and  deposed  by  Bolingbroke,  Duke  of  Hereford  —  The  reign  of  Boling- 
broke  distinguished  for  its  brilliancy  and  for  an  extension  of  the  power 
of  law  —  Insurrection  of  the  people  under  Jack  Cade  during  the  reign 
of  Henry  VI.  — Beginning  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  —  Edward  IV.  ex- 
torts money  from  the  citizens  of  London  in  the  form  of  loans,  or  **  benevo- 
lences" —  Quickening  of  popular  intelligence  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII. 

—  The  power  of  the  baronage  broken  —  The  reign  of  Heniy  VIII.  that 
in  which  the  monarchy  reached  its  worst  pitch  of  cruel  absolutism  — 
The  religious  agitation  of  this  time  productive  of  immense  intel- 
lectual results  —  Publication  of  More's  Utopia  —  The  society  of  his 
time  defined  by  Sir  Thomas  as  **  Nothing  but  a  conspiracy  of  the 
rich  against  the  poor"  —  The  obsequious  Parliament  simply  a  tool  of 
regal  power  —  Beginning  of  the  English  Reign  of  Terror  —  Thomas 
Cromwell  beheaded,  the  first  victim  of  his  own  law — The  dogma  of 
divine  right  originated  by  Henry  VIII.  —  A  slavish  devotion  to  a  man 
replacing  the  old  loyalty  to  the  law  —  The  reign  of  Elizabeth  and  epoch 
of  Shakespeare  and  Bacon  —  Defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada  and  rise  of 
England  to  the  position  of  a  first-class  power  —  The  feeling  of  nation- 
ality intensified  —  The  impetus  given  to  the  minds  of  men  by  the  revival 
of  learning  produces  an  intellectual  harvest  —  Puritanism  the  first  polit- 
ical system  which  recognized  the  grandeur  of  the  people  as  a  whole  — 
Greneral  conception  of  kingship  modified  by  the  events  of  the  sixteenth 
century  —  Charles  raises  his  revenue  by  unjust  taxation  in  all  direc- 
tions —  The  trial  of  Hampden  the  first  declaration  of  independence  on 
the  part  of  an  English  gentleman  —  John  Pym,  the  first  and  finest  of 
parliamentary  leatiers  —  Charles'  minister,  Strafford,  impeached  by  the 
Commons  for  high  treason  —  Execution  of  Strafford,  a  faithful  servant 
to  a  bad  king  —  The  battle  of  Edge  Hill  the  beginning  of  the  grandest 
era  of  English  history  —  Oliver  Cromwell  comes  into  prominence  as  a 
leader  at  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor  —  A  man  of  surpassing  greatness 

—  Modern  England  as  a  political  entity  beginning  with  the  triumph  of 
Cromwell  at  the  battle  of  Naseby — For  the  first  time  a  conscious 
struggle  between  political  tradition  and  political  progress  —  Execution 
of  King  Charles  —  The  monarchy  formallv  abolished  and  the  govera- 
ment  provided  for  by  the  creation  of  a  Council  of  State  selected  from  the 
Commons  —  Dissolution  of  Parliament  by  Cromwell  —  Cromwell's  pro- 
tectorate a  simple  tyranny  —  **  A  time  of  great  peace  and  prosperity" 

—  Cromwell  refuses  the  crown  and  is  formally  inaugurated  Protector  — 
His  sway  over  the  minds  of  men  mighty  even  in  death  —  Eager  royal- 
ists greatly  disappointed  with  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  —  Charles  II.  the 
cleverest  of  the  Stuarts  —  A  crisis  between  King  and  Parliament  pre- 
cipitated by  the  impeachment  of  Danby  —  Consent  of  Charles  to  the 
Habeas  Corpus  Act  —  The  two  years'  struggle  between  King,  Parlla- 


22  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERXMETr. 


meiit,  and  CofninoBi  resnltiiis  in  the  rise  of  m  nev  partj  called  the  Whig 
—  The  rise  of  orgBoizad  parties  in  Pariiaaient  the  most  important  erent 
sinee  the  restoraticyn  —  Polrdeal  acts  of  Charles  IL  daring  the  last  three 
jears  of  his  Ufe  —  The  stor^r  of  the  mistakes  of  James  IL  —  Flight  of 
King  James,  and  transference  of  the  crown  to  William  of  Orange  — 
DechmUions  of  the  Bill  of  Righto  —  The  Triennial  Act  of  William  III/s 
parliament  —  James  I.  a  learned  bat  weak  king  —  Parliament  occapied 
onljT  with  the  reassertion  of  ito  former  righto  —  Illegal  monopolj  insti- 
tuted hj  Cliarles  I.  the  germ  of  present  trasto  and  sjndicates  —  First 
eifecto  of  pariiamentary  freedom  —  Change  in  the  character  of  the 
Ministry  —  The  goTemment  acquiring  a  corporate  character  —  *  Repre- 
sentatires  of  the  people  "  —  The  Whig  nobles  the  most  powerful  ctoss 
in  the  kingdom  —  The  reign  of  the  nobility  a  beneficent  despotism  — 
Haphazard  method  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  days  of  George 
IlL  —  The  society  of  the  '*  Friends  of  the  People  ^*  —  Apparently  hope- 
less entanglement  of  the  legislative,  ezecutiTe  and  judicial  functions  — 
Determination  of  Victoria  to  know  the  doings  of  her  ministers — System 
of  the  British  Cabinet  —  Pointo  of  difference  between  the  American  and 
English  systems  of  government  —  Qualities  needful  to  a  minister  in 
England  —  Summary  of  the  development  of  English  government .    •    .  475 

CHAPTER  Xn. 
A   GOYSRXMEXT   OF   MT3TERT   A!n>   FBATESXITT. 

An  odd  incident  connected  with  one  of  the  secret  signs  of  Masonry — 
Legendary  Masonry  of  profound  ethical  interest — The  legend  of  the 
Temple  a  fascinating  myth — Curious  claim  set  up  by  Freemasonry  — 
The  aim  of  all  secret  societies  of  the  past — Freemasonry  the  com- 
pendium of  all  primitive  accumulated  human  knowledge  —  The  history 
of  the  order  divided  into  two  periods — Records  of  a  lodge  of  1648  — 
The  name  *' masonic"  adopted  by  the  society  in  the  last  century  — 
Freemasonry  a  tree  whose  roots  are  spread  through  many  soils  —  The 
masonic  alphabet — Description  of  a  Lodge  —  A  relic  of  astrology — 
Initiation  of  a  novice  into  the  first  or  Apprentice  degree  —  The  second 
degree  of  symbolic  Freemasony,  the  Fellow-Craft —Supposed  significance 
of  the  letter  G  seen  in  the  lodge — The  degree  of  Master  Mason  — 
Another  version  of  the  legend  of  Osiris — The  degree  of  the  Holy  Royal 
Arch  — The  Omnific  Word  —  The  emblem  of  emblems  —  Masonry  at  its 
height  in  France  during  the  revolutionary  period  —  Napoleon  and 
Masonry — Masonic  titles  bestowed  upon  Cambacer^s  —  The  Grand 
Orient  Lodge  —  Its  half  yearly  words  of  command  were  Napoleonic  for- 
mulae—  The  fall  of  Napoleon  attributed  to  Masonry  —  History  of 
Joseph  Balsamo,  alias  Count  Cagliostro  —  The  Egyptian  rite  invented 
by  Cagliostro — Adoptive  Masonry  —  First  lodge  of  adoption — Anec- 
dote of  the  Jew  and  the  Parsee  —  Speculative  or  Philosophical  Masonry 
not  derived  from  Operative — Historic  uncertainty  of  Masonry — First 
appearance  of  the  name  **  Freemason "  —  ^*  Masons  made  here  for  12 
shillings**  — A  complete  change  and  rebirth  in  the  year  1717  —  The  true 
character  of  Freemasonry  in  the  history  of  the  operative  sodalities  and 
successive  ages  of  architects  — The  *•  New  Constitution"  the  Freemasonry 
of  the  present  day  —  The  touch  of  Masonry  penetrating  all  the  scenes 
of  the  Revolution  —  Repeated  attempts  to  make  Freemasonry  a  union  of 
States  and  a  union  of  Grand  Lodges  —  A  Grand  Lodge  territory  sacred 
from  invasion  —  Washington  as  a  Mason  —  Temporary  setback  to  Ma- 
sonry —  The  golden  era  of  Freemasonry  —  The  comer-stone  of  Bunker 
HiU  monument  laid  by  the  Grand  Lodge  —  Anti-masonic  excitement — 
The  famous  ''Declaration"  —  The  '* Masonic  Education  and  Charity 
Trust"  —  Boston  Masonic  Temple  —  The  Masonic  Temple,  Philadelphia, 
the  finest  and  largest  in  the  world  —  Plan  of  the  Chicago  building  — 
Masonry  developed  from  a  simple  secret  society  into  a  great  interna- 
tional bond,  a  government  within  government  ^>  The  purest  of  democra- 


CONTENTS.  28 

cieB  in  theory  and  practice  —  One  of  the  most  binding  oaths  and  obliga- 
tions—  Review  of  history  in  the  United  States— -A  Grand  Lodge  of 
Masons  in  every  State  of  the  Union —  Templar  Masonry  a  semi-military 
organization — Degrees  and  rites  of  the  order  —  The  true  essence  of 
Fieemasonry 567 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

EXPERIMENTAL  BEPUBLICANISM. 

The  Republic  of  France  the  offspring  of  revolution  —  Condition  of  the 
people  prior  to  the  Revolution  of  1793  —  The  peasantry  merely  beasts  of 
burden  —  Liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  non-existent  —  Three  gen- 
eral classes  —  Inequality  even  in  the  family  —  The  taxes  all  paid  by  the 
peasantry  and  artisans  —  Misery  of  the  common  people  —  Immorality 
the  fashion  —  View  of  mai-riage  —  Tremendous  political  influence  of 
Voltaire,  Montesquieu  and  Rousseau,  or  dramatist,  lawyer  and  novelist 

—  Louis  XVI.  attempts  reform  — Turgot's  plans  for  financial  retrench- 
ment—  Turgot  and  Malesherbes  forced  to  resign  —  The  famous  **Account 
Rendered  " — Neckar  deposed  —  Calonne  exiled  —  Neckar  recalled  to  ofiice 
—Convocation  of  the  States-General  —  Platform  of  principles  adopted 
by  the  Third  Estate  —  First  difficulty  arising  in  the  assemblage  Icacls  to 
a  live  weeks'  contest  —  **  National  Constituent  Assembly  "  —  First  for- 
mal session  of  the  Assembly  —  The  inviolability  of  its  membei*s  solemnly 
proclaimed  —  Committees  for  business  organized  —  Dismissal  and  exile 
of  Neckar  —  Storming  of  the  Bastile — Curious  anecdotes  prophetic  of  the 
flood  —  Cagliostro,  the  Wizard  —  The  Revolution  baptized  in  blood  — 
Feudalism  abolished,  and  the  first  plank  in  the  platform  of  the  Third 
Estate,  the  equality  of  man,  a  reality  —  Many  beneficent  laws  passed  by 
the  National  Assembly  —  Dissolution  of  the  Assembly  after  two  years' 
term  of  office  —  New  and  formidable  difficulties  before  the  Legislative 
Assembly  —  Twenty-three  years'  war  —  Lafayette  proscribed  —  Sacking 
of  the  Tuilleries  —  The  Assembly  powerless  —  France  invaded  by  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick  —  Louis  XVI.  guillotined  —  A  huge  political  blunder 

—  The  Reign  of  Terror  legalized — Strange  anecdote  of  the  institution 
by  Carrier  of  Republican  marriage  —  Conflict  with  the  Kings  —  The 
Republic  definitively  established  —  The  Revolution  succeeded  by  the 
military  dictatorship  of  Napoleon  —  Charles  X.  a  true  type  of  the 
Bourbon  prince  —  Louis  Philippe  chosen  king  by  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  —  Universal  suffrage  decreed  by  the  National  Assembly  — 
Napoleon  III.  deposed  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the  Republic 
proclaimed  —  The  Constitution  of  France  —  The  present  Republic  the 
offspring  of  1793 031 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

GOVEBNMENT    AMONG    SECRET    ORDERS. 

Every  secret  society  with  a  political  aim  an  act  of  collective  conscience  — 
A  legitimate  hatred  of  evil  the  salvation  of  nations  —  Order  of  the 
Chauffeurs,  or  Burners  —  Rites  of  initiation  —  Marriage  customs  of  the 
order  —  Their  detection  by  the  cunning  of  one  of  their  victims  and  their 
extinction  —  The  Society  of  the  Carbonari  —  Ceremonies  of  the  Lodge  — 
A  mixture  of  Masonry  and  Catholic  mysticism  —  Initiation  into  the 
different  degrees  —  Real  object  of  the  association  —  The  Carbonari 
played  no  small  part  in  general  European  politics  —  Ambition  of  the 
Carbonari  to  obtain  a  constitutional  government  for  their  country  — 
Influence  of  the  order  —  Carbonarism  introduced  into  France  —  Why 
of  special  historic  interest  —  Combination  with  young  Italy,  a  society 
with  identical  aims  —  Society  of  "  American  Hunters  "  —  Lord  Byron 
said  to  have  been  its  head  —  The  society  an  ethical  as  well  as  practical 
one  —  Object  of  the  revolutionary  society  of  Nihilists  — Articles  of  their 


24  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

belief  —  **From  the  United  to  the  Isolated" — Sentences  on  early 
prisoners  mild  in  comparison  to  those  of  recent  date  —  The  Fenians  one 
of  the  most  active  of  political  secret  societies  —  Indications  that  the 
association  is  not  extinct  —  Founding  of  Fenianism  in  America  —  Cou- 
yentions  at  Chicago  and  Cincinnati  —  Traitors  within  tlie  organization  — 
Report  of  tlie  Investigating  Committee  —  Origin  of  the  word  Fenian  — 
Extracts  from  the  Patriotic  Litany  of  Saint  Lawrence  O*  Toole  —  The 
term  Tammany  first  applied  to  the  Columbian  order  —  Evolution  of  the 
title  —  A  striking  characteristic  —  Record  of  the  organization  —  Early 
history  —  Part  played  in  national  affairs  —  Intricate  relations  with  New 
York  politics  —  A  survivor  of  several  defeats  —  The  Tammany  legend, 
a  very  amusing  and  instructive  tradition  — The  supreme  trait  of  Tam- 
many's character  —  Symbols  of  the  thirteen  tribes  —  Statistics  of 
Tammany  Hall  —  The  leader  of  the  Tammany  forces  —  The  General 
Committee  —  Salaries —  Outline  of  the  plan  of  organization  —  The  work 
of  the  committee  —  Assembly  district  organizations  —  Qualifications 
necessary  for  a  district  leader  —  Strict  discipline 605 

CHAPTER  XV. 

WOMAN    IN    GOVERNMENT. 

Equal  citizenship  of  sexes  first  recognized  during  the  French  Revolution  — 
Partial  citizenship  in  early  American  colonies  —  Wyoming  the  first  real 
political  democracy  of  large  area — England  moving  faster  than  America 
towards  full  female  suffrage — Proofs  of  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  intelli- 
gent women  —  Stain  on  the  history  of  the  State  of  Washington  —  How 
women  have  voted  and  are  likely  to  vote  —  Woman's  political  status  all 
over  the  world  —  The  next  step  from  a  political  must  be  an  industrial 
democracy — The  general  stream  of  human  happiness — The  world's 
debt  to  women  of  simple  lives  —  Sudden  possession  of  excessive  power — 
Depraved  women  not  so  much  the  cause  as  the  result  of  the  corruption  of 
the  middle  ages — Sex  equality  among  primitive  races — Respect  shown  to 
women  by  New  England  Indians  —  Feminine  leadership  in  modem  Africa 

—  Number  of  Beiiangin's  female  warriors  —  Peculiarities  of  Polyandrous 
tribes  —  An  odd  incident  illustrative  of  the  working  of  an  Eastern  mind  — 
Condition  of  woman  in  the  age  of  Homer  —  Degradation  of  woman  in  the 
palmy  days  of  Athens  —  Sparta  alone  the  cradle  of  great  women — The 
HetairsB  —  Aspasia  and  the  government  of  Athens  —  Orientalized  Athens 
corrupts  her  conqueror,  the  Roman  —  The  character  of  Cleopatra  —  Zeno- 
bia — Rome  overrun  by  Grermans  —  Effect  of  feudalism  and  the  Catholic 
church  on  women  —  The  age  of  chivalry  —  Joan  D'  Arc  and  Agnes  Sorel 
—  Decency  in  eclipse  for  three  centuries —  Isabella  of  Castile  —  Mary  A. 
Livermore's  opinion  about  her — John  Knox  and  his  Trumpet  Blast — 
Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England'^  queens  —  Madame  de  Maintenon  — 
Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  deluge  —  The  crowned  women  of  Russia 

—  Striking  feminine  figures  of  the  present  century  —  The  real  queens  of 
to-day,  where  found 721 

CHAPTER    XVL 

SEMT-MILITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY. 

Reflections  arising  from  wandering  through  the  galleries  of  Versailles  — 
The  most  dramatic  of  recent  historical  events  —  Proclamation  of  Em- 
peror William  —  Legislative  functions  of  the  empire  —  The  executive 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor — The  Bundesrath  and  its  com- 
mittees —  The  Reichstag  —  Officers  of  State  —  Historical  growth  of 
the  Grerman  empire  —  Earliest,  recorded  Teutonic  invasion  —  Ger- 
mans in  the    Roman  armies  —  Characteristics  of  the  different  tribes 

—  Assemblies  of  the  freemen  —  Important  victory  of  the  German 
tribes  under  Herman  —  Migratory  instincts  of   the    Grermanic    tribes 


CONTENTS.  26 

again  showing  itself  —  History  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul  —  The  treaty 
of  Verdun  —  The  Huns  conquered  by  King  Henry  —  Beginning  of 
town  life  among  the  Germans  —  Alliance  of  Church  and  State  sovereign- 
ties—  Origin  of  Germany*8  claim  to  Italy  —  Revival  of  learning  —  Di- 
vision of  large  duchies  into  small  principalities  the  beginning  of 
individualism  —  Quarrel  of  Guelph  and  Gliibeline  —  Conflict  between 
Emperor  and  Pope  —  Effect  on  Germany  —  Power  of  the  Emperors 
shattered  —  Extincti(mof  the  house  of  Hohenstaufcn  —  The  Interregnum 

—  The  robber  castles  of  tlie  Rhine  —  Growth  of  cathedral  towns  — 
Election  of  Rudolf,  founder  of  the  house  of  Habsburg  —  Charles  IV. 
issues  the  Golden  Bull  —  Invention  of  gunpowder  —  Revolution  in  the 
art  of  war  —  Invention  of  printing  —  Attempt  of  the  rulers  to  check 
the  intellectual  awakeninij  —  The  edict  of  Perpetual  Peace  —  The 
House  of  Habsburg  at  the  culmination  (►f  its  power —  The  Diet  at  Worms 

—  Martin  Luther  placed  under  the  ban  of  the  empire  —  His  translation 
of  the  Bible  —  Spirit  of  the  times  —  Beginning  of  the  *'  Thirty  Years' 
War"  —  Militiry  tactics  of  Gustavus  Adolphus —  The  Peace  of  West- 
phalia—  The  question  of  the  Rhine  provinces  made  a  permanent  issue — 
Change  in  the  character  of  the  German  —  Louis  XIV.  of  France  signs 
the  Peace  of  Utrecht — The  Great  Elector  the  11  rst  to  keep  a  standing 
army  in  time  of  peace  —  Accession  of  Frederick  the  Great  —  The 
"Seven  Years*  War"  —  Frederick  in  the  front  rank  of  great  com- 
manders —  Wisdom  and  energy  of  Frederick's  government  —  Im- 
portant changes  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Germany  —  Separation  of  the 
spiritual  and  secular  power  —  Wars  with  Napoleon  —  War  of  Liberation 
followed  by  a  season  of  peace  —  Constitutions  granted  by  the  kings 
to  their  subjects  —  Unilication  of  Italy  under  Victor  Emanuel  —  Otto 
Von  Bismarck  made  Prime  Minister  by  King  William  of  Prussia  — 
Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  small  principalities  —  War  between  Prussia 
and  Austria  —  Formation  of  the  North  German  Confederation  —  Defeat 

of  the  French  —  Political  unification  of  Germany ,     753 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
COMPLEX     REPUBLICANISM. 

Rrst  movement  toward  Home  Rule  by  the  Colonists  —  Complex  Republi- 
canism still  an  experiment — Congress  of  the  United  States  and  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain  the  models  of  government  for  other  countries  — 
The  Congress  of  the  republics  of  Central  and  South  America  —  Form  of 
government  in  Germany,  Denmark,  and  other  countries  —  Three  coordi- 
nate branches  in  the  government  of  the  United  States  —  The  first  coor- 
dinate branch:  the  legislative  —  General  powers  of  Congress — Article 
I.,  Section  2  of  the  Constitution  —  Number  of  population  required  to 
constitute  a  congressional  district  —  Election  of  members  —  The  great 
power  which  the  House  of  Representatives  exclusively  possesses  —  An- 
other power  exclusively  exercised  by  the  House —  Trials  of  impeachment 

—  Power  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  —  Importance  of  the  jiosition  — 
Committees  of  the  House  —  Duties  of  the  different  committees  —  A 
member  prohibited  from  holding  any  other  governmentid  office  —  Pro- 
hibited also  from  voting  on  measures  in  which  their  private  interests  are 
affected  —  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  —  Officers  of  the  Senate  — 
Exclusive  power  of  **  consent"  possessed  by  the  Senate  —  Notable  ex- 
ception to  the  general  rule  of  the  Senate  durimx  the  administration  of 
President  Cleveland  —  An  executive  session  —  **  The  billionnaireclub  "  — 
Movement  agitated  for  the  election  of  senators  by  a  direct  vote  of  the 
people  —  Reasons  in  favor  —  The  second  coordinate  branch  of  govern- 
ment: the  executive  —  The  Electoral  College  —  Election  of  the  President 

—  Chief  duty  of  the  President  —  Power  to  pardon  —  Right  of  veto  — 
Reason  for  so  much  legislative  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Executive  — 
The  Cabinet  —  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  State  —  Assistant  Secretaries 


24  THE  STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

belief — **From  the  United  to  the  Isolated*' — Sentences  on  early 
prisoners  mild  in  compaiison  to  those  of  recent  date  —  The  Fenians  one 
of  the  most  active  of  political  secret  societies  —  Indications  that  the 
association  is  not  extinct  —  Founding  of  Fenianism  in  Ameiica  —  Cou- 
yentions  at  Chicago  and  Cincinnati  —  Traitors  within  tlie  organization  — 
Report  of  the  Investigating  Committee  —  Origin  of  the  word  Fenian  — 
Extracts  from  the  Patriotic  Litany  of  Saint  Lawrence  O' Toole  —  The 
term  Tammany  first  applied  to  the  Columbian  order  —  Evolution  of  the 
title  —  A  striking  characteristic  —  Record  of  the  organization  —  Early 
history  —  Part  played  in  national  affairs  —  Intricate  relations  with  New 
York  politics  —  A  survivor  of  several  defeats  —  Tlie  Tammany  legend, 
a  very  amusing  and  instructive  tradition  — The  supreme  trait  of  Tam- 
many's character  —  Symbols  of  the  thirteen  tribes  —  Statistics  of 
Tammany  Hall  —  Tlie  leader  of  the  Tammany  forces  —  The  General 
Committee  —  Salaries —  Outline  of  the  plan  of  organization  —  The  work 
of  the  committee  —  Assembly  district  organizations  —  Qualifications 
necessary  for  a  district  leader  —  Strict  discipline dd5 

CHAPTER  XV. 

WOMAN    IN    GOVERXMENT. 

Equal  citizenship  of  sexes  first  recognized  during  the  French  Revolution  — 
Partial  citizenship  in  early  American  colonies^ — Wyoming  the  first  real 
political  democracy  of  large  area — England  moving  faster  than  America 
towards  full  female  suffrage  —  Proofs  of  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  intelli- 
gent women  —  Stain  on  die  history  of  the  State  of  Washington  —  How 
women  have  voted  and  are  likely  to  vote  —  Woman's  political  status  all 
over  the  world  —  The  next  step  from  a  political  must  be  an  industrial 
democracy — The  general  stream  of  human  happiness — The  world's 
debt  to  women  of  simple  lives — Sudden  possession  of  excessive  power — 
Depraved  women  not  so  much  the  cause  as  the  result  of  the  corruption  of 
the  middle  ages — Sex  equality  among  primitive  races — Respect  shown  to 
women  by  New  England  Indians  —  Feminine  leadership  in  modem  Africa 
—  Number  of  Beliangin's  female  warriors  —  Peculiarities  of  Polyandrous 
tribes  —  An  odd  incident  illustrative  of  the  working  of  an  Eastern  mind — 
Condition  of  woman  in  the  age  of  Homer  —  Degradation  of  woman  in  the 
palmy  days  of  Athens  —  Sparta  alone  the  cradle  of  great  women — The 
Hetairffi  —  Aspasia  and  the  government  of  Athens  —  Orientalized  Athens 
corrupts  her  conqueror,  the  Roman —  The  character  of  Cleopatra — Zeno- 
bia — Rome  overrun  by  Grermans  —  Effect  of  feudalism  and  the  Catholic 
church  on  women  —  The  age  of  chivalry  —  Joan  D' Arc  and  Agnes  Sorel 

—  Decency  in  eclipse  for  three  centuries —  Isabella  of  Castile  —  Mary  A. 
Livermore's  opinion  about  her — John  Knox  and  his  Trumpet  Blast — 
Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England'^  queens  —  Madame  de  Maintenon  — 
Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  deluge  —  The  crowned  women  of  Russia 

—  Striking  feminine  figures  of  the  present  century —  The  real  queens  of 
to-day,  where  found 721 

CHAPTER    XVL 
REMT-MILITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY, 

Reflections  arising  from  wandering  through  the  galleries  of  Versailles  — 
The  most  dramatic  of  recent  historical  events  —  Proclamation  of  Em- 
peror William  —  Legislative  functions  of  the  empire  —  The  executive 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor  —  The  Bundesrath  and  its  com- 
mittees—The Reichstag  —  Officers  of  State  —  Historical  growth  of 
the  German  empire  —  Earliest  recorded  Teutonic  invasion  —  Ger- 
mans in  the   Roman  armies  —  Characteristics  of  the  different  tribes 

—  Assemblies  of  the  freemen  —  Important  victory  of  the  German 
teftM  under  Herman — Migratory  instincts  of   the   Grermanio   tribes 


CONTENTS.  25 

again  showing  itself  —  History  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul  —  The  treaty 
of  Verdun  —  The  Uuns  conquered  by  King  Henry  —  Beginning  of 
town  life  among  the  Germans  —  Alliance  of  Church  and  State  sovereign- 
ties—  Origin  of  Germany's  claim  to  Italy  —  Revival  of  learning — Di- 
vision of  large  duchies  into  small  principalities  the  beginning  of 
individualism  —  Quarrel  of  Guelph  and  Giiibeline  —  Conflict  between 
Emperor  and  Pope  —  Etfect  on  Germany  —  Power  of  the  Emperors 
hiiattcied  —  Extinction  of  the  house  of  lloheustaufen  —  The  Interregnum 

—  TJie  robber  castles  of  tlie  Rhine  —  Growth  of  cathedral  towni^i  — 
Election  of  Rudolf,  founder  of  the  house  of  Ilabsburg  —  Charlej?  IV. 
issues  the  Golden  Bull  —  Invention  of  gunpowder  —  Revolution  in  the 
art  of  war  —  Invention  of  printing  —  Attempt  of  the  rulers  to  check 
the  intellectual  awakeuinif  —  The  edict  of  Perpetual  Peac«  —  The 
House  of  Habsburg  at  the  culmination  of  its  power — The  Diet  at  Womih 

—  Martin  Luther  placed  under  the  ban  of  the  empire  —  His  tran*ilat](>zi 
of  the  Bible  —  Spirit  of  the  times  —  Beginning  of  the  **  Thirty  Yean»' 
AVar"  —  Military  tactics  of  Gustavus  Adolphus —  Tlie  Peare  of  West- 
phalia—  The  question  of  the  Rhino  provinces  m.ide  a  permanent  ihsue — 
Change  in  the  char.icter  of  the  German  —  Louis  XIV.  of  Franre  Kiini*^ 
the  Peace  of  Utrecht  —  The  Great  Elector  tlie  first  to  keep  a  KLauoixic 
army  in  time  of  peace  —  Accession  of  Frederick  the  Great  —  'J'iit: 
"Seven  Years'  War" — Frederick  in  the  front  rank  of  great  c'.»ur- 
manders — Wisdom  and  energy  of  Frederick's  government  —  luu- 
portant  changes  in  the  internal  atfairs  of  Germany  —  Separation  <A  uit 
spiritual  and  secular  power  —  Wars  witli  Napoleon  —  Wai  of  LibeniiuiJ 
followed  by  a  season  of  peace  —  Constitutions  granted  by  the  kium*- 
to  their  subjects  —  Unification  of  Italy  under  Victor  Emauuel  —  Oin 
Von  Bismarck  made  Prime  Minister  by  King  William  of  PruKbia  — 
Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  small  principalities  —  War  l>etwe*»L  PruMu 
and  Austria  —  Formation  of  the  North  German  ConfederaUoii  —  i>vle«' 

of  the  French  —  Political  unification  of  (Termany 'Z^, 

CHAPTER   XVIL 
COMPLEX     KEPUBLICAXISM. 

First  movement  toward  Home  Rule  by  the  Colonists  —  Compler  htewur*- 
canism  still  an  experiment  —  Congress  of  the  United  Staiw  Mjji    tnzt^ 

ment  of  Great  Britain  the  models  of  government  for  uiij*ft  cuiiiit:*^ 

The  Congress  of  the  republics  of  Central  and  South  Amtrrjui i'-.-n..  • 

government  in  Germany,  Denmark,  and  other  countrieh  -  -  '1  iir«^ 
nate  branches  in  the  government  of  the  United  Stater  —  'In-  ia* 
dinate  branch:  the  legislative  —  General  powers  of  C^^mis^w^— 
I.,  Section  2  of   the  Constitution  —  Number  of  popuiviiuj    Paius^r    . 

constitute  a  congressional  district  —  Election  of    nifiuuri "^L**- 

power  which  the  House  of  Representatives  excluhiv«>i- 
other  power  exclusively  exercised  by  the  Houm.'  —  '1  rnur-  «•: 

—  Power  of  the  Speaker  of  the  Hijuse  —  lmjiortaii4-K«  «i    u^ 
Committees  of   the    House  —  Duties   of  the   diflvreis- 
member  prohibited  from  holding  any  other  gtiv- 
hibited  also  from  voting  on  measures  in  wiiifji  tli«i' 
affected  — The  Senate  of  the  Uniled  Stat^iK  — CiHiB^,  ♦* 
Exclusive  power  of  **  consent"    possessed   liv  li«* 
ception  to  the  general  rule  of  the  Senate  duhm:  tm-^, 
President  Cleveland  —  An  executive  session  —  "Tj 
Movement  agitated  for  the  election  of  seuaim  •9.«ht 
people  —  Reasons  in  favor  —  The  secimd 
ment:  the  executive  —  The  Electoral  Col   _ 

—  Chief   duty  of  the   President  —  Paw«r  tD 
Reason  for  so  much  legislative  poww  k 
The  Cabinet  —  Duties  of  the 


26  THE  8TOBY  OF    GOYERNXENT. 

—  Daties  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasurr  luid  his  assistauits— The 
Commiuioner  of  Castoms'— The  Treasurer  of  the  United  States — The 
Begister  of  the  Treasurr — Comptroller  of  the  Currency  —  Director 
of  the  Mint — Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  —  Solicitor  of  the 
Treasury — Superintendent  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  — 
Other  officials  of  the  Treasury  Department — Publications  of  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics  —  Bureau  of  Printing  and  Engraving — Secretary 
of  War—  Secretary  of  the  Xavy — Secretary  of  the  Interior — Im- 
portant officials  of  this  department — Office  of  Postmaster-General  — 
Attorney-General  and  assistants  —  Secretary  of  Aj^ricnlture — Commis- 
sioner of  labor — Interstate  Commerce  law  —  The  form  of  State  gov- 
ernment similar  to  that  of  the  national  government  —  Duty  of  a  State 
legislature — State  elections  —  The  annual  political  campaign  a  great 
educator  of  the  masses — Necessity  for  the  people  to  keep  the  closest 
supervision  over  the  doings  of  their  representatives —  The  Constitution 
the  organic  law  of  each  commonwealth — Government  in  the  sparsely 
settled  districts  of  the  country  —  The  power  of  Congress  over  the  Terri- 
tories —  Good  reasons  for  popular  discontent,  and  remedies  suggested  .    d23 


I. 

Origin  of  Government  with  Man 35 

Making  Fire  by  Friction 37 

A  Savage  of  the  Seoond  Period 39 

Two  Mothers  in  the  Days  Before  the  Flood 41 

The  Bow  and  Arrow  or  Second  Stage  of  Sav^ery 43 

The  First  Potter 45 

The  Ffrst  Weaver 47 

Early  Agriculture  in  Europe 49 

Meeting  of  Massaaoit  and  the  Pilgrims 51 

One  of  King  Philip's  Hunting  Lodges 53 

Philip,  the  Last  New  England  King 55 

A  Haman  Heart  Offered  up  to  the  Sun-God    (4  p.  fnlder)  ...  56a 

Wigwam  Building  Among  the  Iroquois 57 

A  Sachem  Rendering  Judgment 59 


From  a  Picture  by  Sir  Edwin  Landseer 63 

The  Police  of  the  Alps 65 

A  Vill^e  of  Beavers 67 

Natives  of  South  Africa  Fighting  Termites 69 

Hiving  a  Bee-Cloud 71 

A  King  of  Beasts  Who  Has  No  Regular  Subjects 73 

A  City  of  Sea  Birds 77 

Kangaroos  Led  by  an  Axis  Deer 79 


28  THE  STOEY  OP  GOVEENMBNT. 

A  Mutiny  in  the  Cage  (4  p  folder) 80a 

A  Prairie  Dog  Town 81 

A  Royal  Bengal  Tiger 83 

The  Wild  Horse 85 

A  Convention  of  Seals 87 

III. 

A  Gypsy  Queen 90 

Roumanian  Gypsies  Begging 91 

A  Gypsy  Camp 95 

In  Prison 97 

A  Group  of  Turkish  Gypsies 99 

A  French  Gypsy  Selling  Baskets 103 

Pleading  for  Freedom 107 

Zigani  Pleading  before  Philip  III.  of  Spain Ill 

A  Camorristic  Tramp 114 

Mob  of  Gentlemen  Storming  the  Parish  Prison  at  New  Orleans  .  117 

A  Gypsy  Circus  (4  p.  folder) 123 

Thieves' Den 181 

A  Young  London  Thief 189 

IV. 

Punishing  a  Wife  Beater 143 

Dragging  a  King's  Wives  to  His  Funeral 149 

Making  a  Fetish  of  a  Foeman's  Head 151 

King  M'Teza,  a  Friend  of  Stanley 158 

Taking  a  Prisoner  for  Slavery 158 

Two  Fanti  Ladies 159 

A  Criminal  Decapitated 161 

Ashanti  Girls  Producing  Fetish 165 

A  Fetish  Temple 173  . 

An  Expert  at  the  "  Customs  "  Asking  Applause 175 

A  Town  in  Dahomey 181 

A  Boy's  Head,  part  African  —  part  Arab  of  the  Lower  Nile   .     .  188 

Stanley 185 

The  Hill  of  the  Holy  Monkeys 189 

BanyaiHuts 198 

V. 

Absolutism 197 

The  Shah 199 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTBATIONS.  29 

Barracks  of  the  Gholams 203 

A  Market  Scene  in  Meshed 205 

An  Elocutionist  in  the  Harem 207 

A  Persian  Village  Belle 210 

Musicians  in  Ispahan  Saluting  the  Sunrise 213 

A  Marriage  Procession 215 

A  Persian  Caravansary  or  Hotel 219 

A  Parsee  Burial  in  Northern  India 221 

A  Guebre  Making  Himself  Known  by  a  Secret  Sign      ....  223 

VI. 

Benares  from  the  Ganges 227 

The  Banyan  or  Sacred  Tree 231 

High  Caste  Brahmins 235 

A  Rich  Fakir 237 

A  Low  Class  Fakir 239 

A  Village  Sutar 241 

Punishment  of  a  Thief  in  Village  India 243 

The  Temple  of  Soma 247 

The  Car  of  Juggernaut 249 

Rushing  to  Juggernaut 251 

Thuggery 253 

Thugs  Burying  a  Victim  Alive 255 

A  Siesta  in  the  Jungle 257 

A  Jeweller  in  the  Shadow  of  the  Temple 259 

The  Water  Carrier 261 

Rapid  Transit  in  Northern  India 263 

The  Egg  Dancer  at  a  Marriage  Celebration 265 

A  Travelling  Barber 267 

Husbandry  in  Northern  India 269 

Sowing  the  Seed 271 

Two  Peasant  Women 273 

A  Snake  Charmer 275 

Mount^n  Travel 277 

VII. 

A  Scholastic  Oligarchy 281 

A  GUmpse  of  the  Great  Wall 282 

Opium  Smokers 283 

A  Street  of  Hongs  in  Canton 285 

Canton  on  the  River  Side 287 


22  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

ment,  and  Commons  resulting  In  the  rise  of  a  new  party  called  the  Whig 
—  The  rise  of  organized  parties  in  Parliament  the  most  important  event 
since  the  restoration  — Political  acts  of  Charles  II.  during  the  last  three 
years  of  his  life —  The  story  of  the  mistakes  of  James  II.  — Flight  of 
King  James,  and  transference  of  the  crown  to  William  of  Orange  — 
Declarations  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  —  The  Triennial  Act  of  William  UI.'s 
pai'liament  —  James  I.  a  learned  but  weak  king  —  Parliament  occupied 
only  with  the  reassertion  of  its  former  rights  —  Illegal  monopoly  insti- 
tuted by  Charles  I.  the  germ  of  present  trusts  and  syndicates  —  First 
effects  of  parliamentary  freedom  —  Change  in  the  character  of  the 
Ministry  —  The  government  acquiring  a  corporate  character  —  **  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  **  —  The  Whig  nobles  the  most  powerful  class 
in  the  kingdom  —  The  reign  of  the  nobility  a  beneficent  despotism  — 
Haphazard  method  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  days  of  George 
III.  —  The  society  of  tlie  "  Friends  of  the  People  '*  —  Apparently  hope- 
less entanglement  of  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  functions  — 
Determination  of  Victoria  to  know  the  doings  of  her  ministers  —  System 
of  the  British  Cabinet  —  Points  of  difference  between  the  American  and 
English  systems  of  government  —  Qualities  needful  to  a  minister  in 
England  —  Summary  of  the  development  of  English  government .    .    .  475 

CHAPTER  XII. 

A   CM)VEBNMENT    OF   MYSTERY   AND   FRATERNITY. 

An  odd  incident  connected  with  one  of  the  secret  signs  of  Masonry  — 
Legendary  Masonry  of  profound  ethical  interest — The  legend  of  the 
Temple  a  fascinating  myth  —  Curious  claim  set  up  by  Freemasonry  — 
The  aim  of  all  secret  societies  of  the  past — Freemasonry  the  com- 
pendium of  all  primitive  accumulated  human  knowledge  —  The  history 
of  the  order  divided  into  two  periods  —  Records  of  a  lodge  of  1G48  — 
The  name  ** masonic'*  adopted  by  the  society  in  the  last  century  — 
Freemasonry  a  tree  whose  roots  are  spread  through  many  soils  —  The 
masonic  alphabet — Description  of  a  Lodge  —  A  relic  of  astrology — 
Initiation  of  a  novice  into  the  first  or  Apprentice  degree  —  The  second 
degree  of  symbolic  Freemasony,  the  Fellow-Craft —Supposed  significance 
of  the  letter  G  seen  in  the  lodge  —  The  degree  of  Master  Mason  — 
Another  version  of  the  legend  of  Osiris — The  degree  of  the  Holy  Royal 
Arch  —  The  Omnific  Word  —  The  emblem  of  emblems  —  Masonry  at  its 
height  in  France  during  the  revolutionary  period  —  Napoleon  and 
Masonry — Masonic  titles  bestowed  upon  Cambacenis  —  The  Grand 
Orient  Lodge  —  Its  half  yearly  words  of  command  were  Napoleonic  f  or- 
mulse  —  The  fall  of  Napoleon  attributed  to  Masonry  —  History  of 
Joseph  Balsamo,  alias  Count  Cagliostix)  —  The  Egyptian  rite  invented 
by  Cagliostro  —  Adoptive  Masonry  —  First  lodge  of  adoption — Anec- 
dote of  the  Jew  and  the  Parsee  —  Speculative  or  Philosophical  Masonry 
not  derived  from  Operative — Historic  uncertainty  of  Masonry  —  First 
appearance  of  the  name  **  Freemason '*  —  **  Masons  made  here  for  12 
shillings^*  — A  complete  change  and  rebirth  in  the  year  1717  —  The  true 
character  of  Freemasonry  in  the  history  of  the  operative  sodalities  and 
successive  ages  of  architects — The  *•  New  Constitution*'  the  Freemasonry 
of  the  present  day  —  The  touch  of  Masonry  penetrating  all  the  scenes 
of  the  Revolution  —  Repeated  attempts  to  make  Freemasonry  a  union  of 
States  and  a  union  of  Grand  Lodges  —  A  Grand  Lodge  territory  sacred 
from  invasion — Washington  as  a  Mason  —  Temporary  setback  to  Ma- 
sonry —  The  golden  era  of  Freemasonry  —  The  comer-stone  of  Bunker 
HiU  monument  laid  by  the  Grand  Lodge  —  Anti-masonic  excitement  — 
The  famous  "Declaration**  —  The  ** Masonic  Education  and  Charity 
Trust"  —  Boston  Masonic  Temple  —  The  Masonic  Temple,  Philadelphia, 
the  finest  and  largest  in  the  world  —  Plan  of  the  Chicago  building  — 
Masonry  developed  from  a  simple  secret  society  into  a  great  interna- 
tional bond,  a  government  within  government  ^>  The  purest  of  democra- 


CONTENTS.  28 

cies  in  theory  and  practice  —  One  of  the  most  binding  oaths  and  obliga- 
tions—  Review  of  history  in  the  United  States — A  Grand  Lodge  of 
Masons  in  every  State  of  the  Union —  Templar  Masonry  a  semi-military 
organization — Degrees  and  rites  of  the  order  —  The  true  essence  of 
Freemasonry 567 

CHAPTER    XIIL 

EXPERIMENTAL  BEPUBLICANISM. 

The  Republic  of  France  the  offspring  of  revolution  —  Condition  of  the 
people  prior  to  the  Revolution  of  1793  —  The  peasantry  merely  beasts  of 
burden  —  Liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  non-existent  —  Three  gen- 
eral classes  —  Inequality  even  in  the  family  —  The  taxes  all  paid  by  the 
peasantry  and  artisans  —  Misery  of  the  common  people  —  Immorality 
the  fashion  —  View  of  marriage  —  Tremendous  political  influence  of 
Voltaire,  Montesquieu  and  Rousseau,  or  dramatist,  lawyer  and  novelist 

—  Louis  XVI.  attempts  reform  —  Turgors  plans  for  financial  retrench- 
ment—  Turgotand  Malesherbes  forced  to  resign  —  The  famous  "Account 
Rendered" — Neckar  deposed  —  Calonne  exiled  —  Neckar  recalled  to  office 
— Convocation  of  the  States-General  —  Platform  of  principles  adopted 
by  the  Third  Estate  —  First  difficulty  arising  in  the  assemblage  leads  to 
a  five  weeks'  contest  —  **  National  Constituent  Assembly  '*  —  First  for- 
mal session  of  the  Assembly  —  The  inviolability  of  its  membere  solemnly 
proclaimed  —  Committees  for  business  organized  —  Dismissal  and  exile 
of  Neckar  —  Storming  of  the  Bastile — Curious  anecdotes  prophetic  of  the 
flood  —  Cagliostro,  the  Wizard  —  The  Revolution  baptized  in  blood  — 
Feudalism  abolished,  and  the  first  plank  in  the  platform  of  the  Third 
Estate,  the  equality  of  man,  a  reality  —  Many  beneficent  laws  passed  by 
the  National  Assembly  —  Dissolution  of  the  Assembly  after  two  years' 
term  of  office  —  New  and  formidable  difficulties  before  the  Legislative 
Assembly  —  Twenty-three  years'  war —  Lafayette  proscribed  —  Sacking 
of  the  Tuillerles  —  The  Assembly  powerless — France  invaded  by  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick  —  Louis  XVI.  guillotined  —  A  huge  political  blunder 

—  The  Reign  of  Terror  legalized — Strange  anecdote  of  the  institution 
by  Carrier  of  Republican  marriage  —  Conflict  with  the  Kings  —  The 
Republic  definitively  established  —  The  Revolution  succeeded  by  the 
military  dictatorship  of  Napoleon  —  Charles  X.  a  true  type  of  the 
Bourbon  prince — Louis  Philippe  chosen  king  by  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  —  Universal  suffrage  decreed  by  the  National  Assembly  — 
Napoleon  III.  deposed  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the  Republic 
proclaimed —  The  Constitution  of  France  —  The  present  Republic  the 
offspring  of  1793 031 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

GOVEENMENT    AMONG    SECRET    ORDERS. 

Every  secret  society  with  a  political  aim  an  act  of  collective  conscience  — 
A  legitimate  hatred  of  evil  the  salvation  of  nations  —  Order  of  the 
Chauffeurs,  or  Burners  —  Rites  of  initiation  —  Marriage  customs  of  the 
order  —  Their  detection  by  the  cunning  of  one  of  their  victims  and  their 
extinction  —  The  Society  of  the  Carbonari  —  (Ceremonies  of  the  Lodge  — 
A  mixture  of  Masonry  and  Catholic  mysticism  —  Initiation  into  the 
different  degrees  —  Real  object  of  the  association  —  The  Carbonari 
played  no  small  part  in  general  European  politics  —  Ambition  of  the 
Carbonari  to  obtain  a  constitutional  government  for  their  country  — 
Influence  of  the  order  —  Carbonarism  introduced  into  France  —  Why 
of  special  historic  interest  —  Combination  with  young  Italy,  a  society 
with  identical  aims  —  Society  of  **  American  Hunters  *'  —  Lord  Byron 
said  to  have  been  its  head  —  The  society  an  ethical  as  well  as  practical 
one  —  Object  of  the  revolutionary  society  of  Nihilists  — Articles  of  their 


24  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

belief  —  **  From  the  United  to  the  Isolated  ''  —  Sentences  on  early 
prisoners  mild  in  comparison  to  those  of  recent  date  —  The  Fenians  one 
of  the  most  active  of  political  secret  societies  —  Indications  that  tlie 
association  is  not  extinct  —  Founding  of  Fenianism  in  America  —  Cou- 
ventions  at  Chicago  and  Cincinnati  —  Traitors  within  the  organization  — 
Report  of  the  Investigating  Committee  —  Origin  of  the  word  Fenian  — 
Extracts  from  the  Patriotic  Litany  of  Saint  Lawrence  O' Toole  —  The 
term  Tammany  first  applied  to  the  Columbian  order  —  Evolution  of  the 
title  —  A  striking  characteristic  —  Record  of  the  organization  —  Early 
history  —  Part  played  in  national  affairs  —  Intricate  relations  with  New 
York  politics  —  A  survivor  of  several  defeats  —  The  Tammany  legend, 
a  very  amusing  and  instructive  tradition  — The  supreme  trait  of  Tam- 
many's character  —  Symbols  of  the  thirteen  tribes  —  Statistics  of 
Tammany  Hall  —  Tlie  leader  of  the  Tammany  forces  —  The  General 
Committee — Salaries —  Outline  of  the  plan  of  organization  —  The  work 
of  the  committee  —  Assembly  district  organizations  —  Qualifications 
necessary  for  a  district  leader  —  Strict  discipline 665 

CHAPTER  XV. 

WOMAN    IN    GOVERNMENT. 

Equal  citizenship  of  sexes  first  recognized  during  the  French  Revolution  — 
Partial  citizenship  in  early  American  colonies  —  Wyoming  the  first  real 
political  democracy  of  large  area — England  moving  faster  than  America 
towards  full  female  suffrage — Proofs  of  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  intelli- 
gent women  —  Stain  on  Uie  history  of  the  State  of  Washington  —  How 
women  have  voted  and  are  likely  to  vote  —  Woman's  political  status  all 
over  the  world  —  The  next  step  from  a  political  must  be  an  industrial 
democracy  —  The  general  stream  of  human  happiness — The  world's 
debt  to  women  of  simple  lives  — Sudden  possession  of  excessive  power  — 
Depraved  women  not  so  much  the  cause  as  the  result  of  the  corruption  of 
the  middle  ages — Sex  equality  among  primitive  races — Respect  shown  to 
women  by  New  England  Indians —  Feminine  leadership  in  modem  Africa 

—  Number  of  Behangin's  female  warriors  —  Peculiarities  of  Polyandrous 
tribes  —  An  odd  incidentillustrative  of  the  working  of  an  Eastern  mind  — 
Condition  of  woman  in  the  age  of  Homer — Degradation  of  woman  in  the 
palmy  days  of  Athens  —  Sparta  alone  the  cradle  of  great  women  —  The 
HetairsB  —  Aspasia  and  the  government  of  Athens  —  Orientalized  Athens 
corrupts  her  conqueror,  the  Roman  —  The  character  of  Cleopatra — Zeno- 
bia — Rome  overrun  by  Germans  —  Effect  of  feudalism  and  the  Catholic 
church  on  women  —  The  age  of  chivalry  —  Joan  D' Arc  and  Agnes  Sorel 

—  Decency  in  eclipse  for  three  centuries —  Isabella  of  Castile —  Mary  A. 
Livermore's  opinion  about  her — John  Knox  and  his  Trumpet  Blast — 
Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England'^  queens  —  Madame  de  Maintenon  — 
Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  deluge  —  The  crowned  women  of  Russia 

—  Striking  feminine  figures  of  the  present  century —  The  real  queens  of 
to-day,  where  found 721 

CHAPTER    XVL 
SEMI-MILITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY. 

Reflections  arising  from  wandering  through  the  galleries  of  Versailles  — 
The  most  dramatic  of  recent  historical  events  —  Proclamation  of  Em- 
peror William  —  Legislative  functions  of  the  empire  —  The  executive 
power  in  the  hands  of  the  Emperor — The  Bundesrath  and  its  com- 
mittees —  The  Reichstag  —  Officers  of  State  —  Historical  growth  of 
the  German  empire  —  Earliest  recorded  Teutonic  invasion  —  Ger- 
mans in  the    Roman  armies  —  Characteristics  of  the  different  tribes 

—  Assemblies  of  the  freemen  —  Important  victory  of  the  German 
tribes  under  Herman  —  Migratory  instincts  of   the    Germanic    tribes 


CONTENTS.  26 

again  showing  itself  —  History  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul  —  The  treaty 
of  Verdun  —  The  Huns  conquered  by  King  Henry  —  Beginning  of 
town  life  among  the  Grermans  —  Alliance  of  Church  and  State  sovereign- 
ties—  Origin  of  Germany's  claim  to  Italy  —  Revival  of  learning  —  Di- 
vision of  large  duchies  into  small  principalities  the  beginning  of 
individualism  —  Quarrel  of  Guelph  and  Giiibeline  —  Conflict  between 
Emperor  and  Pope  —  Effect  on  Germany  —  Power  of  the  Emperors 
shattered —  Extinction  of  the  house  of  Uohenstaufen  —  The  Interregnum 

—  The  robber  castles  of  the  Rhine  —  Growth  of  cathedral  towns  — 
Election  of  Rudolf,  founder  of  the  house  of  Habsburg  —  Charles  IV. 
issues  the  Golden  Bull  —  Invention  of  gunpowder  —  Revolution  in  the 
art  of  war  —  Invention  of  printing  —  Attempt  of  the  rulers  to  check 
the  intellectual  awakeuin*^  —  The  edict  of  Perpetual  Peace — The 
House  of  Habsburg  at  the  culmination  of  its  power —  The  Diet  at  Worms 

—  Martin  Luther  placed  under  the  ban  of  tlie  empire  —  His  translation 
of  the  Bible  —  Spirit  of  the  times  —  Beginning  of  tlie  **  Thirty  Years' 
War"  —  Military  tactics  of  Gustavus  Adolphus —  The  Peace  of  West- 
phalia —  Tlie  question  of  the  Rhine  provinces  made  a  permanent  issue — 
Change  in  the  character  of  the  German  —  Louis  XIV.  of  France  signs 
the  Peace  of  Utrecht  —  The  Great  Elector  the  first  to  keep  a  standing 
army  in  time  of  peace  —  Accession  of  Frederick  the  Great  —  The 
*' Seven  Years'  War" — Frederick  in  the  front  rank  of  gi-eat  com- 
mandei-s  —  Wisdom  and  energy  of  Frederick's  government — Im- 
portant changes  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Germany  —  Separation  of  the 
spiritual  and  secular  power  —  Wars  with  Napoleon  —  War  of  Liberation 
followed  by  a  season  of  peace  —  Constitutions  granted  by  the  kings 
to  their  subjects  —  Unification  of  Italy  under  Victor  Emanuel  —  Otto 
Von  Bismarck  made  Prime  Minister  by  King  William  of  Prussia  — 
Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  small  principalities  —  War  between  Prussia 
and  Austria  —  Formation  of  the  North  German  Confederation  —  Defeat 

of  the  French  —  Political  unification  of  Germany 753 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
COMPLEX     REPUBLICANISM. 

First  movement  toward  Home  Rule  by  the  Colonists  —  Complex  Republi- 
canism still  an  experiment  —  Congress  of  the  United  States  and  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain  the  models  of  government  for  other  countries  — 
The  Congress  of  the  republics  of  Central  and  South  America  —  Form  of 
government  In  Germany,  Denmark,  and  other  countries  —  Three  coordi- 
nate branches  In  the  government  of  the  United  States  —  The  first  coor- 
dinate branch:  the  legislative  —  General  powers  of  Congress — Article 
I.,  Section  2  of  the  Constitution  —  Number  of  population  required  to 
constitute  a  congressional  district — Election  of  members  —  The  great 
power  which  the  House  of  Representatives  exclusively  possesses  —  An- 
other power  exclusively  exercised  by  the  House —  Trials  of  impeachment 

—  Power  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  —  Importance  of  the  position  — 
Committees  of  the  House  —  Duties  of  the  different  committees  —  A 
member  prohibited  from  holding  any  other  governmental  office  —  Pro- 
hibited also  from  voting  on  measures  in  which  their  private  interests  are 
affected  —  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  —  Officers  of  the  Senate  — 
Exclusive  power  of  '*  consent"  possessed  by  the  Senate  —  Notable  ex- 
ception to  the  general  rule  of  the  Senate  durini;  the  administration  of 
President  Cleveland  —  An  executive  session  —  "  The  bllllonnaire  club  "  — 
Movement  agitated  for  the  election  of  senators  by  a  direct  vote  of  the 
people — Reasons  in  favor — The  second  coordinate  branch  of  govern- 
ment: the  executive  —  The  Electoral  College  —  Election  of  the  President 

—  Chief  duty  of  the  President  —  Power  to  pardon — Right  of  veto — 
Reason  for  so  much  legislative  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Executive  — 
The  Cabinet  —  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  State  —  Assistant  Secretaries 


26  THE  STORY  OP    GOVERNMENT. 

—  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  his  assistants— The 
Commissioner  of  Customs  —  The  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  —  The 
Ba^ster  of  the  Treasury  —  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  —  Director 
of  the  Mint — Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  —  Solicitor  of  the 
Treasury — Superintendent  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sxu-vey  — 
Other  officials  of  the  Treasury  Department — Publications  of  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics  —  Bureau  of  Printing  and  Enji^raving  —  Secretary 
of  War—  Secretary  of  the  Navy — Secretary  of  the  Interior  —  Im- 
portant officials  of  this  department  —  Office  of  Postmaster-Creneral  — 
Attomey-Greneral  and  assistants  —  Secretary  of  Agriculture  —  Commis- 
sioner of  labor  —  Interstate  Commerce  law  —  The  form  of  State  gov- 
ernment similar  to  that  of  the  national  government  —  Duty  of  a  State 
legislature — State  elections  —  The  annual  political  campaign  a  great 
educator  of  the  masses — Necessity  for  the  people  to  keep  the  closest 
supervision  over  the  doings  of  their  representatives  —  The  Constitution 
the  organic  law  of  each  commonwealth — Grovemment  in  the  sparsely 
settled  districts  of  the  country  —  The  power  of  Congress  over  the  Terri- 
tories—  Good  reasons  for  popular  discontent,  and  i^emedies  suggested  .    823 


I. 

Origin  of  Government  with  Man 35 

Making  Fire  by  Friction 37 

A  Savage  of  the  Second  Period 39 

Two  Mothers  in  tlie  Days  Before  the  Flood 41 

The  Bow  and  Arrow  or  Second  Stage  of  Sav^ery 43 

The  First  Potter 45 

The  First  Weaver 47 

Early  Agriculture  in  Europe 49 

Meeting  of  Massasoit  and  the  Pilgrims 51 

One  of  King  Philip's  Hunting  Lodges 58 

Philip,  the  Last  New  England  King 55 

A  Human  Heart  Offered  up  to  the  Sun-God   (4  p.  folder)  ...  56a 

Wigwam  Building  Among  the  Iroquois 57 

A  Sachem  Rendering  Judgment 59 

IL 

From  a  Keture  by  Sir  Edwin  Landseer 63 

The  Police  of  the  Alps 65 

A  Village  of  Beavers 67 

Natives  of  South  Africa  Fighting  Termites 69 

Hiving  a  Bee-Cloud 71 

A  King  of  Beaata  Who  Has  No  Regular  Subjects 73 

A  City  of  Sea  Birds 77 

Kangaroos  Led  by  an  Axis  Deer 79 


28  THE  STOEY  OP  GOVEBNMBNT. 

A  Mutiny  in  the  Cage  (4  p  folder) 80a 

A  Prairie  Dog  Town 81 

A  Royal  Bengal  Tiger 83 

The  Wild  Horse 85 

A  Convention  of  Seals 87 

III. 

A  Gypsy  Queen 90 

Roumanian  Gypsies  Begging 91 

A  Gypsy  Camp 95 

In  Prison 97 

A  Group  of  Turkish  Gypsies 99 

A  French  Gypsy  Selling  Baskets 103 

Pleading  for  Freedom 107 

Zigani  Pleading  before  Philip  III.  of  Spain Ill 

A  Camorristic  Tramp 114 

Mob  of  Gentlemen  Storming  the  Parish  Prison  at  New  Orleans  .  117 

A  Gypsy  Circus  (4  p.  folder) 123 

Thieves' Den 181 

A  Young  London  Thief 189 

IV. 

Punishing  a  Wife  Beater 143 

Dragging  a  Bang's  Wives  to  His  Funeral 149 

Making  a  Fetish  of  a  Foeman's  Head 151 

King  M'Teza,  a  Friend  of  Stanley 153 

Taking  a  Prisoner  for  Slavery 158 

Two  Fanti  Ladies 159 

A  Criminal  Decapitated 161 

Ashanti  Girls  Producing  Fetish 165 

A  Fetish  Temple 173  . 

An  Expert  at  the  "  Customs  "  Asking  Applause 175 

A  Town  in  Dahomey 181 

A  Boy's  Head,  part  African  — part  Arab  of  the  Lower  Xile   .     .  188 

Stanley 185 

The  Hill  of  the  Holy  Monkeys 189 

BanyaiHuts 198 

V. 

Absolutism 197 

The  Shah 199 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  29 

Barracks  of  the  Gholams 203 

A  Market  Scene  in  Meshed 205 

An  Elocutionist  in  the  Harem 207 

A  Persian  Village  Belle 210 

Musicians  in  Ispahan  Saluting  the  Sunrise 213 

A  Marriage  Procession 215 

A  Persian  Caravansary  or  Hotel 219 

A  Parsee  Burial  in  Northern  India 221 

A  Guebre  Making  Himself  Known  by  a  Secret  Sign      ....  223 

VI. 

Benares  from  the  Ganges 227 

The  Banyan  or  Sacred  Tree 231 

High  Caste  Brahmins 235 

A  Rich  Fakir 237 

A  Low  Class  Fakir 239 

A  Village  Sutar 241 

Punishment  of  a  Thief  in  Village  India 243 

The  Temple  of  Soma 247 

The  Car  of  Ju2C£fernaut 249 

Rushing  to  Juggernaut 251 

Thuggery 253 

Thugs  Burying  a  Victim  Alive 255 

A  Siesta  in  the  Jungle 257 

A  Jeweller  in  the  Shadow  of  the  Temple 259 

The  Water  Carrier 261 

Rapid  Transit  in  Northern  India 263 

The  Egg  Dancer  at  a  Marriage  Celebration 265 

A  Travelling  Barber 267 

Husbandry  in  Northern  India 269 

Sowing  the  Seed 271 

Two  Peasant  Women 273 

A  Snake  Charmer 275 

Mountain  Travel 277 

VII. 

A  Scholastic  Oligarchy 281 

A  Glimpse  of  the  Great  Wall 282 

Opium  Smokers 283 

A  Street  of  Hongs  in  Canton 285 

Canton  on  the  River  Side 287 


80  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVBBNMBNT. 

Ancient  Chinese  Soldier 289 

The  Fruit  Girl  Who  Became  an  Empress 293 

An  Officer 294 

A  Culprit  in  the  Cangue  Fed  by  His  Wife 295 

Executing  a  Parricide 297 

Hearing  a  Civil  Case 299 

Crushing  a  Rebel 801 

A  Public  Whipping 302 

Escorting  a  Pirate  to  Execution       303 

The  Chinese  Judgment  Day 305 

A  Great  Scholar 307 

A  Schoolmaster  of  Pekin 309 

On  a  Fashionable  Footing 313 

A  Sail  Wagon 815 

A  Rat  Peddler 319 

A  Buddhist  Temple 321 

vm. 

A  Castle  in  Spain 327 

A  Chimuan  Palace  About  the  Time  of  Pizarro 329 

Pizarro  Drawing  the  Line 331 

A  Maguey  Suspension  Bridge 333 

Front  View  of  a  Maguey  Bridge 335 

Modem  Cuzco       337 

Early  Peruvians  Worshipping  the  Sun 339 

Lighting  the  Sacred  Fire 340 

An  Early  Inca  and  His  Queen 341 

An  Inca  Travelling 343 

A  Grovemmental  Hotel 344 

A  Temple  of  the  Sun 345 

Peruvian  Boys  Guarding  a  Grain  Field 347 

Modern  Llamas  as  Beasts  of  Burden 349 

A  Chimuan  Princess 351 

Peruvian  Viceroy  Receiving  Reports  by  Quipus 353 

The  Quipu 355 

IX. 

Theocracy  or  Priestly  Government 357 

Priestess  or  Pythoness  of  Delphi  (4  p.  folder) 859 

Moses  and  the  Tables  of  the  Law 367 

King  Solomon  Deciding  a  Case 870 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  81 

The  Crucifixion 876 

The  Holy  Family 377 

Paul  Pleading  His  Case  at  Rome 379 

Lions  Fed  with  Christians 381 

The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen 383 

Constantine  after  His  Conversion 386 

The  Scourge  of  God 387 

St.  Austin  Converting  the  English  to  Christianity 391 

A  Marriage  among  Ancient  Jews  (4  p.  folder) 395 

Charlemagne  Crowned  by  the  Pope 401 

Priests  in  Prayer  at  the  Deathbed  of  Columbus 403 

An  Officer  of  the  Papal  Household 406 

The  Queen  of  Philip  Augustus  Appealing  to  Rome 410 

The  Trial  of  a  Dead  Pope 413 

Burial  of  a  Monk 417 

Elevation  of  Pope  Pius  VII 419 

A  Jesuit  Missionary 421 

Pope  Leo  XIII 425 

St.  Peter's,  Rome 429 

Oldest  Church  in  United  States 431 

James  Cardinal  Gibbons 433 

X. 

Simple  Republicanism 435 

A  Switzer  of  Ancient  Days 437 

A  Swiss  Village 439 

Napoleonic  Cavalry  Crossing  the  Alps 443 

Crystal  Seekers  on  Mont  Blanc 445 

Election  of  a  President  (4  p.  folder) 449 

The  President  Delivering  His  Inaugural  Address 455 

The  Government  Buildings  at  Berne 457 

The  Great  St.  Bernard 463 

Tell  Escaping  in  the  Storm 465 

A  Giri  of  Berne 469 

The  Peasant's  Friend 471 

The  Swiss  Senate  Chamber 473 

XL 

Constitutional  Monarchy 475 

Harold  the  Saxon  Taking  the  Oath  of  Office 477 


80  THE   STORY   OF  GOVERHMENT. 

Ancient  Chinese  Soldier 289 

The  Fruit  Girl  Who  Became  an  Empress 298 

An  Officer 294 

A  Culprit  in  the  Cangue  Fed  by  His  Wife 295 

Executing  a  Parricide 297 

Hearing  a  Civil  Case 299 

Crushing  a  Rebel SOI 

A  Public  Whipping 802 

Escorting  a  Pirate  to  Execution       308 

The  Chinese  Judgment  Day 806 

A  Great  Scholar 307 

A  Schoolmaster  of  Pekin 309 

On  a  Fashionable  Footing 818 

A  Sail  Wi^on 315 

A  Rat  Peddler 319 

A  Buddhist  Temple 321 

vni. 

A  Castle  in  Spain 327 

A  Chimuan  Palace  About  the  IHme  of  I^zarro 329 

Pizarro  Drawing  the  Line 331 

A  M^uey  Suspension  Bridge 333 

Front  View  of  a  Ms^uey  Bridge 335 

Modem  Cuzco 337 

Early  Peruvians  Worshipping  the  Sun 339 

Lighting  the  Sacred  Fire 340 

An  Early  Inca  and  His  Queen 341 

An  Inca  Travelling 848 

A  Governmental  Hotel 844 

A  Temple  of  the  Sun 846 

Peruvian  Boys  Guarding  a  Grain  Field 847 

Modern  Llamas  as  Beasts  of  Burden 349 

A  Chimnan  Princess 851 

Pemviao  Viceroy  Receiving  Reports  by  Quipus 858 

The  Qnipu 865 

IX. 

ci-aoy  or  Prio«ly  Government 867 

»  or  PytbmiMB  of  Delphi  (4  p.  folder) 859 

"■"*""       "     I  Uw 867 

870 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  81 

The  Crucifixion 875 

The  Holy  Family 377 

Paal  Pleading  His  Case  at  Rome 379 

Lions  Fed  with  Christians 381 

The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen 383 

Constantine  after  His  Conversion 385 

The  Scourge  of  God 387 

St.  Austin  Converting  the  English  to  Christianity 391 

A  Marriage  among  Ancient  Jews  (4  p.  folder) 395 

Charlemagne  Crowned  by  the  Pope 401 

Priests  in  Prayer  at  the  Deathbed  of  Columbus 403 

An  Officer  of  the  Papal  Household 406 

The  Queen  of  Philip  Augustus  Appealing  to  Rome 410 

The  Trial  of  a  Dead  Pope 413 

Burial  of  a  Monk 417 

Elevation  of  Pope  Pius  VII 419 

A  Jesuit  Missionary 421 

Pope  Leo  XIII 425 

St.  Peter's,  Rome 429 

Oldest  Church  in  United  States 431 

James  Cardinal  Gibbons 433 

X. 

Simple  Republicanism 435 

A  Switzer  of  Ancient  Days 437 

A  Swiss  Village 439 

Napoleonic  Cavalrj-  Crossing  the  Alps 443 

Crystal  Seekers  on  Mont  Blanc 445 

Election  of  a  President  (4  p.  folder) 449 

The  President  Delivering  His  Inaugural  Address 455 

The  Government  Buildings  at  Berne 457 

The  Great  St.  Bernard 463 

Tell  Escaping  in  the  Storm 465 

A  Giri  of  Berne 469 

The  Peasant's  Friend 471 

The  Swiss  Senate  Chamber 473 

XL 

Constitational  Monarchy 475 

Harold  the  Saxon  Taking  the  Oath  of  Office 477 


24  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

belief  —  *»From  the  United  to  the  Isolated*' — Sentences  on  early 
prisoners  mild  in  comparison  to  those  of  recent  date  —  The  Fenians  one 
of  the  most  active  of  political  secret  societies  —  Indications  tliat  tlie 
association  is  not  extinct  —  Founding  of  Fenianism  in  America  —  Con- 
ventions at  Chicago  and  Cincinnati  —  Traitors  within  tlie  organization  — 
Report  of  tlio  Investigating  Committee  —  Origin  of  the  word  Fenian  — 
Extracts  from  the  Patriotic  Litany  of  Saint  Lawrence  O' Toole  —  Tlie 
term  Tammany  first  applied  to  the  Columbian  order  —  Evolution  of  the 
title  —  A  striking  characteristic  —  Record  of  the  organization  —  Early 
history  —  Part  played  in  national  affairs  —  Intricate  relations  with  New 
York  politics  —  A  survivor  of  several  defeats  —  The  Tammany  legend, 
a  very  amusing  and  instructive  tradition  — The  supreme  trait  of  Tam- 
many's character  —  Symbols  of  the  thirteen  tribes  —  Statistics  of 
Tammany  Hall  —  The  leader  of  the  Tammany  forces  —  The  General 
Committee — Salaries —  Outline  of  the  plan  of  organization  —  The  work 
of  the  committee  —  Assembly  district  organizations  —  Qualifications 
necessary  for  a  district  leader  —  Strict  discipline 665 

CHAPTER  XV. 

WOMAN    IN    GOVERNMENT. 

Equal  citizenship  of  sexes  first  recognized  during  the  French  Revolution  — 
Partial  citizenship  in  early  American  colonies  —  Wyoming  the  first  real 
political  democracy  of  large  area — England  moving  faster  than  America 
towards  full  female  suffrage  —  Proofs  of  the  interest  taken  in  it  by  intelli- 
gent women  —  Stain  on  the  history  of  the  State  of  Washington  —  How 
women  have  voted  and  are  likely  to  vote  —  Woman's  political  status  all 
over  the  world  —  The  next  step  from  a  political  must  be  an  industrial 
democracy — The  general  stream  of  human  happiness — The  world's 
debt  to  women  of  simple  lives — Sudden  possession  of  excessive  power  — 
Depraved  women  not  so  much  the  cause  as  the  result  of  the  corruption  of 
the  middle  ages — Sex  equality  among  primitive  races —  Respect  shown  to 
women  by  New  England  Indians  —  Feminine  leadership  in  modern  Africa 

—  Number  of  Bebangin's  female  warriors — Peculiarities  of  Polyandrous 
tribes  —  An  odd  incident  illustrative  of  the  working  of  an  Eastern  mind  — 
Condition  of  woman  in  the  age  of  Homer  —  Degradation  of  woman  in  the 
palmy  days  of  Athens  —  Sparta  alone  the  cradle  of  great  women — The 
Hetairaa  —  Aspasia  and  the  government  of  Athens  —  Orientalized  Athens 
corrupts  her  conqueror,  the  Roman —  The  character  of  Cleopatra  —  Zeno- 
bia — Rome  overrun  by  Germans  —  Effect  of  feudalism  and  the  Catholic 
church  on  women  —  The  age  of  chivalry  —  Joan  D' Arc  and  Agnes  Sorel 
—  Decency  in  eclipse  for  three  centuries —  Isabella  of  Castile  —  Mary  A. 
Livermore's  opinion  about  her — John  Knox  and  his  Trumpet  Blast — 
Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England';^  queens  —  Madame  de  Maintenon  — 
Madame  de  Pompadour  and  her  deluge  —  The  crowned  women  of  Russia 

—  Striking  feminine  figures  of  the  present  century  —  The  real  queens  of 
to-day,  where  found 721 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

8EMT-M1LITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY. 

Refiections  arising  from  wandering  through  the  galleries  of  Versailles  — 
The  most  dramatic  of  recent  historical  events  —  Proclamation  of  Em- 
peror William  —  Legislative  functions  of  the  empire  —  The  executive 
power  in  the  hands  of  tlie  Emperor  —  The  Bundesrath  and  its  com- 
mittees —  The  Reichstag  —  OflBcers  of  State  —  Historical  growth  of 
the  German  empire  —  Earliest  recorded  Teutonic  invasion  —  Ger- 
mans in  the    Roman  armies  —  Characteristics  of  the  different  tribes 

—  Assemblies  of  the  freemen  —  Important  victory  of  the  German 
tribes  under  Herman  —  Migratory  instincts  of    the    Grermanic    tribes 


CONTENTS.  26 

again  showing  itself  —  History  of  the  Franks  in  Gaul  —  The  treaty 
of  Verdun  —  The  Huns  conquered  by  King  Henry  —  Beginning  of 
town  life  among  the  Germans  —  Alliance  of  Church  and  State  sovereign- 
ties—  Origin  of  Germany's  claim  to  Italy  —  Revival  of  learning  —  Di- 
vision of  large  duchies  into  small  principalities  the  beginning  of 
individualism  —  Quarrel  of  Guelph  and  Ghibeline  —  Conflict  between 
Emperor  and  Pope  —  Effect  on  Germany  —  Power  of  the  Emperoi*s 
sliatteied  —  Extinction  of  the  house  of  Hohenstaufen  —  The  Interregnum 

—  The  robber  castles  of  the  Rhine  —  Growth  of  cathedral  towns  — 
Election  of  Rudolf,  founder  of  the  house  of  Habsburg  —  Charles  IV. 
issues  the  Golden  Bull  —  Invention  of  gunpowder  —  Revolution  in  the 
art  of  war  —  Invention  of  printing  —  Attempt  of  the  rulers  to  check 
the  intellectual  awakening  —  The  edict  of  Perpetual  Peace  —  The 
House  of  Habsburg  at  the  cuhnination  of  its  power —  The  Diet  at  Worms 

—  Martin  Luther  placed  under  the  ban  of  the  empire  —  His  translation 
of  the  Bible  — Spirit  of  the  times —  Beginning  of  the  **  Thirty  Years' 
War"  —  Military  tactics  of  Gustavus  Adolphus —  Tlie  Peace  of  West- 
phalia—  Tiie  question  of  the  Rhine  provinces  made  a  permanent  issue — 
Change  in  the  character  of  the  German  —  Louis  XIV.  of  France  signs 
the  Peace  of  Utrecht  —  The  Great  Elector  the  lirst  to  keep  a  standing 
army  in  time  of  peace  —  Accession  of  Frederick  the  Great  —  The 
** Seven  Years*  War" — Frederick  in  the  front  rank  of  great  com- 
mandei-s — Wisdom  and  energy  of  Frederick's  government  —  Im- 
portant changes  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Germany  —  Separation  of  the 
spiritual  and  secular  power  —  Wars  witli  Napoleon  —  War  of  Liberation 
followed  by  a  season  of  peace  —  Constitutions  granted  by  the  kings 
to  their  subjects  —  Unification  of  Italy  under  Victor  Emanuel  —  Otto 
Von  Bismarck  made  Prime  Minister  by  King  William  of  Prussia  — 
Beginning  of  the  end  of  the  small  principalities  —  War  between  Prussia 
and  Austria  —  Formation  of  the  North  German  Confederation  —  Defeat 

of  the  French  —  Political  unification  of  Germany 753 

CHAPTER   XVIL 
COMPLEX     REPUBLICANISM. 

First  movement  toward  Home  Rule  by  the  Colonists  —  Complex  Republi- 
canism still  an  experiment — Congress  of  the  United  States  and  Parlia- 
ment of  Great  Britain  the  models  of  government  for  other  countries  — 
The  Congress  of  the  republics  of  Central  and  South  America  —  Form  of 
government  in  Germany,  Denmark,  and  other  countries  —  Three  coordi- 
nate branches  in  the  government  of  the  United  States  —  The  first  coor- 
dinate branch:  the  legislative  —  General  powers  of  Congress — Article 
L,  Section  2  of  the  Constitution  —  Number  of  population  required  to 
constitute  a  congressional  district  —  Election  of  members  —  The  great 
power  which  the  House  of  Representatives  exclusively  possesses  —  An- 
otlier  power  exclusively  exercised  by  the  House —  Trials  of  impeachment 

—  Power  of  the  Speaker  of  the  Hcmse  —  Importance  of  the  position  — 
Committees  of  the  House  —  Duties  of  the  different  committees  —  A 
member  prohibited  from  holding  any  other  governmental  office  —  Pro- 
hibited also  from  voting  on  measures  in  which  their  private  interests  are 
affected  — The  Senate  of  the  United  States  —  Officers  of  the  Senate  — 
Exclusive  power  of  '*  consent"  possessed  by  the  Senate  —  Notable  ex- 
ception to  the  general  rule  of  tlie  Senate  durinjx  the  administration  of 
President  Cleveland  —  An  executive  session  —  "  The  billionnaire  club  "  — 
Movement  agitated  for  the  election  of  senators  bv  a  direct  vote  of  the 
people  —  Reasons  in  favor  —  The  second  coordinate  branch  of  govern- 
ment: the  executive  —  The  Electoral  College  —  Election  of  the  President 

—  Chief  duty  of  the  President  —  Power  to  pardon  —  Right  of  veto  — 
Reason  for  so  much  legislative  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Executive  — 
The  Cabinet  —  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  State  —  Assistant  Secretaries 


26  THE  STORY  OP    GOVERNMENT. 

—  Duties  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  his  assistants  —  The 
Commissioner  of  Customs  —  The  Treasurer  of  the  United  States — The 
Bflgister  of  the  Treasury — Comptroller  of  the  Currency  —  Director 
of  the  Mint — Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  —  Solicitor  of  the 
Treasury  —  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  — 
Other  officials  of  the  Treasury  Department — Publications  of  the 
Bureau  of  Statistics  —  Bureau  of  Printing  and  Engraving  —  Secretary 
of  War—  Secretary  of  the  Navy — Secretary  of  the  Interior  —  Im- 
portant officials  of  this  department  —  Office  of  Postmaster-General  — 
Attorney-General  and  assistants  —  Secretary  of  Agriculture  —  Commis- 
sioner of  labor — Interstate  Commerce  law  —  The  form  of  State  gov- 
ernment similar  to  that  of  the  national  government  —  Duty  of  a  State 
legislature — State  elections  —  The  annual  political  campaign  a  great 
educator  of  the  masses  —  Necessity  for  the  people  to  keep  the  closest 
supervision  over  the  doings  of  their  representatives — The  Constitution 
the  organic  law  of  each  commonwealth — Government  in  the  sparsely 
settled  districts  of  the  country  —  The  power  of  Congress  over  the  Terri- 
tories —  Good  reasons  for  popular  discontent,  and  i*emedies  suggested  .    823 


Origin  of  Government  with  Man 35 

Making  Fire  by  Friction 37 

A  Savage  of  the  Seuond  Period 39 

Two  Mothers  in  the  Days  Before  the  Flood 41 

The  Bow  and  Arrow  or  Second  Stage  of  Savagery 43 

The  First  Potter 45 

The  Flrat  Weaver 47 

Early  Agriculture  in  Europe 49 

Meeting  of  Massasoit  and  the  PilgrimH 51 

One  of  King  Philip's  Hunting  Lodges 53 

Philip,  the  Last  New  England  King 55 

A  Human  Heart  Offered  up  to  the  Sun-God   (4  p.  folder)  ...  56a 

Wigwam  Building  Among  the  Iroquois 57 

A  Sachem  Rendering  Judgment 59 

II. 

From  a  Picture  by  Sir  Edwin  Landscer 63 

The  Police  of  the  Alps 65 

A  Village  of  Beavers 67 

Natives  of  South  Africa  Fighting  Termites 69 

Hiving  a  Bee-Cloud 71 

A  King  of  Beasts  Who  Has  No  Regular  Subjects 73 

A  City  of  Sea  Birds 77 

Kangaroos  Led  by  an  Axis  Deer 79 


28  THE  STOEY  OP  GOVEENMBNT. 

A  Mutiny  in  the  Cage  (4  p  folder) 80a 

A  Prairie  Dog  Town 81 

A  Royal  Bengal  Tiger 83 

The  Wild  Horse 85 

A  Convention  of  Seals 87 

III. 

A  Gypsy  Queen 90 

Roumanian  Gypsies  Begging 91 

A  Gypsy  Camp 95 

In  Prison 97 

A  Group  of  Turkish  Gypsies 99 

A  French  Gypsy  Selling  Baskets 103 

Pleading  for  Freedom 107 

Zigani  Pleading  before  Philip  III.  of  Spain Ill 

A  Camorristic  Tramp 114 

Mob  of  Gentlemen  Storming  the  Parish  Prison  at  New  Orleans  .  117 

A  Gypsy  Circus  (4  p.  folder) 123 

Thieves' Den 181 

A  Young  London  Thief 139 

IV. 

Punishing  a  Wife  Beater 143 

Dragging  a  King's  Wives  to  His  Funeral 149 

Making  a  Fetish  of  a  Foeman's  Head 151 

King  M'Teza,  a  Friend  of  Stanley 153 

Taking  a  Prisoner  for  Slavery 158 

Two  Fanti  Ladies 159 

A  Criminal  Decapitated 161 

Ashanti  Girls  Producing  Fetish 165 

A  Fetish  Temple 173  . 

An  Expert  at  the  "  Customs  "  Asking  Applause 175 

A  Town  in  Dahomey 181 

A  Boy's  Head,  part  African  — part  Arab  of  the  Lower  Nile   .     .  188 

Stanley 185 

The  Hill  of  the  Holy  Monkeys 189 

BanyaiHuts 198 

V. 

Absolutism 197 

The  Shah 199 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  29 

Barracks  of  the  Gholams 203 

A  Market  Scene  in  Meshed 205 

An  Elocutionist  in  the  Harem 207 

A  Persian  Village  Belle 210 

Musicians  in  Ispahan  Saluting  the  Sunrise 213 

A  Marriage  Procession 215 

A  Persian  Caravansary  or  Hotel 219 

A  Parsee  Burial  in  Northern  India 221 

A  Guebre  Making  Himself  Known  by  a  Secret  Sign      ....  223 

VI. 

Benares  from  the  Ganges 227 

The  Banyan  or  Sacred  Tree 231 

High  Caste  Brahmins 235 

A  Rich  Fakir 237 

A  Low  Class  Fakir 239 

A  Village  Sutar 241 

Punishment  of  a  Thief  in  Village  India 243 

The  Temple  of  Soma 247 

The  Car  of  Juggernaut 249 

Rushing  to  Juggernaut  .     .         251 

Thuggery 253 

Thugs  Burying  a  Victim  Alive 255 

A  Siesta  in  the  Jungle 257 

A  Jeweller  in  the  Shadow  of  the  Temple 259 

The  Water  Carrier 261 

Rapid  Transit  in  Northern  India 263 

The  Egg  Dancer  at  a  Marriage  Celebration 265 

A  Travelling  Barber 267 

Husbandry  in  Northern  India 269 

Sowing  the  Seed 271 

Two  Peasant  Women 273 

A  Snake  Charmer 275 

Mountain  Travel 277 

VII. 

A  Scholastic  Oligarchy 281 

A  Glimpse  of  the  Great  Wall 282 

Opium  Smokers 283 

A  Street  of  Hongs  in  Canton 285 

Canton  on  the  River  Side 287 


28  THE  STOEY  OP  GOVKBNMENT. 

A  Mutiny  in  the  Cage  (4  p  folder) 80a 

A  Prairie  Dog  Town 81 

A  Royal  Bengal  Tiger 83 

The  Wild  Horse 85 

A  Convention  of  Seals 87 

III. 

A  Gypsy  Queen 90 

Roumanian  Gypsies  Begging 91 

A  Gypsy  Camp 95 

In  Prison 97 

A  Group  of  Turkish  Gypsies 99 

A  French  Gypsy  Selling  Baskets 103 

Pleading  for  Freedom 107 

Zigani  Pleading  before  Philip  III.  of  Spain Ill 

A  Camorristic  Tramp 114 

Mob  of  Gentlemen  Storming  the  Parish  Prison  at  New  Orleans  .  117 

A  Gypsy  Circus  (4  p.  folder) 123 

Thieves' Den 181 

A  Young  London  Thief 139 

IV. 

Punishing  a  Wife  Beater 143 

Dragging  a  King's  Wives  to  His  Funeral 149 

Making  a  Fetish  of  a  Foeman's  Head .     .     .  151 

King  M'Teza,  a  Friend  of  Stanley 153 

Taking  a  Prisoner  for  Slavery 158 

Two  Fanti  Ladies 159 

A  Criminal  Decapitated 161 

Ashanti  Girls  Producing  Fetish 165 

A  Fetish  Temple 173  . 

An  Expert  at  the  "  Customs  "  Asking  Applause 175 

A  Town  in  Dahomey 181 

A  Boy's  Head,  part  African  — part  Arab  of  the  Lower  Nile    .     .  188 

Stanley 185 

The  Hill  of  the  Holy  Monkeys 189 

BanyaiHuts 198 

V. 

Absolutism 197 

The  Shah 199 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  29 

Barracks  of  the  Gholams 203 

A  Market  Scene  in  Meshed 205 

An  Elocutionist  in  the  Harem 207 

A  Persian  Village  Belle 210 

Musicians  in  Ispahan  Saluting  the  Sunrise 213 

A  Marriage  Procession 215 

A  Persian  Caravansary  or  Hotel 219 

A  Parsee  Burial  in  Northern  India 221 

A  Guebre  Making  Himself  Known  by  a  Secret  Sign      ....  223 

VI. 

Benares  from  the  Ganges 227 

The  Banyan  or  Sacred  Tree 231 

High  Caste  Brahmins 235 

A  Rich  Fakir 237 

A  Low  Class  Fakir .239 

A  Village  Sutar 241 

Punishment  of  a  Thief  in  Village  India 243 

The  Temple  of  Soma 247 

The  Car  of  Jucjcjernaut 249 

Rushing  to  Juggernaut  .     .         251 

Thuggery 253 

Thugs  Burying  a  Victim  Alive 255 

A  Siesta  in  the  Jungle 257 

A  Jeweller  in  the  Shadow  of  the  Temple 259 

The  Water  Carrier 261 

Rapid  Transit  in  Northern  India 263 

The  Egg  Dancer  at  a  Marriage  Celebration 265 

A  Travelling  Barber 267 

Husbandry  in  Northern  India 269 

Sowing  the  Seed 271 

Two  Peasant  Women 273 

A  Snake  Charmer 275 

Mountain  Travel 277 

VII. 

A  Scholastic  Oligarchy 281 

A  Glimpse  of  the  Great  Wall 282 

Opium  Smokers 283 

A  Street  of  Hongs  in  Canton 285 

Canton  on  the  River  Side 287 


80  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Ancient  Chinese  Soldier 289 

The  Fruit  Girl  Who  Became  an  Empress 293 

An  Officer 294 

A  Culprit  in  the  Cangue  Fed  by  His  Wife 295 

Executing  a  Parricide 297 

Hearing  a  Civil  Case 299 

Crushing  a  Rebel 301 

A  Public  Whipping 302 

Escorting  a  Pirate  to  Execution       303 

The  Chinese  Judgment  Day 305 

A  Great  Scholar 307 

A  Schoolmaster  of  Pekin 309 

On  a  Fashionable  Footing 313 

A  Sail  Wagon 315 

A  Rat  Peddler 319 

A  Buddhist  Temple 321 

VIII. 

A  Castle  in  Spain 327 

A  Chimuan  Palace  About  the  Time  of  Pizarro 329 

Pizarro  Drawing  the  Line 331 

A  Maguey  Suspension  Bridge 333 

Front  View  of  a  Maguey  Bridge 335 

Modem  Cuzco       337 

Early  Peruvians  Worshipping  the  Sun 339 

Lighting  the  Sacred  Fire 340 

An  Early  Inca  and  His  Queen 341 

An  Inca  Travelling 343 

A  Governmental  Hotel 344 

A  Temple  of  the  Sun 345 

Peruvian  Boys  Guarding  a  Grain  Field 347 

Modern  Llamas  as  Beasts  of  Burden 349 

A  Chimuan  Princess 351 

Peruvian  Viceroy  Receiving  Reports  by  Quipus 353 

The  Quipu 355 

IX. 

Theocracy  or  Priestly  Grovemment 857 

Priestess  or  P3rthone8s  of  Delphi  (4  p.  folder) 359 

Moses  and  the  Tables  of  the  Law 367 

King  Solomon  Deciding  a  Case 870 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  ^1 

The  Crucifixion 875 

The  Holy  Family 377 

Paul  Pleading  His  Case  at  Rome 379 

Lions  Fed  with  Christians 381 

The  Stoning  of  St.  Stephen 383 

Constantine  after  His  Conversion 385 

The  Scourge  of  God 387 

St.  Austin  Converting  the  English  to  Christianity 391 

A  Marriage  among  Ancient  Jews  (4  p.  folder) 395 

Charlemagne  Crowned  by  the  Pope 401 

Priests  in  Prayer  at  the  Deathbed  of  Columbus 403 

An  Officer  of  the  Papal  Household 406 

The  Queen  of  Philip  Augustus  Appealing  to  Rome 410 

The  Trial  of  a  Dead  Pope 413 

Burial  of  a  Monk 417 

Elevation  of  Pope  Pius  VII 419 

A  Jesuit  Missionary 421 

Pope  Leo  XIII.    / 425 

St.  Peter's,  Rome 429 

Oldest  Church  in  United  States 431 

James  Cardinal  Gibbons 433 

X. 

Simple  Republicanism 435 

A  Switzer  of  Ancient  Days 437 

A  Swiss  Village 439 

Napoleonic  Cavalry  Crossing  the  Alps 443 

Crystal  Seekers  on  Mont  Blanc 445 

Election  of  a  President  (4  p.  folder) 449 

The  President  Delivering  His  Inaugural  Address 455 

The  Government  Buildings  at  Berne 457 

The  Great  St.  Bernard 463 

Tell  Escaping  in  the  Storm 465 

A  Giri  of  Berne 469 

The  Peasant's  Friend 471 

The  Swiss  Senate  Chamber 473 

XI. 

Constitutional  Monarchy 475 

Harold  the  Saxon  Taking  the  Oath  of  Office 477 


82  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Hubert,  an  early  English  judge,  killed  at  the  Horns  of  the  Altar 

(4  p.  folder) 479 

Magna  Charta  Island 483 

King  John  in  Anger 485 

A  Crusader 487 

Edward  I.  the  Successful  Crusader ^     .     .     .  489 

Coronation  Chair  of  Edward  IH.  with  the  Stone  of  Scone  .     .     .  497 

Windsor  Castle,  the  Queen's  Favorite  Residence 501 

Interior  of  the  House  of  Commons ...  507 

Block,  Ax,  and  Mask  of  Headsman  in  Days  of  Sir  Thomas  More  511 

Execution  of  Lady  Jane  Grey 513 

Shakespeare's  Birthplace  before  Restoration 515 

Shakespeare  Reading  before  Queen  Elizabeth 517 

"  My  Lord,  we've  time  to  finish  the  game  and  beat  the  Spaniards 

too" 519 

Death  of  Queen  Elizabeth 521 

Charles  1 525 

The  Trial  of  Hampden        529 

Cromwell  Refusing  the  Crown 539 

William  Ewart  Gladstone 543 

Westminster  in  1647 545 

An  American  Bible  Presented  to  the  Queen.  (4  p.  folder)   .     .     .  553 

The  Great  Seal  of  England 561 

The  Cabinet  Room  in  Downing  St 563 

Queen  Victoria 565 

XII. 

Albert  Pike 571 

Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales,  in  Masonic  Dress 575 

The  Cathedral,  Baptistry,  and  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa    ....  579 

A  French  Lodge  for  the  Reception  of  an  Apprentice,  1745      .     .  583 

A  French  Lodge  for  the  Reception  of  a  Master                      ...  .587 

The  Cathedral  at  Rheims 591 

Old  Tun  Tavern  at  Philadelphia,  where  the  first  American  Lodge 

was  organized 595 

Napoleon's  Retreat  from  Leipsic  (4  p.  folder) 599 

Green  Dragon  Tavern,  Boston,  where  the  first  Boston  Lodge  was 

organized 607 

Brother  George  Washington's  Masonic  Apron 615 

George  Washington 625 

A  Female  Crusader  Saving  a  Knight  Templar 627 


LIST  OP   ILLUSTRATIONS.  38 

XIII. 

Napoleon  Crossing  the  Alps 633 

Assassination  of  Gustaviis  III.  (4  p.  folder) 639 

Turgot  Pavilion  of  the  Louvre 647 

Hotel  des  Invalides        651 

A  French  Monastery  During  the  Revolution 657 

Assassination  of  Julius  Cajsar 659 

A  Woodman's  Hut  at  Ardennes,  on  the  Way  to  Waterloo,  1815,  661 

xrv. 

An  Initiation  Among  the  Chauffeurs 667 

Chauffeurs    Disguised    as  Musicians  and  Flower  Peddlers  (4  p. 

folder)        671 

A  Travelling  Cardinal  Apprehensive  of  Carbonari,  Italy  in  1 800  .  679 

Russian  Political  Exiles  in  Siberia  (4  p.  folder) 685 

John  Boyle  O'Reilly 693 

Richard  Croker 099 

Meeting  of  Tammany  and  Manco  Capac 705 

Carbonari  Making  Merry  in  a  Monastery  Cellar  (4  p.  folder)  .     .  711 

XV. 

A  Head  Dance  by  Squaws 723 

The  Female  Soldiers  of  Dahomev  Fiirhtinc:  tlie  French       .     .     .  727 

Hetaira}  of  Ancient  Athens 729 

The  Present  Empress  of  Russia '  .  735 

Isabella  Receiving  Columbus 739 

Women  Watching  the  Outbreak  of  Vesuvius 743 

Wilhelmine,  the  Child  Queen  of  the  Netherlands 745 

Mary  A.  Livermore 751 

XVI. 

Colossal  Statues  of  the  Genii  or  War  and  Peace  at  ^Munich  (4  j). 

folder) 757 

Brunhild  Beholding  her  Rival,  Guthrun,  at  the  Side  of  Siegfried 

(4  p.  folder) 765 

An  Early  German  Warrior 769 

Two  Games — A  German  Scene  in  the  17th  Century  (4  p.  folder)  773 
Wittikind  the  Saxon  Received  into  Baptism  with  Charlemagne 

for  Sponsor 779 

Modem  German  Artillerymen 781 


82  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Hubert,  an  early  English  judge,  killed  at  the  Horns  of  the  Altar 

(4  p.  folder) 479 

Magna  Charta  Island 483 

King  John  in  Anger 485 

A  Crusader 487 

Edward  I.  the  Successful  Crusader ^     .     .     .  489 

Coronation  Chair  of  Edward  III.  with  the  Stone  of  Scone  .     .     .  497 

Windsor  Castle,  the  Queen's  Favorite  Residence 501 

Interior  of  the  House  of  Commons ...  507 

Block,  Ax,  and  Mask  of  Headsman  in  Days  of  Sir  Thomas  More  511 

Execution  of  Lady  Jane  Grey 513 

Shakespeare's  Birthplace  before  Restoration 515 

Shakespeare  Reading  before  Queen  Elizabeth 517 

"  My  Lord,  we've  time  to  finish  the  game  and  beat  the  Spaniards 

too" 519 

Death  of  Queen  Elizabeth 521 

Charles  1 525 

The  Trial  of  Hampden       529 

Cromwell  Refusing  the  Crown 539 

William  Ewart  Gladstone 543 

Westminster  in  1647 545 

An  American  Bible  Presented  to  the  Queen.  (4  j).  folder)  .     .     .  553 

The  Great  Seal  of  England 561 

The  Cabinet  Room  in  Downing  St 563 

Queen  Victoria 565 

XII. 

Albert  Pike 571 

Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales,  in  Masonic  Dress 575 

The  Cathedral,  Baptistry,  aiid  Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa    ....  579 

A  French  Lodge  for  the  Reception  of  an  Apprentice,  1745  .  .  583 
A  French  Lodge  for  the  Reception  of  a  Master                     ....  587 

The  Cathedral  at  Rheims 591 

Old  Tun  Tavern  at  Philadelphia,  where  the  first  American  Lodge 

was  organized 595 

Napoleon's  Retreat  from  Leipsic  (4  p.  folder) 599 

Green  Dragon  Tavern,  Boston,  where  the  first  Boston  Lodge  was 

organized 607 

Brother  George  Washington's  Masonic  Apron 615 

George  Washington 625 

A  Female  Crusader  Saving  a  Knight  Templar 627 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  38 

XIII. 

Napoleon  Crossing  the  Alps 633 

Assassination  of  Giistavus  III.  (4  p.  folder) 639 

Turgot  Pavilion  of  the  Louvre 647 

Hotel  des  Invalides        651 

A  French  Monastery  During  the  Revolution 657 

Assassination  of  Julius  Cneaar 659 

A  Woodman's  Hut  at  Ardennes,  on  the  Way  to  Waterloo,  1815,  661 

XIV. 

An  Initiation  Among  the  Chauffeurs 667 

Chauffeurs    Disguised    as  Musicians  and  Flower  Peddlers  (4  p. 

folder)        671 

A  Travelling  Cardinal  Apprehensive  of  Carbonari,  Italy  in  ISOO  .  679 

Russian  Political  Exiles  in  Siberia  (4  p.  folder) 685 

John  Boyle  O'Reilly 693 

Richard  Croker 099 

Meeting  of  Tammany  and  Manco  Capac 705 

Carbonari  Making  Merry  in  a  Monastery  Cellar  (4  p.  folder)   .     .  711 

XV. 

A  Head  Dance  by  Squaws 723 

The  Female  Soldiers  of  Dahomey  Figliting  tlie  French       .     .     .  727 

Hetaira?  of  Ancient  Athens 729 

The  Present  Empress  of  Russia '  .  735 

Isabella  Receivinij  Columbus 739 

Women  Watching  the  OutVireak  of  Vesuvius 743 

Wilhelmine,  the  Child  Queen  of  the  Netherlands 745 

Mary  A.  Livermore 751 

XVI. 

Colossal  Statues  of  the  Genii  or  War  and  Peace  at  Municli  (4  p. 

folder) 757 

Brunhild  Beholding  her  Rival,  Guthrun,  at  the  Side  of  Siegfried 

(4  p.  folder) 765 

An  Early  German  Warrior 769 

Two  Games — A  German  Scene  in  the  17th  Century  (4  p.  folder)  773 
Wittikind  the  Saxon  Received  into  Baptism  with  Charlemagne 

for  Sponsor 779 

Modem  German  Artillerymen 781 


84  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  Makers  of  Modem  Germanv 783 

Robber  Knights  Stealing  on  a  Hamlet 785 

The  Crowning  of  a  Poet  with  Laurel 787 

Grerman  Monks  Copying  3Ianuscript  Before  the  Invention  of  Type  789 

The  Return  of  Herman  After  Beaming  the  Romans 793 

John  of  Gutenberg 795 

German  Soldiers  of  Modem  Days 797 

Beethoven 799 

German  Children  of  To-dav 801 

Frederick  the  Great  lieturning  from  the  Battle  <»f  Prague  .     .     .  805 

Frederick  the  Great  Holding  a  War  Council 807 

The  Xun  and  the  Flowers 811 

Louise  of  Prussia  and  Her  Two  Sons,  Afterwards  Frederick 

William  IV.  and  Kaiser  William 813 

The  Surrender  of  Paris 815 

The  3Iakers  of  Modern  Italy 819 

XVII 

Complex  Republicanism 823 

The  Discoverer  of  America 825 

The  Pilgrims'  First  Sunday  in  America 827 

The  White  House 833 

Thomas  Jefferson 835 

Ben  Franklin 837 

Faneuil  Hall,  Boston 839 

Bunker  Hill  Monument  at  Charlestown,  Mass 841 

Custom  House,  Xew  Orleans 845 

Naval  Heroes  of  the  Late  War 847 

Military  Heroes  of  the  Late  War 849 

Wall  Street,  New  York 853 

Grand  Army  Parade  at  Washington  at  Close  of  War  (4  p.  folder)  855 

New  York  Post-Office 861 

The  Capitol  at  Washington 863 

Lincoln 865 

Grant 869 

A  Daughter  of  the  Republic 873 

The  Spirit  of  Home  (4  p.  folder) 877 


PROPERTY  OF 
1ME  Onv  OF  NEW  YORK 


To  come  as  near  as  possible  to  an 

:./'      understaiidiiig  of  the  origin  of  govem- 

■■  ment  we    need   the   iviiigs    of   imagination 

adilwl  to  the  nimlile  foet  of  science,  as  we 

move  along  the  stmnge,  the  marvellous  track 

tliat  goes  bick  to  the  very  dawn  of  human  life  on  tliis  jJanet. 

Tlie  great  antiquity  of  man  is  a  fact  on  which  scientists  are 
agreed,  though  only  in  the  last  forty  years  has  it  been  estal)- 
lished  beyond  a  doubt,  but  the  exa<"t  amount  i>f  time  man  has 
been  on  earth  will  probably  never  be  settled.  It  is  tolerably 
certain,  however,  that  man  existed  before  the  glacial  period, 
and  that  the  age  of  the  liuman  mee  dates  back  for  over  one 
hundred  thousand  and  possibly  three  hundred  thousand  years. 
The  different  periods  of  hnnian  develoimieiit  liave  been  styled 
by  men  of  science,  Savagei-y,  liarbarisni,  and  Civilization,  and 
the  first  two  have  been  divided  into  three  grades. 

The  first  or  lower  period  of  savagery  dates  from  the  infancy  of 
the  race  to  the  time  when  man  began  to  catch  fish  for  a  living 
and  discovered  the  making  of  fire  by  simple  friction,  as  depicted 
in  our  first  illustration.  "  More  light !  "  was  the  dying  exclama- 
tion and  aspiration  of  Goethe,  the  greatest  of  German  thinkers. 


86  TCE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT, 

to 

to  «> 

How  stmnge  that 'xKe^waterial  element,  fire,  which  is  the  source 
of  light,  which  is*  vhe  ^ign  or  synlbol  of  progress,  should  mark 
scientifically  the  jJractical  beginning  of  the  enlightenment  of  man- 
kind I  This"  first  period  lasted  many  .thousand  years,  and  during 
that  space,  marjjs  only  weapons  were  clubs  and  stones  rubbed  into 
a  rude  resemblaiicQ  to  ax -heads,  and  tiet^  to  sticks  by  thongs  of 
tough  grass.  -  5^.c-second  picture  repr^^^sents  a  man  of  this  period 
at  the  door  of  hit;  ^cay^-hQnie  in  th^  wildh  of  ancient  Switzerland. 
And  the  third  pi^'ttite/  'i"Two  mbtlicrs  in  the  days  before  the 
flood,"  shows  how  thlb-c^w-honjci  ©f  primitive  man  in  Europe  was 
often  invaded  by  the  cave-bear,  against  whose  attacks  our  savage 
ancestors  were  practically  powerless,  unless  they  happened  to  hit 
with  an  early  blow  a  certaui  part  of  the  animal's  head.  Next  came 
the  middle  period  of  savagery,  which  is  scientifically  dated  from  the 
invention  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  that  by  its  use  in  hunting  gave 
man  a  new  kind  of  food  and  a  new  means  of  defence  against 
enemies. 

The  second  stage  of  savagery,  which  is  indicated  by  the  fourth 
illustration,  lasted  an  almost  equal  space  until  the  discovery  of 
the  art  of  making  pottery  which  marked  a  new  step  in  human 
development  and  introduced  the  first  stage  of  barbarism.  This 
period  stretched  a  weary,  dreary  length  of  many  centuries  until 
man  began,  on  the  Eastern  Hemisphere,  to  domesticate  cattle  and 
live  by  flocks  and  herds ;  or,  on  the  Western  Hemisphere,  as  among 
the  Pueblo  and  Zuni  tribes  of  this  continent,  to  plant  maize,  to 
build  an  excellent  system  of  irrigation  (from  which  our  govern- 
ment might  take  a  hint  to-day)  and  to  make  houses  of  adobe 
brick. 

Goquet,  in  the  last  century,  fii*st  propounded  the  notion  that 
the  way  pottery  came  to  be  made  was  that  some  wooden  vessel,  or 
some  basket  woven  of  bark,  was  daubed  with  damp  clay  to  protect 
it  from  the  fire  and  then  the  people,  finding  the  clay  harden  into 
a  durable  state,  conceived  the  idea  of  making  vessels  of  clay 
instead  of  wood.  Goquet  says  that  Captain  Gonneville,  who 
visited  the  natives  of  southeastern  South  America  in  1502,  found 
their  household  utensils  plastered  with  a  kind  of  clay  to  the 
thickness  of  a  finger  which  prevented  the  fire  from  burning  them. 

This  second  stage  of  barbarism  extends  also  for  ages  till,  on 


to 


•  •  • 


THE   OEIGIN   OP   GOVERNMENT   WITH   MAN.  87 

the  slow  Upward  journey  pt-ti^:iace,  wfj-rcjch  the  third  elation 
of  barbarism  which  is  laax^i^a-lly'thfe'disKJpT^rjrcit  the  process  of 
Btneltiiig  iron  and  the  use  of  ii-on  tools  and  weapons.  This,  like- 
wise, endures  with  slightly  increasing  degrees  of  refinement  for 
ages  and  ages  until  v^ha^.i;^  called  the  first  period  of  civilization, 
chaiacterized  by  the  ^njiention  of  an  alphabet  Jo'eSpress  to  the 
eye  the  sounds  of  the  "(dl^iie  or,  in  fine,  tlie  «fc£  .writing. 


If  we  stop  to  consider  liow  many  thousand  j-cars  elapsed  from 
the  invention  of  the  art  of  writing  to  tlie  invention  of  the  print- 
ing-press, during  wliicli  many  sepiuuto  so-t>alled  civilizations  flour- 
ished and  faded,  we  shall  be  more  able  to  undei-stand  that  many 
thousands  of  years  must  have  intervened  between  the  invention  of 
the  bow  and  arrow  by  some  early  savage  of  tlie  third  period  to 
the  invention  of  a  jar  of  pottery.  The  following  approximate 
table  may  help  to  fix  in  the  memory  the  great,  slow  steps  of  the  race. 


88  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

TAB  lb:- 


.  •  •  *  •  •  • 

:ABLB:-jbF  H^lMk -PROGRESS. 


/  ••.JRrtiSt  STAGE  (SF-  alVAGERY. 
.   **V'  ■ ^ 1^ 


i       From  the  Infancy* of  the  race  and  a  diet  of 
42,700  years.    •  >   Nuts,  Roots,  *and  Fi^iits  to  catching  fish  and 

•  I   learning  the  u8<ift|^Rre. 


,^*_ 


•  ••• 


-** —  * ,■  •• 


the  invention  of  the 


TIVIRD  CTAGE  OB'SATAGERY. 


42,007  years. 


•  •  From  llie  Bow  and  An-ow  to  the  invention  of 
an  Earthen  Pot  for  cooking. 


FIRST  STAGE  OF  BARBARISM. 


Q"i  nnA  mroo«,  i       From  the  Art  of  Pottery  to  the  Herding  or 

j»,uuu  years.  j    Domestication  of  Cattle,  etc 

SECOND  STAGE  OF  BARBARISM. 


21,000  years. 


From  Herding  Cattle,  Planting  Maize,  Build- 
ing of  Irrigating  Canals  and  Houses  of  Stone 
and  Adobe  Brick,  to  the  discovery  of  a  process 
of  Smelting  Iron  Ore. 


THIRD  STAGE  OF  BARBARISM. 


7,000  years. 


From  the  Smelting  of  Iron  and  Making  of 
Iron  Tools  and  Weapons  to  the  invention  of  an 
Alphabet. 


FIRST  STAGE  OF  CIVILIZATION. 


From  the  Invention  of  Writtijn  Signs  to  ex- 
press the  sounds  of  the  human  tongue  and  the 
consciousness  of  thinking,  as  a  thing  of  value 
in  itself,  to  be  treasured  up  or  recorded,  to 
some  time  in  the  future,  when  government  of, 
for,  and  by  the  people  shall  be  an  established 
fact  all  over  the  world,  and  when  poverty  and 
material  misery  shall  be  merely  a  dim  memory 
of  the  past,  i)08sibly  the  year  2,100  of  our 
present  reckoniug. 


«  Ernest  George  RavenRtein,  F.  R.  G.  S..  of  LoihIoii,  fipirlnj;  the  fertile  regions  of  the 
earth  at  28,209,000  xqiiure  miles,  and  fl^irini;  the  worltl't*  i)Oi)ulation  at  1.407,600.000, 
or  31  to  a  sfiuare  mile,  an<l  takin;;  as  a  basts  for  estimate  the  standard  of  living,  as 
exLning  to-<iay  in  va^iou^  climates,  reckons  that  the  world,  if  brought  to  its  maximnm 
of  cultivation,  can  supply  5.9!H,()00.000  nersons  with  f(K)d.  The  increase  of  iM)pulatlon 
might  l)e  materially  alTvcted  by  many  unforeseen  new  conditions,  social  or  meteorological: 
but  weighing  all  the  data,  and  considering  all  the  causes  likelv  to  hasten  or  retard 
growth  of  iK>iiulatioii  in  various  <iuarters,  Mr.  R.  assumes  that  the  increase  each  decade  irlll 
be  ten  per  cent.  A<'cei>ting  those  figures  as  correct,  in  IJKK)  the  present  population  will  have 
increased  to  1,.'«7,«0(),0(K).  In  IIKW,  there  will  Ihj  2,332.000.000;  in  2000,  3.420,000,000;  and  in  the 
year  2072,  there  would  Ikj  .').l)77,000,000.  or  within  a  few  millions  of  what  the  earth  can  support. 
Consequently  in  the  next  1H2  vears  Civilization  must  have  learned  myriad  new  lessons,  or 
else  a  cataclysm  must  occur,  destroying  the  present  human  race  to  a  great  extent,  and  per- 
haps starting  man  on  the  second  stage  of  Civnization. 


A  OAVASB  op  THE  BFrroiTO  PERIOD. 


40  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  marked  decrease  in  years  indicated  by  the  preceding  table 
from  the  third  stage  of  savagery  to  the  invention  of  pottery,  and 
the  still  greater  decrease  to  the  second  stage  of  barbarism,  are 
estimated  on  the  principle  that  every  additional  invention  has 
a  power  of  stimulation  on  the  inventive  faculty.  But  while 
studying  such  a  table  as  this,  though  we  cannot  help  feeling  how 
slow  the  evolution  has  been,  it  must  not  dishearten  us,  nor  need 
it  fill  us  with  a  profound  sadness  for  the  vanished  millions,  since 
the  progress,  though  slow,  has  been  sure,  and  with  a  promise  of 
evei  higher  certainties  in  the  future.  The  history  of  the  race,  as 
revealed  to  us  by  the  most  recent  reseai'ches  of  science,  points 
conclusively  to  the  fact  that  man  in  the  mass,  as  well  as  man  the 
unit,  is  destined  to  develop  the  animal,  and  probably  to  become 
something  more. 

The  final  findings  of  science  are  growing  to  coincide  with  the 
fundamental  sense  of  all  intelligent  religions ;  that  man's  life  is 
not  merely  summed  up  in  the  verbs,  to  eat,  drink,  sleep,  think, 
propagate,  and  die.  For  it  is  now  beyond  dispute  that  in  the  slow 
process  of  this  development  from  the  naked  savage  of  few  words 
and  equally  few  ideas,  who  toiled  in  caves  and  fished  with  his 
paws  in  streams,  to  the  avemge  man  of  to-day,  who  uses  a  vocabu- 
lary of  ten  thousand  words  to  express  his  ideas,  or  to  the  scholar 
who  uses  twenty  thousand,  many  races  of  animals  that  were  on  the 
eaith  with  the  early  man  liave  entirely  disappeared.  Does  not  this 
seem  to  imply  that  man  is  not  merely  a  cooking  animal,  an  inventing 
and  a^spiring  one,  but  that  he  is  pre-eminently  a  surviving  animal? 

There  is  also  another  reflection  that  naturally  arises  from  a  study 
of  the  ascending  struggle  of  humanity,  which  is,  indeed,  that  we 
are  what  we  are  to-day,  not  merely  on  account  of  our  individual 
struggles  and  difficult  development  amid  adverse  circumstances, 
or  our  fortunate  location  and  easy  development  in  pleasant  circum- 
stiinces,  but  largely  in  either  case,  because  many  millions,  through 
the  countless  ages  of  savagery,  barbarism,  and  early  civilization, 
have  toiled  and  suflfered  to  make  possible  our  present  average  of 
collective  comfort  (still,  alas !  a  pitifully  small  one)  as  well  as 
our  individual  approximations  towards  a  wise,  kindly,  dignified 
existence ;  in  short,  towards  the  happiness  of  refinement  and  the 
refinement  of  happiness. 


40  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  marked  decrease  in  years  incUeated  by  the  preceding  table 
from  the  third  stage  of  savagery  to  the  invention  of  pottery,  and 
the  still  greater  decrease  to  the  second  stage  of  barbarism,  are 
estimated  on  the  principle  that  every  additional  invention  has 
a  power  of  stimulation  on  the  inventive  faculty.  But  while 
studying  such  a  table  as  this,  though  we  cannot  help  feeling  how 
slow  the  evolution  has  been,  it  must  not  dishearten  ns,  nor  need 
it  fill  us  with  a  profound  sadness  for  the  vanished  millions,  since 
the  progress,  though  slow,  lias  been  sure,  and  with  a  promise  of 
evei  higher  certainties  in  the  future.  The  history  of  the  race,  as 
revealed  to  us  by  the  most  recent  researches  of  science,  points 
eonelusivelv  to  the  fact  that  man  in  the  mass,  as  well  as  man  the 
unit,  is  destined  to  develop  the  animal,  and  probably  to  become 
something  more. 

Tlie  final  findings  of  science  are  gro\iing  to  coincide  with  the 
fundamental  sense  of  all  intelligent  religions :  that  man's  life  is 
not  merely  summed  up  in  the  verl>s,  to  eat,  drink,  sleep,  think, 
projxigate,  and  die.  For  it  is  now  beyond  dispute  that  in  the  slow 
process  of  this  development  from  the  naked  savage  of  few  words 
and  equally  few  ideiis,  who  toiled  in  eaves  and  fished  with  his 
paws  in  streams,  to  the  average  man  of  t<>-ilay,  who  uses  a  vocabu- 
lary of  ten  thousand  wonls  to  express  his  ide;^,  or  to  the  scholar 
who  uses  twenty  ihous;ind,  manv  races  of  animals  that  were  on  the 
eanh  with  the  e;u*ly  man  have  entirely  disapjvared.  Does  not  this 
setr-m  TO  imply  tliat  man  is  not  merely  a  civkii^ir  animal,  an  inventing 
and  aspiring  one,  but  that  he  is  pre-eminenily  a  surviving  animal? 

Tiiriv  is  also  another  refle^nion  that  naturally  ;\rises  f n^m  a  study 
of  the  ;\scendin£r  stniiTfirl^  of  humaniiv.  which  is.  indeed,  that  we 
ai>e  wiiai  we  are  to-dav.  not  mcn^lv  on  acconn;  of  our  individual 
simiTiries  and  diificult  development  amid  adverse  cin'umstances, 
or  our  fortunate  ltx\ition  and  e;isy  development  in  ple^isant  cireum- 
star.ovs.  but  lars^-Iv  in  either  c^uk*.  Ixvanse  manv  millions,  thxougfa 
the  eoTir-:!ess  ac^«  of  Siwa^erw  Iwrlwrisrn.  aini  eariv  civilization, 
have  toiled  ar.d  suffered  to  make  jy^ssiKo  or4r  pivtseni  average  of 
collective  comfon  (^s::ll,  ai:is !  a  pitifully  small  one^  as  well  as 
our  individual  api^rvxiniations  tow^nis  a  wise,  kir.tilv.  di^rnified 
exis:er.L-^:  in  shon.  towanis  the  hap;>iues5>  of  T^fir.cment  and  the 
ivirir^jr::!  of  hav'V-ir-ess. 


TWO    MOTTTERS 


HEFOBE   THE   FLOOB. 


42  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Having  thus  briefly  outlined  the  large  steps  of  the  race  during 
which  government  has  had  its  slow  evolution,  suppose  we  try  for 
a  definition  of  our  own  for  this  word.  Suppose  we  say  «  Govern- 
ment  is  the  condition  resulting  from  an  attempt  to  live  together 
under  some  rule  or  order." 

As  to  its  origin,  some  scholars  consider  the  family  as  the  germ 
of  it,  though  some  find  it  rather  difficult,  when  considering  how 
promiscuous  were  the  relations  of  the  sexes  in  the  early  days  of 
the  race,  to  say  \vith  certainty  that  government  developed  from 
the  family.  Indeed,  the  opposite  has  been  ably  maintained,  that 
family,  as  we  understand  it  now,  developed  from  government  and 
the  sense  of  property.^  The  weight  of  likelihood,  however,  seems 
to  be  on  the  side  of  those  who  regard  the  family  as  the  germ, 
and  this  being  so  it  becomes  necessary  to  consider  how  many  kinds 
of  family  relations  have  been  invented  or  accepted  by  the  human 
race. 

Fii*st  is  the  Consanguine  family,  in  which  brothers  and  sisters 
freely  intermarried.  This  form  to-day  seems  to  us  a  most  horrible 
thing  and  is.  punished  by  the  laws  of  every  civilized  State. 
Nevertheless  it  lingered  so  long  in  the  minds  of  men  that  the 
great  empire  of  Egypt,  which  was  in  the  dawn  of  civilization  and 
not  in  the  scientific  period  of  barbarism,  not  only  countenanced  it, 
but  made  it  conspicuous  by  the  example  of  the  royal  family. 

The  Second  form  of  the  family,  or  of  the  married  relation,  has 
heen  called  the  Punaluan,  and  was  extant  until  recently  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  The  missionaries,  in  1820,  found  it  prevalent, 
and  not  being  scientists  or  philosophei*s  were  disproportionately 
shocked  by  it.  This  consists  in  all  the  brothers  of  a  family  being 
the  husbands  of  each  other's  wives,  or  in  the  sisters  being  the 
wives  of  each  sister's  husband;  and  brother  was  a  term,  with 
them,  of  wide  significance,  comprehending  cousins  to  the  third  or 
foui-th  degree. 

Caesar,  the  maker  of  so  much  histoiy,  and  the  historian  of  his 
own  creations,  the  profound  observer  as  well  as  the  practical 
statesman,  makes  a  note  of  finding  Punaluan  marriage  among 
the  ancient  Britons  in  groups  of  ten  or  twelve. 


»  Some  scholars  hold  that  Government,  modelled  after  the  exercise  of  authority  in  the 
family  unit,  is  made  necessary  by  the  existence  of  property. 


THE  OEIGTN   OP   GOVERNMENT   WrTE   MAN, 


AmongtlieCicn 
Indi.iiis,dlbo,!iiel 

of     this     PuiIllllXTI 

marriage    still  Itii 
ge„,-anm„«h„ 
mAiTies  the  eldeit 
(Imghter    lii^nng    \  ngl  t  f 
all  her  sisiters,  if  la    tti-.ln. 
to  support   theni      But  it  is 
hardlv  nece'jsarj  to  add  thit  tiu  I 
exhibitions    of    amorous   indust  i 
are  exceedingly  rare  among  the  ' 


K   OP   BAVAflBRT. 


42  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Having  thus  briefly  outlined  the  large  steps  of  the  race  during 
which  government  has  had  its  slow  evolution,  suppose  we  try  for 
a  definition  of  our  own  for  this  word.  Suppose  we  say  "  Govern- 
ment is  the  condition  resulting  from  an  attempt  to  live  together 
under  some  rule  or  order." 

As  to  its  origin,  some  scholars  consider  the  family  as  the  germ 
of  it,  though  some  find  it  rather  difficult,  when  considering  how 
promiscuous  were  the  relations  of  the  sexes  in  the  early  days  of 
the  race,  to  say  with  certainty  that  government  developed  from 
the  family.  Indeed,  the  opposite  has  been  ably  maintained,  that 
family,  as  we  understand  it  now,  developed  from  government  and 
the  sense  of  property.^  The  weight  of  likelihood,  however,  seems 
to  be  on  the  side  of  those  who  regard  the  family  as  the  germ, 
and  this  being  so  it  becomes  necessary  to  consider  how  many  kinds 
of  family  relations  have  been  invented  or  accepted  by  the  human 
race. 

Firet  is  the  Consanguine  family,  in  which  brothers  and  sisters 
freely  intermarried.  This  form  to-day  seems  to  us  a  most  horrible 
thing  and  is.  punished  by  the  laws  of  every  civilized  State. 
Nevertheless  it  lingered  so  long  in  the  minds  of  men  that  the 
great  empire  of  Egypt,  which  was  in  the  dawn  of  civilization  and 
not  hi  the  scientific  period  of  barbarism,  not  only  countenanced  it, 
but  made  it  conspicuous  by  the  example  of  the  royal  family. 

The  Second  form  of  the  family,  or  of  the  married  relation,  has 
been  called  the  Punaluan,  and  was  extant  until  recently  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  The  missionaries,  in  1820,  found  it  prevalent, 
and  not  being  scientists  or  philosophers  were  disproportionately 
shocked  by  it.  This  consists  in  all  the  brothel's  of  a  family  being 
the  husbands  of  each  other's  wives,  or  in  the  sisters  being  the 
wives  of  each  sister's  husband;  and  brothei*s  was  a  tenn,  with 
them,  of  wide  significance,  comprehending  cousins  to  the  third  or 
fourth  degree. 

CaBsar,  the  maker  of  so  much  history,  and  the  historian  of  his 
own  creations,  the  profound  observer  as  well  as  the  practical 
statesman,  makes  a  note  of  finding  Punaluan  marriage  among 
the  ancient  Britons  in  groups  of  ten  or  twelve. 


*  Some  scholars  hold  that  Government,  modelled  after  the  exercise  of  authority  in  the 
family  unit,  is  made  necessary  by  the  existence  of  proi)erty. 


THE  ORIGIN   OP   GOVERNMENT   WITH   MAN. 


AmoiigtlieCio\\ 
Indians,also  a  relit, 
of    this    Punaluin 
marriage    still  lui 
gere,  —  a  man  «  ho 
marries   the  eldest 
daughter    hi\ing   i  iigl  t   t 
all  her  sisters,  if  lie   \i  aliLs 
to  support   them      But  it  a, 
hardly  necessary  to  add  tlwt  sueli 
exhibitions    of    amorous    iiidusti  i 
are  exceedingly  rare  among  tl  e  (  i 

THE   BOW   AND   AUBOW  Olt   BK(. 


44  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

In  South  America,  likewise,  among  certain  tribes  where  women 
are  not  regarded  as  mere  beasts  of  burden  traces  of  a  similar 
practice  still  exist. 

The  Thiid  form  of  family  which  has  been  called  the  Syndyas- 
mian,  still  extant  among  some  of  the  Indian  tribes  on  this  conti- 
nent, is  a  step  upward  in  morals  as  we  regard  them.  It  consists 
in  the  pairing  of  one  woman  and  one  man,  not,  however,  with  the 
intent  or  with  the  absolute  promise  of  continuity,  because  divorce 
at  will  ^vas  a  right  felt  to  be  inherent  in  both  parties.  This 
form  of  family  has  almost  entirely  vanished  from  the  world  as 
a  national  or  tribal  characteristic,  though  it  crops  up  quite 
frequently  in  individual  cases. 

The  Fourth  kind  of  family  has  been  styled  the  Patriarchal. 
This  is  the  marriage  of  one  man  to  several  women,  or  polygamy^ 
and  still  flourishes  among  some  Asiatic  nations,  yet  by  no  means 
to  the  extent  that  it  once  did ;  and  the  attempt  to  revive  it  in  our 
occidental  civilization  has  proved  a  priestly  failure,  although  the 
Mormon  colony  of  Utah,  perhaps  because  of  its  co-operative 
features,  has  been  conspicuous  as  a  commercial  success. 

The  converse  of  Polygamy,  or  Polygjmy  as  it  should  be  called 
—  that  is  Polyandry,  or  the  marriage  of  one  woman  to  several 
men,  though  existent  to-day  in  Ceylon,  Australasia  and  Tibet, 
appears  to  be  rather  an  exceptional  sidegro^vth  than  a  regular 
grade  of  development. 

The  Fifth  form  of  family,  or  the  Monogamic,  is  that  which 
flourishes  to-day  among  all  civilized  races,  and  that  seems  to  be 
the  ultimate,  the  last  word  of  advice  which  nature  has  to  give 
concerning  human  happiness ;  for  nearly  all  the  higher  animals, 
as  well  as  man,  develop  to  the  having  of  only  one  mate. 

Does  it  not  seem,  on  the  whole,  rather  a  reasonable  inference 
that  the  moment  when  absolute  promiscuity  in  the  fundamentally 
necessary  and  fundamentally  righteous  relations  of  the  sexes 
ceased  to  prevail,  and  the  idea  ensued  of  limiting  marriage  to 
certain  members  of  a  clan  or  aggregation  of  human  individuals, 
the  idea  of  rule  and  order  arose  from  such  instinctive  limitation 
and  then  the  idea  of  authority^  to  enforce  rule  or  order,  dawned 
on  the  dull  brain  of  the  primeval  savage  ? 

We  thus  grasp  the  ideas    of  order  and  of  authority,  as    twin 


THE  ORIGIN   OF  GOVERNMENT   WITH   MAN.  45 

elements  of  a  concrete  concept  of  government :  order  desired  by 
the  general  mind,  and  authority  devised  and  then  lodged  some- 
where to  maintain  and  increase  it. 


ilHil^  '1^ 

p 

IHr'^M  ^M 

y 

'"  •  >Mj0# 

■P'f 

1 

t^l 

Bfi'-at 

p 

^^^ 

Imp  ^fw|t^^HH 

m 

^^^^', 

m^\  1  fft»^^^ 

^^m 

BS^^^^^w 

m'J/^r^^^^,% 

\  '^M 

IBg^i^^f^^^Tj^^ 

mmtWi 

m 

^H 

HriflHuHS 

g 

fe' raK 

5 

*f3 

Starting,  then,  with  the  single  family,  we  arrive  at  the  Gens>  o 

•Oeru,  LMtn  j  fAiOi,  Greek  ;  (mnaa,  S»iMcrit;  oar  word  JMn  belag  tbe  sauie  root. 


46  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

kindred,  a  small  body  of  blood-relations  living  together,  bearing 
the  same  name.  This  gens,  as  it  throws  out  branches  that  settle 
in  adjacent  places,  keeps  itself  connected  with  these  branches  by 
ceilain  customs. 

The  inter-associations  which  practise  these  customs  are  scien- 
tifically called  Phratries,  from  a  word  of  Greek  origin,  signifying 
brotherhood,  and  indicating  their  relationship  to  the  nucleus-gens. 
As  others  at  a  distance  come  into  the  same  relationship,  either 
by  extension  of  the  original  family  or  by  juncture  with  other  fam- 
ilies, the  tribe  is  fonned ;  and  after  the  tribe,  the  confederacy, 
which  was  the  nearest  approach  the  barbaric  mind  made  to  our 
present  idea  of  a  nation. 

The  phratry  is  a  brotherhood  and  an  organic  growth  from  the 
gens,  and  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  as  among  the  Iroquois, 
it  was  generally  an  association  for  certain  religious  or  social 
objects  of  two  or  more  gentes  of  the  same  tribe.  The  Roman 
curia,  or  cury,  was  the  analogue  of  the  Indian  and  Grecian 
phratry.  There  were  ten  gentes  in  each  curia,  and  ten  curiae 
in  each  of  the  three  Roman  tribes,  making  three  hundred  gentes 
among  the  Romans.  The  governmental  functions  of  the  Roman 
curia  became  much  more  complex  and  political  than  those  of  the 
Greek  or  Indian,  but  the  primary  principle  of  association  for  social 
or  religious  purposes  was  identical.  And  this  tendency  to  asso- 
ciate in  phratries  or  lodges  appears  to  be  as  strong  in  the  masculine 
mind  of  to-day  as  it  ever  was ;  of  which  statement  abundant 
testimony  offers  itself  in  the  shape  of  our  numerous  fraternities, 
such  as  Masonry,  Pythian,  and  other  societies. 

All  these  phratries  and  tribes  and  confederacies  are  evolutions 
of  the  family,  and  their  status  is  founded  on  a  social  rather  than 
a  territorial  and  property  relation.  A  separate  and  sharply-marked 
domain,  and  the  possession  of  property,  were  ideas  that  only  took 
root  in  the  minds  of  men  in  the  very  latest  dtiys  of  barbarism, 
and  to  enter  upon  the  second  plan  of  government  it  was  necessary 
to  supersede  the  gentes  and  phratries  by  townships  and  city 
wards. 

The  decline  of  the  gens  and  the  rising  of  the  organized  town 
make  the  dividing  line  between  barbarism  and  civilization,  between 
ancient  and  modem  society. 


48  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  well  established,  though  but  recently,  that  Man  all  over 
the  world  has  a  common  scientific  evolution ;  the  story  of  one  race 
is  the  story  of  all.  Humanity  is  a  unit  in  source,  in  experi- 
ence, in  progress;  and,  in  the  faith  of  science  we  may  add, 
one  also  in  the  certainty  of  an  immortal  and  imperial  destiny. 
So,  if  we  take  the  condition  of  development  shown  by  a  tribe 
of  American  Indians,  we  shall  have  a  fairly  approximate  picture 
of  just  how  the  beautiful  civilization  of  Greece,  or  the  majestic 
empire  of  Rome  under  Augustus,  developed  through  the  gens, 
phratry,  and  tribe. 

Too  many  of  us  derive  our  idea  of  an  Indian  from  Buffalo  Bill's 
Wild  West  Show,  or  from  the  straggling  specimens  that  sell 
baskets  and  beadwork  in  the  summer.  But  these  bear  no  more 
real  resemblance  to  the  Indian  as  he  is  historically  than  do  the 
fawning,  flattering,  fortune-telling  gypsies  to  the  ancient  Egyptian 
coui*tiers  who  exchanged  elegant  compliments  amid  the  roseate 
shadows  of  the  perfumed  audience  chamber  of  Cleopatra. 

Nationally,  we  have  done  great  material  wrong  to  the  original 
possessors  of  this  country.  Is  it  not  becoming  then  that  we 
should  at  least  make  some  attempt  to  do  justice  to  them  histori- 
cally, since  we  have  never,  or  rarely,  done  it  to  the  living 
individuals  ? 

Moreover,  our  ideas  of  the  Indian  have  always  been  colored  by 
conflict.  We  have  inherited  a  distrust  of  him,  and  it  is  only  of 
late  that  scholars  generally  have  begun  to  appreciate  his  virtues. 
Even  large-hearted  ti-avellers  like  Dickens  have  been  misled  into 
regarding  him  as  merely  a  dirty  and  drunken  ruflian,  glad  to  live 
in  laziness  and  be  supported  by  the  government.  The  trouble  is 
we  are  looking  upon  the  Indian,  not  as  God  made  him,  not  as 
he  developed  under  the  kindly  eye  of  nature,  but  as  we  white 
men  have  unmade  him  by  the  almost  off-setting  brutality  that 
accompanies  our  present  civilization.  The  American  Indian, 
sitting  in  council  near  the  banks  of  some  winding  water,  under 
the  mellow  harvest  moon,  was  a  very  different  being  from  those 
we  see  to-day,  who  have  exchanged  the  virtues  of  barbarism  for 
the  vices  of  civilization;  those  to  whom  we  have  given  of  our 
Morst  instead  of  our  best. 

Metacom  and  Wamsutta,  the  last  Indian  kings  of  prominence 


THE  ORIGIN   OP  GOVERNMENT   WITH   MAS. 


4& 


in  Ifew  England,  were  t^^s,  it  is  true,  of  the  third  Btage  of 
barbarism.  They  were  birbarians,  but  they  were  gentlemen.  In 
fiueneas  of  feeling,  in  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  in  statesmanr 


like  qnallties,  anil  netsdlesa  to  say  in  daring,  they  would  compare 
with  any  of  the  early  Saxon  chiefa  except  possibly   Alfred  the 


48  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERXMENT. 

It  is  well  established,  though  but  recently,  that  Man  all  over 
the  world  has  a  common  scientific  evolation ;  the  story  of  one  race 
is  the  story  of  all.  Humanity  is  a  unit  in  source,  in  experi- 
ence, in  progress;  and,  in  the  faith  of  science  we  may  add, 
one  also  in  the  certainty  of  an  immortal  and  imperial  destiny. 
So,  if  we  take  the  condition  of  development  sliown  by  a  tribe 
of  American  Indians,  we  shall  have  a  fairly  approximate  picture 
of  just  how  the  beautiful  civilization  of  Greece,  or  the  majestic 
empire  of  Rome  under  Augustus,  developed  through  the  gens, 
phratrj-,  and  tribe. 

Too  manv  of  us  derive  our  idea  of  an  Indian  from  Buffalo  BlU's 
WQd  West  Show,  or  from  the  straggling  specimens  that  sell 
baskets  and  beadwork  in  the  summer.  But  these  bear  no  more 
real  resemblance  to  the  Indian  as  he  is  historically  than  do  the 
fawning,  flattering,  fortune-telling  gypsies  to  the  ancient  Egyptian 
courtiers  who  exchanged  elegant  compliments  amid  the  roseate 
shadows  of  the  perfumed  audience  chamber  of  Cleopatra. 

Nationally,  we  have  done  great  material  wrong  to  the  original 
possessors  of  this  country.  Is  it  not  becoming  then  that  we 
should  at  least  make  some  attempt  to  do  justice  to  them  histori- 
cally, since  we  have  never,  or  rarely,  done  it  to  the  living 
individuals  ? 

Moreover,  our  ideas  of  the  Indian  have  always  been  colored  by 
conflict.  We  have  inherited  a  distrust  of  him,  and  it  is  only  of 
late  that  scholars  generally  liave  begun  to  appreciate  his  "virtues. 
Even  large-hearted  titivellers  like  Dickens  have  been  misled  into 
regai-ding  him  as  merely  a  dirty  and  drunken  ruffian,  glad  to  live 
in  laziness  and  be  supported  by  the  government.  The  trouble  is 
we  are  lookmg  upon  the  Indian,  not  as  God  made  him,  not  as 
he  developed  under  the  kindly  eye  of  nature,  but  as  we  white 
men  have  unmade  him  by  the  almost  off-setting  brutality  that 
atcorapanies  our  present  civilization.  The  American  Indian, 
sitting  in  council  near  the  banks  of  some  winding  water,  under 
the  mellow  harvest  moon,  i^-as  a  very  different  being  from  those 
we  see  to-day,  who  have  exchanged  the  virtues  of  barbarism  for 
the  vices  of  civilization;  those  to  whom  we  have  given  of  our 
Morst  instead  of  our  best. 

Metacom  and  Wamsutta,  the  last  Indian  kings  of  prominence 


THB   ORIGIN   OF  GOVERNMENT   WITH   MAN. 


4& 


in  New  England,  were  types,  it  is  true,  of  the  third  stage  of 
bftrbarism.  They  were  barbarians,  but  they  were  gentlemen.  In 
JinenesB  of  feeling,  in  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  in  statesman- 


|l:'j#^|g||^SM| 

H|f>"ll^         J 

ii|||M^^Sij 

SM    1 

mmf^m 

ml 

M^**^ 

^K^^X 

m 

R*^^ 

*i--:|^S 

'^^^m 

'■■"-;-  ;a.ta3.ii 

like  qaalities,  anjl  neesUess  to  say  in  daring,  they  would  compare 
with  any  of  the  early  Saxon  chiefs  except  possibly  Alfred  the 


50  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Great.     For  instance,  what  could  be  finer  than  the  feeling  shown 
in  the  following  incident  ? 

Wamsutta  was  the  chief  king  of  Eastern  New  England  during 
the  early  colonial  days.  His  father,  Massasoit,  had  heaped  kind- 
nesses on  the  Pilgrims,  fed  them  when  starving,  saved  them  from 
the  assaults  of  other  tribes.  After  his  death,  Wamsutta  was  one 
day  at  breakfast  in  one  of  his  many  hunting  lodges,  with  several 
of  his  nobles  and  their  wives.  A  party  of  Pilgrims  surprised 
them,  seized  their  weapons  that  had  been  stacked  outside,  and  told 
the  king  that  he  was  under  arrest  and  must  come  to  Plymouth 
to  answer  certain  charges.  The  leader  of  this  party  offered  the 
outraged  monarch  a  horse  to  ride  on,  but  the  king  refused  with 
these  words :   "  I  could  not  ride  and  let  these  women  walk." 

This  is  but  one  of  the  many  incidents  which  a  certain  un- 
conscious or  subconscious  candor  lias  forced  unfriendly  historians 
to  record.  Wamsutta  died  from  the  effect  on  his  proud  nature  of 
the  indignity  done  him  by  this  arrest,  and  his  brother,  Metacom, 
or  Philip,  as  he  was  called  by  the  Pilgrims,  for  years  nursed  plans 
pf  vengeance  against  the  race  who  had  been  the  cause  of  his 
brother's  early  death,  who  had  spoiled  him  of  his  lands,  wantonly 
burned  many  of  his  hunting-lodges,  and  tried  even  in  his  own 
home  to  curtail  his  powers. 

Philip  made  war  on  our  English  ancestoi-s  during  the  fall  of 
1675  and  the  following  winter  and  spring;  and  though  like 
Napoleon,  a  personal  failure  finally,  the  results  of  his  well-planned 
war  on  our  ancestors  were  felt  for  fifty  years  after  his  death,  or,  as 
their  writers  agreed,  he  retarded  the  development  of  New  England 
for  that  space. 

Yet  he,  too,  with  every  reason  to  detest  our  race,  was  not  only  kind 
in  many  instances  to  the  prisoners  he  captured,  but  was  uniformly 
courteous.  Mrs.  Richardson,  who  lived  as  his  prisoner  for  many 
months  before  she  was  finally  restored  to  her  husband,  tells  us  that 
this  great  soldier  (even  his  enemies  admitted  his  military  genius) 
was  a  most  kindly  captor.  He  asked  her  one  day  to  make  a  shirt 
for  his  little  son,  and  when  she  had  made  it,  expressing  his 
pleasure,  he  not  only  thanked  her,  but  paid  her  an  English  shillmg 
for  it. 

Our  tardy  scholarship  is  beginning  to  see  that  such  conduct 


THE   ORIGIN   OP  GOVEltNMENT   WITH  MAN. 


more  fairly  represents  the  Indian  character  as  it  was  at  the  best 
period  of  development  than  the  ravages  occasionally  committed  by 


the  degenerate  tribes  of  to-day,  too  often  goaded  to  fury  by  dis- 
honest goTemment  agents. 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  have  not  sufficient  data  concerning  the 


62  THE   STORY   OF   GOVEKNMENT. 

political  condition  of  the  New  England  Indians  to  show  how  they 
developed  to  the  production  of  such  men  as  those  just  named,  but 
by  examining  another  Indian  tribe,  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  we  shall 
see  the  evolution  of  government  among  barbarians  up  to  hereditary 
monarchy  as  clearly  as  if  we  went  through  a  long  course  of  Greek 
or  Roman  history. 

The  Seneca-Iroquois  were  divided  into  gentes,  phratries,  and 
tribes.  The  chiefs  in  each  gens  were  usually  proportioned  to  the 
membei-s.  Among  the  Iroquois  there  is  one  to  about  every  fifty 
persons.  The  Iroquois  in  New  York  now  number  three  thousand, 
and  have  eight  sachems  and  about  sixty  chiefs. 

The  first  question,  then,  that  suggests  itself  is,  what  were  the  politi- 
cal rights  of  the  gens.  First  of  all,  with  the  basic  right  of  having 
a  council  of  its  own,  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  its  sachem 
and  its  chiefs.  Here  we  have  at  once  a  fact  that  contradicts  the 
old  historical  assumption  that  the  democratical  form  of  govern- 
ment is  a  late  invention,  and  that  the  monarchical  was  the  one 
most  natural  and  most  adapted  to  the  evolution  of  human  society. 
For  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  the  head  of  the  gens 
shows  that  man  started  in  a  rude  way  to  have  what  we  are  trying 
to-day  to  have  in  a  complete,  though  perhaps  too  complex,  way ; 
namely,  a  government  of  the  people. 

Another  right  of  the  gens  was  the  inheritance  of  property.  If 
a  man  died  his  property  would  not  descend  to  his  son  or  his 
daugliter,  but  to  the  gens  in  common.  The  feeling  here  seems  to 
be  identical  with  that  which  our  most  republican  millionnaire, 
Andrew  Carnegie,  has  recently  expi-essed,  that  a  man's  material 
acquisitions,  being  largely  the  result  of  the  co-operation  of  others, 
should  at  his  death  revert  to  whence  they  came.  Mr.  Carnegie's 
mind,  however,  has  expanded  since  his  firet  declaration,  for  he  now 
maintains  that  a  rich  man  in  his  life-time  should  restore  to  the 
people,  in  the  shape  of  libraries,  parks,  and  hospitals,  the  money 
he  has  made  out  of  them. 

Of  course,  another  right  of  the  gens  was  that  of  bestowing 
names  on  its  members,  and  of  adopting  strangers  by  naming  them. 
There  were  obligations,  likewise,  of  help  and  defence  and  redress 
of  injuries,  and,  in  time,  an  obligation  among  most  not  to  marry 
in  the  gens.     Common  religious  rites,  a  common  burial  place  and, 


THE  ORIGIN   OF   GOVERNMENT   WITH  UAN.  58 

as  a  necessary  basis  for  the  election  of  a  sachem,  the  right  to  call 
a  council,  were  dbtinctive  marks  of  the  Iroquois  gens. 

As  to  the  election  of  sachems  and  chiefs,  it  is  probably  a  new 
fact  to  most  readers  that  neirly  ill  tlie  American  Indiin  tribes  as 
well  as  tie  Seueca-Iroquois  hid  t  vo  grades  of  cl  eftainsl  ip  u 
other  words,  thej  had  a  pea  e  go\e  no    and  a     a    ch  ef 


The  sachem,  or  wise-man,  was  elected  in  each  gens  fi-om  among 
its  membere.  A  son  could  not  be  chosen  to  succeed  his  father  if 
descent  was  in  the  female  line,  which  made  the  son  belong  to  a 
different  gens. 

The  duties  of  a  sachein  were  confined  to  the  affairs  of  peace. 
He  settled  disputes,  advised  the  time  of  planting  corn,  or  the 
location  of  the  camp,  or  any  matter  that  demanded  personal 
adviceior  sympathy.    It  was  analogous  in   some  respects  to  the 


64  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

post  of  father  confessor,  though  among  many  of  the  tribes  this 
function  was  rudimentary  in  spite  of  the  semi-religious  character 
with  which  the  sachem  was  invested.  The  relation  of  the  sachem 
was  primarily  to  the  gens  of  which  he  was  the  official  head,  while 
that  of  the  chief,  who  was  chosen  for  personal  bravery  or  for 
eloquence,  was  primarily  to  the  tribe  or  large  organization  of  the 
council  of  which  he  as  well  as  the  sachem  were  members.  The 
sachem  was  so  much  an  officer  of  peace  that  he  could  not  go  to 
war  as  a  sachem,  but  simply  as  a  private  individual  in  the  ranks 
under  the  leaderships  of  the  cliiefs,  whose  functions  were  purely 
military  or  advisory  in  military  matters  in  the  general  council  of 
the  tribe. 

The  office  of  sachem  was  hereditary  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
filled  from  the  same  gens  as  often  as  a  vacancy  happened,  but  it 
was  filled  by  election  from  different  relatives  of  the  deceased  or 
deposed  chieftain.  Though  the  office  was  nominally  for  life,  it 
was  practically  for  good  behavior,  because  of  the  power  to  depose. 
The  ceremony  of  installing  a  sachem  was  very  picturesque.  It 
was  accompanied  by  song  and  dance  and  the  final  act  was 
symbolized  by  the  putting  on  a  headdress  of  buffalo  horns,  as  his 
deposition  was  symbolized  by  taking  off  the  horns. 

It  is  one  of  the  little  facts  that  cumulate  to  show  the  substan- 
tial relativity  of  mankind  that,  even  among  tribes  widely  separated, 
horns  have  been  made  emblems  of  office  and  authority  from  time 
immemorial,  and  even  of  sanctity,  as  in  the  Catholic  church  we 
have  the  horns  of  the  altar,  which  were  invested  with  a  peculiar 
siicrediiess.  The  killing  of  Thomas  k  Becket,  for  instance,  in  the  age 
of  Henry  II.  of  England,  when  assassination  wiis  a  common  crime, 
was  accounted  especially  heinous  because  the  victim  was  not  only 
a  priest,  but  was  killed  while  holding  one  of  the  horns  of  the  altar. 

Horns,  also,  by  tlie  imagination  of  the  middle  ages,  are  assigned 
to  his  Satanic  Majesty,  probably  as  a  token  of  his  power,  and  the 
horn  as  a  sign  of  plenty  is  another  emblem,  derived  possibly  from 
the  Scandinavian  drinking-horn,  though  it  is  also  credited  with  a 
Roman  and  Greek  derivation.  Tylor  intimates  that  the  command- 
ing appearance  of  buffalos  and  such  animals  as  wear  horns  may 
have  suggested  to  the  general  mind  this  thing  as  a  token  of 
dignity  and  authority.  i 


48  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  well  established,  though  but  recently,  that  Man  all  over 
the  world  has  a  common  scientific  evolution ;  the  story  of  one  race 
is  the  story  of  all.  Humanity  is  a  unit  in  source,  in  experi- 
ence, in  progress;  and,  in  the  faith  of  science  we  may  add, 
one  also  in  the  certainty  of  an  immortal  and  imperial  destiny. 
So,  if  we  take  the  condition  of  development  shown  by  a  tribe 
of  American  Indians,  we  shall  have  a  fairly  approximate  picture 
of  just  how  the  beautiful  civilization  of  Greece,  or  the  majestic 
empire  of  Rome  under  Augustus,  developed  through  the  gens, 
phratiy,  and  tribe. 

Too  many  of  us  derive  our  idea  of  an  Indian  from  Buffalo  Bill's 
Wild  West  Show,  or  from  the  straggling  specimens  that  sell 
baskets  and  beadwork  in  the  summer.  But  these  bear  no  more 
real  resemblance  to  the  Indian  as  he  is  historically  than  do  the 
fawning,  flattering,  fortune-telling  gypsies  to  the  ancient  Egyptian 
courtiers  who  exchanged  elegant  compliments  amid  the  roseate 
shadows  of  the  perfumed  audience  chamber  of  Cleopatra. 

Nationally,  we  have  done  great  material  wrong  to  the  original 
possessors  of  this  country.  Is  it  not  becoming  then  that  we 
should  at  least  make  some  attempt  to  do  justice  to  them  histori- 
cally, since  we  have  never,  or  rarely,  done  it  to  the  living 
individuals  ? 

Moreover,  our  ideas  of  the  Indian  have  always  been  colored  by 
conflict.  We  have  inherited  a  distrust  of  him,  and  it  is  only  of 
lata  that  scholars  generally  have  begun  to  appreciate  his  virtues. 
Even  large-hearted  ti-avellers  like  Dickens  have  been  misled  into 
regarding  him  as  merely  a  dirty  and  drunken  ruflian,  glad  to  live 
in  laziness  and  be  supported  by  the  government.  The  trouble  is 
we  are  looking  upon  the  Indian,  not  as  God  made  him,  not  as 
he  developed  under  the  kindly  eye  of  nature,  but  as  we  white 
men  have  unmade  him  by  the  almost  off-setting  brutality  that 
atcompanies  our  present  civilization.  The  American  Indian, 
sitting  in  council  near  the  banks  of  some  winding  water,  under 
the  mellow  harvest  moon,  was  a  very  different  being  from  those 
we  see  to-day,  who  have  exchanged  the  virtues  of  barbarism  for 
the  vices  of  civilization;  those  to  whom  we  have  given  of  our 
M'oret  instead  of  our  best. 

Metacom  and  Wamsutta,  the  last  Indian  kings  of  prominence 


THE  ORIGIN   OF   OOVERNHENT   WITH  HAN. 


49 


in  New  England,  were  t^pes,  it  is  true,  of  the  third  stage  of 
barbarism.  They  were  barbarians,  but  they  were  gentlemen.  In 
fineness  of  feeling,  in  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  in  statesman^ 


lite  qualities,  aod  needless  to  say  in  daring,  tliey  would  compare 
with  any  of  the  early  Saxon  chiefs  except  possibly  Alfred  the 


60  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNT^IENT. 

Great.     For  instance,  what  could  be  finer  than  the  feeling  shown 
in  the  following  incident  ? 

Wamsutta  was  the  chief  king  of  Eastern  New  England  during 
the  early  colonial  days.  His  father,  Massasoit,  had  heaped  kind- 
nesses on  the  Pilgrims,  fed  them  when  starving,  saved  them  from 
the  assaults  of  other  tribes.  After  his  death,  Wamsutta  was  one 
day  at  breakfast  in  one  of  his  many  hunting  lodges,  with  several 
of  his  nobles  and  their  wives.  A  party  of  Pilgrims  surprised 
them,  seized  their  weapons  that  had  been  stacked  outside,  and  told 
the  king  that  he  was  under  an-est  and  must  come  to  Plymouth 
to  answer  certain  charges.  The  leader  of  this  party  offered  the 
outiuged  monarch  a  horee  to  ride  on,  but  the  king  refused  with 
these  words :   "  I  could  not  ride  and  let  these  wonjen  walk." 

This  is  but  one  of  the  many  incidents  which  a  certain  un- 
conscious or  subconscious  candor  has  forced  unfriendly  historians 
to  record.  Wamsutta  died  from  the  effect  on  his  proud  nature  of 
the  indignity  done  him  by  this  arrest,  and  his  brother,  Metacom, 
or  Philip,  as  he  was  called  by  the  Pilgrims,  for  years  nursed  plans 
pf  vengeance  against  the  race  who  had  been  the  cause  of  his 
brother's  early  death,  who  had  spoiled  him  of  his  lands,  wantonly 
burned  many  of  his  hunting-lodges,  and  tried  even  in  his  own 
home  to  curtail  his  powers. 

Philip  made  war  on  our  English  ancestoi-s  during  the  fall  of 
1675  and  the  following  winter  and  spring;  and  though  like 
Napoleon,  a  personal  failure  finally,  the  results  of  his  well-planned 
war  on  our  ancestors  were  felt  for  fifty  years  after  his  death,  or,  as 
their  writers  agreed,  he  retarded  the  development  of  New  England 
for  that  space. 

Yet  he,  too,  with  every  reason  to  detest  our  race,  was  not  only  kind 
in  many  instances  to  the  prisoners  he  captured,  but  was  uniformly 
courteous.  Mrs.  Richardson,  who  lived  as  his  ^Drisoner  for  many 
months  before  she  was  finally  restored  to  her  husband,  tells  us  that 
this  great  soldier  (even  his  enemies  admitted  Iiis  military  genius) 
was  a  most  kindly  captor.  He  asked  her  one  day  to  make  a  shirt 
for  his  little  son,  and  when  she  had  made  it,  expressing  his 
pleasure,  he  not  only  thanked  her,  but  paid  her  an  English  shilling 
for  it. 

Our  tardy  scholarship  is  beginning  to  see  that  such  conduct 


THE   ORIGIN   OF   GOVEiENMENT   WITH   MAN. 


more  &irly  represents  the  Indian  character  as  it  was  at  the  best 
period  of  development  than  the  ravages  occasionally  committed  by 


the  degenerate  tribes  of  to-day,  too  often  goaded  to  fury  by  dis- 
honest government  agents. 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  have  not  sufficient  data  concerning  the 


60  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Great.     For  instance,  what  could  be  finer  than  the  feeling  shown 
in  the  following  incident  ? 

Wanisutta  was  the  chief  king  of  Eastern  New  England  during 
the  early  colonial  days.  His  father,  Massasoit,  had  heaped  kind- 
nesses on  the  Pilgrims,  fed  them  when  starving,  saved  them  from 
the  assaults  of  other  tribes.  After  his  death,  Wanisutta  was  one 
day  at  breakfast  in  one  of  his  many  hunting  lodges,  with  several 
of  his  nobles  and  tlieir  wives.  A  party  of  Pilgrims  surprised 
them,  seized  their  weapons  that  had  been  stacked  outside,  and  told 
the  king  that  he  was  under  an-est  and  must  come  to  Plymouth 
to  answer  certain  charges.  The  leader  of  this  party  offered  the 
outraged  monarch  a  horse  to  ride  on,  but  the  king  refused  with 
these  words :   "  I  could  not  ride  and  let  these  wonjen  walk." 

This  is  but  one  of  the  many  incidents  which  a  certain  un- 
conscious or  subconscious  candor  has  forced  unfriendly  historians 
to  record.  Wamsutta  died  from  the  effect  on  his  proud  nature  of 
the  indignity  done  him  by  this  anest,  and  liis  brother,  Metacom, 
or  Philip,  as  he  was  called  by  the  Pilgrims,  for  years  nursed  plans 
pf  vengeance  against  the  race  who  had  been  the  cause  of  his 
brother's  early  death,  who  had  spoiled  him  of  his  lands,  wantonly 
burned  many  of  his  hunting-lodges,  and  tried  even  in  Ids  own 
borne  to  curtail  his  powers. 

Pliilip  made  war  on  our  English  ancestoi-s  during  the  fall  of 
1675  and  the  following  winter  and  spring;  and  though  like 
Napoleon,  a  personal  failure  finally,  the  results  of  his  well-planned 
war  on  our  ancestors  were  felt  for  fifty  years  after  his  death,  or,  as 
their  writers  agreed,  he  reta,rded  the  development  of  New  England 
for  that  space. 

Yet  lie,  too,  with  every^  reason  to  detest  our  race,  was  not  only  kind 
in  many  instances  to  the  prisoners  he  captured,  but  was  uniformly 
courteous.  Mrs.  Richardson,  who  lived  as  his  prisoner  for  many 
months  before  she  was  finally  restored  to  her  husband,  tells  us  that 
this  great  soldier  (even  his  enemies  admitted  his  military  genius) 
was  a  most  kindly  captor.  He  asked  her  one  day  to  make  a  shirt 
for  his  little  son,  and  when  she  had  made  it,  expressing  his 
pleasure,  he  not  only  thanked  her,  but  paid  her  an  English  shilling 
for  it. 

Our  tudy  tftllMlllfffrlP.  J*  |)fgin][jipg  to  see  that  such  conduct 


THE   ORIGIN  OP  GOVBitSMENT   WITH   MAN. 


more  fairly  represents  the  Indisn  character  as  it  waa  at  the  best 
period  of  development  than  the  ravages  occasionally  committed  by 


the  degenerate  tribes  of  to-day,  too  often  goaded  to  fury  by  dis- 
honest government  agents. 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  have  not  sufBcient  data  concerning  the 


62  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

political  condition  of  the  New  England  Indians  to  show  how  they 
developed  to  the  production  of  such  men  as  those  just  named,  but 
by  examining  another  Indian  tribe,  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  we  shall 
see  the  evolution  of  government  among  barbarians  up  to  hereditary 
monarchy  as  clearly  as  if  we  went  through  a  long  course  of  Greek 
or  Roman  history. 

The  Seneca-Iroquois  were  divided  into  gentes,  phratries,  and 
tribes.  The  chiefs  in  each  gens  were  usually  proportioned  to  the 
members.  Among  the  Iroquois  there  is  one  to  about  every  fifty 
persons.  The  Iroquois  in  New  York  now  number  three  thousand, 
and  have  eight  sachems  and  about  sixty  chiefs. 

The  first  question,  then,  that  suggests  itself  is,  what  were  the  politi- 
cal rights  of  the  gens.  First  of  all,  with  the  basic  right  of  having 
a  council  of  its  own,  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  its  sachem 
and  its  chiefs.  Here  we  have  at  once  a  fact  that  contradicts  the 
old  historical  assumption  that  the  democratical  form  of  govern- 
ment is  a  late  invention,  and  that  the  monarchical  was  the  one 
most  natural  and  most  adapted  to  the  evolution  of  human  society. 
For  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  the  head  of  the  gens 
shows  that  man  started  in  a  rude  way  to  have  what  we  are  trying 
to-ilay  to  have  in  a  complete,  though  perhaps  too  complex,  way ; 
namely,  a  government  of  the  people. 

Another  right  of  the  gens  was  the  inheritance  of  property.  If 
a  man  died  his  property  would  not  descend  to  his  son  or  his 
daughter,  but  to  the  gens  in  common.  The  feeling  here  seems  to 
])G  identical  with  that  which  our  most  republican  millionnaire, 
Andrew  Carnegie,  has  recently  expi-essed,  that  a  man's  material 
acquisitions,  being  largely  the  result  of  the  co-operation  of  others, 
should  at  his  death  revert  to  whence  they  came.  Mr.  Carnegie's 
mind,  however,  has  expanded  since  his  fii*st  declaration,  for  he  now 
maintains  that  a  rich  man  in  his  life-time  should  restore  to  the 
people,  in  the  shape  of  libraries,  parks,  and  hospitals,  the  money 
he  has  made  out  of  them. 

Of  course,  another  right  of  the  gens  was  that  of  bestowing 
names  on  its  members,  and  of  adopting  strangers  by  naming  them. 
There  were  obligations,  likewise,  of  help  and  defence  and  redress 
of  injuries,  and,  in  time,  an  obligation  among  most  not  to  marry 
in  the  gens.     Common  religious  rites,  a  common  burial  place  and. 


THE   OBIGIN    OF    GOVERNMENT    WITH   MAN, 


5S 


as  a  neceseaiy  baats  for  the  election  of  a  sachem,  the  right  to  call 
a  council,  were  distinctive  maiks  of  the  Iroquois  gens. 

As  to  the  election  of  sachems  and  chiefs,  it  is  piohably  a  new 
fact  to  most  readers  that  neaily  all  tl  e  Ameiican  Indiin  tribes  as 
well  as  the  Seneca-lroquois  hid  tvo  grades  of  chieftainship  m 
other  words  they  had  a  pc  ice  governor  and  a  w  ii  chief 


The  sachem,  or  wise-man,  was  elected  in  each  gens  fi-oni  among 
its  members.  A  son  could  not  be  chosen  to  succeed  hiH  father  if 
descent  waa  in  the  female  line,  whicii  made  the  son  belong  to  a 
different  gens. 

The  duties  of  a  sachein  were  confined  to  the  affaii-s  of  peace. 
He  settled  disputes,  advised  the  time  of  planting  corn,  or  the 
location  of  the  camp,  or  any  matter  that  demanded  personal 
advice,  or  sympathy.    It  was  analogous  in  some  respects  to  the 


64  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

post  of  father  confessor,  though  among  many  of  the  tribes  this 
function  was  rudimentary  in  spite  of  the  semi-religious  character 
with  which  the  sachem  was  invested.  The  relation  of  the  sachem 
was  primarily  to  the  gens  of  which  he  was  the  oflScial  head,  while 
that  of  the  chief,  who  was  chosen  for  personal  bravery  or  for 
eloquence,  was  primarily  to  the  tribe  or  large  organization  of  the 
council  of  which  he  its  well  as  the  sachem  were  members.  The 
sachem  was  so  much  an  oflBcer  of  peace  that  he  could  not  go  to 
war  as  a  sachem,  but  simply  as  a  private  individual  in  the  ranks 
under  the  leaderships  of  the  chiefs,  whose  functions  were  purely 
military  or  advisory  in  military  matters  in  the  general  council  of 
the  tribe. 

The  office  of  sachem  was  hereditary  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
filled  from  the  same  gens  as  often  as  a  vacancy  happened,  but  it 
was  filled  by  election  from  different  relatives  of  the  deceased  or 
deposed  chieftain.  Though  the  office  was  nominally  for  life,  it 
was  practically  for  good  behavior,  because  of  the  power  to  depose. 
The  ceremony  of  installing  a  sachem  was  very  picturesque.  It 
was  accompanied  by  song  and  dance  and  the  final  act  was 
symbolized  by  the  putting  on  a  headdress  of  buffalo  horns,  as  his 
dei)osition  wjis  symbolized  by  taking  off  the  horns. 

It  is  one  of  the  little  facts  that  cumulate  to  show  the  substan- 
tial relativity  of  mankind  that,  even  among  tribes  widely  separated, 
horns  have  been  made  emblems  of  office  and  authority  from  time 
immemorial,  and  even  of  sanctity,  as  in  the  Catholic  church  we 
liave  the  horns  of  the  altar,  whicli  were  invested  with  a  peculiar 
siicredness.  The  killing  of  Thomas  k  Becket,  for  instance,  in  the  age 
of  Henry  II.  of  England,  when  assassination  was  a  common  crime, 
was  accounted  especially  heinous  because  the  victim  was  not  only 
a  priest,  but  was  killed  while  holding  one  of  the  horns  of  the  altar. 

Horns,  also,  by  the  imagination  of  the  middle  ages,  are  assigned 
to  his  Satanic  Majesty,  probcably  as  a  token  of  his  power,  and  the 
horn  as  a  sign  of  plenty  is  another  emblem,  derived  possibly  from 
the  Scandinavian  drinking-horn,  though  it  is  also  credited  with  a 
Roman  and  Greek  derivation.  Tylor  intimates  that  the  command- 
ing appearance  of  bufifalos  and  such  animals  as  wear  horns  may 
have  suggested  to  the  general  mind  this  thing  as  a  token  of 
dignity  and  authority.  » 


64  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

post  of  father  confessor,  though  among  many  of  the  tribes  this 
function  was  rudimentary  in  spite  of  the  semi-religious  character 
with  which  the  sachem  was  invested.  The  relation  of  the  sachem 
was  primarily  to  the  gens  of  which  he  was  the  oflScial  head,  while 
that  of  the  chief,  who  was  chosen  for  personal  bravery  or  for 
eloquence,  was  primarily  to  the  tribe  or  large  organization  of  the 
council  of  which  he  as  well  as  the  sachem  were  members.  The 
sachem  wiis  so  much  an  officer  of  peace  that  he  could  not  go  to 
war  as  a  sachem,  but  simply  as  a  private  individual  in  the  ranks 
under  the  leaderships  of  the  chiefs,  whose  functions  were  purely 
military  or  advisory  in  military  matters  in  the  general  council  of 
the  tribe. 

The  office  of  sachem  was  hereditary  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
filled  from  the  same  gens  as  often  as  a  vacancy  happened,  but  it 
was  filled  by  election  from  different  relatives  of  the  deceased  or 
deposed  chieftain.  Though  the  office  was  nominally  for  life,  it 
was  practically  for  good  behavior,  because  of  the  power  to  depose. 
The  ceremony  of  installing  a  sachem  was  very  picturesque.  It 
was  accompanied  by  song  and  dance  and  the  final  act  was 
symbolized  by  the  putting  on  a  headdress  of  buffalo  horns,  as  his 
deposition  was  symbolized  by  taking  off  the  horns. 

It  is  one  of  the  little  facts  that  cumulate  to  show  the  substan- 
tial relativity  of  mankind  that,  even  among  tribes  widely  separated, 
horns  have  been  made  emblems  of  office  and  authority  from  time 
immemorial,  and  even  of  sanctity,  as  in  the  Catholic  church  we 
liave  the  horns  of  the  altar,  which  were  invested  with  a  peculiar 
sacredness.  The  killing  of  Thomas  k  Becket,  for  instance,  in  the  age 
of  Henry  II.  of  England,  when  assassination  was  a  common  crime, 
was  accounted  especially  heinous  because  the  victim  was  not  only 
a  priest,  but  was  killed  while  holding  one  of  the  horns  of  the  altar. 

Horns,  also,  by  the  imagination  of  the  middle  ages,  are  assigned 
to  his  Satanic  Majesty,  probably  as  a  token  of  his  power,  and  the 
horn  as  a  sign  of  plenty  is  another  emblem,  derived  iK)ssibly  from 
the  Scandinavian  drinking-horn,  though  it  is  also  credited  with  a 
Roman  and  Greek  derivation.  Tylor  intimates  that  the  command- 
ing ai:)pearance  of  buffalos  and  such  animals  as  wear  horns  may 
have  suggested  to  the  general  mind  this  thing  as  a  token  of 
dignity  and  authority.  » 


48  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  well  established,  though  but  recently,  that  Man  all  over 
the  world  has  a  common  scientific  evolution ;  the  story  of  one  race 
is  the  story  of  all.  Humanity  is  a  unit  in  source,  in  experi- 
ence, in  progress;  and,  in  the  faith  of  science  we  may  add, 
one  also  in  the  certainty  of  an  immortal  and  imperial  destiny. 
So,  if  we  take  the  condition  of  development  shown  by  a  tribe 
of  American  Indians,  we  shall  have  a  fairly  approximate  picture 
of  just  how  the  beautiful  civilization  of  Greece,  or  the  majestic 
empire  of  Rome  under  Augustus,  developed  through  the  gens, 
phratrj^  and  tribe. 

Too  many  of  us  derive  our  idea  of  an  Indian  from  Buffalo  Bill's 
Wild  West  Show,  or  from  the  straggling  specimens  that  sell 
baskets  and  beadwork  in  the  summer.  But  these  bear  no  more 
real  resemblance  to  the  Indian  as  he  is  historically  than  do  the 
fawning,  flattering,  fortune-telling  gypsies  to  the  ancient  Egyptian 
couitiers  who  exchanged  elegant  compliments  amid  the  roseate 
shadows  of  the  perfumed  audience  chamber  of  Cleopatra. 

Nationally,  we  have  done  great  material  wrong  to  the  original 
possessors  of  tliis  country.  Is  it  not  becoming  then  that  we 
should  at  least  make  some  attempt  to  do  justice  to  them  histori- 
cally, since  we  have  never,  or  rarely,  done  it  to  the  living 
individuals  ? 

Moreover,  our  ideas  of  the  Indian  have  always  been  colored  by 
conflict.  We  have  inherited  a  distrust  of  him,  and  it  is  only  of 
late  that  scholars  generally  have  begun  to  appreciate  his  virtues. 
Even  large-hearted  ti-avellers  like  Dickens  have  been  misled  into 
regarding  him  as  merely  a  dirty  and  drunken  ruffian,  glad  to  live 
in  laziness  and  be  supported  by  the  government.  The  trouble  is 
we  are  looking  upon  the  Indian,  not  as  God  made  Iiim,  not  as 
he  developed  under  the  kindly  eye  of  nature,  but  as  we  white 
men  have  unmade  him  by  the  almost  off-setting  brutality  that 
accompanies  our  present  civilization.  The  American  Indian, 
sitting  in  council  near  the  banks  of  some  winding  water,  under 
the  mellow  harvest  moon,  was  a  very  different  being  from  those 
we  see  to-day,  who  have  exchanged  the  virtues  of  barbarism  for 
the  vices  of  civilization;  those  to  whom  we  have  given  of  our 
M'oret  instead  of  our  best. 

Metacom  and  Wamsutta,  the  last  Indian  kings  of  prominence 


THB  ORIGIN   OP  GOVERNMENT   WITH   MAN. 


in  New  England,  were  types,  it  is  true,  of  the  third  stage  of 
barbarism.  They  were  barbarians,  but  they  were  gentlemen.  In 
a  of  feeling,  in  regard  for  the  rights  of  others,  in  statesman!- 


^-'ili 

|K^ 

Ir 

^«  "'-. 

wR 

HKSSlS^^^^^k 

^^V     v! 

IS 

^m 

^M 

^H  ^<'.^^9&^J^ 

\mk;' 

M 

yS|^^^^^ 

^sl. 

m 

^^m 

m 

^H 

like  qualities,  and  needleas  to  say  in  daring,  they  would  compare 
with  any  of  the  early  Saxon  chiefs  except  pobsibly  Alfied  the 


60  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Great.     For  instance,  what  could  be  finer  than  the  feeling  shown 
in  the  following  incident  ? 

Wamsutta  was  the  chief  king  of  Eastern  New  England  during 
the  early  colonial  days.  His  father,  Massasoit,  had  heaped  kind- 
nesses on  the  Pilgrims,  fed  them  when  starving,  saved  them  from 
the  assaults  of  other  tribes.  After  his  death,  Wamsutta  was  one 
diiy  at  breakfast  in  one  of  his  many  hunting  lodges,  with  several 
of  his  nobles  and  their  wives.  A  party  of  Pilgrims  surprised 
them,  seized  their  weapons  that  had  been  stacked  outside,  and  told 
the  king  that  he  was  under  arrest  and  must  come  to  Plymouth 
to  answer  certain  charges.  The  leader  of  this  party  offered  the 
outraged  monarch  a  horse  to  ride  on,  but  the  king  refused  with 
these  words :   "  I  could  not  ride  and  let  these  wonjen  walk." 

This  is  but  one  of  the  many  incidents  which  a  certain  un- 
conscious or  subconscious  candor  has  forced  unfriendly  historians 
to  record.  Wamsutta  died  from  the  effect  on  his  proud  nature  of 
the  indignity  done  him  by  this  an-est,  and  his  brother,  Metacom, 
or  Philip,  as  he  was  called  by  the  Pilgrims,  for  years  nursed  plans 
pf  vengeance  against  the  race  who  had  been  the  cause  of  his 
brother's  early  death,  who  had  spoiled  him  of  his  lands,  wantonly 
burned  many  of  his  hunting-lodges,  and  tried  even  in  liis  own 
home  to  curtail  his  powers. 

Philip  made  war  on  our  English  ancestoi-s  during  the  fall  of 
1675  and  the  following  winter  and  spring;  and  though  like 
Napoleon,  a  personal  failure  finally,  the  results  of  his  well-planned 
war  on  our  ancestors  were  felt  for  fifty  years  after  his  death,  or,  as 
their  writers  agreed,  he  retarded  the  development  of  New  England 
for  that  space. 

Yet  he,  too,  with  every  reason  to  detest  our  race,  was  not  only  kind 
in  many  instances  to  the  prisoners  he  captured,  but  was  uniformly 
courteous.  Mrs.  Richardson,  who  lived  as  his  prisoner  for  many 
months  before  she  was  finally  restored  to  her  husband,  tells  us  that 
this  great  soldier  (even  his  enemies  admitted  his  military  genius) 
was  a  most  kindly  captor.  He  asked  her  one  day  to  make  a  shirt 
for  his  little  son,  and  when  she  had  made  it,  expressing  his 
pleasure,  he  not  only  thanked  her,  but  paid  her  an  English  shilling 
for  it. 

Our  tardy  scholarship  is  beginning  to  see  that  such  conduct 


THE   ORIGIN   OP   GOVBRNSIENT  WITH   MAN. 


more  fairly  represents  the  Indian  character  as  it  waa  at  tlie  beat 
period  of  development  than  the  ravages  occasionally  committed  by 


the  degenerate  tribes  of  to-day,  too  often  goaded  to  fury  by  dis- 
honest  government  agents. 
It  is  a  pity  that  we  have  not  sufficient  data  concerning  the 


60  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Great.     For  instance,  what  could  be  finer  than  the  feeling  shown 
in  the  following  incident  ? 

Wamsutta  was  the  chief  king  of  Eastern  New  England  during 
the  early  colonial  days.  His  father,  Massasoit,  Iiad  heaped  kind- 
nesses on  the  Pilgrims,  fed  them  when  starving,  saved  them  from 
the  assaults  of  other  tribes.  After  his  death,  Wamsutta  was  one 
day  at  breakfast  in  one  of  his  many  hunting  lodges,  with  several 
of  his  nobles  and  their  wives.  A  party  of  Pilgrims  surprised 
them,  seized  their  weapons  that  had  been  stacked  outside,  and  told 
the  king  that  he  was  under  arrest  and  must  come  to  Plymouth 
to  answer  certain  charges.  Tlie  leader  of  this  party  offered  the 
outraged  monarch  a  hoi-se  to  ride  on,  but  the  king  refused  with 
these  words :   "  I  could  not  ride  and  let  these  women  walk.** 

This  is  but  one  of  the  many  incidents  which  a  certain  un- 
conscious or  subconscious  candor  has  forced  unfriendly  historians 
to  record.  Wamsutta  died  from  the  efifect  on  his  proud  nature  of 
the  indignity  done  him  by  this  arrest,  and  his  brother,  Metacom, 
or  Philip,  as  he  was  called  by  the  Pilgrims,  for  years  nursed  plans 
pf  vengeance  against  the  race  who  had  been  the  cause  of  his 
brother's  early  death,  who  had  spoiled  him  of  his  lands,  wantonly 
burned  many  of  his  hunting-lodges,  and  tried  even  in  liis  own 
tome  to  curtail  his  powers. 

Philip  made  war  on  our  English  ancestoi*s  during  the  fall  of 
1675  and  the  following  winter  and  spring;  and  though  like 
Napoleon,  a  personal  failure  finally,  the  results  of  his  well-planned 
war  on  our  ancestors  were  felt  for  fifty  years  after  his  death,  or,  as 
their  writers  agreed,  he  retarded  the  development  of  New  England 
for  that  space. 

Yet  he,  too,  with  every  reason  to  detest  our  race,  was  not  only  kind 
in  many  instances  to  the  prisoners  he  captured,  but  was  uniformly 
courteous.  Mrs.  Richardson,  who  lived  as  his  prisoner  for  many 
months  before  she  was  finally  restored  to  her  husband,  tells  us  that 
this  great  soldier  (even  his  enemies  admitted  his  military  genius) 
was  a  most  kindly  captor.  He  asked  her  one  day  to  make  a  shirt 
for  his  little  son,  and  when  she  had  made  it,  expressing  his 
pleasure,  he  not  only  thanked  her,  but  paid  her  an  English  shilling 
for  it. 

Our  tardy  scholarship  is  beginning  to  see  that  such  conduct 


THE   OBIGIN   OP  GOVERNMENT   WITH  MAN.  51 

more  fairly  represents  the  Inditui  character  as  it  was  at  the  best 
period  o£  development  than  the  ravages  occasionally  committed  by 


the  degenerate  tribes  of  to-day,  too  often  goaded  to  fury  by  dia. 
honest  government  agents. 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  have  not  sufficient  data  concerning  the 


62  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

political  condition  of  the  New  England  Indians  to  show  how  they 
developed  to  the  production  of  such  men  as  those  just  named,  but 
by  examining  another  Indian  tribe,  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  we  shall 
see  the  evolution  of  government  among  barbarians  up  to  hereditary 
monarchy  as  clearly  as  if  we  went  through  a  long  course  of  Greek 
or  Roman  history. 

The  Seneca-Iroquois  were  divided  into  gentes,  phratries,  and 
tribes.  The  chiefs  in  each  gens  were  usually  proportioned  to  the 
membere.  Among  the  Iroquois  there  is  one  to  about  every  fifty 
persons.  The  Iroquois  in  New  York  now  number  three  thousand, 
and  have  eight  sachems  and  about  sixty  chiefs. 

The  first  question,  then,  that  suggests  itself  is,  what  were  the  politi- 
cal rights  of  the  gens.  First  of  all,  with  the  basic  right  of  having 
a  council  of  its  own,  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  its  sachem 
and  its  chiefs.  Here  we  have  at  once  a  fact  that  contradicts  the 
old  historical  assumption  that  the  democratical  form  of  govern- 
ment is  a  late  invention,  and  that  the  monarchical  was  the  one 
most  natui-al  and  most  adapted  to  the  evolution  of  human  society. 
For  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  the  head  of  the  gens 
shows  that  man  started  in  a  rude  way  to  have  what  we  are  trying 
to-day  to  have  in  a  complete,  though  perhaps  too  complex,  way ; 
namely,  a  government  of  the  people. 

Another  right  of  the  gens  was  the  inheritance  of  property.  If 
a  man  died  his  property  would  not  descend  to  his  son  or  his 
daughter,  but  to  the  gens  in  common.  The  feeling  here  seems  to 
be  identical  with  that  wliich  our  most  republican  millionnaii'e, 
Andrew  Carnegie,  has  recently  expressed,  that  a  man's  material 
acquisitions,  being  largely  the  result  of  the  co-operation  of  others, 
should  at  his  death  revert  to  whence  they  came.  Mr.  Carnegie's 
mind,  however,  has  expanded  since  his  fii^t  declaration,  for  he  now 
maintains  that  a  rich  man  in  his  life-time  should  restore  to  the 
people,  in  the  shape  of  libraries,  parks,  and  hospitals,  the  money 
he  has  made  out  of  them. 

Of  course,  another  right  of  the  gens  was  that  of  bestowing 
names  on  its  members,  and  of  adopting  strangers  by  naming  them. 
There  were  obligations,  likewise,  of  help  and  defence  and  redress 
of  injuries,  and,  in  time,  an  obligation  among  most  not  to  marry 
in  the  gens.     Common  religious  rites,  a  common  burial  place  and, 


THE  OBIOIN   OF   GOVERNMENT   WITH  HAH.  68 

as  A  necessary  basis  for  the  election  of  a  sachem,  the  right  to  call 
a  council,  were  distinctive  marks  of  tlie  Iroquois  gens. 

As  to  the  election  of  sachems  and  chiefs,  it  is  probably  a  new- 
fact  to  most  readers  that  nea  ly    11  tl  e  Ame     a    I    V  n  tr'bes  as 
well  as  tl  e  Seneca-1  oquo  s  h   1  t   o  g  ■ades    f  cl  efta    ship 
other  words,  they  1  ad  a  pe    e  go  emo   and  a     a   el  ef 


The  sachem,  or  wise-man,  was  elected  in  each  gens  from  among 
its  members.  A  son  could  not  be  chosen  to  succeed  his  father  if 
descent  was  in  the  female  line,  which  made  the  son  belong  to  a 
different  gens. 

The  duties  of  a  sachem  were  confined  to  the  affaii-s  of  peace. 
He  settled  disputes,  advised  the  time  of  planting  corn,  or  the 
location  of  the  camp,  or  any  matter  that  demanded  personal 
adviceior  sympatiiy.     It  was  analogous  in  some  respects  to  the 


62  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

political  condition  of  the  New  England  Indians  to  show  how  they 
developed  to  the  production  of  such  men  as  those  just  named,  but 
by  examining  another  Indian  tribe,  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  we  shall 
see  the  evolution  of  government  among  barbarians  up  to  hereditary 
monarchy  as  clearly  as  if  we  went  through  a  long  course  of  Greek 
or  Roman  history. 

The  Seneca-Iroquois  were  divided  into  gentes,  phratries,  and 
tribes.  The  chiefs  in  each  gens  were  usually  proportioned  to  the 
membei*s.  Among  the  Iroquois  there  is  one  to  about  every  fifty 
persons.  The  Iroquois  in  New  York  now  number  three  thousand, 
and  have  eight  sachems  and  about  sixty  chiefs. 

The  first  question,  then,  that  suggests  itself  is,  what  were  the  politi- 
cal rights  of  the  gens.  First  of  all,  with  the  basic  right  of  having 
a  council  of  its  own,  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  its  sachem 
and  its  chiefs.  Here  we  have  at  once  a  fact  that  contradicts  the 
old  historical  assumption  that  the  democratical  form  of  govern- 
ment is  a  late  invention,  and  that  the  monarchical  was  the  one 
most  natural  and  most  adapted  to  the  evolution  of  human  society. 
For  the  right  of  electing  and  deposing  the  head  of  the  gens 
shows  that  man  started  in  a  rude  way  to  have  what  we  are  trying 
to-day  to  have  in  a  complete,  though  perhaps  too  complex,  way ; 
namely,  a  government  of  the  people. 

Another  right  of  the  gens  was  the  inheritance  of  property.  If 
a  man  died  his  property  would  not  descend  to  his  son  or  his 
daughter,  but  to  the  gens  in  common.  The  feeling  here  seems  to 
be  identical  with  that  which  our  most  republican  millionnaire, 
Andrew  Carnegie,  has  recently  expressed,  that  a  man's  material 
acquisitions,  being  largely  the  result  of  the  co-operation  of  others, 
should  at  his  death  revert  to  whence  they  came.  Mr.  Carnegie's 
mind,  however,  has  expanded  since  his  fii*st  declaration,  for  he  now 
maintains  that  a  rich  man  in  his  life-time  should  restore  to  the 
people,  in  the  shape  of  libraries,  parks,  and  hospitals,  the  money 
he  has  made  out  of  them. 

Of  course,  another  right  of  the  gens  was  that  of  bestowing 
names  on  its  members,  and  of  adopting  strangers  by  naming  them. 
There  were  obligations,  likewise,  of  help  and  defence  and  redress 
of  injuries,  and,  in  time,  an  obligation  among  most  not  to  marry 
in  the  gens.     Common  religious  rites,  a  common  burial  place  and, 


THE  OBIGIN  OP   GOVERNMENT   WITH  MAN. 


58 


as  a  necessaiy  basis  for  the  election  of  &  sachem,  the  right  to  call 
a  council,  were  distinctive  marks  of  the  Iroquois  gens. 

As  to  the  election  of  sachems  and  chiefs,  it  is  probably  a  new 
fact  to  most  readers  that  nearly  ivll  tlie  American  Indiin  tribe''  as 
well  as  the  Seieca-Iroquo  s   had  t    o  grades  of  cl  efta    slip     i 
other  words,  they  had  a  peace  go\ernor  and  a   vai  cl  ef 


ONE  OF  KINO 


The  sachem,  or  wise-man,  was  elected  in  each  gens  from  among 
its  members.  A  son  could  not  be  chosen  to  succeed  his  father  if 
descent  was  in  the  female  line,  which  made  the  son  belong  to  a 
different  gens. 

The  duties  of  a  sachem  were  coniined  to  the  affairs  of  peace. 
He  settled  disputes,  advised  the  time  of  planting  corn,  or  the 
location  of  the  camp,  or  any  matter  that  demanded  personal 
advice,  or  sympathy.    It  was  analogous  in  some  respects  to  the 


64  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

post  of  father  confessor,  though  among  many  of  the  tribes  this 
function  was  rudimentary  in  spite  of  the  semi-religious  character 
with  which  the  sachem  was  invested.  The  relation  of  the  sachem 
was  primarily  to  the  gens  of  which  he  was  the  official  head,  while 
that  of  the  chief,  who  was  chosen  for  personal  bravery  or  for 
eloquence,  was  primarily  to  the  tribe  or  large  organization  of  the 
council  of  which  he  as  well  as  the  sachem  were  members.  The 
sachem  was  so  much  an  officer  of  peace  that  he  could  not  go  to 
war  as  a  sachem,  but  simply  as  a  private  individual  in  the  ranks 
under  the  leaderships  of  the  chiefs,  whose  functions  were  purely 
military  or  advisory  in  military  matters  in  the  general  council  of 
the  tribe. 

The  office  of  sachem  was  hereditary  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
filled  from  the  same  gens  as  often  as  a  vacancy  happened,  but  it 
was  filled  by  election  from  different  relatives  of  the  deceased  or 
deposed  chieftain.  Though  the  office  was  nominally  for  life,  it 
was  practically  for  good  behavior,  because  of  the  power  to  depose. 
The  ceremony  of  installing  a  sachem  was  very  picturesque.  It 
was  accompanied  by  song  and  dance  and  the  final  act  was 
symbolized  by  the  putting  on  a  headdress  of  buffalo  horns,  as  his 
deposition  was  symbolized  by  taking  off  the  horns. 

It  is  one  of  the  little  facts  that  cumulate  to  show  the  substan- 
tial relativity  of  mankind  that,  even  among  tribes  widely  separated, 
horns  have  been  made  emblems  of  office  and  authority  from  time 
immemorial,  and  even  of  sanctity,  as  in  the  Catholic  church  we 
have  the  horns  of  the  altar,  which  were  invested  with  a  peculiar 
siicredness.  The  killing  of  Thomas  h  Becket,  for  instance,  in  the  age 
of  Henry  II.  of  England,  when  assassination  was  a  common  crime, 
was  accounted  especially  heinous  because  the  victim  was  not  only 
a  priest,  but  was  killed  while  holding  one  of  the  horns  of  the  altar. 

Horns,  also,  by  the  imagination  of  the  middle  ages,  are  assigned 
to  liis  Satanic  Majesty,  probably  as  a  token  of  his  power,  and  the 
horn  as  a  sign  of  plenty  is  another  emblem,  derived  possibly  from 
the  Scandinavian  drinking-horn,  though  it  is  also  credited  with  a 
Roman  and  Greek  derivation.  Tylor  intimates  that  the  command- 
ing appearance  of  buffalos  and  such  animals  as  wear  horns  may 
liave  suggested  to  the  general  mind  this  thing  as  a  token  of 
dignity  and  authority.  » 


66  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Among  the  Iroquois  Indians,  whose  attempt  at  government  we 
are  considering,  the  nomination  of  a  sachem  by  a  gens  was  not 
complete  until  it  had  received  the  assent  of  the  seven  remaining 
gentes.  If  these  gentes,  who  met  for  this  purpose  by  phratries, 
refused  to  confirm  it,  the  original  gens  had  to  make  another 
choice ;  and  even  when  they  had  confiimed  it,  it  was  still  neces- 
sary that  the  new  sachem,  to  use  their  own  peculiar  phrase,  should 
be  "  raised  up^*^  that  is,  should  be  inducted  into  his  office  by  a 
council  of  the  confederacy  before  he  could  enter  upon  his  duties. 
The  same  method  of  election  and  confirmation  applied  to  chiefs, 
yet  a  general  council  never  convened  to  "  raise  up  "  chiefs  below 
the  rank  of  a  sachem,  but  waited  for  some  time  when  a  sachem 
was  to  be  confirmed. 

The  principle  of  democracy  manifested  itself  here  in  the  reten- 
tion by  the  gent-i-les,^  or  members  of  each  gens,  of  the  right  of 
electing  their  most  immediate  rulers,  and  also  proved  itself  in 
the  safeguards  thrown  around  the  oflBces  to  prevent  usurpations 
by  the  check  on  the  election  which  the  other  gentes  held  in  their 
hands  and  by  the  additional  check  held  by  the  whole  tribe.  We 
can  see  in  this  ceremonial  of  "  raising  up "  by  the  tribe  an 
analogue  of  the  administration  to  our  President  of  the  oath  of 
office  by  some  one  else,  as  we  can  see  also  in  the  checks  devised 
by  the  Indian  mind  against  the  seizure  of  power  by  unscrupulous 
ambition  the  same  working  principle  that  led  the  founders  of  this 
republic  to  put  various  checks  on  the  power  of  individuals,  and 
even  of  popular  assemblies,  such  as  the  check  of  the  Senate  on  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  this  democratic  assembly,  or  coun- 
cil of  the  gens,  which  elected  a  sachem,  not  merely  every  man, 
but  every  married  woman,  had  a  voice  upon  great  questions, 
probably  in  many  cases  very  much  of  a  voice  on  little  ones,  like- 
wise. Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  great  ideas.  Liberty,  Equality, 
and  Fraternity,  which  were  the  torch-words  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, though  never  formulated  into  sounding  phrase  by  Indian 
orators,  were  cardinal  principles  of  their  system  of  government. 

Looked  at  carelessly,  a  council  of  Indian  chiefs,  scantily  clad, 

>  Oent-i-les  —  the  members  of  a  gens  or  family  group.    A  word  to  be  distinguished  from 
Gentiles  as  used  in  the  Bible. 


THE   OKIGIN   OP  GOVERNMENT   WITH  HAK.  67 

with  paint-daubed  faces,  armed  with  rude  weapons  and  amoking 
clumsy  pipes,  is  of  little  importance  except  as  a  ptctureijqueneBs 
of  the  past.  Studied  by  the  light  of  science,  it  is  seen  to  be  the 
germ  of  the  modern  congress,  and  thus  to  have  a  bearing  of  great 
importance  on  the  histoiy  of  mankind. 

The  first  st^ge  of  tribal  government  was  a  council  of  chiefs 
elected  by  the  gentes  and  may  be  styled  a  one-power  government  ■ 
—  not  a  one-raan  power,  for  that  was  to  come  later. 


,    -'^ 

^-A'^'/^H 

^^.„  '^  TEbs 

«S*>^0*!^ 

^^^hM^H 

Hg 

fii^^'^^^ 

bb^ 

^^9 

^ 

^%i: 

w^M 

^H 

^ 

r' 

■■^^F~^ 

pra^w 

^^1 

hH 

The  second  stage  was  a  govei'nment  divided,  or  balanced,  be- 
tween a  council  of  chiefs,  or  sncliems,  and  a  general ;  one  repre- 
senting the  civil,  and  ^he  other  the  military  necessities  of  the 
people. 

The  general,  called  War  Chief  among  the  Iroquois,  Rex  among 
the  Romans,  and  Basileus  among  the  Oreeks,  was  the  germ,  or 
suggestion,  of  a  chief  executive  magistrate.  King,  Emperor,  or 
President.  This  office  was  elective  and  not  hereditarj'  among  the 
Iroquois  and  other  Indians,  as  likewise  among  the  Romans,  and 
later  light  seems  to  show  that  the  Spaniards,  and  the  great 
historian  Prescott  following  their  lead,  were  mistaken  in  thinking 


68  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  among  the  Aztecs  the  office  was  hereditary.  It  is  also 
extremely  doubtful  whether  among  the  Greeks  of  the  traditionary 
period,  —  that  is,  those  who  figure  as  heroes  in  the  world's 
greatest  poems,  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  —  the  office  of  king  was 
not  elective,  instead  of  Iiereditary,  as  most  scholars  have  hitherto 
assumed. 

This  double  government  of  an  elective  council  and  elective 
general,  or  two-power  government,  naturally  unfolded  into  a  third 
stage:  a  tribal  government,  with  a  council  of  chiefs,  a  general 
commander,  and  an  assembly  of  the  people,  since  the  establishment 
of  tribes  in  walled  cities,  and  the  creation  of  wealth  in  lands, 
flocks  and  herds  and  in  private  property  necessitated  a  popular 
assembly. 

The  council  of  chiefs,  to  retain  their  power,  found  it  needful  to 
submit  the  most  important  measures  to  this  popular  assembly  for 
approval  or  the  reverse.  It  does  not  appear  that  this  assembly 
originated  measures,  but  was  content  to  let  the  chiefs  do  their 
thinking  for  them,  retaining  only  the  right  of  rejection  or  final 
action.  This  was  a  creation  then  of  a  three-power  government, 
namely  the  preconsidering  council,  the  popular  assembly  to  sanc- 
tion or  reject  the  plans  of  their  accepted  thinkers,  and  the  general 
to  carry  them  out,  if  called  upon. 

The  Iroquois  went  one  step  further  in  the  development  of  gov- 
ernment than  most  of  the  Indians,  for  one  of  tlieir  wise  men, 
Ha-yo-went-ha,  whom  our  poet  Longfellow  has  celebrated  as 
Hiawatha,  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting  their  different  tribes  and 
some  others  into  a  confederacy  mth  marked  limitations  of  territory 
which  was  almost  an  arrival  at  the  conception  of  a  nation.  The 
Iroquois  tradition  tells  us  that  the  council  for  this  purpose  met  on 
the  north  shore  of  the  beautiful  Onondaga  Lake  near  the  present 
site  of  Syracuse,  and  that  the  organization  was  perfected. 

The  great  Edinburgh  scholar.  Prof.  John  Stuart  Blackie, 
remarks  that  the  American  Indians  and  the  Greeks  of  the  Homeric 
poems  bear  to  each  otlier  in  sentiment  a  wonderfully  striking 
resemblance.  This  is  especially  true  as  to  the  basis  of  government 
indicated  by  their  political  or  official  titles.  The  Iroquois  name 
for  a  sachem  (Ilo-yar-na-go-war),  which  signifies  "  a  counsellor  of 
the  people,"  has  its  duplicate  in  many  Greek  names  for  military 


[  OBIQIN   OF   GOVEKNMENT   WITH   MAN. 


59 


leaders,  which  betokens  that  botli  barbaric  governraents  were  based 
on  the  people  (as  is  not  the  case  to-day  with  the  barbaric  govern- 
meots  of  Russia  and  of  China)  and  were,  indeed,  a  rude  kind  of 
free  democracy. 

Since  scientists  are  agreed  that  all  mtn  liave  developed  in  very 
nearly  similar  ways,  tliere  is  contained  in  this  jiarticular  picture  a 
general  one  also  of  the  way  in  which  all  races  probably  began, 
by  the  slow  adding  of  new  featnres  to  the  machinery  of  their 
social  system,  to  evolve  tlie  idea  of  government  from  the  family. 
What  is  averagely  true  of  the  American  Indian  applies  roundly, 


and  the  different  kinds  of  gfiveninicnt  wliicli  wo  chilli  bii  led  to 
study  further  on,  by  means  of  brief  historical  illustrations,  will  l>e 
seen  to  be  growths  upon  this  primal  stock  i>f  df/mncraticul  govern- 
ment, excrescences  caused  citlier  hy  tlio  cleverness  of  priests,  or 
the  ambition  of  individual  chiefs,  who,  tenii«>i-arily  clothed  with 
power  by  the  [leople,  managed  to  perpetuate  their  power  in  them- 
selves and  their  descendants.  But  these  excrescencfs^  on  the  fair 
growth  of  the  original  democratic  idea  are  gradually  losing  their 
vitality  and  must  before  long  drop  awa)-. 

■  It  1b  believeil  by  Gome  BtaJsnts  at  liintnry  tint  tlia  iiei>iilB  liave  Bimrrcly  itcvelojieil  die 
moDaTchiual  form  as  preferable  to  Oic  umiTtalnty.che  Hiictiiaiii  clmrai-ifr.cjf  an  <.lii-ar>:lii'!  '>r 
democratic  fomi.  PosbIUI;  nionaTcliy  it  part  or  a  natural  onlrr.  jiwt  as  a  dinorder  In  chilil- 
bood  may  be  a  Htfeguatd  againat  a  mure  dan^roua  disease  later— a  sort  of  unconscious 
■all'TSCcinaUon  on  Uie  part  of  a  people  •levelopin;;. 


60  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

We  have  now  had  a  brief  outline  of  the  simplest  form  of  tribal 
government,  a  form  adapted  to  meet  only  the  needs  of  barbarians. 
We  shall  see  in  a  later  chapter  how  perfect  in  its  mechanism, 
and  how  marvellous  in  its  power  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  theo- 
cratic, or  priestly  government,  which  the  great  French  scholar, 
Fustel  de  Coulanges,  seems  to  think  was  more  strong  in  the  begin- 
ning of  ancient  society  than  to-day.  For  de  Coulanges  maintains 
that  among  ancient  races  every  family  had  a  separate  religion ; 
that  every  hearth  was  the  altar  of  a  personal  god,  and  that  con- 
sequently every  attempt  at  closer  association  between  different 
families  for  the  pui^j^ose,  or  towards  the  end,  of  establishing  a 
joint  government  was  not  merely  colored,  but  controlled,  by  the 
theocratic  or  priestly  idea ;  was  dominated  always  by  the  shadow 
of  the  unseen  world. 

It  sometimes  happens,  however,  that  great  scholars  who  adopt 
certain  ideas  as  genei-al  explanations  of  any  problem  are  tempted 
to  twist  even  the  simplest  fact  into  an  apparent  substantiation  of 
their  theories.  For  example,  this  great  Frenchman  just  mentioned, 
whose  lust  book  had  the  extraordinary  honor  of  being  crowned 
three  times  by  the  French  Academy,  takes  a  very  simple  passage 
from  Homer's  beautiful  poem,  "  The  Odyssey."  Ulysses,  when 
offered  countless  treasures  and  immortality  likewise,  wishes  instead 
to  see  once  more  the  flame  of  his  own  hearth-fire.  The  scholar, 
often  too  eager  to  prove  his  case  and  so  tempted  into  becoming 
a  special  {^leader,  seems  to  see  in  this  a  proof  of  the  worship  of 
home  and  the  household  fire-god  rather  than  a  simple,  though 
profound,  idea  put  by  the  greatest  of  poets  into  the  mouth  of  his 
wisest  character. 

For  should  not  the  wise  man's  words  really  be  taken  as 
merely  an  outburst  of  the  charmingly  simple  and  profoundly  true 
feeling  that  human  affection  outshines  all  treasures,  and  that  to 
see  once  again,  after  long  separation,  one's  beloved  wife  and  child 
would  be  more  to  a  man  than  immoitality  away  from  them  ? 


II. 


f{udin)cr)is 


/Kn)or)^    /Kt)itr)clls^ 


THE  beginnings  of  human  government,  as  of  the  human 
family,  if  we  accept  tlie  doctrine  of  Darwin,  are 
unquestionably  found  among  the  lower  animals.  But 
whether  we  believe  the  Darwinian  theory  or  not,  which 
the  most  eminent  pathologist  Virchow  has  recently  declared  to  be 
still  far  from  final,  we  cannot  reasonably  refuse  to  admit  that 
"  instinct,"  as  a  mysterious  line  of  separation  between  man  and 
other  animals,  has  been  wiped  out.  The  word,  instinct,  comes 
from  the  Latin  verb,  instinguere^  to  excite  or  urge  on,  and  by 
logical  necessity  implies  a  conscious  exciter  behind  the  excitement 
exhibited.  Hence,  very  justly  from  this  point  of  view,  Ciesalpinus, 
an  ancient  author,  remarks  :  — "  Deus  est  anima  brutorum.^^  "  God 
is  the  mind  (or  moving  principle)  of  animals." 

Most  of  the  early  philosophers,  and  especially  the  Christian 
fathers  (who  were  almost  unanimous  in  regarding  all  animal 
life  as  something  necessarily  coarse,  gross  and  contemptible), 
assumed  that  animals  were  mere  automata.  In  the  middle  ages 
those  who  sought  an  explanation  for  the  manifold  manifestations 
of  reason  among  the  brutes  were,  however,  slightly  at  variance  in 
their  opinions,  for  some  attributed  such  tokens  to  the  all-powerful 
and  ever-ready  devil ;  while  others  referred  them  to  the  agency  of 
God,  through  the  medium  of  instinct  —  which  was  defined  as  a 


61 


62  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

guiding,  inborn,  unchangeable  and  irresistible  propensity,  inde- 
pendent of  experience  or  training  or  heredity,  and  acting  appro- 
priately without  consciousness  of  the  object  aimed  at. 

According  to  Descartes,  the  great  French  philosopher,  the 
feelings  and  emotions  of  animals  are  an  empty  show  — a  welcome 
bit  of  philosophy  for  animal  tormentors.  This  extreme  opinion, 
coming  from  a  man  so  famous,  had  a  great  vogue  in  its  time,  but 
some  voices  here  and  there  were  lifted  against  it,  and  even  the 
Jesuit  father,  Bonjeant,  who  found  so  much  intelligence  in  ani- 
mals that  he  thought  most  of  it  must  be  due  to  the  help  of  the 
devil  or  devils,  turned  against  Descartes  with  the  words :  "  All 
the  Cartesians  in  the  world  will  never  persuade  me  that  a  dog  is 
a  mere  machine.  Imagine  a  man  who  should  love  his  clock  as 
he  loves  his  dog,  and  who  should  pet  it  because  he  believed  it 
loved  him  and  was  of  opinion  that  it  struck  the  hours  con- 
sciously and  out  of  friendship  for  him.  Yet,  if  Descartes  be  right, 
that  is  exactly  the  absurdity  committed  by  all  those  who  believe 
that  their  dog  is  faithful  to  them  and  loves  them.  I  see  how  my 
dog  runs  to  me  when  I  call  him,  caresses  me  when  I  coax  him, 
trembles  and  runs  away  when  I  threaten  him,  obeys  when  I  order 
him,  and  how  he  exhibits  all  the  outward  signs  of  the  distinct 
emotions  of  joy,  grief,  pain,  fear,  desire,  love  and  hate.  And  if 
all  the  philosophers  in  the  world  should  try  to  convince  me,  I 
should  never  be  able  to  persuade  myself  that  an  animal  is  a 
machine." 

But,  in  contradiction  of  the  doctrine  that  animals  are  automatic, 
it  has  long  been  recognized  that  the  power  and  practice  of  organi- 
zation among  the  lower  animals  include  a  series  of  phenomena 
of  the  highest  interest  —  phenomena  that  involve  the  possession 
and  application  of  high  mental  and  even  moral  faculties.  For 
instance,  there  are  forms  of  government  and  respect  for  consti- 
tuted authority.  « If  men,"  wrote  the  pagan  Celsus  in  the  second 
century  after  Christ,  "  think  themselves  dilBferentiated  from  ani- 
mals, because  they  inhabit  towns,  make  laws  and  set  up  govern- 
ments, they  prove  themselves  in  error,  for  bees  and  ants  do  the 
same."  Celsus  also  noted  that  ants  talk  with  each  other  when 
they  meet,  and  offered  an  opinion,  which  recent  investigation  has 
confirmed,  that  they  had  regular  burying-grounds. 


EUDIMENTS   AMONG    ANIMALS.  68 

When  an  animal  is  very  minute,  people  are  apt  to  think  its 
oi^nization  must  be  very  simple  and  its  intelligence  very  small, 
for  the  influence  of  the  prejudice  of  mere  size  over  the  majority  is 
very  great.     The  gigantic  dimensions  of  a  whale,  or  a  reptile  of 

the  fossil  age,  attract  general  attention,  while   equal  attention  is 
not  easily  aroused  by  the  most  wonderful  phenomena  exhibited  in 


the  life  of  a  flea  or  an  ant.  Yet  the  exti-aordinary  capabilities  of 
an  apparently  lowly  creature  may  yield  to  a  philosopher  the  most 
valuable  results. 

The  cerebral  ganglia  of  the  ant  —  which  ganglia  in  invertebrate 
animals  take  tlie  place  of  tlie  bmin  proper  to  tlie  vertebrate  —  are 
no  larger  than  a  quarter  of  a  pin's  head.  "  Under  this  point  of 
view,"  as  Darwin  says,  "the  brain  of  the  ant  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  atoms  of  matter  in  the  world,  perliaps  more  so  than 
the  brain  of   a  man."     And  this  fact  shows  that  tliere  may  be 


64  THE   STORY  OF    GOYEBNHENT. 

marvellously  great  mentality  in.  a  maryellonslj  small  mass  of 
nervous  matter. 

Ants  live  in  a  republic,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  that 
is,  in  a  state  on  the  widest  democratic  foundations ;  and  is  it  not 
significant  that  the  most  intelligent  family  among  socially  living 
insects  has  made  for  itself  a  polity  which  is  regarded  among  men 
as  the  relatively  best  and  most  ideal,  while  a  step  lower,  among 
bees,  there  is  a  distinct  inclination  to  the  form  of  so-called  consti- 
tutional monarchy  ?  Among  men,  even  among  many  college-bred 
Americans,  it  is  frequently  said  that  while  the  republican  form  of 
government,  from  a  theoretical  standpoint,  best  represents  the 
ideal  of  the  state  and  the  principles  of  justice,  nevertheless,  on 
account  of  the  ineradicable  weakness  of  human  nature,  and  the  con- 
sequent impossibility  of  self-government,  it  is  not  practically 
realizable. 

Were  this  true,  ought  we  not  to  look  up  to  and  regard 
with  profound  admiration  the  little  ant-nation  that  lives  at 
our  feet,  since  every  tribe  of  those  apparently  petty  creatures 
finds  itself  intelligent  and  civilized  enough  to  live  easily  and 
happily  under  the  principles  of  universal  equality  and  liberty? 
Shall  we  not  have  to  revise  Solomon's  saying,  "  Go  to  the  ant, 
thou  sluggard !  "  somewhat  after  this  fashion,  "  Go  to  the  ant, 
thou  political  economist,  or  college  professor  who  inculcatest 
monarchism  "  ? 

But  the  ant  republic  has  not  merely  political  equality ;  it  has 
gone  a  step  further  than  that  and  evolved  industrial  equality. 
It  has  developed  from  the  social  the  socialistic  republic,  and 
is  indeed  in  all  its  industrial,  though  not  in  all  its  social  features, 
what  our  most  idealistic  politiconsocial  refonners  are  wont  to  put 
forward  as  the  last  and  mightiest  aim  of  human  efforts  after 
governmental  perfection  ;  the  ideal  of  Plato,  and  Sir  Thomas  More, 
of  Edward  Bellamy  and  a  growing  host  of  thinkers  and 
workers  now  in  eveiy  place.  The  ant  state  is  a  "  Proletariat 
State  "  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word,  since  only  the  wingless, 
sexless  worker-ants,  which  have  no  families  of  their  own  to  look 
after,  take  part  in  directing  the  business,  while  the  winged  males 
and  fertile  females  are  kept  as  prisoners  in  the  nest,  and  are  fed 
and  nurtured  for  the  sake  of  their  progeny. 


"^^.^  ^'Hb' L^W 


THE  POLICE  C 


66  THE    STORY    OF     GOVERNMENT. 

Tlje  expression  "  sexless  "  is  really  not  appropriate  to  the  men, 
or  rather  \vonien-workei*s,  for  these  are  really  undeveloped  feinalai^ 
so  that  the  state  is  truly  under  a  rule  completely  feminine. 
Huber  remarks  that  these  are  women  whose  moral  qualities 
have  been  developed  at  the  cost  of  their  physical, —  a  tiling  which 
ought  not  to  happen  among  mankind,  for  the  most  perfect  devel- 
opment of  a  human  being  is  that  wliich  is  symmetrical.  As  Alcott 
said,  Friendship  is  globular,  Love  is  spherical,  and  the  loss  or  de- 
pression of  any  element  of  God's  creation  is  not  a  superior  purity 
but  an  imperfection. 

The  individual  ant  does  not  possess  a  family,  for  the  principle 
of  public  and  state  training  of  children  —  such  as  the  philosopher 
Plato  is  known  to  have  desired  in  his  republic,  and  which  would 
be  necessary  in  a  fully  organized  "  Proletariat  State  "  —  is  thor- 
oughly carried  out  in  the  ant  republic. 

There  is  one  singular  contradiction  to  the  equality  regnant 
among  ants  and  this  is,  that  for  an  unknown  length  of  time  they 
have  had  a  politico-social  institution  which  has  played  and  still 
plays  a  great  part  in  the  history  of  human  nations  and  civilizations. 
This  institution,  indeed,  seems  at  first  sight  not  to  harmonize  with 
the  otherwise  social-democratic  arrangements  of  the  ant  republic ; 
but  when  we  remember  that  slavery  existed  in  the  republics  of 
antiquity,  and  not  only  well  agreed  with  the  rest  of  the  polity, 
but  was  even  an  essential  support  of  the  same,  we  can  scarcely 
deny  to  the  ant  republic  its  democratic  character  on  account  of 
slavery.  And  this  the  rather  since  slavery  among  ants  is  as  mild, 
if  not  milder,  than  it  was  in  Greece,  where  freed  slaves  were  often 
known  to  rise  to  the  highest  offices  and  dignities  of  the  State, 
or  even  than  in  Rome,  where  Greek  slaves  were  the  tutors  of  the 
young,  and  slavery,  odious  as  it  may  be  in  and  for  itself,  neverthe- 
less apparently  contributed  to  the  general  advance  of  civilization. 

Besides,  slavery  among  ants,  in  a  very  important  point,  is 
far  superior  to  that  among  men,  and  it  may  be  said  without 
question  that  in  this  resj^ect  ants  tliink  and  act  more  humanely 
than  men  themselves.  For  instance,  they  never  allow  grown-up 
membei"s  of  their  race,  who  have  come  to  their  full  antly 
consciousness,  to  l)e  enslaved,  whereas  human  slave-makers  are 
known  never  to  have  the  smallest  scruple  on  this  head.     For  the 


RODIMENTS   AMON(i   ANIMALS.  67 

ant-kidnappers  only  atea!  larvie  iind  pui)io,  which  tliey  bring  up  as 
regular  slaves  within  their  dwellings,  so  that  these  last  have  never 
tusted  the  sweetness  of  freedom.  Only  young  aiitH,  one  or  two 
days  old,  recognizable  by  their  clear  color,  which  are  not  yet  out 
of  their  long  clothes  ami  do  not  yet  know  what  is  "  manly  or 
wommily  pride  before  the  throne  of  a  king,"  are  sei/.ed  and  made 
into  slaves,  and  these  aceuatoni  themselves  <]nickly  and  easily  to 
their  new  position. 

The  slaves  of  tlie  ants,  moreover,  do  not  seem  to  lie  conscious 
of  the  lo.ss,  or  rather  of  the  absence  of  freediwn,  and,  as  a  rule, 
work  willingly  and  uncorapelled,  in  common  with  tlicir  masters 
at  all  the  tasks  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  the  colony,  such 


as  building  the  dwellings,  searching  for  plant-lice,  tendance  and 
feeding  of  larv-e  and  pupse,  and  so  on,  and  even  fight  against 
members  of  their  own  species  in  company  with  their  robber-lords. 
■They  are  regarded  more  as  frientls,  brothel's,  or  heljiei's  than  as 
real  slaves.  They  never  think  of  escaping  from  slavery  by  flight, 
although  the  naturalist,  Forel,  once  observed  a  revolt  among  them. 
This  rule  applies  at  least  to  the  Swiss  species  ohseiTed  by  Huber, 
while  in  the  south  of  England  colonies*  have  been  seen  in  which 
the  slavee  never  leave  or  venture  to  leave  the  nest,  and  are  thus, 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  domestic  slaves. 

Ants  also  show  a  strong  resemblance  to  men  in  the  development 
of  their  character.  Their  great  attachment  and  self-sacrifice  for 
the  commonwealth  and  for  each  member  of  it  are  accompanied 


68  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

generally  by  a  hasty  temperament,  a  proneness  to  furious  anger, 
and  an  unquenchable  hatred  against  all  foreign  or  hostile  colonies. 
Therewith  are  blended  industry,  perseverance,  and  too  often 
cruelty.  Gluttony  also  is  one  of  their  chai-acteristics,  and  their 
love  for  a  good  meal  is  so  great  that  it  is  thus  possible  to  restrain 
their  otherwise  unconquerable  desire  to  fight.  Nothing  is  more 
interesting  than  to  watch  this  struggle  of  two  passions.  If  honey, 
of  wliich  ants  are  inordinately  fond,  and  for  which  they  will 
generally  leave  all  other  food,  be  placed  on  a  battlefield  between 
two  contending  parties,  as  for  instance  red  and  turf  ants,  some  of 
the  warriors  will  be  seen  approaching  and  tasting  it.  They  never 
stay  by  it  long,  but  quickly  return  to  the  fight.  Sometimes  these 
same  ants  will  turn  back  longingly  twice  or  thrice. 

Government  among  the  Termites,  who  are  wrongly  named 
ants,  has  some  highly  interesting  points.  They  belong  to  an 
entirely  different  order  of  the  Insecta,  the  Orthoptera,  are  related 
most  nearly  to  our  Blattae  or  cockroaches,  and  are  three  or  four 
times  as  large  as  our  black  ants.  Their  polity  seems  to  be  almost 
more  developed  than  that  of  the  ants,  and  their  architectural  talent 
is  also  superior.  They  raise,  in  Africa  at  least,  fine  buildings  of 
from  ten  to  twenty  feet  high,  out  of  the  earth,  clay,  pieces  of 
plants,  stones,  etc.,  fastening  together  these  materials  by  a  kind 
of  gummy  saliva. 

So  firm  does  this  make  their  towns,  built  in  the  shape  of  a  cone 
or  of  a  large  liaycock,  that  several  men  can  stand  on  tlieir  surface. 
Antelopes  and  buffaloes  are  wont  to  use  these  giant  ant-liills  for 
sentries  or  watchtowers  to  look  over  the  wide  plains  and  guard 
against  the  approach  of  enemies.  They  do  not  break  through 
even  under  the  tread  of  an  elephant  or  the  weight  of  a  heavily 
laden  wagon.  In  Senegal  their  size  and  number  are  often  so  large 
that  at  a  distance  they  frequently  resemble  human  dwellings,  the 
similarly  conical  huts  of  the  negro  villagei*s,  and  travellers  are 
sometimes  thereby  led  in  a  wi'ong  direction.  Jol)Son,  in  his 
''  History  of  Gambia,"  says  that  many  of  these  towns  are  twenty 
feet  high,  and  that  he  and  his  companions  often  hid  behind  them 
when  out  hunting. 

At  first  the  buildings  are  only  small,  and  resemble  pyramids 
scarcely  a  foot  high.     Gradually,  as  tlie  population  increases,  new 


RUDIMENTS    AMONG    ANIMALS. 


69 


and  similar  hills  lise  up  all  around.  The  partition  walla  are  then 
broken  througli,  t^e  new  dwellings  are  united  to  the  old,  a  dome 
is  added,  and  a  symmetrical  roof  is  built  over  all.  Tims  a  perfect 
objectrlesson  of  mankind's  greatest  principle,  co-operation,  is  con- 
tinually I'epeated,  until  the  mound  of  twelve  or  twenty  feet  high 
is  made.  The  outer  covering  consists  of  a  firm-domed  vaulted 
layer  of  clay,  which  is  exceedingly  strong,  so  as  to  withstand  in- 
juries from  weather,  attacks  of  enemies,  and  other  accidents. 


The  astonishment  felt  at  the  capabilities  of  these  creatures  who 
are  sometimes  a  scourge  to  the  human  inhabitants  of  the  countries 
where  they  live  becomes  even  greater  wlien  we  investigate  the 
interior  of  the  hills  that  .serve  as  their  dwellings.  Tliese  internal 
aiTvmgements  are  so  various  and  so  complicated  that  pages  of  des- 
cription might  be  written  about  tliem.  Tliere  are  myriads  of 
rooms,  cells,  nuraeries.  })rovisiou  i-hamltei-s,  guard-ninms,  passages. 
corridors,  vaults,  bridges,  subterranean  streets  and  vanals,  tunnels, 
arched  ways,  steiw,  smooth  inclines,  domes,  etc.,  etc.,  all  arranged 
on  a  definite,  coherent,  ami  well-considered  plan.  In  the  middle 
of  the  building,  sheltered  as  far  as  possible  fnim  outside  dangers, 
lies  the  stately  roj-al  dwelling,  resembling  an  arclied  oven,  in  which 


70  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

the  royjil  pair  reside,  or  rather  are  imprisoned,  for  the  entrances 
and  outlets  are  so  small  that  although  the  workei-s  on  service  can 
pass  easily  in  and  out,  tlie  queen  cannot,  for  during  the  egg-laying 
her  lx)dy  swells  out  to  an  enormous  size,  two  or  three  thousand 
times  the  size  and  weight  of  an  ordinary  worker. 

The  tjueen,  therefore,  never  leaves  her  dwelling,  and  dies  therein. 
Round  the  palace,  which  is  at  first  small,  but  is  later  enlarged  in 
proportion  as  tlie  queen  increases  in  size,  until  it  is  at  last  a  yard 
long  and  half  a  yard  high,  lie  the  nurseries  or  cells  for  the  eggs 
and  larvae  ;  next  these  the  servants'  rooms  or  cells  for  the  workers 
who  wait  on  the  queen  ;  then  special  chambers  for  the  soldiers  on 
guard,  and  between  these  are  numerous  store-rooms,  filled  with 
gums,  resins,  dried  plant-juices,  meal,  seeds,  fruits,  worked-up  wood, 
etc.  According  to  Bettziech-Beta,  there  is  always  in  the  midst 
of  the  town  a  large  common  room,  which  is  used  either  for 
popular  assembliei  or  as  the  meeting  and  starting  point  of  the 
countless  piissages  and  cliambers  of  the  town.  Other  naturalists 
believe  that  this  space  serves  for  purposes  of  ventilation. 

It  is  by  no  means  easy  to  investigate  accumtely  the  interior 
of  a  Termite  town,  owing  to  the  interdependence  of  the  several 
parts  —  tlie  destruction  of  one  room,  arch,  or  passage  causing  the 
breaking  down  of  many,  and  in  addition  to  tliis  the  energetic  resist- 
ance of  the  Termite  soldiers,  armed  with  very  sharp  and  strong 
mandibles,  puts  great  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  observer.  "  They 
fight,"  says  tlie  English  traveller  Smeath man,  to  whom  we  owe  the 
fullest  information  about  these  creatures,  "  thev  figrht  to  the  last 
man,  and  they  defend  so  energetically  every  inch  of  their  projierty 
that  they  often  drive  away  the  unshod  negroes,  while  the  blood  of 
the  European  runs  through  his  stockings.  We  were  never  able  to 
itudy  the  interior  of  a  nest  in  peace ;  for  while  the  soldiei*s 
attacked  us,  the  workers  stopped  up  as  quickly  as  possible  the 
rooms  and  passages  laid  open."  They  do  this  especially  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  royal  dwelling,  for  which  they  show  the  great- 
est care,  and  that  so  cleverly  that  from  the  outside  it  only  looks 
like  a  formless  heap  of  clay  and  cannot  be  distinguished  from  its 
surroundings.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  hard  to  iind,  partly  from  its 
situation  in  the  midst  of  the  building,  and  partly  because  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  great  crowds  of  workers  and  soldiei-s,  willing  to  risk 


KUDIMENTS    AMONG    ANIMALS. 


71 


their  lives  in  its  defence.  Tlie  interior  aUo,  besides  containing  the 
royal  pair,  is  found  filled  with  hundreds  of  tlie  workers  serving  the 
latter.  These  faithful  servants  do  not  desert  their  sovereigns  even 
in  utmost  need  and  peril.  "  For  wlien  I,"  says  Smeathman,  "  took 
out  such  a  royal  dwelling  and  kept  it  in  a  lai^e  glajss  vessel,  all  of 
the  servants  busied  themselves  witli  the  greatest  care  about  their 
sovereigns,  and  I  saw  some  of  them  engaged  about  the  head  of 
the  queen,  as  t)iough  they  wei-e  giving  her  something.     Then  they 


m 

M.W-^Af 

m 

^H 

s 

took  awav  from  her  abdomen  the  eggs  laid  by  her,  and  carried  tliem 
carefully  into  some  unbroken  parts  of  the  building,  or  hid  thein 
between  scraps  of  clay  as  well  as  they  could." 

The  Termites  shun  the  light  nf  day  :  "  having  light,  they  ]>i-cfer 
darkness  rather."  Thi;*  is  also  shown  to  some  extent  in  their  state 
polity,  which,  as  ahvaily  sjiid,  otherwise  much  resembles  the  Ant 
Republic,  except  that  it  favow  the  nionareliical  idea  by  passessing 


72  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

a  standing  army  and  having  genemlly  only  one  queen.  By  this 
possession  of  a  standing  army  the  Termites'  state  is  rendered 
more  monarchical  even  than  the  famous  Bee  polity,  so  often  re- 
garded as  the  prototype  of  a  monarcliy,  or  the  rule  of  one  indi- 
vidual. The  Bee  government,  indeed,  generally  has  only  one 
queen,  but  instead  of  a  standing  army  it  carries  out  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  purely  republican  or  democratic  principle  of  univei-sal 
national  arm-bearing  in  a  fashion  that  leaves  far  behind  it  all 
human  arrangements. 

Yet  not  in  this  alone,  but  in  all  its  affairs,  the  Bee  state  must  be 
characterized  as  a  monarchy  with  very  democratic  institutions.  It 
may,  indeed,  be  called  a  communistic  or  social-democratical  mon- 
archy—  such  as  Napoleon  III.  for  a  time,  while  coquetting 
with  the  working-classes,  appears  to  have  had  the  notion  of  intro- 
ducing in  France.  It  may  also  be  called  an  elective  monarchy,  for 
no  direct  hereditaiy  line  is  followed,  but  the  queen  is  in  each  case 
chosen  by  the  workers,  and  selected  or  rejected  as  they  please. 
The  queen  in  return  relies  wholly  upon  the  workers,  or  the  neuter 
working  bees,  who,  by  the  possession  of  their  terrible  poisoned  sting, 
unite  in  their  own  pereons  the  functions  of  workers  and  soldiers. 
The  privileged  condition  of  the  non-working,  pleasure-loving  males, 
or  drones,  is  only  suffered  by  the  worker  just  so  long  as  .their 
services  are  thought  necessary. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  monarchical  principle  is  very  plainly 
manifested  in  the  fact  that  the  whole  life  of  the  hive  revolves 
more  or  less  round  the  queen ;  where  she  is  wanting,  dies,  or  is 
not  succeeded  by  another,  the  hive  falls  into  disorder,  and  in  a 
longer  or  shorter  time  infallibly  perishes.  Single  members  of  the 
hive,  if  they  scatter,  cither  die  or  become  useless,  lazy  vagabonds 
and  mischievous  higliwaymen.  The  monarchical  principle  of  the 
Bee  nation  is  still  more  strikingly  manifested  in  comparison  with 
the  other  social  insects,  in  that  only  one  ruler  or  queen  is  permit- 
ted, and  that  where  several  accidentally  come  together  the  super- 
fluous ones  are  either  killed  or  are  compelled  to  go  out  and  found 
new  colonies. 

Nevertlieless  an  old  and  aMicated  queen,  no  longer  able  to  lay 
any  fertilized  eggs,  is  out  of  mercy  sometimes  suffered  to  remain 
for  a   while  in   the  hive  near   her   successor,  and   receive   some 


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li  THK    STORY    OF     GOVERNMENT. 

measure  of  tlu?  bread  of  charity.  Pfarrer  Calminius  observed  a 
case  ill  which  two  queens  lived  peaceably  and  well  tended  near 
each  other  on  two  tables  hanging  side  by  side.  But  these  are  rare 
exceptions.  The  workers  genemlly  sting  the  old  useless  queens 
unmei'ci fully  to  death,  or  suffocate  them  by  surrounding  them 
closely  on  all  sides.  Sometimes  they  are  merely  driven  out  of  the 
hive  and  left  to  perish. 

The  wond(Mful  ol)servation  has  been  made  that  a  queen  who, 
through  age  or  vsome  other  weakening  circumstances,  l)ecomes  con- 
scious of  her  exhaustion,  and  has  communicated  this  consciousness 
to  her  people,  provides  in  common  with  them  for  the  safe  succession 
to  the  throne,  and  soon  as  this  is  done  gives  back  the  throne  and 
sceptre  into  the  hands  of  the  people,  that  is,  either  voluntarily 
leaves  the  hive  in  order  to  die  outside,  or  is  killed  by  the  bees  and 
thrown  out. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  no  small  resemblance  between  the 
l)ee  system  and  that  of  constitutional  monarchy  in  so  far  as  the 
l>ees  appear  to  lay  no  stress  on  the  pei-son  of  their  queen,  and  are 
perfectly  contented  so  long  as  they  have  one,  that  is,  some  one 
capable  of  discharging  the  royal  or  rather  maternal  duties.  They 
change  the  sovereignty  as  a  rule  eiisily  and  quickly,  and  thoroughly 
practise  the  well-known  maxim  of  constitutional  royalty :  "  Le  roi 
est  mort  —  vive  le  roi.''  (The  king  is  dead  —  long  live  the  king !) 
A  hive  robbed  of  its  queen  either  doe«  homage  to  a  fresh  queen 
introduced  into  it  just  as  her  predecessor,  or  brings  up  a  sovereign 
by  its  own  efforts ;  while  a  hive  long  left  queenless  falls*  into  sloth 
and  riot,  and  sooner  or  later  perishes. 

The  queen,  since  all  revolves  round  her,  is  the  necessary  centre 
and  bond  of  the  hive,  but  without  herself  taking  any  personal  part 
in  the  business  and  proceedings.  She  therefore,  in  reality,  exactly 
answers  to  the  foundation-stone  of  constitutionalism,  and  is  what 
Napoleon  I.  declared  he  would  not  be,  in  reply  to  the  famous 
constitutional  reproach  of  Si(^yes  :  '*The  prize-pig  of  the  nation." 
She  is  indeed  widely  and  honorably  different  from  her  human 
antitype  in  that  she  is  not  simply  "representative,''  giving  to  high 
and  low  merely  an  empty  show,  but  really  discharges  actual  and 
essential  duties,  without  which  nothing  could  exist. 

Apart  from  this,  the  queen  in  the  simplicity  and  uniformity  of 


KUDINrENTS    AMONG    ANIMALS.  75 

her  work,  and  in  the  half,  though  respectful,  imprisonment  in 
which  she  is  kept,  is  a  complete  contrast  to  her  intellectually  and 
physically  developed  and  active  subjects,  so  that  here,  as  so  often 
among  men,  it  might  seem  fair  to  say  that  stupidity  or  narrowness, 
or  perhaps  only  mediocrity,  rules  over  reason. 

In  any  case  this  sovereignty  is  nuich  restricted  by  the  subjects 
who,  indeed,  seem  to  indemnify  tliemselves  for  the  compulsory 
endurance  of  a  monarchical  head  by  observing  otherwise  the 
maxims  of  the  most  extreme  democraciy,  of  the  widest  Socialism 
and  Comnuuiism.  For  among  l)ees  One  is  as  good  as  another  and 
the  beautiful  princi[)le  is  unconditionally  obeyed:  '^  Eacli  for  all 
—  all  for  each."  They  have  no  private  property,  no  family,  no 
private  dwelling,  but  liang  in  thick  clumps  within  the  common 
room  in  the  narrow  space  between  the  combs,  taking  turns  for 
brief  nightly  repose.  The  building,  cleansing,  and  working  are 
also  carried  on  partially  through  the  night.  All  stores  are  com- 
mon ;  there  is  only  the  state  magazine,  and  all  are  fed  from  this 
without  distinction  of  person.  If  want  and  hunger  enter,  all  die 
alike.  The  queen  here  is  an  exception  and  has  the  privilege  of 
dying  last.  The  bees  are,  however,  egotists  in  such  times  of  need, 
and  in  threatening  famine  from  continued  bad  weather,  throw  the 
larvie,  the  drone  larvje  first,  out  of  the  cells.  Tliis  also  happens 
likewise,  when  lack  of  place  for  storing  provisions  occurs,  owing 
to  very  successful  foraging.  The  larvie  are  then  thrown  out,  or 
the  nuraing  nairowed  down  to  the  uttermost. 

In  the  matter  of  labor  the  bees  have  realized  the  liiijhest  ideal 
of  Communism,  for  it  is  perfectly  free,  voluntary,  and  uncompul- 
soiy.  Each  does  its  much  or  as  little  as  seems  to  it  good ;  but 
there  are  no  sluggards  among  them,  for  the  universal  example  acts 
as  an  incitement ;  and  in  a  society  wherein  all  work,  idleness  is 
really  an  unthinkal)le  and  impossible  thing.  Wliereas,  on  the 
contmiy,  in  the  much-jHaised  opposite  condition  of  human  society 
the  idleness  of  the  few  is  not  onlv  favored  but  seems  to  be  abso- 
lutely  unavoidable. 

Truly,  in  a  communistic  foi-m  of  society  the  individual  must 
have  the  consciousness,  as  among  the  l)ees,that,  in  so  far  as  he  is  a 
member  of  the  whole,  he  is  not  working  for  otliers  but  for  the 
common   good    and     therewith   for  himself.     This  consciousness 


76  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

makes  the  bees  such  busy  and  eager  workers  that  many  of  them 
work  themselves  to  death  in  a  few  weeks  during  the  foragmg 
season,  whereas  working  bees  usually  reach  an  age  of  nine  or  ten 
months,  so  tliat  the  great  Roman  poet,  Virgil,  whose  genius  tlirew 
light  on  the  commonest  human  labors,  wrote  truly : 

**  Ofttimes  in  a  mistaken  fliglit  they  tear 
Their  wings,  and  even  generously  die 
Before  they  drop  the  precious  load,  so  high 
The  fame  of  getting  honey,  and  so  strong 
The  love  they  feel  for  flowers." 

The  "  instinct  "  philosopliers  will  probably  say  that  this  work- 
ing themselves  to  death  in  behalf  of  the  community  is  only  the 
result  of  an  inborn,  irresistible,  heaven-implanted  tendency  in  the 
little  bee  mind  from  which  the  insect  cannot  voluntarily  iree 
itself,  and  that  we  therefore  cannot  liere  speak  either  of  merit  or 
design.  But  in  the  first  place  is  it  believable  that  "  instinct " 
should  impel  an  animal  to  do  that  wliich  will  finally  lead  to  its 
destruction  ?  Secondly  that  opinion  does  not  agree  with  the 
already  often  mentioned  experience  that  the  inhabitants  of  a 
queenless  hive,  which  in  losing  their  queen  have  lost  the  object  of 
their  society,  cejuse  to  work  and  fall  into  idleness  and  riot. 

Now  the  same  form  of  government  which  by  one  naturalist  is 
termed  a  monarchy,  with  a  king  or  ([ueen  at  its  head,  is  by  another 
described  as  a  republic,  witli  a  male  or  female  president.  But  the 
essential  feature  —  one  of  importance  in  many  ways  —  is  the 
government  of  a  community  or  society,  of  a  band  or  troop, 
flock  or  herd,  family  or  other  group  of  individuals,  species  or 
genera,  large  or  small,  by  a  leader  or  chief. 

The  consideration  of  this  embraces  the  following  features  of 
interest :  —  1.  The  principle  of  selection  and  election  or  appoint- 
ment. 2.  Competition  and  ambition  for  rule  and  their  results. 
3.  The  subjection  of  the  weak  to  the  strong  in  body,  mind  and 
will.  4.  The  use  and  abuse  of  authority,  including  the  power 
of  command.  5.  The  appreciation  of  insignia  of  office  or  status. 
6.     The  value  attached  to  the  possession  of  power  and  place. 

In  various  forms  leaders,   governors,   chiefs,   commanders,  pa- 

triar<,^hs,  mastei-s,  rulers,  or  lieads,  are  to  be   found  in  many  social 

,'  "^TliJhnlil^l^d^'ecting  and  defending   tlie  groups  into  which  they  are 


r .: 


78  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

divided.  They  occur,  for  instance,  among  wild,  military-,  and 
pack  horses,  Eskimo  dog  teams,  or  dogs  in  Turkish  towns, 
beavers  who  build  villages,  camels,  deer,  oxen,  mules,  seals  who 
hold  conventions,  buffaloes,  kangaroos,  goats,  among  certain  sea- 
birds  which  appear  to  live  in  regular  cities  and  certain  of  the 
quadrumana  (such  as  the  siamang  gorilla,  spider,  howling,  araguata, 
guereza,  and  other  monkeys),  cranes,  swallows,  wild  geese,  cocks 
and  hens. 

These  leaders  are,  as  a  general  rule,  males  of  middle  age,  some- 
times elderly  or  old,  and  possessing  as  qualifications  for  office :  — 

1.  Physical  superiority  ;  being  frequently  above  the  average  in 
size  and  strength,  or  at  least  so  robust  and  active  that  they  have 
proved  themselves  successful  in  combat  and  otherwise. 

2.  Mental  superiority.  They  are  distinguished,  moreover,  for 
their  courage,  cautiousness,  sagacity,  power  of  command,  ability 
to  act  in  emergency,  so  as  to  protect,  defend,  or  direct  their  fol- 
lowers ;  for  their  experience  ;  special  knowledge  of  enemies  or 
of  ground ;  power  of  self-control,  especially  control  of  temper ; 
interest  in  the  common  weal ;  enterprise  ;  ingenuity  and  perae- 
vei*ance  in  the  overcoming  of  difficulties  —  in  other  words,  adapt- 
iveness.  Their  superiority  must  be  twofold,  physical  and  mental ; 
for  a  merely  huge,  strong  animal,  without  the  requisite  intelligence 
to  adapt  its  strength  to  circumstances,  would  be  useless  as  a  leader. 

Generally  speaking,  leadei*s  are  of  the  same  species  as  the  ani- 
mals they  command ;  belong,  perhaps,  to  tlie  same  small  family  or 
group,  as  in  the  case  of  certain  patriarchs  or  mere  heads  of  fam- 
ilies or  tribes.  But  in  other  cases  tlie  chief  belongs  to  a  diffei^ent 
species  or  genus.  Thus  the  axis  deer,  as  depicted  on  the  opposite 
I)age,  sometimes  leads  **•  mobs''  of  kangaroos  in  Australia.  The 
(lonkev  in  the  district  of  Smyrna,  in  Broussa,  and  the  Asiatic 
Olympus  in  Anatolia,  and  other  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  is  frequently 
employed  as  leader  of  a  caravan  of  camels;  for  contrary  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  West,  in  Oriental  lands  "Long  Eai-s"  enjoys  the 
reputation  of  being  the  most  intelligent  of  lioofed  betists.  Mares 
are  employed  as  leadei-s  of  droves  of  mules  in  Centrtil  America, 
the  latter  animals  having  a  liigh  respect  for  and  pride  in  the 
hoi-se  as  a  ^'distinguished  relative,"  and  thus  willingly  accepting 
a  mare  as  their  queen. 


BAHOAHODS  I.ED  BY  AN  J 


80  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Man  himself  frequently  becomes  the  leader  of  his  flocks  or  his 
herds,  as  in  the  case  of  shepherds  of  the  East,  who  literally 
"  lead,"  do  not  drive,  as  ours  do,  their  flocks.  Man  is  recognized 
literally  and  figuratively  as  its  "  governor  "  by  the  dog ;  his  right 
to  command  is  freely  acknowledged,  and  the  propriety  of  his 
orders  or  actions,  as  a  rule,  not  disputed.  Here  it  should  be 
noted  that  in  this  case  it  sometimes,  at  least,  happens  that  man 
gains  and  wields  his  wonderful  power  over  other  animals  by  the 
exercise  of  kindness,  not  of  terrorism ;  by  the  supremacy  of  love, 
not  of  fear;  by  the  greatest  of  all  forces,  a  patient  gentleness. 
Thus  the  command  of  the  shepherd  over  his  sheep  in  primitive 
countries,  where  the  use  of  the  sheefxlog  is  unknown  —  for 
instance,  in  Palestine  —  is  acquired  by  his  constant  association 
with  his  sheep,  by  his  habitual  kindly  usage,  whereby  confidence 
in,  and  attiicliment  to,  liis  person  or  pei-sonality  are  produced. 
King  Theodore  of  Abyssinia  with  his  pet  lions  was  an  excellent 
example  of  what  a  King  can  accomplish  by  gentleness  instead 
of  crueltv. 

The  principle  of  appointment  in  the  case  of  all  kinds  of  animal 
leadei's  is  that  the  strongest,  boldest,  best  in  every  way,  should  be 
called  to  the  front  and  invested  with  supreme  power ;  and  this 
principle  actuates  man  equally  with  other  animals  in  tlie  selection 
of  an  animal  chief  for  his  flocks  or  herds.  Man  chooses  and 
installs  a  leading  mule,  hoi*se,  dog,  or  i-am  on  the  very  same  prin- 
ciple that  makes  a  flock  or  herd  acquiesce  in  the  self-appointment 
of  some  victorious  young  male.  In  human  emergency  of  a  serious 
kind,  and  on  a  large  and  public  scale,  how  frequently  it  happens 
that  some  man  gf  marked  individuality,  but  previously  unknown, 
comes  to  the  fi*ont  as  a  volunteer  leader,  no  one  kno\\^  how,  and 
his  supremacy  is  at  once,  by  tacit  consent,  acknowledged.  Average 
people  feel  that  he  is  the  *'  right  man  for  the  right  place."  He 
has  the  requisite  force  of  character  and  the  ability  to  command 
universal  confidence.  Universal  confidence  is  forthwith  accorded 
for  the  time. 

The  man  of  the  time,  however,  is  as  liable  to  be  discarded  by  a 
fickle  2X)pulaee  i\s  the  proud  and  splendid  stallion,  when  he  begins 
to  lose  that  most  indefinable  of  all  qualities,  popularity.  So  in 
animal  panics,  for  instance,  some  pi-eviously  unobserved  or  undis- 


RUDtMENTS   AMONG   ANIMALS. 


81 


tinguisbed  individual  starts,  liteiully,  in  this  case,  to  tlie  front,  and 
is  followed,  for  weal  or  woe,  by  tlie  rest  of  a  troop,  herd  or  flock. 
There  is  ample  evidence  to  show  that  self-appointment  to  the 
leadership  is  common  among  social  aiiimaLj ;  that  the  ambition  of 


DOO   TOWN. 


some  young,  energetic,  vigorous  male  urges  it  to  challenge  and 
defeat  the  reigning  chief,  a  defeat  that  is  equivalent  to  the  com- 
pulsory deposition  of  the  one  and  the  self-instalment  of  the  other. 
Thia    new  appointment,    however,    is,    under   the   circumstances. 


82  THE   STOUY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

ratified  by  the  general  assent,  so  that,  in  one  sense,  it  may  be 
deemed  a  unanimous  election.  There  is  a  practical  and  tacit 
acknowledgment  of  the  fitness  of  things,  the  excitement  being 
confined  mainly  to  the  combatants  themselves,  though  the  specta- 
tor, no  doubt,  look  on  with  a  varying  degree  of  interest. 

There  is,  liowever,  a  strong  probability,  although  no  direct 
evidence,  that,  in  eases  where  no  such  candidate  presents  himself 
and  takes  the  law  of  competition  and  succession  into  his  o^vn  hands, 
selection  is  made  by  universal  suffi-age  —  by  pushing  into  a  posi- 
tion of  command  that  individual  among  them  best  qualified  to 
exercise  the  supreme  power.  There  is  very  distinct  appointment, 
certainly,  and  by  a  kind  of  univereal  sufifrage,  in  the  street-dog 
republics  of  Constiintinople,  for  they  sometimes  select  as  their 
leader  some  animal  belonging  to  a  dififerent  quarter  of  the  town 
— -from  among  their  natural  enemies,  therefore — the  motive  of 
such  choice  being  signal  bravery  displayed  by  the  favored  individ- 
ual, either  in  attack  or  defence. 

The  usual  function  of  animal  leadei*s  seems  to  be  that  of  a  piT»- 
tector,  to  direct  meiisures  of  defence  in  assault,  of  extrication 
or  escape  in  danger.  But  there  are  other  Ciises  in  which  their 
duties  are  i-ather  those  of  regulatoi*s  of  the  civil,  social,  or  domes- 
tic economy  of  tlie  communities  over  which  they  preside.  Thus 
Houzeau  describes  mayors  of  toAvns  or  villages  among  prairie  dogs 
—  mayor's  who  grant  audiences,  receive  visits  as  to  administrative 
affairs,  —  in  sliort,  discharge  and  regulate  public  business  —  and  he 
tells  us,  moreover,  tliat  these  governors  or  presidents  of  commu- 
nities, ()C(^asionally,  at  least,  excel  their  fellows  in  size  and  strength, 
as  well  as  in  force  of  character.  In  the  case  of  animal  leaders  of 
all  kinds  tliere  is  a  distinct  specialization  of  duty,  work,  or  busi- 
ness, a  vcrv  de^'ided  division  of  labor.  But  this  division  of  labor 
occui-s  among  the  lower  animals  in  a  great  many  other  even  more 
familiar  forms.  Tims  it  is  illustrat^ul  in  the  appointment  from 
amont'  members  of  a  communitv  of 

1.  Sentinels,  sentries,  videttes,  outposts,  ])atrols,  guards,  or 
watchmen  of  all  kinds. 

2.  Soldiers,  laborei-s,  artisans,  nui'ses,  or  foragei"s. 

3.  Different  ninks  of  officers  among  their  soldiei*s,  including 
generals,  aides-de-camp  and  adjutants. 


84  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

4.  Delegates,  ambassadoi-s,  or  other  forms  of  representatives 
or  reportei"s,  spies,  scouts,  commissioners,  pioneei's. 

5.  Officers  of  justice — including  executioners,  advocates, 
judges,  and  jury. 

6.  Royal  personages,  with  their  officers  or  courtiei's,  body-guard, 
and  other  attendants. 

7.  As  well  as  in  the  relative  duties  or  occupations  of  male  and 
female  parents,  and 

8.  In  the  appropriate  and  harmonious  playing  of  its  part  by 
eacli  individual  of  the  group. 

Such  appointments  imply,  in  certain  cases,  at  least,  the  assigna- 
tion of  a  special  duty  to  each  of  a  group  of  animals,  there  being 
evidence  further  that  there  is  frequently  an  adaptation  of  the 
special  work  to  be  performed  to  the  special  ability  of  a  given  indi- 
vidual to  perform  it. 

Sentinels  or  guards  are  regularly  posted  at  appropriate  times 
and  places  by  a  large  number  of  animals,  such  as  the  prairie  dog, 
wild  horse,  swan,  cockatoo  of  Australia,  rooks,  and  many  other  birds, 
zebra,  moufilon,  and  other  sheep,  Alpine  marmot,  certain  monkeys, 
Greenland  and  otlier  seals,  wild  African  cattle,  chamois  and  other 
antelopes,  Texan  and  other  ants,  and  certain  wasps. 

These  guardians  of  the  public  safety  are  appointed  usually  for 
some  of  the  following  reasons,  or  under  some  of  the  following 
circumstances : 

At  night,  or  during  the  sleep  of  the  flock  or  herd,  to  guard 
against  surprise.  During  feeding,  rest  on  a  march,  or  pastimes. 
In  war,  on  the  march  or  halt,  in  camp  or  bivouac.  —  here  also  to 
prevent  surprise. 

In  connection  with  the  appointment  of  sentinels  the  following 
points  have  to  be  noticed:  that,  as  in  the  case  of  leaders,  the 
animals  selected  are  almost  invariably  males:  that  every  advan- 
tage is  taken  of  elevated  ground  commanding  a  view  on  all  sides : 
that  the  animal  appointed  is  implicitly  trusted  by  the  rest,  has 
a  specific  duty  to  discharge,  and  performs  it  conscientiously. 
Must  there  not,  therefore,  be  an  appreciation  of  the  different 
kinds  of  danger,  as  well  as  an  idea  of  duty  in  relation  to  that  danger? 

Certain  African  antelopes  place  sentries — generally  bulls  — 
while  they  are  grazing,  and  these  sentries  take  up  their  posts  on 


BODIMENTS  AMONG   ANIMALS.  85 

the  summits  of  the  huge  ant-hilla  which  we  mentioned  before  and 
which  form  the  only  heights  in  certain  parts  of  the  plains  of  tlie 
Nile.  The  occupancy  of  such  watch-towers  is,  however,  unfor- 
tunate for  themselves  in  presence  of  tlie  sportsman  to  whom  they 
thus  readily  become  a  shining  mark. 

Tlius,  in  a  great  variety  of  ways  many  of  the  lower  animals  rec- 
ognize and  act  upon   the  principle  that  union  is  strcngtli.     Tliey 


THE  wii.n  n 


form  combinations,  associations,  or  alliances,  teinponirv  or  i^n- 
manent,  for  a  great  number  of  very  specific  pnrpiises.  They  I'O- 
operate  willingly,  intelligently  and  successfully,  nut  only  with 
each  other,  but  with  man.  One  of  the  most  obvious  effects  ni 
such  union,  indeed  even  of  the  simplest  form  of  union,  that  of 
marriage,  is  the  inspii-ation  of  courage  and  confidence,  the  ability 
to  dare  and  do,  in  behalf  of  themselves  or  their  young,  things  that 
they  would  never  attempt  in    their   incUvidual   capacities.    Even 


86  THE   STOUY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

timid  sheep,  in  combination  under  a  leader,  do  boldly  what  they 
would  never  do,  individually  face  a  dog,  for  instance,  or  hav^e  even 
been  known  to  chase  it  ignominiously  from  a  pasture.  The  meek  cow 
and  many  gentle  peace-loving  birds  are  capable  of  similar  feats 
of  courage  under  similar  circumstances. 

Various  baboons  and  other  apes,  spider  and  other  monkeys 
apply  the  principle  of  co-operation  very  actively  and  picturesquely 
by  making  diains,  suspension  bridges,  and  laddei's  of  their  own 
bodies,  joining  hands  or  clinging  to  each  other  by  various  concat^ 
enations  of  paws  and  tails,  and  use  such  living  bridges  to  cross 
rivers.  Virtually  the  same  thing  mechanically,  and  a  greater  thing 
morally,  is  done  by  ants,  for  on  bridges  composed  of  the  bodies  of 
the  latter,  voluntarily  sacrificed  for  the  purpose,  whole  armies  of 
their  fellows  sometimes  cross  rivei-s  or  streams. 

Co-operation  on  a  large  scale  —  on  the  part  of  large  numbers  of 
individuals,  whether  of  the  same  or  of  different  species  and 
genera,  includes  the  convention,  at  special  times  and  places,  of 
convocations,  conferences,  congregations,  or  assemblies  for  the  fol- 
lowing or  other  specific  ends  :  —  1.  Judicial  —  for  the  trial  and 
punishment  of  the  offenders.  2.  Military  —  for  the  holding  of 
councils  of  war.  3.  Recreational  —  for  the  celebration  of 
pastimes,  sports,  or  games  of  various  times.  4.  Migrational  — 
for  conference  as  to  the  time  and  manner  of  migmtion.  5,  Defen- 
sive —  for  mutual  protection,  security,  or  safety.     6.     Industrial 

—  for  the  repair  of  damage  to   public  property.     7.     Marauding 

—  for  the  acquisition  of  plunder  or  booty.  8.  Food-seeking  or 
foraging.  9.  Emigration  and  colonization.  10.  Nuptial  — 
for  courtship  and  murriage.  11.  Hibernation.  12.  The  rescue 
of  their  fellows  from  captivity  or  danger. 

One  of  the  evidences  commonly  adduced  of  the  reign  of  law 
among  the  lower  animals,  as  in  man,  is  the  fact  that  certain  birds, 
have  what  are,  or  what  a[)pear  to  be,  regular  judicial  proceedings, 
regular  trials  by  judge  and  before  juiy  of  culprits  against  law. 

A  trial  among  rooks  in  England  has  been  thus  described  by  an 
eyewitness.  In  the  middle  of  the  assemblage  in  one  case  "  was 
one  bird  lookin<^  verv  downcast  and  wi'etched.  Two  more  rooks 
took  their  })lace  at  its  side,  and  then  a  vast  amount  of  chattering 
went  on.     Ultimately,  the  unfortunate   central  bird  was  pecked 


88  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

nearly  to  pieces  and  left  mangled  and  helpless  on  the  ground/* 
In  such  a  case,  we  are  led  to  infer,  though  our  conclusions  may  be 
erroneous,  that  the  spectacle  was  that  of  an  accused,  convicted, 
condemned  criminal,  official  accusers,  and  the  summary  execu- 
tion of  a  judicial  sentence. 

The  stork,  too,  is  represented  by  the  naturalist  Watson  as 
having,  or  holding,  trial  by  jury,  public  conventions  at  which 
harangues  or  speeches  are  delivered,  accusations  made,  defences 
offered,  by  public  oratoi-s  and  other  officials,  while  the  mass  of  the 
audience  takes  a  lively  interest  in  the  proceedings.  Consulta- 
tions are  held,  sentence  is  pronounced,  and  capital  punishment 
inflicted  for  such  supposed  crimes,  for  instance,  as  the  hatching 
of  a  gosling  instead  of  a  stork,  which,  of  course,  would  be  a 
shock  to  public  sentiment  in  storkdom.  The  sparrow  is  another 
bird  that  administer  public  punisliment  to  offenders,  after  holding 
general  councils  the  proceedings  of  which  are  marked  by  much 
agitation,  tumult  and  clamor ;  and  the  public  trial  of  a  prisoner 
before  a  court  by  the  aid  of  advocates  has  also  been  mentioned  as 
occurring  among  Barbary  apes. 

From  all  of  which  evidences  of  law  and  order,  of  family  and 
government  among  the  lower  animals,  is  it  not  clear  that  the 
higher  animal  might  take  a  few  lessons,  if  the  humility  and 
docility  of  Science  could  become  attributes  of  the  mass  or  could  be 
the  guiding  principles  of  politicians  or  statesmen  ?  For,  indeed, 

**  If  earnest  lives  in  search  of  truth  are  noble, 
If  sacrilice  of  self  to  swell  the  sum 
Of  human  knowledjre  and  cooperant  good 
Aro  very  noble,  Science  can  compare 
Her  warriors,  workers,  martyrs,  with  Religion's. 
Yet  Science  has  no  pride,  because  no  fear. 
She  stooi)s  to  learn  as  woman  yields  to  love, 
Instinctive  that  the  action  of  surrender 
Will  crown  her  empress  of  a  nobler  realm." 


Ill 


::^Mn=iiii=iiii=rr:i''=iHi=iiii=Hii=iiii='':i^iiii=iiii='!:^iiii=iiii=''::^^^^^ 


'W^'mry:^'J!'w 


Traces  /Kn}or)^  Qypsics^ 


Brigarjds  arjd  Tl;)icvcs. 


IN  singular  contrast  with  tlie  orderly  animals  deseril)ed  in 
the  ])recedinnr  chapter  are  the  people  usually  called  Gypsies, 
who  appear  to  l)e  not  only  opposed  to  any  idea  of  order 
or  authority  from  outside,  hut  to  have  among  themselves 
at  the  present  day  very  little  goverinnent  discoverahle  hy  students 
of  their  habits.  We  need  not  m)  far  in  search  of  tliese  Asiatic 
wanderei-s.  They  are  found  in  almost  every  European  coun- 
try, and  of  late  are  frequently  seen  in  the  United  States  and 
Australia. 

Wherever  sighted,  they  are  never  to  be  mistaken.  The  most 
untravelled  rustic  instinctively  knows  that  the  dark-skinned, 
black-haired,  snaky-eyed,  lithe  vagal)ond  whom  he  sees  in  front 
of  a  ragged  tent  on  a  connnon,  or  who  camj)s  hy  the  roadside 
to  boil  a  kettle,  which  it  is  prol):djle  contains  no  poultry  of  his 
own  mising,  is  not  a  child  of  the  land  in  which  he  seems  so 
much  at  liome. 

Once  seen,  a  typical  wandering  gyi>sy  is  as  marktMl  a  })ei'son- 
alitv  in  the  memorv  as  a  Jew  of  the  ])urer  caste,  or  a  meml)er  of 
any  other  nationality  which  has  preserved  itself  as  a  distinct 
element  in  the  surrounding  population.  His  brown  skin  stamps 
him  as  none  of  us,  wliile  his  dark,  glittering,  serpent-like  eye 
iiLstinctively  recalls  some  of  the  faces  one  meets  on  the  London 
Docks,  when  a  steamer  from  India  has  arrived.     The  small  hands 

89 


90  THE    SrOKY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

and  feet  seem  out  of  keeping  with  the  finely  proportioned,  sinewy 
figures  to  which  they  are  attached,  while  the  aquiiine  nose, 
pearly,  regular  teeth,  high  cheek-bones,  strongly  marked  bniw, 
often  knit  as  if  in  thought,  and  general  air  of  secret! veness, 
are  features  of  gypsy  physiognomy  that  strike  the  least  observant. 
As  a  rule,  the  gypsies  are  not  a  tall  race,  though  men  and  women 
of  uncommon  stature  are  sometimes  met,  Tlie  young  female 
gypsy  has  quite  often  the  distinction  of  a  ])eauty  singularly  fine. 
But  the  beauty  is  short- 
lived. Like  all  Orien- 
tivls,  they  soon  fade ;  and 
grow  old,  so  far  as  the 
face  is  concerned,  when  a 
Northern  woman  is  in 
lier  prime.  The  hard 
work,  the  squalor  of 
their  habits,  their  expos- 
ure to  all  weathers,  and 
their  unsettled,  precari- 
ous—  in  brief,  "gypBy" 
—  life,  help  to  age  them 
iKjfoi-e  years  ought  to  tell 
OIL  a  healthy  person.  A 
i-emavkable  revenge  which 
Nature  takes  for  her  lav- 
ishness  at  the  outset  is 
the  siipeniatural  hideous- 
ncss  which  she  often 
l>estows  (111  tlu>  wiilii'rud  fiy|wy  crone  at  a  period  when  hercivilized 
sisU-'r  is  nu-llu\viiiir  into  the  comeliness  of  riiKt  matronhood,  or 
even  near  Ihv.  fated  llireescore  and  ten.  Still,  after  all  to  the 

contrary,  tlni  gypsy  must  indnbitidily  l)ear  the  jMilni  for  a  species 
of  wild  Ix'iiuly,  which  is  adniiralily  set  off  l)y  his  often  romantic 
surroundini;.-;  — liis  Tarlar-like  eneainpineiit.  Ills  stick  fire  and 
ragged  tent  —  wliicli  hiiiks  so  well  at  a  distance,  —  and  the  showy 
coloi's  in  wliii-li.  like  his  kindred  on  tlie  other  side  of  the  Hima- 
layas, he  takes  s.>  in<irdin;iti-  a  delight. 

lie"',    then,    is    a    )ieiiple    known   tn    Knr()]>eanK    for   at   least 


MAMAS    UVPSIES   DEliUIS"- 


92  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

eight  centuries,  yet  who  have  managed  to  conceal  many  of 
their  ways  and  modes  of  life  from  the  inquisitive  scrutiny  of  the 
hundreds  who  liave  made  these  aspects  of  their  cult  a  part  of  their 
life's  study\  who  are  to  this  day  the  pariahs  they  were  in  their 
earliest  homes,  wlio  have  in  their  roamings  picked  up  scraps  of 
tlio  hiJisxuagcs  religion,  and  civilization  of  the  countries  they 
have  passed  through,  but  yet  sijeak  a  tongue  unintelligible  to  the 
"  whites  "  around  them,  wlio  with  a  few  exceptions  are  vagabonds 
on  the  face  of  tlie  eartli,  despising  a  fixed  life,  a  roofti*ee,  or  any 
of   the  ordinary  i*estraints   of  well-ordered  society. 

When  they  fii-st  came  under  the  notice  of  civilized  people  they 
were  for  some  careless  cause  decided  to  be  Egyptians,  and  as 
such  were  described  by  the  earliest  wTiters,  and  this  name,  under 
various  forms,  exists  in  our  word,  gyi)sy,  and  in  the  designations 

attached  to  them  hv  manv  other  nations.     As  for  themselvas,  thev 

•  •  »• 

either  knew  nothing  alxiut  their  origin,  or  were  sharp  enough  to 
ehime  in  with  the  current  fancv  bv  stvlinij  themselves  "Dukes  of 
Little  Kgyi>t,"  ivs  did  a  lionle  who  ap{)eared  in  1418  at  Zurich, 
iissuming  the  rank  of  knights,  and,  among  other  ** marks  of 
nobility,"  carrying  with  them  s[Kirting  dogs  and  a  good  supply 
of  monev. 

The  fii-st  notice  of  them  whieh  we  {>ossess,  written  about  the 
year  112*2,  eharaoterizes  them  as  "  Ishmaelites^  who  go  -peddling 
thiough  the  wide  world,  Iwving  neither  house  nor  home,  cheating 
the  people  with  their  trieks,"  a  tleseription  whieh  might  l)e  fairly 
enouL^h  aj»;>lied  to  their  doseemlants  who  aiv  at  present  squatted 
untliT  ir.aiiv  a  hedin*. 

At  lii-st  these  wanden^rs  wen*  n^eeiveil  with  great  liospitality, 
their  supposi'd  orio^in  and  misfortunes  obtaining  for  them  an 
anunnii  of  svniuithv  o{  whieli  tlieir  own  n>sruen\  ratlier  than  Jinv 
km^wlediro   of    the   aetnal    state  of    mattei-s,    very  soon  deprived 


'  Mon*  :h.*n  :!:nv  hnntlntl  soimmto  Morks  lnvo  J«<H»n  urilten  on  the  gjp«ie9.  Some  of 
this  liirratnrt*  i-  ,.f  li:tlo  nui«.»r:;»n,v:  l»ui  anxono  >\:u>  imjijriDe<  lliat  the  pvpsies  can  be 
exluiuv:!'.!  in  .\  ;\w  |v\cos  h..,l  Ivror  ^nmi-^uIi  Potts'  stxip^ndoxts  ••Pi*'  Zi^reuner  in  Earoiia 
un.l  AMon.  *  or  l.u;  i,  h  >  "  l>io  Zij;vunor  in  T.mMu  Wosc'n  und  ihner  Sprache.'' 

»  TIio  r,i:.n:i  ,  r  /ini.ili  of  Siviin.  tho  ,loxk  of  AlhitniA,  the  Zinpini  of  lOUy,  the  Pharo 
noiM-k  l\Mr.»o:i  X  ,M«.-  K-  of  Hn:v-ir>.  tho  T,r.:,»r.»  of  S^^^ntlinaxidu  ::k^  IVthemiens  of  Pnmoe. 
:!>c  Zi^ounor  .^f  (;or:n.in>,  t^o  Tinklor  or  Tii.kor^  of  S^N^ilaml,  the  Fiiruwni  vPhormoites)  of 
Ti;rko>.  ::..>  i  u»-u»  ,m  s:  nonu*.  tlu*  Oiirany  of  Uo;n«;»ni.i,  tlie  t;u:«htor  of  Greece,  the  Hey- 
*Wti-  Hra:..,n^  ,«f  Uoll.ia.l.  .uul  >o  forth.  Thox  o,»U  thomsoUv*  ;?...H,thait  i».  Men,  people, 
oaa  their  l.»n.r«.»p\  .Vom  ,  .       tk^  .  -^...;  ,,j  ;;„,^  i^  ;;,„^^,^  ,1^  feminine  JRmmmi, 


TRACES   AMONG   GYPSIES,    BRIGANDS   AND   THIEVES.  93 

them.  They  wei*e  —  so  tliey  said,  or  some  one  having  said  it  for 
them,  they  echoed  the  agi-eeable  fiction  —  Egyptians,  four  thou- 
sand of  wliom,  in  passing  tlirough  Hungary,  had  been  compelled 
by  the  sovereign  of  that  countr}^  to  l)e  baptized,  and  were  con- 
demned to  seven  vears'  wandcTinn^s,  wliile  the  remainder  of  tlie 
travellers  had  l)een  slain.  Another  story  was  that  tliey  wei-e 
Egyptians,  wlio,  having  been  subdued  by  the  Saracens,  were 
forced  to  renounce  Clu'istianity ;  but  having  been  reconquered 
by  the  Christians,  tliey  were  doomed  by  l*opc  Martin  V.  to  a 
penance,  which  consisted  of  wandering  for  the  space  of  seven 
years,  by  which  time  their  renunciation  of  the  faith  having  l>een 
atoned,  thev  would  l)e  sent  into  a  fine  and  fertile  land. 

A  third  version  of  the  cause  of  this  vagal  windage  wjis,  that 
thev  had  l)een  sentenced  t^)  roam  the  world  for  their  want  of 
hospitality  to  Joseph  and  Mary,  when  to  save  the  young  child,  who 
was  to  save  the  world,  this  pair  fled  into  Egyi)t.  If  wi?  are  to  credit 
the  historians  of  the  period,  these  '"Egyptians  ''  travelled  in  great 
state,  headed  by  "  Counts  "  splenchdly  drcsscMl,  and  luuler  the  com^ 
mand  of  a  "Duke,"  who  bore  lettei*s  of  safe  conduct  from  the 
Emperor  Sigismund.  The  men  were  on  foot,  and  the  women  and 
children  brought  up  the  rear  in  wagons,  while  the  *' nobles"  rode 
on  horses  with  dogs  whicli  apparently  were  trained  to  trespass  on 
game  preserves.  They  camped  outside  the  walls  of  towns  during 
the  night  and  thieved  during  the  day,  the  consequence  being  that 
several  were  taken  and  slain.  It  would  appear  that  then,  as  now, 
they  were  fond  of  tickling  the  fancy  of  their  dupes  l)y  assuming 
grandiose  titles —  king,  duke,  earl,  and  count.  But,  except  that 
some  powerful  or  wealthy  individual  managed  to  gain  temporary 
or  j)ennanent  control  over  the  band  with  whicli  he  travelled,  it  is 
more  tlian  doubtful  whether  the  gypsies  have,  or  ever  had,  any 
oificial  in  tlie  remotest  way  deserving  theses  distinctions. 

In  the  iu»ws})apers  ^  we  occasionally  hear  of  the  death  of  a  gypsy 
"King"  (U*  "Queen,"  and  of  his  or  her  burial  with  pompous 
obsequies.  The  people  themselves  very  naturally  like  to  mystify  the 
public  by  keeping  up  the  belief  in  such  dignitaries,  and  possibly 


1  For  instance,  thi»  recent  despatch  to  the  Boston  Ilenild :  — 

Elizabctii,  N.  J.,  April  14, 18^2.  The  Iwdy  of  Annie  Lovell,  the  (Jypsy  Queen,  who  died 
in  St.  I»uij«on  Momlay,  vrill  lie  buried  in  the  same  prave  in  Mt.  Olivet  cemetery,  in  this  city, 
in  which  her  grandmother,  a  fonuer  queen,  was  burietl.  The  Oypnies  have  a  plot  an<l  impos- 
ing monument. 


94  THK    STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

having  so  often  lieiird  tliein  designated  by  royal  titles,  adopt 
the  name  and  idea.  Except,  however,  in  the  limited  sense  men- 
tioned, there  is  no  ground  for  the  popular  belief,  though  certain 
families,  like  the  Faas  and  Blyths  in  Scotland,  and  the  Stanleys 
and  Hemes  in  Enjrland,  liavinfj  always  been  i-egfarded  as  aristo- 
crats  among  them,  have  sometimes  been  elected  to  a  j>osition  of 
authority,  and  liave  even  received  a  kind  of  hereditarj'  respect, 
due  to  some  traditional  story  that  certain  sovereigns  had  recog- 
nized one  of  their  ancestoi^s  as  a  brother  monarch.  James  IV. 
of  Scotland  gave,  in  looO,  '*Anthonius  Gagino,  Count  of  Little 
Egypt,"  a  letter  of  recommendation  to  Christian  III.  of  Den- 
mark, wliile  James  V.  granted  a  writ  giving  "oure  louit  Johnne 
Faw,  lord  and  erle  of  Litill  Egipt"  authority  to  hang  find  other- 
wise discipline  "all  p]gyptians"  within  the  realm. ^  This,  how- 
ever, simply  means  tliat  the  Scottish  king,  like  so  many  other 
people,  had  l)een  deceived  regarding  the  origin  and  status  of  the 
vagalx)n(ls  whom  he  thus  recognized,  though  it  is  by  no  means 
proved  that  any  corresponding  dignities  were  known  before  he 
thus  conferred  on  the  leading  men  these  sweeping  powere. 

At  first,  "the  Egyptians  "  were  well  received,  as  the  facta  men- 
tioned clearly  show;  but  their  popularity  was  naturally  brief. 
Within  a  year  of  James  Y.  making  "Johnne  Faw"  and  his  son 
and  successor  refjea  in  rejuo^  an  act  of  the  Scottish  Parliament 
was  passed,  commanding  him  and  his  tribesmen  to  i)ass  "furth 
the  realm,"  under  pain  of  death.  Already,  indeed,  Germany, 
Spain,  Fi-ance,  England,  Denmark  and  Moravia,  had  found  it 
necessary  to  take  similarly  drastic  mccosures,  and  before  long  a 
perfect  hue  and  v.vy  was  raised  all  over  Eui*ope  against  the  ^un- 
baptized  heathens,"  who  had  so  recently  l)een  gulling  the  simple- 
minded  Westerns  with  tlie  fables  about  Joseph  and  Mary  and  the 
Saracens. 

The  glitter  of  the  romance  with  wliich  they  had  been  early 
invested  was  nipidlv  rul)l)e(l  off,  after  tlie  loixls  and  counts  of 
Little  Egypt  had  been  convicted  of  harrying  a  succession  of  hen- 
roosts, and  it  was  hard  to  j)reserve  confidence  in  the  penitence  of 
a  people  who  had  no  external  symbols  of  any  religion,  and  lived 


»  In  MalmoHlmrv  Ahhoy      hiil*'  by  siil»»  witli  Atllcl^tau  — lies  the  body  of  a  Ojpsy,  "King 
John  Huollo,"  ^aill  l«>  iiu\»'  boi'ii  hii.l  \\\vtv  ia  IC'.T. 


Mi 


96  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNldENT.  / 

a  life  about  as  bereft  of  morality  as  it  was  deficient  in  that  virtue 
which  then,  perhaps,  less  than  now,  was  rated  next  to  godliness. 
Worst  of  all,  "  the  Egyptians  "  were  discovered  to  have  none  of 
the  wealth  which  at  first  they  were  supposed  to  own,  and  were  there- 
fore a  people  who  could  neither  be  *' squeezed"  nor  cozened. 

After  this,  we  hear  little  about  their  pei'secution  in  Egypt,  or 
of  their  '"kings  "  carrying  any  letters,  except  the  summary  notices 
which  were  duly  served  on  them  by  tlie  constables  of  every  dis- 
trict. 

Edicts  out  of  number  were  fmmed  for  their  discomfort,  and  no 
more  humiliating  reading  exists  than  the  different  acts,  decrees 
and  writs,  which  were  hurled  at  these  brown-faced  wanderers, 
ostensibly  because  in  addition  to  being  "  diviners  and  wicked 
heathens"  they  plundered  fann-yards  and  had  oceult  "trafficke 
with  the  deville." 

Our  illustration  of  Zigani  pleading  to  Philip  III.  of  Spain, 
early  in  the  year  160C,  shows  how  the  church,  having  ceased  its 
futile  efforts  to  conveiij  them,  strove  to  have  them  banished.  The 
general  Spanish  heart,  however,  luis  always  had  a  kindly  comer 
for  this  joyous  race,  and  into  many  a  Spanish  song  and  story  the  i 
gypsy  entei-s  with  a  charm  of  pathos  and  mystery  that  always 
touches  a  responsive  popular  chord.  Our  great  romancer,  Walter 
Scott,  was  attracted  by  tliis  race,  and  into  three  of  his  most 
powerful  novels,  Guy  Mannering,  Quentin  Durward,  and  Peveril 
of  the  Peak,  he  introduced  a  strikingly  vivid  g}T)sy  character. 

In  the  middle  of  the  last  century  there  appears  to  have  been  a 
tendency  to  treat  the  gypsies  a  trifle  more  mildly,  though  in  1748 
Frederick  the  Great  renewed  the  law  that  every  gypsy  l)eyond  the 
age  of  eighteen,  found  within  the  Prussian  l)ounds,  should  be 
hanged  fortliwith,  and  to  this  day  it  is  in  Germany  ipso  facto  an 
indictable  offence  to  1^  one  of  the  prescribed  "zigeuner"  unless 
specially  licensed  as  such. 

Even  in  Roumania  —  where  they  swarm  —  the  condition  of 
serfdom  to  which  they  were  reduced  was  not  completely  abro- 
gated until  18oB,  though  both  Maria  Theresa  and  Joseph  II. 
tried  —  with  very  partial  success  —  to  settle  them  as  "New 
Peasants  "  on  lands  specially  set  aside  for  the  purpose. 

But   the   passion   for   wandering   is   so    innate,    that   just   as 


TRACES    ASIONG    GYPSIES,    IHtlGANDS    AND    THIEVES.  0  I 

wild  (lucks  hatched  by  a  bune  fitster-iiiothor  will  take  to  the 
lakes  as  soon  aa  they  can  fly,  so  a  joung  gyx'sy,  even  when  reared 
away  from  the  influence  of  the  tents  of  its  tril)e,  is  apt  sooner  or 
later  to  "kick  tlie  traces  "  of  culture,  and  esciqx;  to  the  squalor, 
the  liberty,  and  the  endless  skirmish  with  society  which  is  the 
nonnal  life  oi  its  ancestral  nomads. 

A  study  of  their  language  soon  confirms  their  Eastern  origin, 
for  though  mixed  with  words  from  almost  every  country  tln-ough 


wliich  they  have  [jassed 

i-i»rnii)ted,  it  is  an  East 

Indian   dialect   so 

marked  that,  as  one  of 

the  most  celebi-.ited   of 

its  titudent-t  says,   it  is 

]ilca.saiit    to   I)e    able    to 

study  a  Hindoo  tongue 
T  witliout  stining  out  of 
S  Eui-OjK'.  A  gypsy  talks, 
^  as  does  an  Oriental,  of 
111    his    "kismet"    (fate), 

and  when  he   uses   the 

word  "{inran"  (koi-an) 

he    I'l'fei'S    to    no    b<)t>k 

Siicred  or  otherwise,  but 

to  the  a<-t  of  taking  an 

oatli.      "Sliali    giv"  is 

in    Itoniany    "small 

grain-corn  ";    in  Ilindo- 

staui    "shaii"    means 

rice.  Tlie  Engli.sli  gypsies 

the  Hindoo  "shaster,"  the 

lx>oks. 

In   India  many  sects  reganl  a  cup  witl. 

Germany  tlie  gypsies  will  never   touch    a 

fallen    to  the  ground;    ever  after 


which  they  reside,  and  often  sadly 


■all  thelUble  "shaster,' 
word  thcv  use  to  descri 


which  is  simply 
« their  religious 


timihir 


ni. 


In 


a  cup  which  lias  once 
it  is  sacred;  and  in  I-higland 
many  of  them  can  never  l>e  induced  to  use  a  white  lx>\vl.  The 
same  antipathy  to  horse  flesh  is  exhibited  among  the  gypsies  that 
several  Indian  tribes  display,  amj^in  biiiyit,.^iere  can  lie  no  liesi- 


f&mAL^mti^\ 


98  THE   STORV   OF   (K)VERNMENT. 

tation  in  accepting  the  now  generally  received  opinion  of  their  com- 
paratively recent  Indian  origin.  The  gypsies  are  a  singularly 
secretive  race,  and  keep  their  language,  as  far  as  they  can,  con- 
cealed from  those  in  wliora  they  have  little  trust;  hut  in  course 
of  time,  partly  througli  intermarriage  with  vagabond  whites, 
or  through*  the  association  of  "travellers"  with  the  real  gy^Dsies 
a  host  of  Romany  words  have  gotten  mixed  up  with  English, 
slang.  For  example,  '*  jockey  is  derived  from  chuckni  (a  whip); 
jockeyism  really  meaning  the  scientilic  use  of  a  Avhip  in  speed- 
ing a  hoi"se;  "cove"  is  from  cava  (a  tiling),  thou^^h  tlie  term 
is  almost  indefinite  in  its  applicability;  "shindy"  is  probably 
from  chln{/areey  which  means  the  same;  "cliivy"  is  from  chiv^  one 
of  the  meanings  of  which  is  to  scold;  "shavers,"  as  applied  to 
little  children,  is  from  shavies  (children);  a  "rum'un"  is  from 
Jftiim  or  Rom  (a  gn)sy),  or  a  man  literally. 

In  regard  to  the  disposition  and  traits,  good  and  bad,  of  the 
gypsies,  there  is  alwa^'s,  of  couree,  a  wide  difference  of  opinion, 
according  to  the  prejudices  of  the  critics,  the  kind  of  gypsies 
with  whom  they  have  come  in  contact,  or  the  capability  of  the 
judges  for  arriving  at  an  opinion  on  the  subject.  Gypsies  are 
extremely  unwilling  to  betray  themselves  to  strangers,  though 
wlien  they  have  confidence  in  anyone  they  are  ready  enough 
to  answer  questions,  and  as  far  as  lies  in  their  power  to  shun 
the  ever-present  temptation  of  "humbugging"  the  questioner. 
Among  them,  as  among  every  other  body  of  people,  there  are 
good  and  bad,  though,  as  always  happens  when  a  pure  or  almost 
pure-blooded  race  is  concerned,  it  is  easier  to  arrive  at  some 
general  conclusions  regarding  their  disposition  and  abilities  than 
those  of  a  mixed  people;. 

Light-hearted  and  wonderfully  courteous  in  their  conduct 
towards  strangei*s,  and  even  towards  each  other,  they  are  capable 
of  violent  passions  and  cruel  vindictiveness.  At  the  same 
time,  they  are  ready  to  forgive,  their  childish  vanity  being  easily 
tickled  by  a  show  of  affability  or  an  ai)proach  to  renewed  friend- 
ship on  the  part  of  those  by  whom  they  have  been  offended.  The 
war  which  the  gypsy  has  for  ages  waged  against  society,  and 
society  against  him,  has  left  indelible  traces  on  his  character.  To 
protect  himself  from  the  vengeance  of  the  law  he  has  recourse  to 


A   UIU)I:P   of   TUKKI81I   OYI' 


ii"A^-;^i\ 


k 


100  THE  3rroRY  or  •4i>V 

that  profoiiii<l  irnnnin.g'  which.  hik-»  grown  to  be  with  him  a  second 
nature,  while  the  indolence  that  strike*  one  who  sees  him  asleep 
under  a  he<lgen>w.  more  than  anjr  «>cher  characteristic,  is  the  out- 
come of  a  life  without  ambitioOr  a  eareer  with4>ut  a  goal. 

It  is  an  article  «>f  almi:i6t  uniTersal  i^jreement  with  students  of 
^^grpsYoloj^^"  ih:\t  if  oQi.^c^  a  gypsy  gives  his  word  he  will  keep  it, 
and  that  they  huve  preserved  thn>ugh  many  centuries  the  old 
Oriental,  or  rather  the  ireneral  vasabi^nd  idea  of  inviolable  honor 
towards  the  wavfarer  within  their  tents.  Tlie  children  receive 
scarcely  any  training:  vet  no  {)et>ple  are  kinder  to  their  old  parents 
and  rebitives  than  the  gyjisies.  Jetsam  and  flotsam  of  society, 
they  find  tliat  unless  they  tie  ver}*  tightly  the  bonds  which  unite 
them,  they  would  l)e  {xiwerless  to  ht>ld  their  own.  Hence,  j)erhaps, 
the  warm  faniilv  affection  which  distini^uishes  these  nomads.  A 
parent  never  chastises  a  young  child,  yet  it  is  quite  common  f(»r 
a  gro\\ni-up  son  to  acv^pt  meekly  a  thrashing  fn>m  his  ;iged 
father. 

A  gyi»sy  entertains  no  s^-ruples  reganling  the  methml  in  which 
he  supplies  his  lanler,  or,  indeed,  as  to  how  he  acquires  property; 
])Ut  he  will  just  as  reailily  i>art  with  what  he  has  to  a  friend  in 
worse  case  than  himself.  '*I  have  fimnd  tliem/'  savs  one  writer, 
""more  cheerful,  pt)lite  and  grateful  than  the  lower  ordei-s  of 
other  races  in  Eun)[)e  or  America,  and  I  Ijclieve  that  when  tlieir 
respect  and  sympathy  ai*e  secuivd  they  are  quite  as  upright.  Like 
all  people  who  are  reganletl  as  outciists,  tliey  are  very  proud  of 
being  tiiisted,  and  under  this  influence  will  commit  the  most 
daring  acts  of  honesty."  Tliere  is  no  more  independent  epicm^e 
than  the  g}'psy.  He  eats  ever^'thing  that  is  edible,  except  hoi-se- 
flesli,  and  sleeps  Avherever  he  lights  on  a  s^mt  well  sheltered 
from  the  wind,  and  tolerably  safe  from  the  only  appanage  of 
society  which  he  dreads  —  the  i)oliceman.  He  has,  moreover, 
a  tact  and  delicacy  which  many  in  far  loftier  stations  might  well 
iinitat(;,  and  a  love  of  nature  which  makes  mere  life  a  joy. 

C)f  religion  they  have  little.  ''The  gypsies'  church,"  they  are 
in  the  lialiit  of  saying,  ''was  made  of  pork,  and  the  dogs  stole  it." 
Whcro  the  alwolute  non-observance  of  the  forms  of  any  creed 
(•ntailn  no  diniculty,  the  gypsies  are  usually  untroubled  by  a 
regard  for  the  faith  of  the  countrj'  in  which  they  live.      If,  on  the 


TRACES  AMONG  GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.       101 

other  Iiand,  they  find  it  to  their  profit  to  profess  a  belief  in  some 
religion,  they  never  hesitate  to  pick  up  as  much  of  it  as  suits 
their  convenience,  their  wonderful  art  of  conforming  themselves 
to  the  ways  of  the  i)articiilar  community  into  which  they  are 
thrown  serving  them  here  in  good  stead.  Here  and  there  may  be 
detected,  mixed  up  with  endless  superstitions  and  crude  bits  of 
Cliristianity,  fragments  of  nature-worship  and  veiy  early  pagan- 
ism, though  how  far  serpent- woi-ship  and  the  adoration  of  a  moon- 
god,  which  Sundt  fancied  he  found  among  the  g}'psies  of  Norway, 
exist  in  reality,  or  in  the  too  easy  conclusions  of  a  student  bent 
on  finding  something  new  is  scarcely  worth  discussing  here. 

The  three  great  gypsy  clans  of  Gennany,  according  to  Liebich, 
Avorship  the  fir,  tlie  bii-ch  and  the  hawthorn,  and  the  Welsh 
Uomany,  certain  ftisciated  growtlis  in  trees.  The  "  Phara(^li  peo- 
ple "  of  Turkey  keep  a  fire  continually  burning,  and  on  the  first 
of  May  they  all  go  to  the  seacoast  or  the  banks  of  a  river,  where 
they  thrice  throw  water  on  their  temples,  invoking  the  invisible 
spirits  of  the  place  to  gi*ant  their  wishes.  Another  custom 
observed  with  equal  consistency  is  that  of  annually  drinking  some 
potion,  the  secret  of  whose  pi-eparation  is  known  only  to  the  wisest 
and  oldest  of  the  tribe.  This  drink  is  said  to  render  them  invul- 
nerable to  snake-bites,  and  ceitainly  according  to  trustworthy 
travellers  the  "Chinguins,"  as  they  are  also  called,  catch  serpents 
and  handle  them  with  an  impunity  which  is  not  vouchsafed  to  any 
j)er8ons  not  of  the  gypsy  i*ace. 

They  have  scai-cely  any  idea  of  a  future  state,  the  only  trace  of 
such  a  l)elief  which  Liebich  ever  detected  being  in  a  gyi^y  crone, 
who  dreamed  that  she  wiis  in  heaven,  which  to  her  appeared  to  be 
a  very  large  garden  full  of  fine  fat  hedgehogs,  the  dainty  which 
Romany  gourmands  or  gluttons  most  esteem.  In  Scandinavia, 
according  to  Sundt,  who  spent  yeai-s  in  studying  the  vagabonds  of 
the  North,  the  gyj>sies  assemble  once  a  year,  and  always  at  night, 
for  the  purpose  of  unbaptizing  all  of  tlieir  children  who  duiing  the 
year  have  been  baptized  by  the  Gorgios,  or  Avhites.  On  this 
occasion  the  jmrents,  whose  acquiescence  in  the  Christian  rite  has 
l)een  obtained  by  the  jxirsuasive  power  of  gifts,  worship  a  small 
idol,  which  is  preserved  until  the  next  meeting  with  the  greatest 
care  and  secrecy.     This  is  a  good  story,  but,  like  many  others 


102  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

in  circulation,  had  better  be  accepted  with  considerable  caution. 
It  would  argue  for  the  gypsy  the  possession  of  a  keen  moral  sense 
—  the  terror  that  the  baptism  was  dreadfully  wrong.  Now  tliis 
is  just  what  the  Indian  nomad  does  not  possess.  He  is  indif- 
ferent. His  moral  sense  is  formed  by  custom,  and  morality  seems 
to  be  at  times  a  question  of  latitude  and  longitude.  A  fearful 
crime  in  one  section  of  human  society  is  a  virtue  in  another  a  few 
degrees  farther  north  or  south. 

For  instance,  in  the  island  of  Borneo,  a  Dyak  is,  or  was,  in- 
eligible for  the  Immble  position  of  a  prospective  husband  until 
he  had  decapitated  a  fellow-man;  we  should  have  hanged  him. 
The  civilized  father  is  overwhelmed  with  sorrow  when  his  boy 
is  detected  pilfering  other  men's  property,  but  an  Apache  parent 
thanks  all  the  heaven  he  knows  of  that  the  lad  who  has  man- 
aged to  steal  a  horse  before  he  was  ready  to  take  a  wife  promises 
to  prove  a  comfort  to  his  old  age. 

So  with  the  gypsy.  Ever  poor,  often'hungry,  always  liated,  it 
seems  to  him  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  he  should 
temporarily  enrich  himself  and  satisfy  his  appetite  at  the  expense 
of  those  who,  in  his  eyes,  are  burdened  with  superfluities.  He 
knows  it  is  against  the  law,  for  there  are  legends  ever  present  to 
his  memory  and  experience  which  tell  of  the  policeman's  illiberal 
ways ;  but,  as  for  any  moral  crime,  that  is  an  tispect  of  the  matter 
on  which  the  gypsy  hivs  never  heen  taught  to  reflect. 

Yet  there  is  hardly  a  race  or  tribe  —  no  matter  what  ill-informed 
travellers  may  say  to  the  contrary  —  Avhich  is  entirely  without 
religion,  and  the  gypsy  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  His  feelings 
of  reverence  find  vent  in  an  inordinate  respect  for  the  dead, 
an  outcome,  it  may  be,  of  the  intense  love  he  bears  his  kindred 
when  alive.  The  corpse  is  waked  and  tlie  effects  of  the  deceased 
p'ji-son  are  burned.  '*  The  Annual  Register  "  for  1773  records  tliat 
'Uhe  clothes  of  tlie  late  Diana  Boswell,  queen  of  the  gypsies, 
value  <£50,  were  burnt  in  the  Mint,  Southwark,  by  her  principal 
courtiers,  according  to  ancient  custom,"  and  to  this  day  the  same 
I'ite  is  observed  on  the  deatli  of  any  of  the  tribe,  though  most 
probably  this  is  one  of  tlie  ancient  rites  which  are  on  the  wane. 
Certain  tribes  of  North  American  Indians  adopt  the  same  2)lan, 
j)ix)bably  for  the  same  reason,  to  put  out  of  sight  anything  which 


TRACES   AMONG   GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS   AND  THIEVES. 


lOS 


might  recall  tht;  ineiiioiy  of  tlie  dead,  or  tempt  tlieni  to  inoiiounce 
his  or  her  name. 

In  England  a  gypsy  will,  with  wondioua  t^elf-denial,  often 
abstain  from  spirits  for  years,  because  a  dead  brother  was 
fond  of  liquor,  or  will  iibandrm  some  favorite  pureuit  because  the 


deceased  when  last  in  liiw  company  was  t'lijrayed  in  this  hasiness 
or  pastime.  Again,  a  wife  or  child  will  often  renounce  the  deli- 
L-acy  most  liked  by  the  dead  husband  or  father.  They  will  never 
mention  the  dead  one's  name,  and  if  any  of  the  survivors  linppeu 


104  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

to  bear  one  of  the  names  they  will  change  it  for  another  less  apt 
to  recall  the  loved  one.  A  gypsy  declined  a  cigar  offered  to  him 
by  Mr.  Leland,  the  famous  American  student  of  their  habits, 
because  in  the  pockets  of  his  nephew  some  cigai-s  were  found  after 
his  death.  The  same  man  ceased  using  snuff  after  his  wife's 
deatli.  '^Some  men/'  said  a  gypsy  once,  "won't  eat  meat 
because  th(»  brother  or  sister  that  died  was  fond  of  it;  some 
won't  drink  ale  for  five  or  six  years;  some  won't  eat  the  favorite 
fish  that  the  child  ate;  some  won't  eat  potatoes,  or  cb-ink  milk,  or 
eat  apples,  and  all  for  the  dead.  Some  won't  play  cards  or  the 
fiddle  —  'that's  my  poor  boy's  tunc' — and  some  won't  dance. 
*No,  I  can't  dance;  the  last  time  I  danced  was  witli  poor  wife 
that's  been  dead  this  foiu*  yeai*s.'  'Come,  brother,  let's  go  and 
have  a  droj)  of  ale.'  'Xo,  brother,  I  never  drank  a  drop  of  ale 
since  my  aunt  went.'  *Well,  take  some  tobacco,  brother  ?  '  'No, 
no;  I  have  not  smoked  since  mv  wife  fell  in  the  water,  and  never 
came  out  again  alive.'  " 

This  is  Oriental  entirely,  and  in  Germany,  where  the  gypsies 
are  even  nearer  akin  to  tlie  primitive  conditions  of  the  race  than 
in  England,  the  respect  for  tlie  dead  is  even  more  profound.  "  By 
my  father's  head!"  is  a  very  binding  oatli,  but  to  swear  by  "the 
dead  "  is  even  more  so.  Even  in  England  a  gypsy  who  declares 
that  he  will  do  anything —  "muUo  juvo  "  —  tliat  is,  by  liis  dead 
wife,  is  pretty  sure  to  keep  his  word,  though  he  never  reads  the 
Bible,  and  regards  the  founder  of  oiu'  faith  only  in  the  light  of  some- 
thing to  lend  strength  to  an  affirmation.  In  Germany  it  is  said  that 
Avhen  a  maiden  called  Forella  died,  lier  entire  tribe  ceased  calling 
the  trout  bv  it«  old  name  of  Fore  lie.  In  Engfland  this  rule  is 
veiy  generally  observed,  thougii  it  is  not  universal.  At  one  time 
they  put  new  shoes  and  even  money  in  the  coffin  with  the  corpse, 
or  decked  tlie  lx)dy  with  gay  clothes  and  ornaments  of  value. 

In  the  coui-se  of  their  wanderings  the  gypsies  have,  as  might 
have  been  expet^ted,  picked  up  a  good  many  snatches  of  tlie  Chris- 
tian religion.  For  iiLstance,  some  of  them  burn  an  ash  fire  on 
Christmas  Day  in  honor  of  Christ,  "because  He  was  born  and 
lived  like  a  gypsy."  Among  otlier  of  their  supei"stitious  sciiiples 
is  a  dislike  to  wash  a  table-cloth  with  other  clothes.  A  German 
gypsy  woman  must  not  cook  for  four  months  after  the  birth  of  a 


TBA0E8  AMONG  GYF8IBS,   BBIGANOS  AlO)  THIEVES.        105 

child,  and  any  vessel  touched  by  a  woman's  skirt  is  defiled,  while 
one  of  their  most  widespread  and  most  Indian  practices  is  to  leave 
at  a  road-corner  a  handful  of  leaves  or  grass,  or  a  heap  of  stones 
or  sticks,  to  guide  any  of  the  band  who  may  follow. 

Though  until  lately  almost  entirely  without  school  learning  — 
the  civilized  gypsies  of  Yetholm  are  of  course  excepted  —  they 
are  far  from  being  a  dull  or  unreceptive  race.  Many  of  them  are 
persons  of  great  natural  shrewdness,  though,  except  as  musicians, 
few  of  the  race  have  ever  attiiined  much  celebrity.  The  Ilun- 
garians  owe  their  national  music  to  the  Zigani.  ilaiiy  of  them 
display  considerable  skill  as  metal  workers,  and  one  or  two  have 
develoj^ed  talents  of  a  certain  kind  as  Methodist  preachers.  The 
late  Rev.  Dr.  Gordon,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
was  always  imderstood  to  be  of  pure  gypsy  stock.  Lord  Jeffrey 
and  Christopher  North  (Professor  John  Wilson)  were  also  said  to 
be  of  the  wandering  folk,  and  it  has  long  Ixicn  aflirmed,  though 
the  asseition  has  been  stoutly  disputed,  that  John  IJunyan, 
author  of  "Pilgrim's  Progress,"  belonged  to  the  gypsy  stock. 
Half  of  the  tramps,  the  "tnivellei-s,"  as  they  are  called,  of 
England,  are  tinctured  Avith  Romany  blood.  These  "half- 
scrags  '^  are  an  ever-incrcjising  class.  They  are  ti-amps  and  beg- 
gai-s,  proprietoi-s  of  tmvelling  shows,  hoi'se-dealei's,  tinkei-s,  cheap 
Jacks,  "Pimclics,"  iiddlei-s,  pottery  dealei-s,  sellers  of  vskewers 
and  dothespegs. 

In  England  the  numl)er  of  house-dwelling  <i;y[)sies  is  on  the 
increa^se,  but  it  is  rare  to  lind  any  who  have  for  two  generations 
ceased  to  find  slielter  luider  tents,  or  who  do  not  at  intervals  take 
to  their  old  kind  of  life.  The  Sfvp-^v  lias  nowhere  nowadays  a 
distintttive  dress,  but  he  or  slie  can  generally  be  picked  out  in 
a  crow<l  bv  reason  of  the  crav  coloi-s  s*^  loved  bv  the  race,  and  the 
heav}'  rings  on  the  women's  fingei-s.  In  some  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent the  Avomen  wear  a  peculiar  pattern  of  earrings,  and  in  Hun- 
gary the  male  gypsy  is  fond  of  decking  his  coat  with  silver 
buttons  bearing  a  serpent  for  a  crest. 

In  the  country  the  gypsy  follows  nearly  all  callings,  from  those 
of  chimney-sweei)s  and  factory  hands,  to  those  of  actors  and  quack 
doctors,  but  as  tinkers,  or  workere  in  metal,  horse-dealers, 
makers   of    baskets,  brooms,  clothes-pegs,    and    pottery   sellers. 


106  THE   STOllY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

they  are  pre-eminent.  The  Calderari,  or  copper-smitlis  of  Hun- 
gary, travel  all  over  Europe,  and  sometimes  reach  as  far  as 
Algeria.  In  Transylvania  they  are  well  known  as  gold  workers, 
and  no  tourist  who  has  ever  visited  the  Alhanibra  but  must 
remember  the  gypsy  smiths  whose  anvils  were  placed  in  the  caves 
of  Oranada. 

Altogether,  according  to  Mr.  Simson,  there  cannot  be  much 
fewer  than  4,000,000  gypsies  in  existence,  but  if  pure  bloods  are 
meant,  this  estimate  is  probably  far  over  the  mark,  since  Von 
Miklosich  reckons  that  number  at  somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of 
700,000.  In  Hungary  there  are,  according  to  a  rough  estimate, 
about  150,000  gypsies —  vagabonds  who  wander  over  the  countrj- 
with  their  carts  and  horses,  accompanied  by  their  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  though  at  one  time  pei-secuted  as  unbelievers,  and 
hunted  to  death  as  sorcerei-s  and  poisoners,  the  cruel  edicts  which 
enjoined  such  treatment  wei*e  never  approved  by  the  Hun- 
garian people.  The  result  is,  that  the  gypsies  have  increased, 
and,  in  their  own  thriftless,  squalid  fashion,  prospered,  despite 
the  hard  usage  they  have  experienced  at  the  hands  of  their  rulers. 

Indeed,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Hungarian  kings  have  more  than 
once  protected  them  as  a  ''poor  wandering  people  without  a  coun- 
try, and  whom  all  the  world  rejected,"  and  granted  them  safe 
conducts  to  go  wherever  seemed  good  to  them,  with  their  ti'oops 
of  donkeys  and  hoi-ses.  Joseph  II.  of  Austria  tried  to  settle  them 
as  agriculturists,  and  had  huts  built  for  them,  but  instead  of 
occupying  the  comfortable  dwellings  themselves  they  stabled  their 
cattle  in  them,  and  pitched  their  tents  outside. 

Then  to  prevent  their  corn  from  sprouting  they  boiled  it  before 
sowing,  and  though  their  children  were  taken  from  them  and 
trained  up  into  habits  of  work  under  Magyar  and  German  peas- 
ants, these  wildlings  soon  escaped  and  joined  their  parents,  with- 
out having  learned  anything  from  their  forcible  fipprenticeship  to 
civilization.  It  is  affirmed  that  a  gypsy,  who  had  actually  risen 
to  the  rank  of  an  officer  in  the  Austrian  army,  disappeared  one 
day,  and  was  found  six  months  afterwards  with  a  band  of  Zigani 
encamped  on  the  heath.  A  young  Slovack  peasant  fell  in  love 
with  and  married  a  gyi)sy  girl,  but  in  his  al)sence  she  escaped  to 
the  woods,  and  when  discovered  was    living   under  a  tree   and 


TRACES   AHOMU   QVPSIES,    BKIQANDS   AND   THISVE8. 


lOT 


feasting  on  hedgehog  after  the  fashion  of  the  race  from  whom  she 
bad  been  taken. 

The  Abb^  Liszt,  cliarmed  with  the  talent  for  muaic  dispkyed 


by  a  gypsy  boy,  took  him  to  Paris  and  tried  to  traiu  the  little 
lad.  But  all  in  vain.  The  moment  he  saw  his  own  x>eople  in 
Vienna  his  delight  was  indescribable ;  there  was  no  loiiger  any 
hope  of  keeping  him  under  the  velvet  bonds  of  polite  life. 


108  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT, 

Like  all  their  kindred,  the  Hungarian  g3'^psy  has  a  horror  of 
restraint  and  of  continuous  labor.  His  vocabulary  contains  no 
"woi-d  signifying  "to  dwell;"  hence  he  follows  any  trade  which 
admits  of  his  wandering  about  the  country  —  farriers,  nail-makers, 
horse-dealers  (and  horse-stealers),  bear-tamei"s,  and  beggars.  In 
the  last  capacity  the  Zigani  are  irrepressible.  Time  to  them  is  no 
object.  They  will  follow  the  traveller  for  half  an  hour,  pouring 
forth  their  whine  in  fluent  Magyar  or  gypsy  until  a  piece  of 
money  is  thrown  to  them,  and  then  they  will  whine  again  to  the 
next  likely  pusser-by.  Indeed,  so  deeply  rooted  is  tliis  love  of 
mendicity  and  its  twin,  mendacity,  tliat  it  is  nothing  uncommon 
for  gypsies  Avearing  gold  cliains  and  rings,  carrying  gold-headed 
canes,  and  leading  race-lioi-ses,  to  hold  out  tlieir  liands  for  alms 
to  all  whom  tliev  meet. 

No  people  are  more  skilful  as  horse-doalci's ;  a  Vermont  Yankee 
is  miles  behind  them.  In  truth,  so  skilful  are  they,  that  Josejih 
II.,  who  occupied  a  good  deal  of  his  time  in  devising  means  for 
the  reformation  of  tliis  section  of  his  su])jects,  al)solutely  foiI)ade 
tliem  to  trade  in  a  specfies  of  mercliandise  wliich  gave  them  an 
undue  advantage  over  tlieir  neighboi-s,  and  put  templ^ition  in  the 
gypsy's  way  of  which  he  was  not  at  all  l)a(^kward  to  avail  him- 
self. The  women,  like  tlieir  sistei*s  everywhere,  tell  fortunes, 
sell  clianns,  })ly  the  trade  of  jugglers  and  dancers,  and,  it  is  said, 
not  without  truth,  act  as  go-l)etweens  and  supply  })oisons. 

Manv  rustics  iu  lands  besides  Ilunorary  have  still  a  firm 
belief  in  their  power  in  these  respects,  and  will  tell  how  by  magic 
formuLnD  they  have*  extinguished  Jires,  preserved  horses  from  the 
flames,  discovtMcd  hidden  tri'asures  or  springs  of  watci*  hitherto 
unsus[)ecte(l,  and  cured  diseases  which  have  defied  the  regular 
faculty.  It  may  be  added,  though  the  contraiy  has  been  asserted, 
that  the  moi-als  of  the  women  are,  if  possible,  woi-sc  tlian 
those  of  the  men.  Among  the  g^qjsies,  however,  as  among  tlie 
people  of  ev(^rv  other  race,  exceptions  are  occasionally  found 
which  }»rovc  the  rule,  the  rule  ])cing  that  they  are  vagabonds.  The 
ex(!eptions  are  tlu^  few  who  in  Transylvania  carry  on  the  tmdes  of 
wood-carvers,  brush-makei's,  tile-makei*s,  rope-makei>>,  ropei"S, 
chinmey-sweeps,  gold-workers,  dentists,  and  musicians  —  as  they 
all  are  more  or  less  —  not  to  mention  the  Zigani  who  are  always 


TRACES  AMONG  GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.        109 

ready  to  perfonn  the  hideous  function  of  the  public  executioner. 
**  Five  florins  for  hanging  a  man ! "  a  gypsy  is  said  to  have 
exclaimed  when  offered  this  fee  for  his  services.  **  Why,  I  would 
hang  all  those  gentlemen,'*  pointing  with  an  affable  grin  to  the 
judges,  **for  that  sum  of  money  I  "  One  or  two  Zigani  have  tried 
their  hand  at  play-writing  and  acting,  and  now  and  then  may  be 
met  a  gypsy  marionette  manager,  or  even  a  comedian  of  the  race. 
In  Hungary  they  can  hardly  he  said  to  profess  any  regular 
religion.  They  are  not  even  pagans,  for  tliey  worship  nothing, 
though  everywhere  they  show  great  respect  for  the  dead,  never 
passing  a  grave  of  their  relatives  witliout  pouring  on  it  a  few 
drops  of  beer,  wine,  or  bmndy. 

They  adopt  any  i-eligion  which  promises  most  profit  or  the 
greatest  immunity  from  discomfort.  Hence  it  will  sometimes 
happen  that  the  children  of  a  wandering  gypsy  will  be  baptized 
four  or  five  times,  and  l)e  quite  ready,  so  far  as  their  pirents  are 
concerned,  to  be  baptized  a  fifth  if  the  nomad  liapi)en  to  come  into 
a  region  where  religious  fervor  runs  high.  How  far  they  acknowl- 
edge any  head  nowadays  is  an  ojien  question.  At  one  time  they 
were  governed  by  four  "voivodes,"  or  chiefs,  who  were  elected  by 
universal  suffrage,  and  proclaimed  amid  music  and  applause.  A 
three-cornered  braided  hat  was  placed  on  the  chief's  head,  and  a 
pitcher  of  wine  on  a  j)late  covered  with  flowers  presented  to  him. 

This  he  drained  at  a  draught,  then  broke  the  flask  in  pieces, 
after  which  he  harangued  the  assembly,  and  shook  hands  with  each 
of  his  subjects  in  turn.  Every  seven  years  the  people  gathered 
round  the  supreme  chief  to  receive  his  orders,  and  those  washing 
the  auriferous  sands  of  the  Transylvanian  rivers,  whatever  might 
have  been  the  habit  of  the  othera,  paid  a  florin  per  annum  to  the 
voivode  under  whom  they  worked.  But  in  these  days  the  chief 
exercises  little,  if  any,  visible  authority.  In  Hungary,  as  in 
England  and  America,  the  policeman  has  long  since  replaced  this 
gypsy  Govereign. 

More  than  any  people,  save  the  poor  artisans  confined  to  the 
vile  tenements  of  our  great  civilized  cities,  the  gypsies  exemplify 
the  doctrine  of  the  "survival  of  the  fittest."  A  weakling  soon 
perishes  during  the  life  of  hardship  which  he  must  endure,  but  the 
strong  survive  to  become  the  fine  specimens  of  humanity  which  are 


110  THE   STOllY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

seen  among  them.  Epidemics  pass  over  them  scatheless.  Gout  and 
rheumatism  are  to  tliem  unknown  mahidies.  Their  wounds  heal 
with  wonderful  rapidity  and,  if  perchance  disease  does  attack 
them,  brandy,  onions  and  safifron  are  the  only  medicines  which 
they  tolerate.  In  short,  their  life  ift  an  animal  one.  A  gypsy 
condemned  to  be  hanged  will  always  ask  as  a  last  favor  to  ]>e 
allowed  a  smoke,  and  a  pipe  is,  perhaps,  the  fii-st  thing  wliich  is 
put  into  a  child's  mouth  after  it  is  weaned. 

Roumania  is,  however,  the  rcal  home  of  the  continental  gypsy, 
for  there  he  numlxirs,  according  to  different  estimates,  from  130,- 
000  to  300,000  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  until  recently  he  was  a 
mere  serf,  bought  and  sold  with  the  land  on  which  he  squatted. 
They  were  nominally  free  in  1848,  though  it  was  not  till  eight 
years  after  this  that  the  Zigani  could  be  said  to  be  absolutely 
beyond  the  power  of  their  former  owners,  and  as  late  as  1845  the 
following  advertisement  appeared  in  a  Bucharest  newspaper:  — 

"  The  sons  and  Iieirs  of  the  late  Sirdar  Nicka  of  Bucharest  will 
expose  for  sale  two  hundred  gypsy  families.  The  men  exercise  the 
trades  of  locksmiths,  goldsniitlis,  shoemakers,  musicians,  and  farm 
laborers.  Not  less  than  four  families  will  be  sold  in  one  lot.  As  a 
set-off,  the  price  asked  is  a  ducat  cheaper  than  the  ordinary  figure. 
Facilities  for  payment/' 

In  1825,  according  to  Walsh,  if  a  gypsy  l)elonging  to  a  Boyard, 
or  noble,  was  killed  by  his  master,  no  notice  was  taken  of  the 
circumst^^nce,  but  if  the  murder  wfis  committed  by  a  stmnger  a 
fine  of  eighty  florins  was  exacted.  Slight  faults  were  punished 
by  the  bastinado  applied  to  the  soles  of  the  feet,  or  by  the  appli- 
cation of  an  iron  mask,  in  wliicli  the  head  was  shut  up  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period,  preventing  the  offender  from  eating  or 
drinking.  Those  who  had  committed  theft  were  fastened  by  the 
neck  and  arms  to  a  plank,  wliich  they  carried  on  their  shouldei"s 
in  the  fashion  of  the  Chinese  cangue,  which  we  illustrate  i|t  our 
Chinese  chapter.  They  are  still  in  Roumania  the  hewers  of  wood 
and  the  drawei*s  of  water.  All  rough,  unpleasant  work  is 
allotted  to  them.  There  the  men,  women,  and  children  are  the 
drudges  who  cany  bricks  and  mortar  to  the  masons,  meantime 
cooking  and  sleeping  in  the  building  on  which  they  are  at  work, 


112  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

their  main  food  being  mamaliga,  or  maize-meal,  boiled  and 
seasoned  with  salt.  Or,  as  in  other  countries,  they  mend  pots  and 
kettles,  shoe  horses,  or  play  the  medola.  But  though  the  tawny 
face  of  the  Frenchified  Roumanian  bears  distinct  evidence  that 
his  forefathers  were  not  so  callous  to  the  charms  of  the  lithe  young 
gypsy,  the  so-called  whites  affect  an  unutterable  scorn  for  the 
Zigani,  ranking  them  as  little  better  than  the  lower  animals. 
The  philosophy  of  gypsy  life  is  summed  up  in  the  following  little 
poem  composed  by  a  gypsy  of  Spain  in  which  country  these  mystic 
strollers  are  regarded  with  a  sort  of  tender  tolerance  like  naughty 
but  amusing  children. 

**  Poniqucl  liichipen  abajo  *'  There  runs  a  pig  down  yonder  liill 

Abillcla  iiri  balichoro  As  fast  as  e^er  he  can» 

Abillela  a  fjoli  goli,  And  as  he  runs  he  crieth  stiU  : 

Ustilame  Caloro."  '  Come  steal  me,'  gypsy  manl" 

But  the  gypsies  are  injured  innocents  compared  with  the  extraor- 
dinar}^  clandestine  clan  of  robbei*s  and  assassins  called  the 
Camorristi,  whose  original  home  and  habitat  were  the  two 
Sicilies  and  lower  Italv,  but  who  have  followed  the  Italian  i-ace 
in  its  em  ignitions  and  whose  dark  tracks  can  Ije  discovered  in 
every  city  of  magnitude  in  this  country.  The  Camori-a,  as  this 
brotherhood  of  brigands  is  termed,  affords  a  remarkable  insight 
into  the  subtlety  of  the  Italian  character,  its  wonderful  capacity 
for  devising  extraordinary  means  for  the  accomplishment  of 
ordinary  ends,  and  that  less  amiable  aptitude  for  playing  the 
conspirator  or  s[)y  which  has  given  the  Italian  nation  an  evil  odor 
in  the  nostrils  of  other  mces  which  as  a  whole  it  does  not  deserve. 

The  recent  trouble  in  New  Orleans  is  tmceable  to  the  Camorra, 
for  the  JLifia  is  only  a  branch  of  that  tremendous  tree,  like  the 
banyan  in  its  tendency  to  burrow  back  into  the  earth,  and  like  the 
upas  in  its  pestilent  powers.  The  history  of  the  Camorra  is  as 
remarkable  as  any  fable,  for  the  Camorristi  during  the  misrale  of 
the  Bourbons  were  not  only  tolerated,  but  were  actually  permitted 
to  ply  their  infamous  trade,  in  the  hope  that  this  permission  to 
plunder  the  })cople  might  influence  them  in  favor  of  the  gov^^m- 
ment.  The  result  Avas  what  might  have  been  expected,  for  when 
FraiK-is  II.,  terrified  at  the  measureless  assurance  of  the  society 
he  had  favored  and  fostered,  attempted  its  suppression,  the  mem- 


TBACE8  AMOKG  GYPSIES,  BRIGANDS  AND  THISVBS.        118 

bers  who  escaped  the  wholesale  capture  and  transportation  decreed 
against  them  entered  into  alliance  with  tlie  Garibaldians,  and 
materially  aided  in  the  expulsion  of  King  Bomba. 

Meantime,  and  for  many  years,  they  had  a  festival  time  of  it. 
Knowing  that  their  exactions  were  winked  at,  they  boldly  pre- 
sented themselves  in  the  markets,  at  places  of  public  amusement, 
and  at  the  street  spectacles  by  which  the  Neapolitan  rulers  tried 
to  make  their  subjects  forget  the  manner  in  which  they  were  mis- 
governed. If  a  cab  were  engaged,  the  Camorra  expected  its 
share;  if  the  fare  were  disputed,  a  hangdog-looking  individual 
would  step  up  and  say  with  sinister  quietness  how  much  the 
signer  ought  to  pay,  and  tlie  coachman  then  knew  that  the 
Camorra  had  intervened,  and  would  in  due  time  render  its 
account.  Differences  between  men  and  masters  were  referred  to 
the  Camorristi  —  or  taken  to  another  tribunal  at  the  risk  of  the 
recalcitrants  regretting  their  nushness.  The  Camorristi  extracted 
their  percentage  of  whatever  money  passed  from  hand  to  hand  in 
buying  property  or  in  making  any  open  or  even  private  purchase, 
for  the  Camorra  was  everywhere,  and  showed  itself  in  the  most 
unlikely  quartei's.  Rents,  Avages,  prizes  in  lotteries,  winnings  of 
gamblers  —  everything  which  could  be  taxed  had,  willy  nilly,  tO 
contribute  to  tlie  Camorrist  treasurj-.  There  was  nothing  which 
the  society  could  not  accomplish,  from  the  ruin  of  a  minister  to 
the  dismissal  of  a  lalx)rer.  For  a  consideration  they  undertook  to 
convey  smuggled  goods  to  their  destination,  and  if  a  hravo  were 
required,  the  Camorni  —  for  a  consideration  —  would  provide  the 
stiletto. 

Violence,  robbery  and  murder  were  their  machinery.  Terrorism 
kept  the  members  together,  and  so  dreaded  Avas  their  vengeance, 
that  when  thrown  into  gaol  they  would  often  succeed  in 
exacting  money  from  their  fellow-prisoners,  and  even  from  the 
turnkeys,  who  dreaded  the  company  committed  to  their  charge, 
Tlie  ** Camorra"  has  been  repressed  i\i  Naples,  but  in  Sicily  it 
flourishes  still,  not  so  open  and  insolent  as  of  yore,  but  yet  potent. 

Protean  in  form,  it  had  many  names  or  aliases  also.  In  Ravenna 
and  Bologna  it  was  called  the  "Squadraccia,"  in  Turin  the 
**Gocca;"  and  those  who  have  studied  this  strange  cancer  in  the 
social  life  of  Italy  say  that  the  Roman  "  Sicorii, "  the  "  Accoltella- 


•.  * 


114  THE    STORY    OK    GOVERNMENT. 

tori  "  of  the  Romagna  diatriet,  and  the  PmineHaii  "  Pugnalatori," 
were  only  tho  Ncajjolitaii  Cainorristi  under  other  names.  It  was 
a  State  within  a  State,  and  at  the  time  wlien  the  government 
flattered  itjjelf  that  the  organization  was  actiuilly  exterminated, 
there  were  upwards  of  200,000  persons  belonging  to  it,  and 
addressing  eacli  other  in  a  language  unintelligible  to  more  honest, 
or  at  least  to  less  lawless,  people.  Recent  revelatioas  prove  that 
if  they  are  no  longer  able  to  weaken  the  power  of  the  autliorities, 
and  to  modify  the  operations  of  economic  laws  by  exacting  that 
share  of  the  national  wealth  of  which 
they  were  deprived  either  by  idleness 
or  the  badness  of  their  rulers,  they 
are  not  less  a  t«rror  in  certain  stiiita 
of  society,  anil  a  means  of  paralyzing 
confidence  in  tlie  capability  of  the 
law  to  protect  all  classes  equally. 

As  the  branches  of  the  banyan 
tree,  hiding  themselves  in  the  earth, 
re-rooting,  burrowing  back  into  si- 
lence and  shtwlow,  are  more  remark- 
able than  the  original  trunk  or  stem, 
so  the  Mafia,  or  ^IiifDa,  is  more  sin- 
gular than  the  Caniorm  Inseause  Jnoiv 
3ecretive  and  subtle. 

This    society    still    flourishes    in 
Sicily,    and  has  biiinches   in    nearly 
every  large  city  on  this    continent, 
Boston,    San   Francisco,    Chicago, 
A  lAMoRHisTK  TRAMi'.  ^''"'  Vork.    foi'  cxample.      But  New- 

Orleans  especially,  by  reason  of  lier 
attractive  Italian  climate,  has  ]irovcd  a  magnet  to  Alafian  t-nii- 
gmnts. 

.  New  Orleans  for  many  j-eai-s  has  had  a  large  Sicilian  popula- 
tion, and  for  manj'  j'eara  the  jiolice  of  the  Crescent  City  liave 
noticed  odd  coincidences  of  crinu*.  If  a  Palermo  man  was  found 
dead  or  dying  with  a  stiletto  stab  near  his  heart  or  in  his 
stomach,  a  favorite  stabhing-place,  a  Alessina  man  soon  followed, 
tetimes  the  murder  was  committed  in  hnNid  day,  but  when 


TBAGES  AMONG  GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.       116 

the  case  came  up  for  trial,  the  witnesses  from  the  Sicilian  quarter, 
where  such  things  generally  happened,  seemed  to  experience  an 
epidemic  of  stupidity,  for  the  most  searching  questions  failed  to 
strike  from  their  stony  silence  a  scintilla  of  evidence  tliat  could 
light  the  way  to  a  conviction  for  th3  crime.  Out  of  the  court  the 
munlerer  stn)lled  witli  a  smile,  rolling  a  brown  paper  cigarette. 

In  1873  a  characteristic  ease  occurred.  Two  young  Sicilians 
quarrelled  in  the  French  market;  out  flushed  a  knife,  and  one  was 
completely  disembowelled  in  a  moment.  His  wife  saw  the  hor- 
rible deed,  and  ran  round  and  round  shrieking,  and  pointing  at 
the  murderer  whom  the  police,  coming  up,  appreliended. 

But  two  days  later  the  woman  swore  in  court  that  she  could 
not  tell  who  stabbed  her  husband.  La  Mafia  had  whispered  in  her 
ear,  and  she  knew  better  than  to  know.  A  case  occurred  when 
the  present  writer  lived  in  New  Orleans  more  striking  still. 

A  Sicilian  lay  in  wait  for  another  and  fired  at  him  an  old  blun- 
derbuss loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  nails,  small  stones,  and  buck- 
shot. The  murderer  was  seized  by  the  quick  police  with  the 
weapon  in  his  hand,  and  brought  before  the  victim  for  still  more 
certain  identification. 

The  dying  man  darted  one  glance  of  hatred  at  the  captive, 
then  shook  his  head  and  said,  "It  is  not  the  man,  but  another. 
This  fool  must  have  i)icked  up  the  empty  gun."  Then  he  died, 
knowing  he  would  be  avenged  by  his  branch  of  the  Mafia,  or  by 
his  family  clan,  jis,  indeed,  was  done  not  many  months  after. 
But  the  Mafia  did  not  confine  its  operations  to  quarrels  and 
personal  vengeance.  Blood  wtus  its  drink,  but  money  was  its 
meat. 

Rich  Italians  who,  by  reason  of  their  national  knowledge  of 
Mafian  or  Camorran  methods,  could  Ikj  more  easilv  intimidated 
than  citizens  of  other  races  living  in  that  charming  cosmopolitan 
city,  veiy  often  received  notices  that  they  must  make  La  Mafia  a 
little  present,  the  amount  of  whi(;h,  with  time  and  place  for 
delivery,  was  obligingly  specified. 

That  for  many  years  these  merchants  complied  is  not  singular. 
They  could  not  give  up  business  and  go  away  to  escape  the  tax. 
To  whatever  city  they  might  fly,  the  dark  feet  of  the  Mafia  could 
follow  them. 


116  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT, 

Unlike  its  parent,  the  Camorra,  the  Mafia  appears  to  have  no 
central  head,  but  to  have  a  dozen  or  more  gangs,  sometimes  at 
variance  with  each  other,  but  all  agreed  as  against  general  society 
or  government,  and  never  willing  to  bear  witness  against  Mafians. 
These  bands  are  governed  by  councils  of  three  which  meet  in 
secret  places,  not  twice  successively  in  the  same  spot,  plan  out 
the  murders  or  intimidations  and  give  instructions  to  the  members 
what  they  are  to  do. 

Poison  is  sometimes  used,  the  shotgun  is  a  frequent  means, 
but  the  stiletto  is  considered  the  most  creditable  and  stylish 
instrument  for  the  removal  of  an  enemy  or  a  man  who  has 
neglected  to  pay  tribute. 

The  world  knows  how  Police  Inspector  Henessy,  having  made 
a  close  study  of  the  Mafia,  intended  to  expose  it  completely  and 
bring  it  to  an  end,  and  how  he  was  murdered  by  Mafians  in  front 
of  his  own  house. 

The  world  knows  also  how  the  men,  by  bribery  of  the  jury, 
were  acquitted,  and  how  a  mob  of  the  most  respectable  citizens 
of  New  Orleans,  headed  by  W.  S.  Parkerson,  John  C.  WickliflFe, 
and  Col.  W.  P.  Curtis,  three  of  the  most  brilliant  and  popular 
men  of  that  city,  met  around  the  Clay  statue,  went  to  the  old 
Parish  Prison,  seized  the  eleven  acquitted  men,  of  whose  guilt 
there  was  no  shadow  of  a  doubt,  and  executed  them  as  a  warn- 
ing to  the  Mafia.  But  the  Mafia  was  untamed.  A  few  days 
after  Mr.  Parkerson  received  the  following  paper:  — 

MAFIA    WARNING. 

"  You  a  domed  man  and  God  Amity  can't  save  you.  We  have  it 
sworn.  Our  comrades  you  murdered  and  we  kill  you  and  you  family. 
You  will  be  poison.     The  styleto  will  do  for  the  wrest." 

Other  gentlemen,  prominent  in  this  respectable  and  perhaps 
justifiable  mob,  received  similar  sentences,  but  up  to  the  present 
writing  they  have  remained  scathless,  and  it  is  likely  that  the 
Mafia  will  choose  hereafter  some  safer  place  than  New  Orleans, 
since  if  any  of  these  men  or  others  connected  with  that  uprising 
were  to  meet  with  violent  or  suspiciously  sudden  deaths,  such  is 
the  spirit  of  New  Orleans  that  probably  within  twenty-four  hours 
every  Italian  would  be  requested  to  leave  the  city  forever. 


118  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERlOrENT. 

The  initiation  ceremonies  of  the  Mafia,  according  to  the  con- 
fessions of  Caruso,  are  very  simple.  Caruso  said  that  the  chief 
who  presided  was  di*essed  in  a  black  domino,  that  he  lield  up  a 
skull  in  his  left  hand,  and  a  dirk  in  his  right,  speaking  solemnly, 
but  briefly,  of  the  dread  power  of  tlie  Mafia.  The  candidate  for 
crime  then  swore,  with  uplifted  hands,  to  abide  by  the  orders  of 
the  order. 

The  letters  of  demand  for  money  or  of  intimidation  which  thev 
send  are  generally  written  in  blood,  and  sealed  with  a  peculiar 
rude  seal  consisting  of  an  owl  perched  on  a  skull  above  cross-bones. 

This  is  a  sort  of  grim,  unconscious  parody  on  Poe's  raven  sit- 
ting on  the  bust  of  Pallas,  and,  indeed,  a  rather  more  classic 
combination,  since  according  to  ancient  Italian  mythology,  the 
owl  was  the  favorite  bird  of  Pallius,  goddess  of  wisdom,  who, 
still  following  the  antique,  i>erhaps  subtly  antic,  fable  was  not 
born  of  any  feminine  creature,  but  si)rang  full  grown  and  armed 
from  the  brain  of  Jove,  king  of  the  gods. 

It  seems  clear  that  the  Mafia  exists  no  longer  in  its  birthplace, 
Sicily,  for  Guido  Pantatori,  now  superintendent  of  the  Missouri 
Electric  Light  Co.  at  St.  Louis,  who  was  formerly  an  officer  in  the 
Itiilian  army,  makes  the  following  statement : 

In  1860,  the  Italian  government  took  the  first  steps  looking  to  the 
suppression  of  this  band  of  cut-throats,  and  sr)  effectual  were  its  efforts 
in  this  direction,  that  within  one  voar  the  Mafia  as  an  orij^anization  was 
exterminated,  and  it  does  not  exist  in  Italy  or  Sicily  to-day.  There 
was  no  silly  or  sickly  sentiment  about  the  measures  taken  there.  Ex- 
tirpation was  the  object.  We  began  by  arresting  every  man  carrying 
concealed  weapons,  and  every  suspicious  character.  These  were  sent 
to  prison  for  six  months,  even  if  no  other  evidence  could  be  found 
.against  them. 

If  any  further  evidence  could  be  found,  the  prisoners  were  sentenced 
to  be  executed.  The  culprits  were  taken  out,  stood  in  a  line  and  shot 
down  bv  the  score.  Several  thousand  of  the  members  of  the  Mafia 
were  thus  executed  and  the  result  was  })eace  in  Sicily." 

And  yet  while  wc  may  perhaps  ]ye  amazed  at  and  disgusted 
with  a  government  like  that  of  Italy,  which  Wiis  so  slow  in  ex- 
terminating such  a  society,  root  and  branch,  we  nnist  not  forget 
the    beam  in  our  own  eye;    we   nuist  rememljer  that,   although 


TRACBS  AMOKa  6TPSIES,  BRIGANDS  AND  TmBVES.       119 

there  are  certain  more  civilized  States  of  this  Union  which  do 
not  permit  Mr.  Pinkcrton's  choice  collection  of  assassins  to  cross 
their  borders,  the  great  State  of  New  York  a  few  years  ago 
allowed  a  railroad  corporation  whose  oppression  of  its  employees 
had  led  to  a  strike,  to  employ  the  Pinkerton  desperadoes,  not 
merely  as  guai'ds  to  its  property,  but  as  intimidators  of  the  strikers. 

Some  of  the  newspapera  protested  agjiinst  this  wrong;  but 
the  next  day  their  pi*otest  was  hushed  —  how  and  why  anyone  who 
stops  to  reason  well  knows.  But  these  things  will  not  last  for- 
ever, for  the  American  people  are  beginning  to  wake  up  and  break 
off  their  former  party  ties,  and  sliake  off  the  chains  of  that  abom- 
inable old  custom  of  letting  the  politicians  do  their  thinking  for 
them. 

Just  as  traces  of  government  are  discernible  among  the  Camor- 
risti  and  Mafians,  so  among  thieves  in  Iiuge  cities  like  London  and 
Paris,  promoters  of  disorder  and  profiters  by  it  thougli  they  be,  a 
certain  tendency  to  order  crops  out.  Tliat  i-ank  among  thieves  is 
i-ecognized  lias  been  proved  Ix^yond  question.  The  common  pick- 
pocket would  not  dare,  in  a  tavern,  to  force  liis  acquaintance  or 
even  his  uninvited  presence  on  a  jovial  gathering  of  "swell  mobs- 
men "  or  of  house-breakers.  The  crimes  in  which  one's  life  is  risked 
are  accounted  of  more  aristocratic  quality,  and  their  perpetrators 
exercise  an  autocratic  rule  over  tlie  smaller  fry  of  the  republic  of 
thiever}\  But  the  average  condition  of  professional  thieves  in 
a  city  like  London  is  really  not  quite  so  good  as  that  of  our 
honest  working  classes. 

There  are  forty  thousand  professional  thieves  in  London, 
Roughly  estimating  the  population  of  the  world's  metropolis  as 
numbering  six  millions,  this  statistic  means  that  amongst  Lon- 
doners one  person  in  every  hundi-ed  and  fifty  is  a  forger,  a  house- 
lireaker,  a  pickpocket,  a  shoplifter,  a  receiver  of  stolen  goods,  or 
in  short,  a  human  bird  of  prey. 

Almost  eveiy  meml^er  of  this  formidjible  liost  is  known  to  the 
"police,"  but  unfortunately  this  advantage  is  almost  counter- 
balanced by  the  fact  tliat  the  police  are  as  well  known  to  the 
majority  of  the  twenty  thousand.  To  their  exi^rienced  eyes  it  is 
not  the  helmet  and  the  blue  coat  that  make  the  policeman.  In- 
deed, they  appear  to  depend  not  so  much  on  visual  evidence  as  on 


120  the'  stoky  of  government. 

some  subtle  power  of  scent,  such  as  the  fox  possesses,  in  discover- 
ing the  approach  of  their  natural  enemy.  They  can  divine  the 
detective  in  his  innocent-looking  smock-frock  or  bricklayer  jacket, 
while  he  is  yet  distant  the  lengtli  of  a  street.  Tliey  know  him  by 
his  step,  or  by  liis  clumsy  affectation  of  unofficial  loutishness. 
They  recognize  the  stiff  neck  in  the  loose  neckerchief.  Tliey 
smell  "trap,"  and  are  superior  to  it. 

The  following  brief  life  of  an  adroit  London  pickpocket,  who 
had  reformed  and  become  a  street  singer,  shows  how  thieves  are 
trained,  and  how  they  are  oi-ganized  in  bands.  This  pickpocket 
was  about  the  average  height,  of  sallow  complexion,  with  a  rich, 
dark,  penetrating  eye,  a  moustache  and  beard.  He  was  a  man  of 
tolerably  good  education,  and  liad  a  mind  well  fumLshed. 

Had  he  not  started  so  young  as  a  pickpocket,  he  might  have 
ripened  into  a  banker  —  a  Naix>leon  of  finance,  but  at  the  time  he 
told  his  life  history,  he  was  i-ather  melancholy  and  crushed  in  spirit, 
which  he  stated  was  the  result  of  repeated  imprisonments.  Yet, 
while  narrating  some  of  the  exciting  passages,  liis  countenance 
lighted  up  with  intense  interest  and  adventurous  expression, 

I  was  born  in  a  little  hamlet,  five  miles  from  Shrewsbury,  in  the 
county  of  Shropshire.  My  father  was  a  Wesleyan  minister.  We 
had  a  very  happy  home,  though  strict  in  the  way  of  religion.  I 
believe  my  father  would  on  no  account  have  tolerated  such  a  thinj?  as 
any  of  us  children  stopping  out  after  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  I  have 
heard  my  mother  often  say  that  all  the  time  she  was  wedded  to  him, 
she  never  had  known  him  the  worse  for  liquor.  My  father  had  family 
worship  every  night  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  when  the  curtains 
were  drawn  over  the  windows,  the  candle  was  lighted,  and  each  of  the 
children  was  taught  to  kneel  and  pray  out  loud. 

We  often  had  ministers  to  dinner  and  supper  at  our  house,  and  always 
after  feasting  the  conversation  turned  into  discussions  on  different 
points  of  doctrine.  I  can  recollect  as  well  now  as  though  it  were  yes- 
terday the  texts  used  on  the  various  sides  of  the  questions,  and  the  stress 
that  was  laid  on  different  passages  to  uphold  their  arguments. 

At  this  time  I  greedily  drank  in  every  word  that  was  uttered,  and 
soon  as  they  were  gone  I  would  fly  to  the  Bible  and  examine  the  differ- 
ent texts  they  had  quoted.  This  practice  produced  a  feeling  in  my 
mind  that  any  religious  opinions  could  be  plausibly  supported  out  of 
the  Bible  by  citing  detached  passages,  and  not  regarding  it  as  a  whole. 


TRACES  AMONG  GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND   THIEVES.       121 

These  continual  discussions  finally  seemed  to  steel  my  heart  com- 
pletely against  religion,  and  led  to  my  falling  out  with  my  grandfather, 
who  had  a  good  deal  of  property  that  was  expected  to  come  to  our 
family.  For  my  grandsire  found  out  that  I  looked  on  our  family  relig- 
ion with.douht,  and  he  bitterly  resented  it,  and  when  he  died,  it  was 
found,  on  opening  his  will,  that  I  was  not  mentioned  in  it.  The  whole 
of  his  property  was  left  to  my  father,  with  the  exception  of  four  houses, 
which  he  had  an  interest  in  till  my  brothers  and  sister  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one.  Moreover,  the  property  that  was  left  to  my  father 
for  his  life,  he  had  no  power  to  will  away  at  his  death,  but  it  was  to  go 
to  a  distant  relative  of  my  grandfather. 

This  was  the  first  cause  of  my  leaving  home,  for  the  singularity  of 
my  grandfather's  will  was  attributed  to  my  conduct,  and,  after  a  while,  so 
harsh  were  the  family  comments,  it  began  to  rankle  in  my  boyish  mind 
that  I  was  a  black  sheep,  something  (liferent  from  my  brothers  and  sis- 
ter. After  being  several  times  chided  by  my  father  for  quarreling  with 
my  brothers,  I  threatened,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  to  burn  the  house  down 
the  fii*st  opportunity  I  got.  This  threat,  though  not  uttered  in  my 
father's  hearing,  came  to  his  ear,  and  he  gave  me  a  severe  whipping  for 
it.     This  was  the  first  and  last. 

I  detennined  to  leave  home,  and  took  nothing  away  but  what  be- 
longed to  me.  I  had  four  sovereigns  of  pocket  money,  the  suit  of  clothes 
I  had  on,  and  a  shirt.  I  walked  to  Shrewsbury  and  took  the  coach  to 
London.  When  I  got  to  London  I  had  neither  friend  nor  acquaintance. 
I  first  put  up  in  a  coffee  shop  in  the  Mile  End  Koad,  and  lodged  there 
for  seven  weeks,  till  my  money  was  nearly  all  spent. 

During  this  time  my  clothes  had  been  getting  shabby  and  dirty,  as  I 
had  no  one  to  look  after  me.  Then  I  went  to  a  meaner  lodging  house  at 
Field  Lane,  Holborn,  where  I  met  with  such  characters  as  I  had  never 
seen  before,  and  heard  language  that  I  had  not  formerly  heard. 

The  landlady  here,  however,  took  pity  on  me  as  a  poor  country  boy 
who  had  been  well  brought  up,  and  kept  me  for  some  days  longer  after 
my  money  was  gone.  During  these  few  days,  I  had  very  little  to  eat, 
except  what  was  given  me  by  some  of  the  lodgers  when  they  got  their 
own  meals.  Finally,  the  landlady's  husband  objecting  to  my  continued 
presence,  I  was  turned  out  of  doors,  a  little  boy  in  the  great  world  of 
London,  with  no  friend  to  assist  me,  and  perfectly  ignorant  of  the 
ways  and  means  of  getting  a  living. 

After  wandering  about  for  several  days  half  starved,  I  was  taken  by 
several  poor  ragged  hoys  whom  I  met,  to  sleep  in  the  dark  arches  of  the 
Adelphi.     I  think  I  lived  with  them,  sharing  all  they  ha<l,  for  over  a 


112  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNBiENT. 

their  main  food  being  mamaliga,  or  maize-meal,  boiled  and 
seasoned  with  salt.  Or,  as  in  other  countries,  they  mend  pots  and 
kettles,  shoe  horses,  or  play  the  medola.  But  though  the  tawny 
face  of  the  Frenchified  Roumanian  bears  distinct  evidence  that 
his  forefathers  were  not  so  callous  to  the  charms  of  the  lithe  young 
gypsy,  the  so-called  whites  affect  an  unutterable  scorn  for  the 
Zigani,  ranking  them  as  little  better  than  the  lower  animals. 
The  philosophy  of  gypsy  life  is  summed  up  in  the  following  little 
poem  composed  by  a  gypsy  of  Spain  in  which  country  these  mj'^tic 
strollers  are  regarded  with  a  sort  of  tender  tolerance  like  naughty 
but  amusing  children. 

*'  Poraquel  luchipen  abajo  *'  There  runs  a  pig  down  yonder  hill 

Abillela  uri  balichoro  As  fast  as  e^er  he  can» 

Abillcla  a  goll  goli,  And  as  he  runs  he  crieth  still  : 

Ustilamo  Caloro."  '  Come  steal  me,'  gypsy  manT* 

But  the  gypsies  are  injured  innocents  compared  with  the  extraor- 
dinarj'  clandestine  clan  of  robbers  and  assassins  called  the 
Camorristi,  whose  original  home  and  habitat  were  the  two 
Sicilies  and  lower  Italv,  but  who  have  followed  the  Italian  race 
in  its  emigrations  and  whose  dark  tracks  can  be  discovered  in 
every  city  of  magnitude  in  this  country.  The  Camorra,  as  tliis 
brotherhood  of  brigands  is  termed,  affords  a  remarkable  insight 
into  the  subtlety  of  the  Italian  character,  its  wonderful  capacity 
for  devising  extraordinary  means  for  the  accomplishment  of 
ordinary  ends,  and  that  less  amiable  aptitude  for  playing  the 
conspii-ator  or  spy  which  has  given  the  Italian  nation  an  evil  odor 
in  the  nostrils  of  other  races  which  as  a  whole  it  does  not  deserve. 

The  recent  trouble  in  New  Orleans  is  traceable  to  the  Camorra, 
for  the  Mafia  is  only  a  branch  of  that  tremendous  tree,  like  the 
banyan  in  its  tendency  to  burrow  back  into  the  earth,  and  like  the 
upas  in  its  pestilent  powers.  The  history  of  the  Camorra  is  as 
remarkable  as  any  fable,  for  the  Camorristi  during  the  misrule  of 
the  Bourbons  were  not  only  tolerated,  but  were  actually  permitted 
to  ply  their  infamous  trade,  in  the  hope  that  this  permission  to 
plunder  the  people  might  influence  them  in  favor  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  result  was  what  might  have  been  expected,  for  when 
Francis  II.,  terrified  at  the  measureless  assurance  of  the  society 
he  had  favored  and  fostered,  attempted  its  suppression,  the  mem- 


TBACE8  AMONQ  OYPSIB8,  BBIGANDB  AKD  THIEVBS.        118 

1)619  who  escaped  the  wholesale  capture  and  transportation  decreed 
against  them  entered  into  alliance  with  the  Garibaldians,  and 
materially  aided  in  the  expulsion  of  King  Bomba. 

Meantime,  and  for  many  years,  they  had  a  festival  time  of  it. 
Knowing  that  their  exactions  were  winked  at,  they  boldly  pre- 
sented themselves  in  the  markets,  at  places  of  i^ublic  amusement, 
and  at  the  street  spectacles  by  which  the  Neapolitan  rulers  tried 
to  make  their  subjects  forget  the  manner  in  which  they  were  mis- 
governed. If  a  cab  were  engaged,  tlie  Camonu  expected  its 
share;  if  the  fare  were  disputed,  a  hangdog-looking  individual 
would  step  up  and  say  with  sinister  quietness  how  mucli  the 
signor  ought  to  pay,  and  the  cojiehman  then  knew  that  the 
Camorra  liad  intervened,  and  would  in  due  time  render  its 
account.  Differences  between  men  and  masters  were  referred  to 
the  Camorristi  —  or  taken  to  anotlier  tribunal  at  tlie  risk  of  the 
recalcitrants  regretting  their  i-ashness.  Tlie  Camorristi  extracted 
their  percentage  of  whatever  money  passed  from  liand  to  hand  in 
buying  property  or  in  making  any  open  or  even  private  purchase, 
for  the  Camorra  was  everywhere,  and  showed  itself  in  the  most 
unlikely  quartens.  Rents,  wages,  prizes  in  lotteries,  winnings  of 
gamblers  —  everything  which  could  l>e  taxed  had,  willy  nilly,  tO 
contribute  to  the  Camorrist  treasuiy.  There  AVtis  nothing  which 
the  society  could  not  accomplish,  from  the  ruin  of  a  minister  to 
the  dismissal  of  a  Liborer.  For  a  consideration  they  undertook  to 
convey  smuggled  goods  to  their  destination,  and  if  a  hravo  were 
required,  the  Camorra  —  for  a  consideration  —  would  provide  the 
stiletto. 

Violence,  robbery  and  murder  were  their  machinery.  Terrorism 
kept  the  members  together,  and  so  dreaded  was  their  vengeance, 
that  when  thrown  into  gaol  they  would  often  succeed  in 
exacting  money  from  their  fellow-prisoners,  and  even  from  the 
turnkeys,  who  dreaded  the  company  committed  to  their  charge. 
Tlie  "Camorra"  has  been  repressed  iit  Naples,  but  in  Sicily  it 
flourishes  still,  not  so  open  and  insolent  as  of  yore,  but  yet  potent. 

Protean  in  form,  it  had  many  names  or  aliases  also.    In  Ravenna 

and   Bologna   it  was   called   the    "  Squadraccia, "    in   Turin   the 

"Gocca;**  and  those  who  have  studied  this  strange  cancer  in  the 

.social  life  of  Italy  say  that  the  Roman  "Sicorii,"  the  "  Accoltella- 


•   9 


114 


THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 


tori"  of  the  Tlomagiia  district,  and  tlie  Paniiesftii  "Fugnaktori," 
were  only  the  XeajjoliUm  Camorristi  under  other  names.  It  was 
a  State  within  a  State,  and  at  the  time  wlien  the  government 
flattered  itself  that  tlie  organization  was  actually  extemiiiiated, 
there  were  upwaitls  of  200,000  pei'sons  iKdouging  to  it,  and 
addressing  each  other  in  a  language  unintelligihlc  to  more  honest, 
or  at  least  to  less  lawless,  jjeople.  Recent  I'evelations  prove  that 
if  they  arc  no  longer  able  to  weaken  the  power  of  the  autliorities, 
and  ti>  modify  the  operations  of  eeonomic  laws  by  exacting  that 
sliare  of  tbo  national  wealth  of  which 
they  were  deprived  either  by  idleness 
or  the  badness  of  their  rulers,  they 
ai-e  not  less  a  tent>r  in  certain  sti-ata 
of  society,  and  ii  means  of  paralj"zing 
confidence  in  tlie  capabilitj-  of  the 
law  to  [irotect  all  classes  equally, 

jVs    the    In-anches    of    the   banyan 
tree,  hiding  themselves  in  the  earth, 
I'e-rooting,  buiTowing   lofk   into   si- 
lence and  shadow,  are  more  remark- 
able than  the  original  trunk  or  stem, 
so  the  Matiii,  or  Maffia,    i:i  more  sin- 
-■  gular  than  the  Caniorr.i  Ijecause  nioif 
,  secretive  and  subtle. 
)      Tliis    society    still    flimrishes    in 
Sicilj',    and  has  bimiches   in    nearly 
cver\'  lai^e   city  on  this   continent, 
Boston,    Sun   Fi-antisco,   ('liicago, 
New  York,   for  example.     But  New 
(^)rleaiw  esjreciaUy,  hy  reason  of  her 
attractive  Itiiliaii  climate,   hiis  proved  a  magnet  to  Mafiaii  cmi- 
ginntft. 

New  Orleans  for  many  yean*  hiis  liad  a  large  Sicilian  popula- 
tion, and  for  many  yeai-s  the  police  o£  the  Crescent  City  liave 
noticed  odd  coincidences  of  crime.  If  a  Palenno  man  was  found 
dead  or  dying  with  a  stiletto  stab  near  his  heart  or  in  his 
stomach,  a  favorite  stiibbing-place,  a  Messina  nuin  soon  followed. 
Sometimes  the  murder  w.is  committed  iu  broad  day,  but  wlien 


TRACES  AMONG  GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.       115 

the  case  came  up  for  trial,  the  witnesses  from  the  Sicilian  quarter, 
where  such  things  generally  happened,  seemed  to  experience  an 
epidemic  of  stupidity,  for  the  most  searching  questions  failed  to 
strike  from  their  stony  silence  a  scintilla  of  evidence  that  could 
light  the  way  to  a  conviction  for  th3  crime.  Out  of  the  court  the 
murderer  strolled  witli  a  smile,  rolling  a  brown  paper  cigarette. 

In  1873  a  characteristic  case  occuned.  Two  young  Sicilians 
quarrelled  in  the  French  market;  out  flashed  a  knife,  and  one  was 
completely  disembowelled  in  a  moment.  His  wife  saw  the  hor- 
rible deed,  and  ran  round  and  round  shrieking,  and  pointing  at 
the  murderer  whom  the  police,  coming  up,  apprehended. 

But  two  days  later  the  Avoman  swore  in  court  that  she  could 
not  tell  who  stabbed  her  husband.  La  Mafia  had  whispered  in  her 
ear,  and  she  knew  better  than  to  know.  A  case  occurred  when 
the  present  writer  lived  in  New  Orleans  more  striking  still. 

A  Sicilian  lay  in  wait  for  another  and  lired  at  him  an  old  blun- 
derbuss loaded  to  the  muzzle  with  nails,  small  stones,  and  buck- 
shot. The  murderer  was  seized  by  the  quick  police  with  the 
weapon  in  his  hand,  and  brought  before  the  victim  for  still  more 
certain  identification. 

The  dying  man  darted  one  glance  of  hatred  at  the  captive, 
then  shook  his  head  and  said,  "  It  is  not  the  man,  but  another. 
This  fool  must  have  picked  up  the  empty  gun."  Tlien  he  died, 
knowing  he  would  1k^  avenged  by  his  branch  of  the  Mafia,  or  by 
his  family  clan,  as,  indeed,  was  done  not  many  montlis  after. 
But  the  Mafia  did  not  confine  its  operations  to  quarrels  and 
personal  vengeance.  Blood  wius  its  drink,  hut  money  wius  its 
meat. 

Rich  Italians  who,  by  reason  of  their  national  knowledge  of 
Mafian  or  CamoiTan  methocLs,  could  l)e  more  easily  intimidated 
than  citizens  of  other  races  living  in  that  charming  cosmopolitan 
city,  very  often  received  notices  that  tliey  must  make  La  Mafia  a 
little  present,  the  amount  of  which,  with  time  an<l  place  for 
delivery,  was  obligingly  specified. 

That  for  many  years  these  merchants  complied  is  not  singular. 
They  could  not  give  up  business  and  go  away  to  escape  the  tax. 
To  whatever  city  they  might  fly,  the  dark  feet  of  the  Mafia  could 
follow  them. 


116  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Unlike  its  parent,  the  Camorra,  the  Mafia  appears  to  have  no 
central  head,  but  to  have  a  dozen  or  more  gangs,  sometimes  at 
variance  with  each  other,  but  all  agreed  as  against  general  society 
or  government,  and  never  willing  to  bear  witness  against  Mafians. 
These  bands  are  governed  by  councils  of  three  which  meet  in 
secret  places,  not  twice  successively  in  the  same  spot,  plan  out 
the  murders  or  intimidations  and  give  instructions  to  the  members 
what  they  are  to  do. 

Poison  is  sometimes  used,  the  shotgun  is  a  frequent  means, 
but  the  stiletto  is  considered  the  most  creditable  and  stylish 
instrument  for  the  removal  of  an  enemy  or  a  man  who  has 
neglected  to  pay  tribute. 

The  world  knows  how  Police  Inspector  Henessy,  having  made 
a  close  study  of  the  Mafia,  intended  to  expose  it  completely  and 
bring  it  to  an  end,  and  how  he  was  murdered  by  Mafians  in  front 
of  his  o^vn  house. 

The  world  knows  also  how  the  men,  by  bribery  of  the  jury, 
were  acquitted,  and  how  a  mob  of  the  most  respectable  citizens 
of  New  OrleJins,  headed  by  W.  S.  Parkerson,  John  C.  Wickliffe, 
and  Col.  W.  P.  Curtis,  three  of  tlie  most  brilliant  and  popular 
men  of  that  city,  met  around  the  Clay  statue,  went  to  the  old 
Parish  Prison,  seized  the  eleven  acquitted  men,  of  whose  guilt 
there  was  no  shadow  of  a  doubt,  and  executed  them  as  a  warn- 
ing to  the  Mafia.  But  the  Mafia  was  untamed.  A  few  days 
after  Mr.  Parkerson  received  the  following  paper:  — 

MAFIA    WAHXIXG. 

"  You  a  domed  man  and  God  Amitv  can't  save  vou.  We  have  it 
sworn.  Our  comrades  you  murdered  and  we  kill  you  and  you  family. 
You  will  be  poison.     The  styleto  will  do  for  the  wrest." 

Other  gentlemen,  prominent  in  this  respectable  and  perhaps 
justifiable  mob,  received  similar  sentences,  but  up  to  the  present 
writing  they  have  remained  scathless,  and  it  is  likely  that  the 
Mafia  will  choose  hereafter  some  safer  place  than  New  Orleans, 
since  if  any  of  these  men  or  others  connected  with  that  uprising 
were  to  meet  with  violent  or  suspiciously  sudden  deaths,  such  is 
the  spirit  of  New  Orleans  that  probably  within  twenty-four  hours 
every  Italian  would  be  requested  to  leave  the  city  forever. 


118  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERJOfENT. 

The  initiation  ceremonies  of  the  Mafia,  according  to  the  con- 
fessions of  Caruso,  are  ver^'  simple.  Caruso  said  that  the  chief 
who  presided  was  dressed  in  a  black  domino,  that  he  held  up  a 
skull  in  his  left  hand,  and  a  dirk  in  liis  right,  si>eaking  solemnly, 
but  briefly,  of  the  dread  power  of  the  Mafia.  The  candidate  for 
crime  then  swore,  with  uplifted  hands,  to  abide  by  the  orders  of 
the  order. 

The  lettei-s  of  demand  for  money  or  of  intimidation  which  they 
send  are  genei-ally  written  in  blood,  and  sealed  with  a  peculiar 
rude  seal  consisting  of  an  owl  perched  on  a  skull  above  cross-bones. 

This  is  a  sort  of  grim,  unconscious  parody  on  Poe's  i*aven  sit- 
ting on  the  bust  of  Pallas,  and,  indeed,  a  rather  more  classic 
combinaticm,  since  according  to  ancient  Italian  mythology,  the 
owl  AVJis  the  favorite  bird  of  Pallas,  goddess  of  wisdom,  who, 
still  following  the  antique,  ixiriiaps  subtly  antic,  fable  was  not 
Ixirn  of  any  feminine  creature,  but  sprang  full  grown  and  armed 
from  the  brain  of  Jove,  king  of  the  gods. 

It  seems  clear  that  the  Mafia  exists  no  longer  in  its  birthplace, 
Sicily,  for  Guido  Pantatori,  now  superintendent  of  the  Missouri 
Electric  Light  Co.  at  St.  Louis,  who  wiis  formerly  an  officer  in  the 
Italian  army,  makes  the  following  statement : 

In  1860,  the  Italian  government  took  the  first  steps  looking  to  the 
suppression  of  this  band  of  cut-throats,  and  s.)  effectual  were  its  efforts 
in  this  direction,  that  witliiu  one  vear  the  Mafia  as  an  organization  was 
exterminated,  and  it  does  not  exist  in  Italy  or  Sicily  to-day.  There 
was  no  silly  or  sickly  sentiment  about  the  measures  taken  there.  Ex- 
tirpation was  the  object.  We  began  by  arresting  every  man  carrying 
concealed  weapons,  and  every  suspicious  character.  These  were  sent 
to  prison  for  six  months,  even  if  no  other  evidence  could  be  found 
against  them. 

If  any  further  evidence  could  be  found,  the  prisoners  were  sentenced 
to  be  executed.  The  culprits  were  taken  out^  stood  in  a  line  and  shot 
down  by  the  score.  Several  thousand  of  the  members  of  the  Mafia 
were  thus  executed  and  the  result  was  i)eace  in  Sicily." 

And  yet  while  wc  ma}'  perhaps  be  amazed  at  and  disgusted 
with  a  government  like  that  of  Italy,  which  Wiis  so  slow  in  ex- 
terminating such  a  society,  root  and  bmncli,  we  nnist  not  forget 
the    beam  in  our  own  eye;    we   must  remember  that,   although 


TBAC1CS  AMOKa  GYPBIBS,  BRIGANDS  AKD  THIEVES.       119 

there  are  certain  more  civilized  States  of  this  Union  which  do 
not  permit  Mr.  Pinkerton's  choice  collection  of  assassins  to  cross 
their  borders,  the  great  State  of  New  York  a  few  years  ago 
allowed  a  railroad  corporation  whose  oppression  of  its  employees 
liad  led  to  a  strike,  to  employ  the  Pinkerton  desperadoes,  not 
merely  as  gmuds  to  its  property,  but  as  intinndatora  of  the  strikers. 

Some  of  tlie  newspapei's  protested  against  this  wrong;  but 
the  next  day  their  pi*otest  was  hushed  —  how  and  why  anyone  who 
stops  to  reason  well  knows.  But  these  things  will  not  last  for- 
ever, for  the  American  people  are  beginning  to  wake  up  and  break 
off  their  former  party  ties,  and  shake  off  tlie  c.hains  of  that  abom- 
inable old  custom  of  letting  the  politicians  do  their  tliinking  for 
them. 

Just  as  traces  of  government  are  discernible  among  tlie  Camor- 
risti  and  Mafians,  so  among  thieves  inliuge  cities  like  London  and 
Paris,  pi-omoters  of  disorder  and  profiters  by  it  though  they  be,  a 
certain  tendency  to  order  crops  out.  Tliat  nink  among  thieves  is 
recognized  has  l)een  i)roved  Ixiyond  question.  The  common  pick- 
pocket would  not  dare,  in  a  tavern,  to  foi-ce  liis  acquaintance  or 
even  his  uninvited  presence  on  a  jovial  gathering  of  "swell  mobs- 
men "  or  of  house-breakei-s.  The  crimes  in  wliich  one's  life  is  risked 
are  accounted  of  more  aristocratic  quality,  and  their  perj^etrators 
exercise  an  autocratic  rule  over  the  smaller  fry  of  the  republic  of 
thievery.  But  the  average  condition  of  professional  thieves  in 
a  city  like  London  is  really  not  quite  so  good  as  that  of  our 
honest  working  classes. 

There  are  forty  thousand  professional  thieves  in  London. 
Roughly  estimating  the  population  of  the  world's  metropolis  as 
numbering  six  millions,  this  statistic  means  that  amongst  Lon- 
doners one  i>erson  in  every  hundi-ed  and  fifty  is  a  forger,  a  house- 
breaker, a  i)ickpocket,  a  shoplifter,  a  receiver  of  stolen  goods,  or 
in  short,  a  human  biixl  of  prey. 

Almost  eveiy  meml)er  of  this  fonnidable  host  is  known  to  the 
"police,'*  but  unfortunately  this  advantage  is  almost  counter- 
balanced by  the  fact  that  the  i>olice  are  as  well  known  to  the 
majority  of  the  twenty  thousand.  To  their  experienced  eyes  it  is 
not  the  helmet  and  the  blue  coat  that  make  the  policeman.  In- 
deed, they  appear  to  depend  not  so  much  on  visual  evidence  as  on 


120  the'  story  of   GOVEnK^tENT. 

some  subtle  power  of  scent,  such  Jis  the  fox  possesses,  in  discover- 
ing the  approach  of  their  natuml  enemy.  Tliey  can  divine  the 
detective  in  his  innocent-looking  smock-frock  or  bricklayer  jacket, 
while  he  is  yet  distant  the  length  of  a  street.  They  know  him  by 
his  step,  or  by  his  clumsy  affectation  of  unofficial  loutLshness. 
They  recognize  the  stiff  neck  in  the  loose  neckerchief.  They 
smell  "ti-ap,"  and  are  superior  to  it. 

The  following  brief  life  of  an  adroit  London  pickpocket,  who 
had  reformed  and  become  a  street  singer,  shows  how  thieves  are 
trained,  and  how  they  are  organized  in  bands.  Tliis  pickpocket 
was  about  the  average  height,  of  sallow  complexion,  with  a  rich, 
dark,  penetrating  eye,  a  moustache  and  beard.  He  was  a  man  of 
tolerably  good  education,  and  had  a  mind  well  furnished. 

Had  he  not  started  so  young  as  a  pickpocket,  he  might  have 
ripened  into  a  banker  —  a  Napoleon  of  finance,  but  at  the  time  he 
told  his  life  history,  lie  was  ratlier  melancholy  and  crushed  in  spirit, 
which  he  stated  was  the  result  of  repeated  imprisonments.  Yet, 
while  narrating  some  of  the  exciting  passages,  liis  countenance 
lighted  up  with  intense  interest  and  adventurous  expression. 

I  was  horn  in  a  little  hamlet,  five  miles  from  Shrewsbury,  in  tlie 
county  of  Shropshire.  My  father  was  a  Wesley  an  minister.  We 
had  a  very  happy  home,  though  strict  in  the  way  of  religion.  I 
believe  my  father  would  on  no  accoimt  have  tolerated  such  a  thing  as 
any  of  us  children  stopping  out  after  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  I  have 
heard  my  mother  often  say  that  all  the  time  she  was  wedded  to  him, 
she  never  had  known  him  the  worse  for  liquor.  My  father  had  family 
worship  every  night  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock,  when  the  curtains 
were  drawn  over  the  windows,  the  candle  was  lighted,  and  each  of  the 
children  was  taught  to  kneel  and  pray  out  loud. 

We  often  had  ministers  to  dinner  and  supper  at  our  house,  and  always 
after  feasting  the  conversation  turned  into  discussions  on  different 
points  of  doctrine.  I  can  recollect  as  well  now  as  though  it  were  yes- 
terday the  texts  used  on  the  various  sides  of  the  questions,  and  the  stress 
that  was  laid  on  different  passages  to  uphold  their  arguments. 

At  this  time  I  greedily  drank  in  every  word  that  was  uttered,  and 
soon  as  they  were  gone  I  would  fly  to  the  Bible  and  examine  the  differ- 
ent texts  they  had  quoted.  This  practice  produced  a  feeling  in  my 
mind  that  any  religious  opinions  could  be  plausibly  supported  out  of 
the  Bible  by  citing  detached  passages,  and  not  regarding  it  as  a  whole. 


TBACE8  AMONG   GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND   THIEVES.       121 

These  continual  discussions  finally  seemed  to  steel  my  heart  com- 
pletely against  religion,  and  led  to  my  falling  out  with  my  grandfather, 
who  had  a  good  deal  of  property  that  was  expected  to  come  to  our 
family.  For  my  grandsirc  found  out  that  I  looked  on  our  family  relig- 
ion with  doubt,  and  lie  bitterly  resented  it,  and  when  he  died,  it  was 
found,  on  opening  his  will,  that  T  was  not  mentioned  in  it.  The  whole 
of  his  pro|)erty  was  left  to  my  father,  with  the  excei)tion  of  four  houses, 
which  ho  had  an  Interest  in  till  my  brothers  and  sister  arrived  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one.  Moreover,  the  property  that  was  loft  to  my  father 
for  his  life,  he  had  no  power  to  will  away  at  his  death,  but  it  was  to  go 
to  a  distant  relative  of  my  grandfather. 

Thb  was  the  first  cause  of  my  leaving  home,  for  the  singularity  of 
my  grandfather's  will  was  attributed  to  my  conduct,  and,  after  a  while,  so 
harsh  were  the  family  comments,  it  began  to  rankle  in  my  bo^-ish  mind 
that  I  was  a  black  sheep,  something  di^erent  from  my  brothers  and  sis- 
ter. After  being  several  times  eluded  by  my  father  for  quarreling  with 
my  brothers,  I  threatened,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  to  burn  the  house  down 
the  first  opportunity  I  got.  This  threat,  though  not  uttered  in  my 
father's  hearing,  came  to  his  ear,  and  he  gave  me  a  severe  whipping  for 
it.     This  was  the  first  and  last. 

I  determined  to  leave  home,  and  took  nothing  away  but  what  be- 
longed to  me.  I  had  four  sovereigns  of  pocket  money,  the  suit  of  clothes 
I  had  on,  and  a  shirt.  I  walked  to  Shrewsbury  and  took  the  coach  to 
Tx^ndon.  When  I  got  to  London  I  had  neither  friend  nor  acquaintance. 
I  first  put  up  in  a  coffee  shop  in  the  MUe  End  Road,  and  lodged  there 
for  seven  weeks,  till  my  money  was  nearly  all  spent. 

During  this  time  my  clothes  had  been  getting  shabby  and  dirty,  as  I 
had  no  one  to  look  after  me.  Then  I  went  to  a  meaner  lodging  house  at 
Field  Lane,  Holborn,  where  I  met  with  such  characters  as  I  had  never 
seen  before,  and  heard  language  that  I  had  not  formerly  heard. 

The  landlady  here,  however,  took  pity  on  me  as  a  poor  country  boy 
who  had  been  well  brought  up,  .and  kept  me  for  some  days  longer  after 
my  money  was  gone.  During  these  few  days,  I  had  very  little  to  eat, 
except  what  was  given  me  by  some  of  the  lodgers  when  they  got  their 
own  meals.  Finally,  the  landlady's  husband  objecting  to  my  continued 
presence,  I  was  turned  out  of  doors,  a  little  boy  in  the  great  world  of 
London,  with  no  friend  to  assist  me,  and  perfectly  ignorant  of  the 
ways  and  means  of  getting  a  living. 

After  wandering  about  for  several  days  half  starved,  I  was  taken  by 
several  poor  ragged  l>oys  whom  I  met,  to  sleep  in  the  dark  arches  of  the 
Adelphi.     I  think  I  lived  with  them,  sharing  all  they  had,  for  over  a 


122  THE    STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

month,  and  during  this  time  I  often  saw  the  boys  follow  the  male  pas- 
sengers, when  the  half-penny  boats  came  to  the  Adelphi  stairs,  i.  e.,  the 
part  of  the  river  almost  opposite  the  Adelphi  Theatre. 

I  could  not  at  first  make  out  the  meaning  of  this,  but  I  soon  found 
they  generally  had  one  or  two  handkerchiefs  when  the  passengers  left. 
At  this  time  there  was  an  old  j)rison  van  in  the  Adelphi  arches,  without 
wheels,  in  which  we  used  to  sleej),  and  there  we  used  to  meet  a  man 
my  companions  called  "  Larry,"  who  gave  the  boys  almost  what  price 
he  liked  for  the  handkerchiefs. 

My  companions,  all  this  time,  had  been  very  kind,  sharing  what  they 
got  with  me,  but  often  asking  why  I  did  not  try  my  hand  at  the  trade, 
till  at  last  I  was  ashamed  to  live  any  longer  upon  the  food  they  gave  me 
without  earning  my  share.  So,  when  I  gave  expression  to  this  rather 
natural,  and  as  it  seems  to  me,  somewhat  commendable  feeling,  one  of 
the  boys,  Joe  Muckraw,  said  to  me,  that  when  the  next  boat  came  in,  if 
any  man  came  out  likely  to  carry  a  good  handkerchief,  he  would  let  me 
have  a  chance  at  it. 

Next  day  I  saw  an  elderly  gentleman  step  ashore,  and  a  lady  with 
him.  They  had  a  little  dog,  with  a  string  attached  to  it,  that  they  led 
along.  Before  Joe  reminded  me  of  my  determination,  he  stole  up  and 
"fanned"  the  gentleman's  j»ocket,  i.  e.,  felt  it  to  be  sure  there  was  a 
handkerchief  inside.     Then  he  whispered  '*  Now,  Dick,  have  a  try." 

I  went  to  the  old  gentleman's  side,  trembling  all  over,  and  Joe 
keeping  close  to  me  in  the  dark,  encouraging  me  all  the  time,  while  the 
old  gentleman  was  engaged  with  the  little  dog.  Lifting  up  the  tail  —  of 
the  coat,  not  the  dog,  T  mean  —  I  took  out  a  green  "kingsman  "  (  hand- 
kerchief ),  next  in  value  to  a  black  silk  handkerchief. 

I  did  it  so  quietly,  quickly,  and  naturally,  I  might  say,  that  the  gen- 
tleman di<l  not  perceive  his  loss.  We  immediately  went  to  the  arches 
and  entered  the  van  where  Larry  was,  and  Joe  said  to  him,  "This  is 
Dick's  first  trial,  and  you  must  give  him  a  'ray'  for  it,"  i.  e.,  one  shilling 
and  sixpence.     After  a  deal  of  pressing,  Larry  gave  us  a  shilling. 

After  that  I  gained  confidence,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  I 
was  considered  the  cleverest  of  the  little  band,  never  missing  one  boat 
coming  in,  and  getting  one  or  two  handkerchiefs  each  time.  When  we 
knew  there  were  no  boats  coming  we  used  to  waste  our  money  on 
sweets  and  fruits,  and  went  often  in  the  evenings  to  the  Victoria  The- 
atre and  Bower  Saloon,  and  other  places.  When  we  came  out  at 
twelve  or  half-past  twelve  at  night,  we  went  to  the  arches  again  and 
sle])t  in  the  j>rison  van.  I  led  this  life  —  and  a  jolly  one  it  seemed  to 
mc?  then  —  for  a  year. 


TBAGE8  AMONG  GYPSIES,  BBIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.        127 

One  day  sereral  men  came  to  visit  tis,  and  they  oame  again,  telling 
us  pleasant  stories  of  high  life  and  fine  ladies  whom  they  knew.  I 
afterwards  learned  they  were  brought  by  "  Larry  "  to  study  me,  as  he 
had  been  speaking  of  my  cleverness  at  the  "tail,''  i.  e.,  stealing  from  the 
tsuls  of  gentlemen's  coats.  They  used  to  make  me  presents  and  speak 
very  kindly  to  me,  but  at  that  time  they  were  not  quite  satisfied  as  to 
my  abilities  or  capacity  for  taking  higher  rank  in  the  order. 

One  day,  having  grown  a  little  careless  in  my  methods,  I  was  seized 
by  a  gentleman  who  caught  me  with  his  handkerchief  in  my  handy 
and  I  was  sentenced  to  Bridewell  for  two  months.  The  day  of  my  re- 
lease I  felt  touched  and  honored  to  find  at  the  gate  a  cab  waiting  for 
me,  and  two  of  the  men  standing  by  who  had  often  made  me  presents 
and  spoken  to  me  in  the  arches.  They  took  me  to  their  own  home.  One 
of  them  had  the  first  floor  of  a  house,  the  other  had  the  second, 
and  both  had  wives,  women  exceedingly  pretty,  very  kind-hearted,  and, 
though  you  may  not  believe  me,  very  refined. 

I  found  out  shortly  afterwards  that  these  men  had  lately  had  a  boy 
with  them,  but  he  had  been  caught.,  sentenced,  and  transported  to  Aus- 
tralia about  that  time,  though  I  did  not  know  this  then.  They  gave 
me  plenty  to  eat,  and  one  of  the  women,  by  name  "  Emily,"  washed  and 
cleansed  me  —  I  was  wonderfully  dirty  —  and  gave  me  new  clothes 
to  put  on.  For  three  days  I  was  not  asked  to  do  anything,  but  in 
the  meantime  they  had  been  talking  to  me  of  going  with  them  and 
having  no  more  to  do  with  the  boys  at  the  Adelphi  or  with  the 
"  tiul,"  but  instead  to  try  the  finer,  more  difficult  and  aristocratic  work 
of  picking  ladies'  pockets. 

I  thought  it  more  difficult  at  first,  but  found  afterwards  that  it  was 
more  satisfactory  to  work  on  a  woman's  pocket  than  upon  a  man's,  for 
this  reason ;  more  persons  work  together,  and  the  boy  is  well  sur- 
rounded by  companions  older  than  himself,  and  is  shielded  from  the 
eyes  of  the  passers-by.     Besi<les,  it  pays  better. 

As  this  was  my  first  essay  in  having  anything  to  do  in  stealing  from 
a  woman,  I  believe  they  were  nervous  themselves,  but  they  had  well 
tutored  me  during  the  two  or  thr^e  days  I  had  been  out  of  prison. 
They  had  stood  against  me  in  the  room  while  Emily  walked  to  and  fro, 
and  I  had  practised  on  her  by  taking  out  sometimes  a  lady's  clasp 
purse,  termed  a  "  portemonnaie,"  and  other  articles  out  of  her  pocket, 
and  thus  I  was  not  quite  ignorant  of  what  was  expected  of  me. 

On  the  day  of  my  first  attempt  one  walked  in  front  of  me,  one  on 
my  right  hand,  and  the  other  m  the  rear,  and  I  had  the  lady  on  my 
left  hand.      I  immediately  <' fanned"   her   (felt  her  pocket),  as  she 


128  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

stopped  to  look  in  at  a  hosier's  window,  then  I  took  her  purse  and  gave 
it  to  one  of  them,  and  we  immediately  went  to  a  house  in  Giltspur 
Street.  We  there  examined  the  purse  and  found  about  two  sovereigns 
in  it.  The  purse  was  thrown  away,  as  is  the  general  rule,  and  that 
afternoon  I  found  four  more  purses  and  then  we  went  home  to  a  good 
supper,  after  which  we  laid  aside  entirely  the  cares  of  business  and  went 
to  the  theatre.  I  recollect  how  they  praised  me  that  night  for  my 
cleverness,  and  how  my  cheek  glowed  with  pride  at  their  praise. 

The  following  day  we  reaped  a  still  better  harvest.  It  amounted  to 
about  19£.  (nearly  $100)  each.  These  organized  gangs  always  take 
care  to  allow  the  boy  to  see  what  is  in  the  purse,  and  to  give  him  his 
proper  share,  equal  with  the  others,  because  he  is  their  sole  support. 
If  they  should  lose  him  they  would  be  unable  to  do  anything  until  they 
got  another.  Out  of  my  share,  I  bought  a  silver  watch  an<l  a  gold 
chain,  and  about  this  time  I  also  bought  an  elegant  little  overcoat  and 
carried  it  on  my  left  arm  to  cover  my  movements. 

But  men  devoted  to  monetary  pursuits  —  even  the  most  adroit  and 
careful  financiers,  —  for  instance,  think  of  Baring  Brothers  just  lately  — 
sometimes  have  their  turns  of  ill-luck  and  get  caught  on  the  wrong 
side  of  an  investment.  My  day  came.  I  saw  a  gentleman  stuff  a  roll 
of  bank  notes  in  his  waistcoat  pocket  and,  brushing  up  against  him,  I 
attempted  to  relieve  him.  It  landed  me  in  prison  for  three  months. 
During  that  time,  however,  I  did  not  grow  thin  on  prison  diet,  but 
was  kept  on  good  rations  supplied  to  me  through  the  kindness  of  my 
comrades  out  of  doors  bribing  the  turnkeys. 

When  I  came  out  we  began  to  attend  the  theatres  professionally, 
and  I  have  often  taken  as  many  as  six  or  seven  ladies'  purses  during 
the  crowding,  while  they  were  coming  out.  We  also  used  to  go  to 
the  great  races  on  business,  and  one  day  I  was  induced  by  my  comrades, 
much  against  my  will,  for  I  thought  it  was  too  risky,  to  turn  my  hand 
upon  two  ladies  as  they  were  stepping  into  a  carriage.  I  was  detected 
by  the  ladies  and  there  was  immediately  a  tremendous  outcry  and 
rush  for  me,  but  I  was  got  clear  by  two  of  my  comrades,  the  other 
throwing  himself  in  the  way,  and  keeping  the  pursuers  back;  for  which 
he  was  taken  up  on  suspicion,  committed  for  trial,  and  not  being  able 
to  explain  satisfactorily  who  he  was  and  why  he  stumbled  in  the  way 
of  persons  trying  to  seize  a  young  pickpocket,  my  pal  got  four  months 
imprisonment. 

We  got  another  man  in  his  j)lace  and  when  his  time  expired, 
went  down  to  meet  him,  and  he  did  not  go  out  hunting  with  us  for 
some  time  afterwards  —  nearly  a  fortnight.     After  awhile  one  of  the 


%taf^-  -''^r'^--^-^-T=^ 


TRACES    AMONG    GYPSIES,    BBIGANDS    AND   THIEVES.        129 

men  w;is  seized  with  a  (lecline,  and  died  at  Brompton,  in  the  hospital. 
Like  the  other  stalls,  as  men  are  called  who  help  in  a  quiet  way  as  the 
support  while  one  thief  plays  the  star  part,  he  usually  went  well- 
dressed  and  had  a  good  appearance.  His  chief  work  was  to  guard  me 
and  to  get  nie  out  of  difficulty  when  I  was  detected,  as  I  was  the 
mainstay  of  the  band. 

One  time  w^hen  I  was  caught,  liowcver,  my  imprisonment  was  so 
long  that  the  band  had  to  get  another  boy  in  my  place,  and  when  I 
came  out  I  decided  to  go  into  business  by  myself.  I  went  to  live 
in  Charles  Street,  ])rury  Lane,  and  I  stopped  there,  working  all 
alone  for  five  or  six  months,  till  T  got  accjuainted  with  a  young 
woman,  who  has  ever  since  been  devoted  to  me.  She  was  not  a 
thief  then,  but  soon  after  she  got  acquainted  with  me,  she  divined  that 
I  was.  At  first  it  troubled  her  terribly,  but  after  awhile  she  accepted 
it  as  destiny  and  became  one  herself,  even  more  expert  than  I,  although 
she  had  not  i)een  regularly  educated  in  stealing  as  I  was  when  young. 
We  married  after  the  usual  fashion  of  thieves  —  that  is,  for  as  lonjx  as 
we  should  agree.  Then  we  took  a  cou])le  of  rooms  and  went  to  house- 
keeping. I  soon  got  acquainted  with  sonu^  of  the  swell  mob  at  the 
Seven  Dials,  and  began  working  along  with  three  of  them  upon  tlie 
ladies'  ])urses  again. 

We  WQre  frequently  watched  by  the  j)olice  and  detectives,  who 
followed  our  track,  and  were  often  in  the  same  places  of  amusement 
with  us.  Hut  we  knew  them  as  well  as  thev  knew  us  and  often 
eluded  them.  Still  their  followini?  us  was  sometimes  the  cause  of  our 
doinjj  nothing  on  manv  of  these  occasions,  as  we  knew  their  eve  was 
upon  us. 

But  whether  I  became  too  well  known  to  the  police,  or  whether  in 
the  course  of  time  my  hand  lost  some  of  its  cunning,  the  fact  stared 
me  in  the  face  that  I  got  caught  more  frequently,  and  also  the  addi- 
tional fact  that  my  imprisonments  broke  down  my  health,  so  I  decided 
to  quit  stealing  and  earn  what  I  conld  as  a  street  ballad  singer.  Sally, 
however,  kept  on  stealing,  which  troubled  me.  So  after  trying  to  be 
honest  for  several  months,  I  told  her  if  she  was  not  satisfied  with 
what  I  was  earning  as  a  singer  I  would  resume  my  former  employ- 
ment. I  did  this  for  a  year,  but  was  arrested  three  times.  Each  time 
the  prosecutor  did  not  apjjcar  and  I  was  acquitted. 

Such  luck,  I  felt  certain,  could  not  happen  a  fourth  time  running, 
and  I  took  it  as  a  sign  of  my  last  chance  to  lead  an  honest  life.  I 
came  home  and  told  Sally  I  would  never  engage  in  stealing  again,  and 
I  have  kept  my  word.     Had  I  been  tried  at  this  time,  as  there  were  so 


130  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

many  former  convictions  against  me,  I  should  very  likely  have  been 
transported.  I  have  since  then  got  my  living  by  singing  in  the  streets. 
I  earn  my  28.  or  2s.  6d.  in  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the  even- 
ing, and  can  make  a  shift.  It's  a  poor  calling,  but  it's  honester  than 
most  vocations,  isn't  it,  since  I  take  only  what  people  choose  to  give 
me? 

For  six  or  seven  years,  when  engaged  in  business,  I  earned  perhaps 
a  larger  amount  of  money  than  most  of  the  pocket- picking  profession. 
Our  house  expenses  many  weeks  would  average  from  4£  to  5£,  for  we 
lived  on  the  l)est  fare,  and  besides  we  went  to  theatres,  dressed  well, 
and  bought  the  best  editions  of  the  best  authors.  I  was  always  very 
much  interested  in  the  attempts  of  writers  to  depict  thieves.  Very 
few  of  the  popular  novelists  come  anywhere  near  a  knowledge  of  the 
natures  of  thieves,  or  can  even  give  a  fair  descnption  of  the  incidents 
of  their  lives.  The  truth  is,  a  pickpocket,  till  he  rises  fo  the  rank  of  a 
burglar,  differs  very  little  in  his  moral  and  mental  makeup  from  your 
average  merchant  in  any  large  city  like  London.     Why  so? 

Well,  I  maintain  that  unless  you  give  a  man  a  full  equivalent  for 
what  he  gives  you,  you  pick  his  pocket.  To  make  a  profit — to  get 
something  for  nothing  or  to  get  more  than  you  give — is  it  not 
stealing  ?  When  a  pickpocket  graduates  into  burglary,  another  element 
comes  in, —  the  risk  of  life  and  limb  is  added  —  and  the  possibility,  the 
probability  of  becoming  a  murderer,  completes  the  criminal  natare, 
and  makes  the  man  a  man-wolf.  Consider  a  moment.  In  my  life,  I 
have  picked  about  four  thousand  pockets,  mostly  from  people  who 
could  afford  once  in  their  lives  to  be  thus  taxed.  Will  you  not  admit 
that  nearly  every  very  great  manufacturer  or  commercial  speculator 
takes,  under  cover  of  law,  more  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  honest,  hard- 
working, producing  class  in  the  course  of  his  life  than  all  the  pick- 
pockets of  London  put  together  could  amass? 

Or  even  take  a  burglar  for  the  sake  of  argument.  I  don't  aspire  to 
be  one,  for  I  am  timid  and  shrink  at  the  thought  of  risking  or  of 
taking  human  life.  But  say  that  an  industrious  burglar  in  his  business 
life  kills  two  or  three  men.  What  does  that  amount  to,  compared  with 
the  thousands  which  my  dear  native  country,  England,  has  killed  in 
Africa  during  this  century  just  for  the  sake  of  extending  her  com- 
merce ?  Indeed,  I  think  I'd  rather  be  the  worst  of  London  burglars 
than  Napoleon  the  Great,  if  quantity  as  well  as  quality  counts  in  a 
consideration  of  murder.  Yes,  j)ickpockets  generally  the  world  over 
know  each  other,  for  there's  a  kind  of  free  masonry  among  thieves.  I 
ean  pick  out  a  thief  as  quick  as  a  pocket,  whenever  I  see  him. 


TRACES   AMONG   GYl^IES,   BRIGANDS  AND   THIBVES.        181 

IHckpockets  in  any  large  city  are  generally  well  acquainted  with 
-each  other,  go  visiting  like  or(]inary  people,  and  liave  their  parties  at 
which  times  they  generally  "  sink  the  shop,"  and  except  for  an 
occasional  phrase  you  might  not  know  their  occupation.  They  help 
iheir  comrades  in  difficulty.  They  frequently  meet  with  the  burglars 
bat  do  not  associate  with  them,  unless  they  join  tlieni  formally  and 
give  up  pockets.  Most  of  the  women  of  pickpockets  and  burglars  are 
shoplifters,  as  they  often  have  to  support  themselves  when  their  Ims- 
hands  are  in  prison.  Then,  too,  a  woman  would  not  he  considered  a 
Jielpmeet  or  fair,  square  mate   for  a  man,  unless  she  were    able    to 


procure  legal  counsel  for  iiim  whfri  c;mght,  and  to  keep  him  in  clover 
for  a  few  days  after  he  gets  out  of  jirison,  which  she  does  by  shop- 
lifting or  picking  pnckels.  I  have  associated  a  good  deal  with  the 
pick-pockets  over  London  in  different  districts.  You  cannot  easily  cal- 
culate their  weekly  income,  as  it  is  so  precarious,  jicrhaps  one  day  get- 
ting 20£  or  30£,  and  another  day  being  totally  unsuccessful.  They  are 
in  general  very  superatitious,  and  if  anything  cross  them,  they  will  do 
nothing.  If  they  see  a  person  they  have  formerly  robbed,  they  expect 
bad  luck,  and  will  not  attempt  anything  that  day. 


182  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

They  are  very  generous  in  helping  each  other,  when  they  get  into 
difficulty  or  trouble,  but  have  no  societies,  as  they  could  not  be  kept 
up.  Many  of  them  may  be  in  prison  five  or  six  months  of  the  year; 
some  may  get  a  long  penal  servitude,  or  transportation  ;  or  they  may 
have  the  steel  taken  out  of  them,  and  give  uj)  this  restless  criminal  life. 

They  do  not  generally  find  stealing  gentlemen's  watches  so  profita- 
ble as  picking  la<lies'  pockets,  for  this  reason,  that  the  purse  can  be 
thrown  away,  some  of  the  coins  changed,  and  they  may  set  to  work 
again  immediately ;  whereas,  when  they  take  a  watch,  they  must  go 
immediately  to  the  fence ^  with  it ;  it  is  not  safe  to  keep  it  on  their  per- 
son. A  good  silver  watcli  will  now  bring  little  more  than  25s.,  or 
30s.,  even  if  tlie  watch  has  cost  G£.  A  good  gold  watch  will  not  fetch 
above  4£.  I  have  worked  for  two  or  three  hours,  and  have  got,  per- 
haps, six  different  purses  during  that  time,  throwing  the  purses  away 
at  once,  so  that  the  rol)l>ery  might  not  be  traced.  Suppose  you  take  a 
watch,  and  you  place  it  in  your  pocket,  while  you  have  also  your  own 
watch.  If  you  hap|>en  to  bo  detected  you  are  searched,  and  there 
being  a  second  watch  found  on  you,  the  evidence  is  complete. 

The  trouser8-]>ocljets  are  seldom  picked,  except  in  a  crowd.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  do  this  on  any  other  occasion,  such  as  when  walk- 
ing in  the  street.  The  cleverest  of  the  native  London  thieves,  in 
general,  are  the  Irish  cockneys,  that  is,  London  children  of  Irish 
])arenta£re. 

I  never  learned  any  business  or  trade,  and  never  did  a  hard  day's 
work  in  my  life  excej)t  in  prison.  When  men  in  my  position  take  to  an 
honest  employment,  they  are  sometimes  i)ointed  out  by  some  of  the 
police  as  having  been  formerly  convicted  thieves,  and  are  often  dis- 
missed from  service,  and  are  driven  back  into  criminal  courses. 

There  is  to  some  natures  anjong  us  thieves,  for  we  are  not  all  alike, 
a  certain  zest  in  our  criminal  life,  an  intense  ple:isure  in  liberty  because 
we  do  not  know  how  lont^  we  may  enjoy  it.  This  cruel  uncertaintv 
strengthens  very  often  the  attachment  between  pickpockets  and  their 
women,  who,  I  believe,  have  a  stronger  liking  to  each  other,  in  many 
cases,  than  married  ]>eople  engaged  in  safer  businesses. 

Would  I  rather  be  honest  than  j)ick  pockets?  Yes,  I  think  I  would, 
though  occasionally,  when  I  see  a  fine  silk  handkerchief  gently  bulging 
out  a  gentleman's  coat-tail-pocket,  my  fingers  have  a  momentary  twitch 
and  itch  that  carries  me  back  on  memory's  express  train  to  the  days  of 
my  boyhood  when  I  slept  in  the  dark  arches  of  the  Adelphi  and  was 
the  cleverest  of  my  gang  at  "the  tail." 

Their  tenu  for  a  receiver  of  stolen  ptxKi?*. 


TBACBS  AMONG  GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.        138 

There  is  a  language  current  amongst  them  that  is  to  1x3  met 
with  in  no  popular  dictionary.  Probably  not  even  the  "slang  dic- 
tionary*' contains  more  than  a  few  of  the  following  instances  that 
may  be  accepted  as  genuine.  It  will  he  seen  that  the  prime  essen- 
tial of  "Thieves'  Latin"  is  brevity.  By  its  use,  much  in  one  or 
two  words  may  be  conveyed  to  a  comrade  wliile  rapidly  passing 
him  in  the  street,  or,  should  opportunity  serve,  during  a  \'i8it  to 
him  while  in  prison. 

For  instance,  to  erase  the  original  name  or  numlxjr  from  a  stolen 
watch  and  substitute  one  that  is  fictitious  is  called  christenhig 
Jack.  To  take  the  works  from  one  watch  and  case  them  in 
another,  churching  Jack.  Poultry'  stealing  is  styled  beak  hunthig. 
One  who  filches  from  a  shopkeeper  while  j)i-etendin^  to  effect  an 
honest  purchase  is  a  bouncer. 

One  who  entices  another  to  play  a  game  at  which  cheating 
rules,  such  as  card  or  skittle  sharping,  is  a  butfoner.  The  treadmill 
of  a  prison  is  named  a  shin  scraper,  possibly  ou  account  of  the 
operator's  liability,  if  he  is  not  careful,  to  get  his  shins  scraped 
by  the  ever-revolving  wheel. 

To  commit  burglary  is  to  crack  a  cane  or  break  a  drum.  The 
van  that  conveys  prisoner  to  jail  is  a  Black  Maria.  A  thief 
who  robs  cabs  or  caiTiages  by  climbing  up  Ix^hind,  and  cutting  the 
stra{)B  that  secure  the  luggage  on  the  roof  is  a  firaf/nman^  while 
he  who  trains  young  thieves,  like  Fagiii  in  *M)liver  Twist,"  is  a 
kidsman. 

Breaking  a  square  of  gliuss  is  (!alled  »tarring  the  glaze.  To  be 
transported  or  sent  to  penal  servitude  is  being  Jagged.  Tlii'ee 
years'  imprisonment  is  a  stretchy  while  by  some  defect  in  thieves' 
arithmetic  a  half  stretch  is  only  six  months.  A  confederate  in  the 
practice  of  thimble-rigging  is  a  nobler.  To  rol)  a  till  is  to  pinch 
a  hob. 

One  who  assists  at  a  sham  street  row  for  the  purpose  of  creat- 
ing a  mob  and  promoting  roblxjry  from  the  person  is  a  jolly.  A 
thief  who  secures  goods  in  a  shop  while  a  confederate  distracts 
the  attention  of  the  shopkeeper  is  entitled  a  palmer.  A  person  or 
place  marked  for  plunder  is  denominated  a  plant.  Going  out  to 
steal  linen  that  is  drying  in  gardens  is  picturesquely  phrased 
as  going  9nowing.     Stolen   property  generally  is   sicag.     To  go 


184  THE  STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

about  half  naked  to  excite  compassion  is  to  be  on  the  shallow. 
Stealing  lead  from  the  roofs  of  houses  is  technically  termed  flying 
the  blue  pigeon.  Coiners  of  bad  money  are  hit  fakers^  while  mid- 
night prowlers  who  rob  drunken  men  are  facetiously  nicknamed 
Img  hunters.  Entering  a  dwelling-house  while  the  family  have 
gone  to  church  is  a  dead  lark.  When  a  man  is  convicted  of 
thieving  he  is  in  for  a  vamp.  A  city  missionary  or  Scripture 
reader  is  a  gospel  grinder.  When  hidden  from  the  police  a  thief  is 
said  to  be  laid  up  in  lavender.  Forged  banknotes  are  queer  screens. 
To  receive  a  whipping  while  in  prison  is  called  having  scroby  or 
claws  for  breakfast.  Long-fingered  thieves,  expert  in  emptying 
ladies'  pockets,  are  fine  wirers.  The  condemned  cell  is  the  salt 
box.  The  prison  chaplain  is  rather  aptly  styled  Lady  Green.  A 
boy  thief,  lithe  and  thin  and  daring,  such  a  one  as  house-breakers 
hire  for  the  purpose  of  entering  a  small  window  at  the  rear  of 
a  dwelling-house,  is  a  little  snakesman. 

So  pertinaciously  do  the  inliabitants  of  criminal  colonies  stick 
to  their  "Latin,"  that  a  well-known  Avriter  suggests  that  special 
religious  tracts,  suiting  their  condition,  should  be  printed  in  this 
language,  as  an  almost  certain  method  of  securing  their  attention. 
But  if  an  acquaintance  with  the  thieves'  quarters  reveals  to  one 
the  amazing  subtlety  and  cleverness  of  the  pilfering  fraternity,  it 
also  teaches  the  guilty  fear,  the  wretchedness,  the  moral  guilt,  and 
the  fearful  hardships  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  professional  thief. 

They  are  never  safe  for  a  moment,  and  this  unceasing  jeopardy 
produces  a  constant  nervousness.  Sometimes  when  visiting  the 
sick,  a  minister  who  spent  his  life  among  them  would  gently  lay 
his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  one,  who  happened  to  be  standing  in 
the  street.  The  man  would  "start  like  a  guilty  thing  upon  a 
fearful  summons,"  and  it  would  take  him  two  or  three  minutes 
to  recover  his  self-possession.  The  adage,  "Suspicion  always 
haunts  the  guilty  mind,"  is  painfully  illustrated  in  the  thieves' 
quarter  by  the  faces  of  gray-haired  criminals,  whose  hearts  liave 
been  worn  into  hardness  by  the  dishonoring  chains  of  transpor- 
tation. When,  in  the  dusk,  one  speaks  to  a  London  thief  in  a 
low  tone,  the  guilty  start  as  the  man  l^nds  forward,  anxiously 
peering  into  the  speaker's  face,  is  a  thing  frightful  to  behold. 

He  is  never  at  rest,  the  wretched  professional  thief.     He  goes 


TRACES   AMONG   GYPSIES,   BRIGANDS   AND  THIEVES.        135 

about  with  the  tools  of  war  perpetually  in  his  hands,  and  with 
enemies  in  the  front  and  the  rear,  to  the  right  and  the  left  of 
him.  "Anybody,  to  hear  'em  talk,"  a  thief  once  remarked  (he 
was  a  thief  at  that  time  in  possession  of  liberty ;  not  an  incar- 
cerated rogue  plying  "gammon"  as  the  incarcerated  rogue  loves 
to  ply  it,  for  the  sake  of  securing  sympathy  as  a  stepping-stone  to 
something  else),  "anybody  would  think  to  hear  'em  talk,  that  it 
was  all  sugar  with  us  while  we  were  free,  and  that  our  sufferin's 
did  not  begin  until  we  were  caught  and  'put  awa:;  Them  that 
think  so  know  nothin'  about  it.  Take  a  case,  i)*>  ^j,  of  a  man  who 
is  in  for  gettin'  his  livin'  'on  tlie  cross,'  and  wi^o  luis  got  a  'kid' 
or  two,  and  their  mother,  at  home.  I  don't  ^.ay  it  is  vvj  cjise,  but 
you  can  take  it  so  if  you  like.  She  isn't  a  thief.  Ask  her  what 
she  knows  about  me  and  she'll  tell  you  that,  wuss  luck,  I've  got 
in  CO.  with  some  bad  uns,  and  she  wishes  that  I  liadn't.  She 
wishes  that  I  hadn't,  p'r'aps,  — not  out  of  any  Goody-two  shoes 
feelin',  but  because  she  loves  me.  That's  the  name  of  it;  we 
haint  got  any  other  word  for  the  feelin' ;  and  slie  can't  bear  to 
think  that  I  may,  any  hour,  be  dragged  off  for  six  montlis,  or  a 
year,  p'r'aps.  And  them's  my  feelin's  too,  and  no  mistake,  day 
after  day,  and  Sundays  as  well  as  week  days.  She  isn't  fonder  of 
me  than  I  am  of  her,  I'll  go  bail  for  that;  and  as  for  the  kids, 
the  girl  especially,  why,  I'd  skid  a  wagon  Avhecl  with  my  l>ody 
rather  than  her  precious  skin  should  be  grazed.  WtOl,  take  my 
word  for  it,  I  never  go  out  in  the  morniir,  and  the  young  un  sez 
'good-by,'  but  what  I  think  'good-by, — yes  I  p'r'iips  it's  good-by 
for  a  longer  spell  than  you're  dream  in'  about,  you  poor  little 
shaver!'  And  when  I  get  out  into  the  street,  how  long  am  I 
safe?  Why,  only  for  the  straight  length  of  that  street,  as  far  as 
I  can  see  the  coast  clear.  I  may  find  a  stopper  at  any  turnin',  or 
at  any  corner.  And  when  you  r/o  feel  the  hand  on  your  collar  I 
I've  often  wondered  what  must  be  a  eha})'s  feelin's  when  the 
white  cap  is  pulled  over  his  })eepers,  and  old  Caleraft  is  j)awin' 
about  his  throat  to  get  the  rope  right.  It  must  be  a  sight  woi-se 
than  the  other  feelin',  you'll  say.  Well,  if  it  is,  I  wonder  how 
long  the  chap  manages  to  hold  up  till  he's  let  go!  " 

Many  a  thief  is  kept  in  reluctant  bondage  to  crime  from  the 
difficulties  he  finds  in  obtaining  honest  employment  and  earning 


186  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

honest  bread,  yet  some  thieves  are  fond  of  their  criminal  calling. 
They  will  tell  you  plainly  that  they  do  not  intend  to  work  hard 
for  five  dollars  a  week  when  they  can  easily  earn  five  times  as 
much  by  thieving,  in  less  time,  and  live  like  gentlemen.  But 
some  are  utterly  weaiy  of  the  hazard  and  disgrace.  They  were 
once  pure,  honest  and  industrious,  and  when  sick,  or  in  jail,  they 
are  frequently  filled  with  bitter  remorse,  and  make  the  strongest 
vows  to  have  done  with  a  guilty  life. 

Suppose  a  man  of  this  sort  in  jnison.  His  eyes  are  opened, 
and  he  sees  before  him  the  gulf  of  utter  ruin  into  which  he  will 
soon  be  plunged.  He  knows  well  enough  that  the  money  earned 
by  thieving  goes  as  ftist  as  it  comes,  and  that  there  is  no  prospect 
of  his  ever  being  able  to  retire  on  his  ill-gotten  gains.  He  comes 
out  of  prison  det^jrmined  to  reform.  But  where  is  he  to  go? 
What  is  lie  to  do?  How  is  he  to  live?  Whatever  may  have 
been  done  for  him  in  prison  is  of  little  or  no  avail,  if  as  soon  iis 
he  leaves  the  jail  he  must  go  into  the  world  branded  with  crime, 
unprotected  and  unhelped. 

The  discharged  prisoner  must  be  friendly  with  some  one,  and 
he  must  live.  His  criminal  friends  will  entertain  him  on  the 
understood  condition  that  they  are  to  be  repaid  from  the  Ix)oty  of 
his  next  depredation.  Thus  the  first  food  he  eats,  and  the  firet 
friendly  chat  he  has,  lK»conie  the  half-necessitating  initiative  of 
future  crime.  Frequently  the  newly  discharged  prisoner  passes 
through  a  round  of  riot  and  drunkenness  immediately  on  his 
i-elease  from  a  long  incareeratioi),  as  any  other  man  might  do  in 
similar  circumstances  who  has  no  fixed  principles  to  sustain  him. 
And  so  ])y  reason  of  the  rebound  of  newly  fioquired  lil)erty,  and 
the  influence  of  the  old  set,  the  man  is  agiiin  demoralized. 
The  discharged  prisoner  may  leave  jail  with  good  resolves  but 
the  moment  he  enters  the  world  there  arises  before  him  the  dark 
and  specti*al  danger  of  l)eing  hunted  down  by  the  police,  of 
l^eing  recognized  and  insulted,  of  being  shunned  and  despised 
by  his  fellow-workmen,  of  being  everywhere  contemned  and 
forsaken. 

One  cannot  live  amongst  the  thieves  many  months  and  study 
them  closely,  without  discovering  the  fa  till  fact  that  they  have 
no  faith  in  the  sincerity,  honesty,  or  goodness  of  human  nature ; 


TRACES  AMONG   GYPSIES,   BKIGANDS  AND  THIEVES.        187 

and  that  this  last  and  saddest  scepticism  of  the  human  heart 
is  one  of  the  most  powerful  influences  at  work  in  the  continua- 
tion of  crime.  They  believe  people  in  general  to  be  no  better 
than  themselves,  and  that  most  people  will  do  a  wrong  thing  if 
it  serves  their  purpose.  They  consider  themselves  better  than 
many  "square"  people  who  practise  commercial  frauds,  and  in 
this  point,  perhaps,  they  are  nearly  right. 

Not  having  a  spark  of  faith  in  human  nature,  their  case  is  all 
but  hopeless,  and  only  those  who  have  tried  the  experiment  can 
tell  liow  difficult  it  is  to  make  a  thief  believe  that  you  are  really 
disinterested  and  mean  him  well.  But  thieves,  the  worst  of 
them,  speak  gloomily  of  the  prospects  of  the  fraternity,  just  as  a 
red  Indian  might  complain  of  the  dwindling  of  his  tribe  I^efore 
the  strong  march  of  advancing  civilization. 

Although,  as  most  people  are  aware,  the  great  thief  tribe 
reckons  amongst  its  number  an  upper,  a  middle  and  a  lower 
class,  pretty  much  as  corresponding  grades  of  station  are  recog- 
nized amongst  the  honest  community,  it  is  doubtful,  in  the  former 
case,  if  promotion  from  one  stage  to  another  may  be  gained  by 
individual  entei-prise,  talent  and  industry.  The  literature  of  * 
the  country  is  from  time  to  time  enriched  by  bragging  autobiogra- 
phies of  confessed  villains,  as  well  as  by  tlie  penitent  revelations 
of  reclaimed  rogues,  but  it  does  not  appear  tliat  pei*severance  in 
the  humbler  walks  of  crime  leads  to  the  highway  of  infamous 
prosperity. 

This,  indeed,  seems  to  be  an  idea  too  preposterous  even  for 
the  pages  of  Newgate  romance,  daring  in  their  flights  of  fancy  as 
are  the  authors  affecting  that  delectable  line.  There  is  no  sinister 
antithesis  of  the  well-known  honest  boy  Whittington,  who  tramped 
from  Bristol  to  London  with  twopence-halfpenny,  or  five  cents,  in 
his  pocket,  and  afterwards  became  lord  mayor.  No  low-browed 
ragged  little  tliief,  who  began  his  career  by  purloining  a  turnip 
from  a  costemionger's  barrow,  is  immortalized  in  the  pages  of  the 
Newgate  Calendar  as  having  finally  arrived  at  the  high  distinc- 
tion of  wearing  fine  clothes  and  ranking  as  the  first  of  swell 
mobsmen,  or  as  a  brilliant  and  fashionable  burglar. 

On  the  contrary  it  is  a  fatal  fact,  and  should  have  weight  with 
aspirants  for  the  convict's  mask  and  badge,  that  the  poor,  shabby, 


188  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

hard-working  thief  so  remains  till  tlie  end  of  his  days.  There  is 
no  more  chance  of  his  carrying  his  shameful  figure  and  miserable 
hangdog  visage  into  the  tip-top  society  of  his  order,  than  there  is 
of  a  camel  threading  his  way  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  or  a  Jay 
Gould  repenting  and  restoring  his  legalized  plunder  to  the  people. 

Shocking  enough  is  it  to  contemplate  the  white-haired  tottering 
criminal  holding  on  to  the  front  of  the  dock 'because  he  dares  not 
trust  entirely  his  quaking  legs,  and  with  no  more  to  urge  in  his 
defence  than  Fagin  liad  when  it  came  to  the  last,  —  "  an  old  man, 
my  lord,  a  very  old  man" ;  and  we  give  him  our  pity  ungrudg- 
ingly, because  we  are  no  longer  troubled  with  fears  of  his  hos- 
tility as  regards  the  present  or  the  future.  It  is  all  over  with 
him  or  very  nearly.  The  grave  yawns  for  him,  and  we  cannot 
help  feeling  that  after  all  he  has  hurt  himself  much  more  than  us. 

No,  it  is  not  those  who  have  run  the  length  of  their  tether 
of  crime  that  society  has  to  fear,  but  those  who  by  reason  of  their 
tender  age  are  as  yet  but  feeble  toddlera  on  the  road  that  leads 
to  the  hulks.  It  would  \)e  instructive  iis  well  as  of  great  ser- 
vice to  humanity,  if  reliable  infonnation  could  be  obtiiined  as 
to  the  beginning  ct  tlie  down-hill  journey  by  our  juvenile 
criminals.  Without  doubt  it  would  l>e  found  that  in  a  lament- 
ably large  numlxir  of  cases  the  iK^ginning  did  not  arise  in  the 
present  transgressoi-s  at  all,  but  that  they  were  bred  and  nurtured 
in  it,  inheriting  it  from  their  parents  as  certain  forms  of  phys- 
ical disease  are  inlierited. 

One  tiling,  at  least,  is  certain  ;  it  would  come  much  cheaper  to 
every  country  if  these  Inidding  burglai's  and  pickpockets  were 
caught  up,  Ixjfore  their  natures  l^ecame  too  thoroughly  pickled  in 
the  brine  of  rascality,  and  caged  away  from  the  community  at 
large.  Boy  thieves  are  the  most  mischievous  and  wasteful. 
They  will  mount  a  house  roof,  and  for  the  sake  of  appropriating 
the  thirty  cents'  worth  of  lead  that  forms  its  gutter,  cause  such 
damasfe  as  only  a  builder's  bill  of  a  hundred  dollars  or  so  will  set 
right. 

The  other  day  a  boy  stole  a  family  Bible  valued  at  twelve  dol- 
lai-s,  and  after  wrenching  off  the  gilt  clasps,  threw  the  book  into 
a  sewer;  the  clas[)s  he  sold  to  a  marine  store  dealer  for  five  cents. 
It  may  be  fairly  assumed  in   the  ciuse  of  boy  thieves,  who  are  so 


TBAOE8   AMONQ    GTPBrES,    BRIGANDS   AND  IHIBVXS.        189 

completely  in  the  hands  of  others  that,  before  they  can  "  make  " 
ior  themselves  five  dollars  in  cash,  they  must,  as  a  rule,  steal 
goods  to  the  value  of  at  least  forty  dollars,  and  sometimes  double 
as  much.  But  let  us  put  the  loss  by  exchange  at  its  lowest,  and 
say  that  the  hoy  thief  gets  a  fourth  of  the  value  of  what  he  steals; 
before  he  can  earn  by  Odeving  as  umch  as  fifty  cents  a  day,  he  must 
rob  to  the  amount  of  twelve  dollars  a  week,  — allowing  him  his 
Sunda^-3  off  —  or,  in  short,  to  live  as  decently  as  our  common 
laborers,  the  hoy  must  steal  to  the  value  of  $624  per  annum. 
Now,  whatever  less  aura  than  this  it  would  cost  the  State  to  edu- 
cate, clothe  and  teach  him,  the  [>eople 
at  large  would  be  in  pocket. 

Yet  infinitely  worse  in  its  conse- 
quences than  the  \yetty  larceny  or  the 
burglaiy  thsit  are  the  precarious  profes- 
sions of  outlawed  unfortunates  Ja  our 
great  cities  is  the  theft  which  goes  on 
right  under  the  noses  of  neiirly  every 
community  in  the  "way  of  commerce; 
the  theft,  and  sometimes  slow  munler, 
which  is  called  adultei-ation  of  fond. 
Possibly  this  commen;ial  robbery  is  not 
so  common  in  this  country  as  in  Enfj- 
land,  but  there  is  good  ground  for 
believing  that  in  many  places  adulter- 
ation is  sj-stematic  and  inerciisiiig,  and 
recently  a  bill  has  been  introduced  in  Congi-ess  for  an  extension 
of  the  Bureau  of  Agriculture  by  tlie  appointment  of  fiwid  in- 
spectors, whose  duties  should  be  the  buying  of  foml  in  ilifferent 
shoiM,  and  the  having  such  specimens  chemically  analyzed. 

In  addition  to  the  fact  that  bad  bread  niadi;  by  private  enter- 
prise sa^js  the  national  health,  chithing  made  in  tenement  houses 
spreads  fevere,  and  the  jiiMnly  built,  imperfectly  ventilated  houses 
in  which  the  jwior  and  the  lower  middle  class  live  cause  diseases 
ht>m  which  occasionally  the  rich  die  as  well  jw  the  \Mor  ^-ictima 
of  plutocratic  greed  or  stupidity.  We  shall  read  in  a  laterchapter 
about  the  Ju^emaut  o£  India,  but  it  is  merely  a  toy  monster  com- 
pared to  the  Jug^niaut  of  Avarice  and  Ignorance,  under  whose 


140  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

wheels  the  masses  are  being  crushed  in  many  nations  that  have 
the  amazing  effrontery  to  call  themselves  civilized.  Even  in  free 
and  supposedly  prosperous  America  between  the  years  1850  and 
1880,  the  percentage  of  criminals  more  than  trebled,  and  the 
percentage  of  lunatics  more  than  quadrupled.  Does  not  this  fact 
seem  to  imply  that  there  is  something  wrong  somewhere  in  our 
present  industrial  system?  Why,  in  a  land  so  blessed  by  nature, 
should  such  cui-ses  as  these  be  on  the  increase?  Will  the  reader 
study  for  a  few  moments  these  figures  and  facts  from  the  last 
census,  and  then  draw  a  just  conclusion?  Our  population  is 
alKmt  04,000,000.  Our  national  wealth  is  about  $65,000,000,000 
—  sixtv-five  billions. 

This  wealth  is  divided  among  three  cliisses  as  foUo'vs : 

182,000  rich  families  own $43,000,000,000 

l,20f),000  middUsclass  familieK  own     .     .       7,500,000,000 
11,(520,000  working-class  families  own  .     .     11,200,000,000 

Allowing  five  i)ei*sons  to  a  family,  the  usual  method  amor^g 
stiitisticuans,  each  rich  pei-son  averages  a  having  of  $47,253,  each 
middle  class  man  or  woman  owns  on  an  average  $1,250,  and  each 
meml)er  of  the  toiling  legion  which  composes  the  bulk  of  the 
poj)ulation  and  produces  the  bulk  of  the  wealth,  possesses  $193. 

These  figures  and  calculations  are  not  those  of  any  wild-eyed, 
wide-mouthed  demagogue,  but  are  put  forth  by  Mr.  Thomas  G. 
Sheannan,  a  New  York  millionnaire.  What  do  they  mean?  Do 
the}'  not  suggest  a  reasonable  cause  for  the  spread  of  pauperism, 
the  rise  of  crime  and  the  possibly  near  fall  of  our  civilization,  as 
many  a  si)lendid  but  unbalanced  society  has  fallen  —  witness 
Kabylon,  Athens,  and  Home  I  —  into  corruption  and  chaos? 

Wlmtever  politicians  of  any  party  may  say,  national  wealth  is 
not  national  health,  unless  it  is  well  distributed.  Let  the  reader 
ask  himself  not  once,  in  reading  these  lines,  but  often  in  the 
future,  two  questions :  Is  there  not  something  wrong  somewhere, 
no  matter  how  personally  prosperous  or  successful  I,  juM  this 
momf'jit,  miy  ba;  and  is  not  "this  wrong  something"  our  present 
industrial  system  which  enriches  the  few  at  the  expense  of  the 
many  ? 


IV. 


THE  kind  of  government  of  which  the  eliief  idea  is  em- 
bodied in   the  word   feudalism,   imd  which  w^as    once 
the  prevalent  form  in  Eiiroi)e,  as  we  see  it  to-day  in 
Central  and  Western  Africa,  presents  many  features  of 
intense  interest.     Iloughly  speaking,  it  is  a  government  of  chiefs 
witli  a  sort  of  loose  or  elastic  allegiance  to  a  liead  chief  or  king. 

European  feudalism  gi*ew  to  be  a  much  more  elaborate  system 
than  that  which  Africa  now  exhibits,  and  an  explanation  of  it  will 
be  found  in  a  note  to  the  chapter  on  constitutional  monarchy  ;  but 
the  essential  marks  are  the  same,  the  deg-ree  of  alleuriance  to  the 
central  chief,  that  is,  the  power  possessed  by  the  king,  varying 
considerably  among  the  different  tribes,  probably  according  to  the 
length  of  time  of  their  divergence  from  the  sim[)le  democracy  of 
original  tribal  government  as  outlined  in  chapter  first. 

All  the  Central  Afric!an  governments,  for  instance,  though 
feudal,  are  more  or  less  despotic.  Among  tluj  Manganja  the 
country  is  divided  up  into  a  number  of  districts,  each  of  which 
has  under  its  control  some  villages;  but  each  of  these  districts,  or 
"Rundos,"  as  they  are  called,  is  independent  of  the  other,  not 
even  acknowledging  a  common  chief.  Each  village  pays  tribute 
to  the  Rundo,  which  in  its  turn  protects  and  assists  it  in  time  of 
trouble.     In  fact,  the  system  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  Swiss  can- 

141 


142  THK   STOKY   OF   GOVEKNMENT, 

tons,  or  the  American  states;  "state  riglits,"  however,  being  i-ather 
further  advanced  in  the  Black-kingly  Republic  than  in  the 
European  or  Transatlantic  democratic  one.  A  woman  may  also 
be  chief  of  a  Rundo,  and  they  are  said  to  exercise  their  authority 
veiy  judiciously. 

The  Banyai,  a  trilxi  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Zambesi,  elect 
their  chiefs,  but  always  out  of  ^ne  famil}',  though  they  never  select 
the  immediate  descendants  ot  the  late  monarch,  but  always  some 
relative,  sucli  as  a  nephew  or  brother.  It  is  ficcounted  etiquette 
for  the  newl}'  elected  chief  to  affect  an  air  of  modesty,  and  a  seem- 
ing desire  to  decline  the  i)roflfered  honoi-s  as  too  great  for  a  man 
of  his  rank,  ability  and  ambition.  In  fact,  he  expects  to  be 
"thrice,"  or  a  greater  numl)er  of  times,  offered  the  "kingly 
crown " ;  but,  unlike  his  Roman  prototype,  there  is  no  case  on 
record  in  which  the  honor  was  eventuall}'  refused. 

The  new  chief  not  only  inherits  the  property,  but  also  the 
wives  and  children  of  his  predecessoi-s,  though  often  one  of  the 
sons  of  the  former  chief  considei-s,  quite  mituiully,  that  he  is  not 
to  be  kept  iii  su])servienct)  to  tlie  new  monai-ch,  and  attempts  to 
set  up  as  a  i)etty  chief  for  himself,  an  attempt  whicli  generally 
results  in  his  having  his  village  burnt  alxmt  his  eai-s,  Jis  a  gentle 
hint  that  he  had  better  receive  liis  superior  in  a  proj>er  man- 
ner—  viz.,  by  clapping  of  hands,  the  common  method  of  salutii- 
tion  amont^  most  of  these  African  tril)es. 

Among  tlie  lianyai  it  is  the  custom  for  wealthy  men  to  send 
their  sons  to  be  educated,  under  some  man  of  eminence,  in  all 
the  duties  and  accomplishments  of  Banyai  gentlemen,  just  as  in 
former  times  in  Europe  the  sons  of  gentlemen  were  sent  as  pages 
and  escpiires  to  be  trained  in  the  laws  of  cliivahy  under  some 
jmissant  knight. 

Among  the  Wahunuis  a  cuiious  law  ])ie vails.  If  anyone 
becomes  a  slave  —  whicli  it  is  uiniecessary  to  say  is  always  an 
involuntiiry  act  —  he  or  she  is  ])ut  to  deatli  when  caught  again  by 
their  own  people,  becaust?  b}'  so  doing  they  have  broken  one  of  the 
laws  of  their  country.  Speke  witnessed  an  instance  in  which 
some  women  were  actually  put  to  death  b}^  their  own  husbands. 

Theft  is  generally  severely  punished  in  Africa,  if  it  is  committed 
on  any  of  their  own  tribe.     The  Karagues  punish  this  crime  with 


144  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

imprisonment  in  the  stocks,  often  for  months  at  a  time.  Let  a 
man  strike  another  with  a  stick,  and  he  can  expiate  the  offence 
by  paying  ten  goats ;  but  if  a  spear,  or  any  other  deadly  weapon 
is  used,  then  he  is  deprived  of  all  his  property  —  one  half  of  the 
forfeit  going  to  the  crown,  the  other  to  the  person  assaulted. 

In  case  of  murder,  the  entire  goods  of  the  murderer  are  for- 
feited to  the  relatives  of  the  slain.  The  laws  against  adultery 
are  curiously  at  once  both  lax  and  severe.  If  a  wife  offend,  she 
only  loses  an  ear;  if  a  slave,  or  the  daughter  of  the  chief,  is  the 
guilty  party,  both  she  and  her  paramour  are  executed. 

Among  some  tribes  a  man  is  very  severely  punished  for  hurting 
his  wife,  as  our  striking  illustration  shows,  where  two  wife-beat^rs 
are  dealt  with  in  no  ordinary  way,  but  are  whipped  till  the  blood 
runs.  The  old  crone  is  telling  the  culprit  who  is  bound  and 
waiting  his  turn  what  an  artistic  flagellation  he  is  going  to 
receive. 

Indeed,  women  in  Central  Africa  are  l)etter  trea,ted  than  gen- 
erally among  barbarians.  Among  the  Banyai  the  wife  is  the 
husband's  equal.  Tlie  husband  not  only  regards  her  with  pro- 
found respect,  but  is  expected  to  consult  her  before  concluding 
any  bargain,  and  to  let  her  know  his  most  private  business 
transactions.  The  women  even  do  business  on  their  own  account, 
and  visit  distant  towns  to  effect  commercial  transactions  for  their 
husbands. 

Unlike  many  women  who  attempt  business,  they  can  S3e  that 
there  are  two  sides  to  a  bargain.  The  Banyai  system  of  mamage 
is  quite  in  keeping  with  this  region  of  the  strong-minded  woman. 
Among  them  there  is  none  of  the  barter  of  cows  for  wives  as  else- 
where. 

The  bridegroom  goes  humbly  to  live  at  the  house  of  his 
father-in-law  and  meekly  submits  to  be  bullied  and  ordered  alxiut 
by  his  mother-in-law,  not  a  more  amiable  lady  than  usual,  probii- 
bly.  He  has  to  carry  water,  cut  wood,  and  altogether  demean 
himself  as  becomes  his  position  in  life.  If  lie  objects  to  this 
arrangement  he  may  leave,  but  his  wife  and  children  must  remain, 
unless  he  can  pay  as  much  as  will  compensate  the  wife's  parents 
for  the  loss  of  her  services. 

In  unpleasant  contrast  with  this  supremacy  of  woman,  let  us 


FEUDALISTIG  MONARCHY.  145 

look  at  Uganda,  where  she  is  taught  her  place  with  the  sharp 
logic  of  the  rod.  A  special  Icind  of  whip  made  of  plaited  strips 
of  hippopotamus  hide,  with  hard,  sharp,  horny  edges,  which  cut 
into  the  flesh  at  every  stroke,  is  reserved  for  the  administration 
of  wifely  chastisement.  Killing  a  wife,  or  a  few  wives  at  a  time, 
is  a  mere  trifle  in  Uganda.     Polygamy  is  the  universal  custom. 

The  King  of  Uganda  has  seven  thousand  women  in  his  palace.^ 
Often  thirty  or  forty  girls  will  be  offered  him  in  a  single  morning 
as  brides.  If  he  orders  them  to  fall  upon  their  knees,  and 
embraces  them,  then  the  ceremony  of  marriage  is  complete, 
the  fortunate  damsels  are  received  into  the  number  of  his  wives, 
and  the  parents  prostrate  themselves  before  their  sovereign, 
ejaculating  the  word  ''N'yanz"  (thanks)  repeatedly,  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  ceremony  of  thanking  the  sovereign  for  any 
favor  is  described  by  those  travellers  who  have  visited  the  Uganda 
court  as  "n'yanzigging."  Koffee,  the  late  King  of  Ashanti,  is 
said  to  have  had  3,333  wives. 

The  M angan  ja  looks  upon  the  burial  places  of  his  race  as  sacred, 
and  keeps  the  graves  neatly.  They  are  arranged  north  and  south, 
and  on  the  surface  are  laid  the  implements  which  the  sleeper 
beneath  used  during  life. 

As  amongst  the  North  American  Indians  these  tools  are  broken 
perhaps  to  prevent  their  being  stolen  by  irreverent  marauders  of 
their  own  or  other  tribes.  By  the  nature  of  the  implements  the 
passerby  can  thus  tell  the  occupation,  sex,  or  rank  of  the  dead. 

As  mourning,  the  relatives  wear  strips  of  palm  tied  round  their 
heads,  necks,  breasts,  arms,  and  legs,  and  allow  them  to  remain 
lutil  decay,  and  the  wear  and  tear  to  which  they  are  subject,  cause 
them  to  drop  off. 

In  other  tribes  —  among  the  Karague  people,  for  example  — 
the  place  and  mode  of  a  man's  burial  are  regulated  by  his  rank. 
If  low,  his  body  is  sunk  in  the  lake  near  which  tliey  live; 
but  if  of  noble  caste  (or  as  he  is  styled,  a  "  Wahuma  "),  then  a 
sacred  island  is  the  place  of  its  deposit,  and  the  vicinity  of  the 
place  of  sepulture  marked  by  the  symbol  of  two  sticks,  tied  to  a 

iThls  Is  probably  a  groBS  exaggeration,  due  partly  to  the  desire  of  the  King  to  Impress 
stimngers  with  his  great  power  and  pomp  as  a  hnsband  and  paitly  to  the  savage  inability  to 
flgnvB  oonectly  beyobd  a  certain  namber. 


144  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

imprisoDment  in  the  stocks,  often  for  months  at  a  time.  Let  a 
man  strike  another  with  a  stick,  and  he  can  expiiite  the  offence 
by  paying  ten  goats ;  but  if  a  spear,  or  any  other  deadly  weapon 
is  used,  then  he  is  deprived  of  all  his  property  —  one  half  of  the 
forfeit  going  to  the  crown,  the  other  to  the  j>erson  assaulted. 

In  case  of  murder,  the  entire  goods  of  the  munlerer  are  for- 
feited to  the  relatives  of  the  slain.  The  laws  against  adulterj- 
are  curiously  at  once  both  lax  and  severe.  It  a  wife  offend,  she 
only  loses  an  ear;  if  a  slave,  or  the  daughter  of  the  chief,  is  the 
guilty  party,  hoth  she  and  her  paramour  are  executed. 

Among  some  tribes  a  man  is  very  severely  puiiished  for  hurting 
his  wife,  as  our  striking  illustration  shows,  where  two  wife-beat«rs 
are  dealt  with  in  no  ordinary  way,  but  are  whipped  till  the  blood 
runs.  The  old  crone  is  telling  the  culprit  who  is  bound  and 
waiting  his  turn  what  an  artistic  flagellation  he  is  going  to 
receive. 

Indeed,  women  in  Central  Africa  are  better  treajed  than  gen- 
erally among  barbarians.  Among  the  Banyai  the  wife  is  tlie 
husband's  equal.  Tlie  husband  not  only  regards  her  with  pi-o- 
found  respect,  but  is  expected  to  consult  her  before  concluding 
any  bargain,  and  to  let  her  know  his  most  private  business 
transactions.  The  women  even  do  business  on  their  own  account, 
and  visit  distant  towns  to  effect  commen:ial  transactions  for  their 
husbiinds. 

Unlike  many  women  who  attempt  business,  they  can  see  that  i 
there  are  two  sides  t>i  ;i  bitrgain.     The  Banyai  system  of  mari'iage  i 
is  quite  in  keeping  uitb  this  region  of  the  strong-minded  wommi.  j 
Among  them  there  is  none  of  the  barter  of  cows  for  wives  as  else- 
where. 

The  bridegroom  goes    humbly   lo    live    at   the 
father-in-law  and  meekly  submita  to  be  bullied  B 
by  his  mother-in-law,  not  a  more  amiable  Uiiy.% 
hly.     He  has  to  carry  wattr,  iiit   wood,   auflj 
himself  as  becomes  Lis  [» 

arrangement  he  may  leave,  buth 

unless  he  can  pay  as  mtiol^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  ^ 

for  the  loss  of  her  ae 

In  unpleasant  c 


146  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

stone,  lying  across  the  pathway.  No  one  seeing  this  mark  would 
dare  to  go  along  the  holy  path ;  at  any  inconvenience  he  would 
turn  aside  to  I'eacli  his  destination. 

Tlie  kings  are  buried  like  the  nobles,  Imt  with  this  addition, 
that  their  l)odies  are  fiist  roixsted  for  a  month,  until  they  are  like 
sun-dried  meat,  when  tlie  lower  jaw  is  cut  off,  preseived,  and 
covered  with  beads.  The  royal  tombs  are  put  under  the  charge 
of  special  officei-s  who  occupy  huts  erected  over  them. 

On  the  death  of  any  of  the  great  ofticei-s  of  state,  the  finger- 
lK)nes  and  hair  are  also  preserved;  or,  if  tliey  died  shaven,  as 
sometimes  occui-s,  a  bit  of  tlieir  "mbiigu  "  dress  will  be  preserved 
in  place  of  the  liair.  Their  families  guard  their  tombs.  Among  the 
Wanyoro  the  dead  are  buried  —  the  men  on  the  left,  the  women 
on  the  right  of  the  door. 

The  Bari  bury  their  dead  within  the  enclosure  of  their  kraal  or 
homestead,  the  grave  being  marked  with  poles,  on  whicli  are  luing 
skulls  and  bonis  of  cattle,  and  the  top  decorated  with  a  tuft  of 
cocks'  feathei's,  tlie  national  "crest"  or  distinction  of  a  memljer 
of  that  tribe,  and  which  they  wear  on  their  heads  during  life. 
The  Musgu,  one  of  the  rather  more  civilized  African  races,  are 
singular  in  this  respect,  that  they  erect  mounds  with  urns  over 
their  dead,  a  custom  which  obtained  extensive  popularity  among 
the  primitive  races  of  Europe  and  other  countries. 

Among  the  Bongo,  soon  as  life  is  extinct,  the  corj)ses  are 
placed  in  a  crouching  j)osture,  with  the  knees  forced  up  to 
the  chin,  and  are  firmly  l)ound  round  the  head  and  legs.  Then, 
after  the  body  has  been  thus  compressed  into  the  smallest 
possible  comj^ass,  it  is  sewn  into  a  sack  made  of  skins,  and  placed 
in  a  deep  grave.  A  shaft  is  then  sunk  perpendicularly  about  four 
feet,  and  a  niche  hollowed  in  the  side,  so  that  the  bag  containing 
the  corpse  should  not  Iiave  to  sustain  any  vertical  pressure  from 
the  earth  which  is  thrown  in  to  fill  up  the  grave. 

The  Bongo  have  the  striking  custom  of  bur}^ing  men  with  the 
face  turned  to  the  north  and  women  to  the  south.  After  the 
gmve  is  filled  in,  a  heap  of  stones  is  piled  over  the  spot  in  a  short 
cylindrical  fonn,  and  this  is  supj)Oii:ed  by  strong  stakes,  which  are 
driven  into  the  soil  all  i-ound.  A  i)itcher  or  urn  is  placed  on  the 
middle  of  the  pile,  and  the  graves  are  always  close  to  the  huts, 


FKUDALISTIC   MONAliCHY.  147 

their  site  being  marked  by  a  number  of  long  forked  branches, 
carved,  by  way  of  ornament,  with  numerous  notc;hes  and  incisions, 
and  having  their  points  sharpened  like  horns. 

The  typical  meaning  of  these  stakes  is  unknown  even  to  the 
natives,  the  assertion  made  by  tlie  traders,  that  each  notch  denotes 
an  enemy  killed  in  biittle  by  the  deceased,  being  denied  by  the 
Bongo  theuLselves.  The  neiglil)oring  Mittoo  and  Madi  adopt  a 
similar  style  of  sepultiu"e,  and  the  memorial  urns  erected  over  tlie 
graves  of  the  Musgu  remind  the  traveller  of  the  pitchei"s  on  tlio?;e 
of  the  Bongo. 

When  a  funeral  takes  place,  all  the  neiglilx)!^^  attend,  and  after 
being  freely  entertained  with  native  beer,  help  to  form  the  grave, 
rear  the  memorial  urn,  and  erect  the  votive  stakes.  When  the 
ceremony  is  finished,  they  shoot  at  the  stakes  with  arrows,  which 
they  leave  sticking  in  the  wood. 

The  Ddre,  or  Dyooi*s,  of  the  White  Nile  arniuge  their  graves 
close  to  their  houses,  and  mark  them  bv  a  (drcular  mound  three  or 
four  feet  high,  which  in  a  few  yeai-s  is  obliterated  by  the  tropical 
rains,  and  is  not  renewed. 

Among  the  cannilml  Niam-Niam  grief,  as  is  frequent  among  the 
African  and  other  trilx?s,  is  denoted  by  shaving  the  head.  The 
corpse  is  ordinarily  dyed  with  red  wood  and  adorned  with  fine 
skins  and  feathers.  Men  of  rank,  after  l^eiiig  attired  with  their 
common  aprons,  are  interred  either  sitting  on  their  benches  or  ai*e 
enclosed  in  a  kind  of  coffin  made  from  a  hollow  tree. 

Like  the  Bongo,  the  Niam-Xiam  bury  their  dead  with  a  scrupu- 
lous regaid  to  the  points  of  the  compass ;  but  commonly  enough 
they  reverse  the  iiile  of  the  fonner  tribe,  the  men  I)eing  deposited 
with  their  faces  towaixls  the  east,  the  women  towards  the  west. 
After  the  grave  has  been  well  stamped  down,  a  hut  is  erected 
over  it,  though,  owing  to  its  fragile  character,  it  rarely  long 
survives  the  weather  or  the  annual  burning  of  the  steppe 
pasture. 

.  A  Wagogo  chief,  on  dying,  is  washed,  and  his  cori)se  placed  in 
an  upright  jKwition  in  a  hollow  tree,  to  which  the  people  come 
daily  to  mourn  and  pour  l)eer  and  ashes  on  the  corpse,  indulging 
themselves  meanwhile  in  a  kind  of  wake.  This  ritual  goes  on 
until  the  body  is  thoroughly  decomposed,  when  it  is  placed  on 


148  THE   STOBY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

a  platform  and  exposed  to  the  effects  of  the  weather,  that  speedily 
reduces  it  to  a  heap  of  bones  —  which  ai-e  then  duly  buried. 

At  one  time  slaves  were  sacrificed  to  heighten  the  dignity  of  such 
occasions ;  but  in  marked  conti-ast  with  the  elaborate  rites  attend- 
ing a  great  man's  sepulture,  the  bodies  of  commonei's  are  thrown 
into  the  nearest  jungle  to  be  devoured  by  beasts  of  the  field  and 
fowls  of  the  air. 

Among  some  tribes  the  first  step  taken  when  a  king  expires  is 
to  divert  the  course  of  a  stream,  and  to  dig  an  enormous  pit  in  its 
bed.  This  cavern  is  then  lined  with  living  women.  At  one  end 
a  woman  is  placed  on  her  liands  and  knees,  and  upon  lier  back  the 
corpse  of  the  dead  king,  covered  witli  l>eads  and  other  ornaments, 
is  seated,  supported  on  each  side  by  one  of  his  wives,  while  his 
second  wife  sits  at  his  feet. 

The  earth  is  then  shovelled  in  over  living  and  dead  alike,  all 
the  women  being  buried  alive  except  tlie  second  wife,  who  is 
graciously  permitted  the  privilege  of  being  slaughtered,  instead, 
before  the  huge  grave  is  filled  in.  Finally,  forty  or  fifty  slaves 
are  killed,  and  their  blood  poured  over  the  sepulchi-e,  after  which 
the  river  is  allowed  to  resume  its  course. 

A  pitiable  sight  is  the  di-agging  of  a  king's  wives  to  his 
funeral.  They  are  generally  stolid  as  cattle  driven  to  the 
shambles,  but  in  our  illustration  one  can  ])e  noticed  making  an 
eloquent,  though  vain,  appeal  to  a  former  sweetheart  in  the  crowd 
to  attempt  her  rescue.  The  man  would  like  to,  but  he  does  not 
dare :  the  superstition  of  royalty  is  too  strong. 

It  is  said  that  as  many  as  a  hundred  women  have  been  buried 
with  one  great  chief  or  king,  though  smaller  men  have  to  be  sent 
to  their  long  home  with  only  two  or  three,  and  their  gi-aves 
drenched  with  the  blood  of  as  many  slaves,  while  the  vulgar  herd 
have  to  be  content  with  solitary  sepulture,  the  corpse  being  placed 
in  a  sitting  posture,  with  the  right  forefinger  pointing  heaven- 
wards, just  level  with  the  top  of  the  mound  over  his  grave. 

Eating,  smoking,  sleeping,  fighting,  dancing,  gambling  a  little, 
and  wrestling,  may  l^e  said  to  form  in  outline  tlie  list  of  a  Cen- 
tral African's  amusementii.  Wrestling  is  about  the  only  manly 
sport  tliey  care  for,  as  hunting  and  fishing  are  their  daily  occupa- 
tions,   and    thei*efore    cannot   be    looked    upon   as   amusements. 


150  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Wrestling,  however,  is  only  practised  among  tlie  moi-e  civilized 
races,  such  as  tlie  Birghami.  So  keenly  do  they  contest  in  tliis, 
that  it  is  not  an  unfrequent  occurrence  for  one  of  the  contestants 
to  be  left  dead  on  the  ground.  Great  men  among  this  people  will 
keep  in  their  pay,  or  as  slaves,  powerful  wrestlei-s,  on  whose 
prowess  they  highly  pride  themselves.  A  Avrestler  once  beaten  is 
looked  upon  as  no  good,  and,  if  a  slave,  would  l)e  sold  for  a  mei-e 
fraction  of  the  ])rice  he  was  valued  at  before  meeting  with  this 
i*everse  of  fortune. 

In  addition,  all  tlie  Birghami,  particularly  the  women,  are  good 
dancers,  being  active  and  yet  gi-aceful  in  all  their  movements. 
Their  dancing  is  a  sort  of  acting  in  dumb  show,  and  all  the  while 
they  keep  up  a  low  plaintive  song,  which  adds  wondrously  to  the 
pleasant  impression  the  scene  makes  on  the  onlooker.  Music  and 
dancing  are  passions  throughout  Africa. 

Fighting,  in  a  more  or  less  disciplined  manner,  either  to  avenge 
some  old  feud,  some  recent  wrong,  or  simply  for  the  sake  of  plun- 
dering the  cattle  and  other  property  of  the  weaker  tribes,  or  to 
capture  them  for  slaves,  is  to  a  great  extent  the  normal  state  of 
most  Cent  ml  African  kingdoms. 

In  dress  and  general  appeamnce,  the  chief  object  of  the  African 
warriors  seems  to  be  to  strike  teiTor  into  the  l)eholdei's.  Want  of 
courage  is  not  a  failing  that  can  iLsually  be  ascribed  to  a  savage, 
though  a  display  of  bravery,  unless  attended  with  a  corresponding 
success,  does  not  seem  to  be  valued ;  nor,  on  the  other  liand,  is  a 
coward  so  despised  as  among  civilized  nations. 

A  monarch  who  "showed  the  white  feather"  in  Europe,  or  even 
among  the  semi-civilized  pe()2)le  of  Asiti,  would  forever  incur  the 
contempt  of  the  meanest  of  his  subjects.  Not  so  in  Africa, 
apparently.  The  kingdom  of  Unyoi-o,  ruled  by  Kamrasi,  was 
threatened  with  inviusion.  Instead  of  the  king  pre^mring  to  defend 
his  kingdom  as  well  as  he  could,  his  own  brother  counselled  him 
to  take  refuge  in  flight. 

Though  fond  of  display  and  practical  braggadocio  —  in  this 
respect  l)eing  not  unlike  the  Chinese  —  yet,  on  occasion,  the  Cen- 
tral Africans  have  shown  themselves,  even  in  warfare  against  the 
Amb  slavc-robl)ei's,  a  far  from  unworthy  enemy — desperation  giving 
them  the  courage  and  force  which  they  might  not  naturally  possess. 


PEDDAilSTIC   MONARCHY. 


151 


Of  war  as  a  science  they  know  nothing.  Indeed,  they  resort 
to  most  unstrategic  methods  of  going  about  it  —  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  ridiculous  Iiabit  of  the  Latookas  in  sounding  a 
drum  —  or  nogara  —  before  attacking  a  village,  which  can  but 
give  the  enemy  warning  of  the  intended  onslaught. 

Captives  in  %var  are  usually  reserved  for  slaves.  Among  the 
D6r  tribes  of  the  White  Nile,  the  bleached  skulls  of  slain  foemen 


)eman'k  head. 


are  suspended  to  the  branches  of  a  great  tree  in  the  oi>en  spai-e  of 
the  village,  under  which  the  huge  nogaras,  iir  war-drums,  are 
placed  to  be  ready  for  sounding  as  occasiun  may  ie<[uiri;.  Tlie 
I'onciusionof  a  successful  fight  is  celebnt ted  with  a  wild  war-dance, 
iliffering  but  little  in  general  chanicter  from  those  so  common 
among  other  savages  after  their  murdemus  foiiij-s,  except  that  as 
in  our  illustration  of  ;i  double  rain-storm  tbey  sometimes  make  a 


142  THE   STOUY   OF   GOVEliNMENT. 

tons,  or  the  American  states;  ''state  rights,"  however,  being  mther 
further  advanced  in  the  Black-kingly  Republic  than  in  the 
European  or  Tmnsatlantic  democratic  one.  A  woman  may  also 
be  chief  of  a  Rundo,  and  they  are  said  to  exercise  their  authority 
veiy  judiciously. 

The  Banyai,  a  tribe  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  Zambesi,  elect 
their  chiefs,  but  always  out  of  '^ne  fanuly,  though  they  never  select 
the  immediate  descendants  ot  the  late  monarch,  but  always  some 
relative,  such  as  a  nephew  or  brother.  It  is  Jiccounted  etiquette 
for  the  newly  elected  chief  to  affect  an  air  of  modesty,  and  a  seem- 
ing desire  to  decline  the  proffered  honoi's  jis  too  great  for  a  man 
of  his  rank,  ability  and  ambition.  In  fact,  he  ex2)ects  to  l>e 
"thrice,"  or  a  greater  numl)er  of  times,  offered  the  '"kingly 
crown " ;  but,  unlike  liis  Roman  prototype,  there  is  no  ca«e  on 
record  in  which  the  lionor  was  eventually  refused. 

Tlie  new  chief  not  only  inherits  the  property,  but  also  the 
wives  and  children  of  his  predeccssoi-s,  though  often  one  of  tlie 
sons  of  the  former  chief  considei's,  quite  naturally,  that  he  is  not 
to  be  kept  in  subservience  to  the  new  monarch,  and  attempts  to 
set  up  as  a  petty  chief  for  himself,  an  attempt  which  generally 
results  in  his  having  his  village  burnt  alnnit  his  ears,  as  a  gentle 
hint  that  he  had  better  receive  liis  superior  in  a  projjer  man- 
ner—  viz.,  by  clapping  of  hands,  the  connnon  method  of  saluta- 
tion among  most  of  these  African  tril)es. 

Among  the  Banyai  it  is  the  custom  for  wealthy  men  to  send 
their  sons  to  be  educated,  under  some  man  of  eminence,  in  all 
tlie  duties  and  accjomplishments  of  Banyai  gentlemen,  just  as  in 
former  times  in  P2ui*ope  the  sons  of  gentlemen  were  sent  as  pages 
and  escpiires  to  be  trained  in  the  laws  of  t:liivalry  under  some 
puissant  knight. 

Among  the  Wahunuis  a  cm-ions  law  pievails.  If  anyone 
becomes  a  slave  —  Avhicli  it  is  inniecessaiy  to  say  is  always  an 
involuntary  act  —  he  or  she  is  put  to  death  when  caught  again  by 
their  own  people,  because  by  so  doing  they  have  broken  one  of  the 
laws  of  their  country.  Speke  witnessed  an  instanc^e  in  which 
some  women  were  actually  put  to  death  by  their  own  husbands. 

Theft  is  generally  severely  punished  in  Africa,  if  it  is  committed 
on  any  of  their  own  tribe.     The  Karagues  punish  this  crime  with 


144  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

imprisonment  in  the  stocks,  often  for  months  at  a  time.  Let  a 
man  strike  another  with  a  stick,  and  he  can  expiate  the  offence 
by  paying  ten  goats;  but  if  a  spear,  or  any  other  deadly  weapon 
is  used,  then  he  is  deprived  of  all  his  property  —  one  half  of  the 
forfeit  going  to  the  crown,  the  other  to  the  person  assaulted. 

In  case  of  murder,  the  entire  goods  of  the  murderer  are  for- 
feited to  the  relatives  of  the  slain.  The  laws  against  adulteiy 
are  curiously  at  once  both  lax  and  severe.  If  a  wife  offend,  she 
only  loses  an  ear;  if  a  slave,  or  the  daughter  of  the  chief,  is  the 
guilty  party,  both  she  and  her  paramour  are  executed. 

Among  some  tribes  a  man  is  very  severely  punished  for  hurting 
his  wife,  as  our  striking  illustration  shows,  where  two  wife-beaters 
are  dealt  with  in  no  ordinary  way,  but  are  whipped  till  the  blood 
runs.  The  old  crone  is  telling  the  culprit  who  is  bound  and 
waiting  his  turn  what  an  artistic  flagellation  he  is  going  to 
receive. 

Indeed,  women  in  Central  Africa  are  better  trea^d  than  gen- 
erally among  barbiirians.  Among  the  Banyai  the  wife  is  the 
husband's  equal.  Tlie  husband  not  only  regards  her  with  pro- 
found respect,  but  is  expected  to  consult  her  before  concluding 
any  bargain,  and  to  let  her  know  his  most  private  business 
transactions.  The  women  even  do  business  on  their  own  account, 
and  visit  distant  towns  to  effect  commercial  transactions  for  their 
husbands. 

Unlike  many  women  who  attempt  basiness,  they  can  S3e  that 
there  are  two  sides  to  a  bargain.  The  Banyai  system  of  marriage 
is  quite  in  keeping  with  this  region  of  the  strong-minded  woman. 
Among  them  there  is  none  of  the  barter  of  cows  for  wives  as  else- 
where. 

The  bridegroom  goes  humbly  to  live  at  the  house  of  his 
father-in-law  and  meekly  submits  to  l)e  bullied  and  ordered  about 
by  his  mother-in-law,  not  a  more  amiable  lady  than  usual,  pi'oba- 
bly.  He  has  to  carry  water,  cut  wood,  and  altogether  demean 
himself  as  becomes  his  position  in  life.  If  he  objects  to  this 
arrangement  he  may  leave,  but  his  wife  and  children  must  remain, 
unless  he  can  pay  as  much  as  will  compensate  the  wife's  parents 
for  the  loss  of  her  services. 

In  unpleasant  contrast  with  this  supremacy  of  woman,  let  us 


FEUDALISTIC   MONARCHY.  145 

look  at  Uganda,  where  she  is  taught  her  place  with  the  sharp 
logic  of  the  rod.  A  special  Icind  of  whip  made  of  plaited  strips 
of  hippopotamus  hide,  with  hard,  sharp,  horny  edges,  which  cut 
into  the  flesh  at  everj'-  stroke,  is  reserved  for  the  administration 
of  wifely  chastisement.  Killing  a  wife,  or  a  few  wives  at  a  time, 
is  a  mere  trifle  in  Uganda.     Polygamy  is  the  imiversal  custom. 

The  King  of  Uganda  has  seven  thousand  women  in  his  palace.^ 
Often  thirty  or  forty  girls  will  be  offered  him  in  a  single  morning 
as  brides.  If  he  orders  them  to  fall  upon  their  knees,  and 
embraces  them,  then  the  ceremony  of  marriage  is  complete, 
the  fortunate  damsels  are  received  into  the  number  of  liis  wives, 
and  the  parents  prostrate  themselves  before  their  sovereign, 
ejaculating  the  word  "N'yanz"  (thanks)  repeatedly,  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  ceremony  of  thanking  the  sovereign  for  any 
favor  is  described  by  those  travellers  who  have  visited  the  Uganda 
court  as  "n'yanzigging."  Koffee,  the  late  King  of  Ashanti,  is 
said  to  have  had  3,333  wives. 

The  Manganja  looks  upon  the  burial  places  of  his  race  as  sacred, 
and  keeps  the  graves  neatly.  They  are  arranged  north  and  south, 
and  on  the  surface  are  laid  the  implements  which  the  sleeper 
beneath  used  during  life. 

As  amongst  the  North  American  Indians  these  tools  are  broken 
perhaps  to  prevent  their  being  stolen  by  irreverent  marauders  of 
their  own  or  other  tribes.  By  the  nature  of  the  implements  the 
passerby  can  thus  tell  the  occupation,  sex,  or  rank  of  the  dead. 

As  mourning,  the  relatives  wear  strips  of  j)alm  tied  round  their 
heads,  necks,  breasts,  arms,  and  legs,  and  allow  them  to  remain 
until  decay,  and  the  wear  and  tear  to  which  they  are  subject,  cause 
them  to  drop  off. 

In  other  tribes  —  among  the  Karague  people,  for  example  — 
the  place  and  mode  of  a  man's  burial  are  regulated  by  liis  rank. 
If  low,  his  body  is  sunk  in  the  lake  near  which  they  live; 
but  if  of  noble  caste  (or  as  he  is  styled,  a  "  Wahuma  "),  then  a 
sacred  island  is  the  place  of  its  deposit,  and  the  vicinity  of  the 
place  of  sepulture  marked  by  the  symbol  of  two  sticks,  tied  to  a 

^Thit  is  probably  a  gross  exaggeration,  due  partly  to  the  desire  of  the  King  to  impress 
strangers  with  his  great  po-vrer  and  pomp  as  a  husband  and  pai  tly  to  the  savage  inability  to 
figure  oorvBOtly  beyoiid  a  certain  number. 


146  THE   STOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

stone,  lying  aci-oss  the  pathway.  No  one  seeing  tliis  mark  would 
dare  to  go  along  the  holy  path ;  at  any  inconvenience  he  would 
turn  aside  to  reach  his  destination. 

The  kings  are  bmied  like  the  nobles,  but  with  this  addition, 
that  their  bodies  are  fii"st  roasted  for  a  month,  until  they  are  like 
sun-dried  meat,  when  the  lower  jaw  is  cut  off,  preseived,  and 
covered  with  beads.  The  royal  tombs  are  put  under  the  charge 
of  special  officei"s  who  occupy  huts  erected  over  tliem. 

On  the  deatli  of  any  of  the  great  oflicei-s  of  state,  the  finger- 
bones  and  hair  are  also  preserved;  or,  if  they  died  shaven,  as 
sometimes  occui-s,  a  bit  of  their  *'  mbiigu  "  dress  will  be  preserved 
in  place  of  the  hair.  Their  families  guard  their  tombs.  Among  the 
Wanyoro  the  dead  are  buried  —  the  men  on  the  left,  the  women 
on  the  right  of  the  door. 

The  Bari  buiy  their  dead  within  the  enclosure  of  their  kraal  or 
homestead,  the  grave  being  marked  with  poles,  on  which  are  liung 
skulls  and  bonis  of  cattle,  and  tlie  top  decorated  with  a  tuft  of 
cocks'  feathei's,  the  national  "  crest "  or  distinction  of  a  member 
of  that  tribe,  and  which  they  wear  on  their  heads  during  life. 
The  Musgu,  one  of  the  i-ather  more  civilized  African  races,  are 
singular  in  this  respect,  that  they  erect  mounds  with  urns  over 
their  dead,  a  custom  which  obtained  extensive  popularity  among 
the  primitive  races  of  Europe  and  other  countries. 

Among  the  Bongo,  soon  as  life  is  extinct,  the  corj>ses  arc 
placed  in  a  crouching  postiu-e,  ^vith  the  knees  forced  up  to 
the  chin,  and  are  firmly  l)ound  ix)und  the  head  and  legs.  Then, 
after  the  body  has  been  thus  compressed  into  the  smallest 
possible  compass,  it  is  sewn  into  a  sack  made  of  skins,  and  placed 
in  a  deej)  grave.  A  shaft  is  then  sunk  perpendicularly  about  four 
feet,  and  a  niche  hollowed  in  the  side,  so  that  the  bag  containing 
the  corpse  should  not  have  to  sustiiin  any  vertical  pressure  from 
the  eaith  which  is  thrown  in  to  fill  up  the  grave. 

The  Bongo  have  the  striking  custom  of  burying  men  with  the 
face  turned  to  the  noith  and  women  to  the  south.  After  the 
gmve  is  filled  in,  a  heap  of  stones  is  piled  over  the  spot  in  a  short 
cylindrical  foi-m,  and  this  is  supported  by  strong  stakes,  which  are 
driven  into  the  soil  all  round.  A  pitcher  or  urn  is  placed  on  the 
middle  of   the  pile,  and  the  graves  rae  always  close  to  the  huts, 


FEUDAUSTIC   IHONARCHY.  147 

their  site  being  marked  by  a  number  of  long  forked  branches, 
carved,  by  way  of  ornament,  with  numerous  notches  and  incisions, 
and  having  their  points  sharpened  like  horns. 

The  typical  meaning  of  these  stakes  is  unknown  even  to  the 
natives,  the  assertion  made  by  the  tmders,  that  each  notc'h  denotes 
an  enemy  killed  in  battle  by  the  deceased,  being  denied  by  the 
Bongo  themselves.  The  neighlx)riiig  Mittoo  and  Madi  adopt  a 
similar  style  of  sepultui-e,  and  the  memorial  urns  ei-ectcd  over  the 
graves  of  the  Musgu  i*emind  the  tniveller  of  the  j)itchei*s  on  those 
of  the  Bongo. 

When  a  funeral  tiikes  place,  all  the  neighlK^i-s  attend,  and  after 
being  freely  enteitained  with  native  beer,  help  to  form  the  gitive, 
rear  the  memorial  lU'n,  and  erect  the  votive  stakes.  When  the 
ceremony  is  finished,  they  shoot  at  the  stakes  with  arrows,  which 
they  leave  sticking  in  the  wood. 

The  D6rs,  or  Dyooi-s,  of  the  White  Nile  arrange  their  graves 
close  to  their  houses,  and  mark  them  by  a  circular  mound  three  or 
four  feet  liigh,  which  in  a  few  yeai-s  is  obliterated  by  the  tropical 
rains,  and  is  not  renewed. 

Among  the  cannikil  Niam-Niam  grief,  us  is  frequent  among  the 
African  and  other  tril)es,  is  denoted  by  shaving  the  head.  The 
corpse  is  ordinarily  dyed  with  red  wood  and  adorned  with  fine 
skins  and  feathers.  Men  of  rank,  after  being  attired  with  their 
common  aprons,  are  interred  either  sitting  on  their  Ix^nehes  or  are 
enclosed  in  a  kind  of  coffin  made  from  a  hollow  tree. 

Like  the  Bongo,  the  Niam-Niam  bury  their  decad  with  a  scrupu- 
lous regard  to  the  points  of  the  compass ;  but  commonly  enough 
they  reverse  the  rule  of  the  former  tribe,  the  men  being  de£X)sited 
with  their  faces  towaitls  the  east,  the  women  towards  the  west. 
After  the  grnve  has  been  well  stamped  down,  a  hut  is  erected 
over  it,  though,  owing  to  its  fmgile  chai-acter,  it  rarely  long 
survives  the  weather  or  the  annual  burning  of  the  steppe 
pasture. 

.  A  Wagogo  chief,  on  dying,  is  washed,  and  his  coi-pse  i)laced  in 
an  upriglit  jHwition  in  a  hollow  tree,  to  which  the  i)eople  come 
daily  to  mourn  and  pour  beer  and  ashes  on  the  corpse,  indulging 
themselves  meanwhile  in  a  kind  of  wake.  This  ritual  goes  on 
until  the  body  is  thoroughly  decomposed,  when  it  is  placed  on 


148  THE   STOBY   OF   GOVBRKMENT. 

a  platform  and  exposed  to  the  effects  of  the  weather,  that  speedily 
reduces  it  to  a  heap  of  bones  —  which  are  then  duly  buried. 

At  one  time  slaves  were  sacrificed  to  heighten  the  dignity  of  such 
occasions;  but  in  marked  contrast  with  the  elaborate  rites  attend- 
ing a  great  man's  sepulture,  the  bodies  of  commoners  are  thro^vn 
into  the  nearest  jungle  to  be  devoured  by  beasts  of  the  field  and 
fowls  of  the  air. 

Among  some  tribes  the  first  step  taken  when  a  king  expires  is 
to  divert  the  course  of  a  stream,  and  to  dig  an  enormous  pit  in  its 
bed.  Tliis  caveni  is  then  lined  with  living  women.  At  one  end 
a  woman  is  placed  on  her  liands  and  knees,  and  upon  her  back  the 
corpse  of  the  dead  king,  covered  with  beads  and  other  ornaments, 
is  seated,  supported  on  each  side  by  one  of  his  wives,  while  his 
second  wife  sits  at  his  feet. 

The  earth  is  then  shovelled  in  over  living  and  dead  alike,  all 
the  women  being  buried  alive  except  the  second  wife,  who  is 
graciously  permitted  the  privilege  of  being  slaughtered,  instead, 
before  the  huge  grave  is  filled  in.  Finally,  forty  or  fifty  slaves 
are  killed,  and  their  blood  poured  over  the  sepulchi-e,  after  which 
the  river  is  allowed  to  resume  its  course. 

A  pitiable  sight  is  the  dragging  of  a  king's  wives  to  his 
funeral.  Tliey  are  generally  stolid  as  cattle  driven  to  the 
shambles,  but  in  our  illustration  one  can  be  noticed  making  an 
eloquent,  though  vain,  appeal  to  a  former  sweetheart  in  the  crowd 
to  attempt  her  rescue.  The  man  would  like  to,  but  he  does  not 
dare :  the  superstition  of  royalty  is  too  strong. 

It  is  said  that  as  many  as  a  hundred  women  have  been  buried 
with  one  great  chief  or  king,  though  smaller  men  have  to  be  sent 
to  their  long  home  with  only  two  or  three,  and  their  graves 
drenched  with  the  blood  of  as  many  slaves,  while  the  vulgar  heixl 
have  to  be  content  with  solitary  sepulture,  the  corpse  being  placed 
in  a  sitting  posture,  with  the  right  forefinger  pointing  heaven- 
wards, just  level  with  the  top  of  the  mound  over  his  grave. 

Eating,  smoking,  sleeping,  fighting,  dancing,  gambling  a  little, 
and  wrestling,  may  be  said  to  form  in  outline  the  list  of  a  Cen- 
tral African's  amusements.  Wrestling  is  about  the  only  manly 
spoilt  they  care  for,  as  hunting  and  fishing  are  their  daily  occupa- 
tions,   and    therefore    cannot   be   looked    upon   as   amusements. 


150  THE   STORY   OF   GOVEllNMENT. 

Wrestling,  however,  is  only  practised  among  the  more  civilized 
races,  such  as  the  Birghami.  So  keenly  do  they  contest  in  this, 
that  it  is  not  an  unfrequent  occurrence  for  one  of  the  contestants 
to  be  left  dead  on  the  ground.  Great  men  among  this  people  will 
keep  in  their  pay,  or  as  slaves,  powerful  wrestlei"s,  on  whose 
prowess  they  highly  pride  themselves.  A  Avrestler  once  beaten  is 
looked  upon  as  no  good,  and,  if  a  slave,  would  Ihj  sold  for  a  mei-e 
fraction  of  the  price  he  was  valued  at  before  meeting  witli  this 
reverse  of  fortune. 

In  addition,  all  the  Birghami,  pai-ticuhirly  the  women,  are  good 
dancers,  being  active  and  yet  graceful  in  all  their  movements. 
Their  dancing  is  a  sort  of  acting  in  dumb  show,  and  all  the  while 
they  keep  up  a  low  plaintive  song,  which  adds  wondrously  to  tlie 
pleasant  impression  the  scene  makes  on  the  onlooker.  Music  and 
dancing  are  passions  throughout  Afiica. 

Fighting,  in  a  more  or  less  disciplined  manner,  either  to  avenge 
some  old  feud,  some  recent  ^vrong,  or  simply  for  the  sake  of  plun- 
dering the  cattle  and  other  property  of  the  weaker  tribes,  or  to 
capture  tliem  for  slaves,  is  to  a  great  extent  the  normal  state  of 
most  Central  African  kingdoms. 

In  dress  and  general  appearance,  the  cliief  object  of  tlie  African 
warrioi-s  seems  to  be  to  strike  terror  into  the  lieholdei's.  Want  of 
courage  is  not  a  failing  that  can  usually  be  ascribed  to  a  savage, 
though  a  display  of  bravery,  unless  attended  with  a  corresponding 
success,  does  not  seem  to  be  valued ;  nor,  on  the  other  liand,  is  a 
coward  so  despised  as  among  civilized  nations. 

A  monarch  who  "showed  tlie  white  feather"  in  Europe,  or  even 
among  the  semi-civilized  peo2)le  of  Asia,  would  foi-ever  incur  the 
contempt  of  the  meanest  of  his  subjects.  Not  so  in  Africa, 
apparently.  The  kingdom  of  Unyoro,  ruled  by  Kamrasi,  was 
threatened  with  invasion.  Instead  of  the  king  preparing  to  defend 
his  kingdom  as  well  as  he  could,  his  own  brother  counselled  him 
to  take  refuge  in  flight. 

Though  fond  of  display  and  practical  braggadocio  —  in  this 
respect  being  not  unlike  the  Chinese  —  yet,  on  occasion,  the  Cen- 
tral Africans  have  shown  themselves,  even  in  warfare  against  the 
Amb  slave-robbers,  a  far  from  unworthy  enemy — desperation  giving 
them  the  courage  and  force  which  they  might  not  naturally  possess. 


PE0DAI.ISTIC   MONARCHY. 


151 


Of  war  as  a  science  they  know  nothing.  Indeed,  they  resort 
to  most  unstrategic  methods  of  going  about  it  —  such,  for 
instance,  as  the  ridiculous  habit  of  the  Latookas  in  sounding  a 
drum — or  nogSra  —  before  attacking  a  village,  which  can  but 
give  the  enemy  warning  of  the  intendsd  onslaught. 

Captives  in  war  are  usually  reserved  for  slaves.  Among  the 
DSr  tribes  of  the  White  Nile,  the  bleached  skulls  of  slain  foemen 


are  suspended  to  the  branches  of  a  gi-eat  tree  in  the  open  8pR<'e  of 
the  village,  imder  which  the  liuge  nogaras,  iii'  Wiir-<lrunis,  are 
})laced  to  be  ready  for  sounding  as  occiision  may  rt-quire.  Tlie 
conclusion  of  a  successful  fight  is  celebiiited  with  a  wild  war-dance, 
differing  but  little  in  general  cliameter  from  tliose  so  common 
among  other  8a\'age8  after  their  nmnlei-ous  fomj-s,  except  tliat  as 
in  our  illustration  of  a  iloiilile  rain-storm  they  SDUictimes  make  a 


152  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

fetish  of  a  foemaii's  head  when  he  has  displayed  unusual  bravery, 
by  blowing  water  at  it  from  their  mouths. 

With  all  the  African  tribes  religion  is  superstition  and  super- 
stition religion.  Both  are  equally  dark  and  gross,  though  in 
justice  to  the  Central  Africans  it  must  be  said  that,  so  f;ir  as  we 
have  yet  learned,  neither  their  religious  nor  their  superstitious 
deeds  are  disfigured  by  the  abominations  that  abound  in  similar 
rites  among  the  West  Coast  tribes. 

Few  of  the  Central  African  tribes  believe  that,  psychologically, 
the  black  man  and  the  white  have  anything  in  common.  Chris- 
tianity, they  say,  for  instance,  is  good  enough  for  the  whites,  but 
won't  do  for  the  blacks.  Most  of  them  believe  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  nearly  all  of  the  tribes 
—  very  strongly  the  Mangan jas  —  hold  that  their  relatives  come 
and  speak  to  them  in  their  dreams. 

The  spirits  of  the  dead,  they  believe,  can  aid  and  protect  them. 
Under  this  belief  the  Banyai  people  will,  when  hunting,  pour 
out  the  contents  of  their  snuff-boxes  as  an  offering,  which  may 
have  the  effect  of  so  far  propitiating  their  dead  friends  as  to 
induce  them  to  render  the  hunting  prosperous. 

Unlike  more  irreverent  people  —  savage  and  civilized  —  the 
Banyai  relies  quite  as  much  upon  his  prayers  and  snuff,  as  hunt- 
ing appliances,  as  upon  his  more  phyisical  weapons.  A  belief 
in  a  superintending  Providence,  or  in  other  words  in  the  gods 
("Barima"),  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  mortals,  is  thus  dis- 
played. 

Of  the  great  wisdom  of  hyaenas  and  other  wild  animals  they 
possess  the  usual  savage  high  estimate.  A  hyaena,  for  instance, 
heard  "laughing"  in  the  woods  at  night  after  an  elephant  is 
killed,  is  chuckling  at  the  idea  that  the  huntera  will  not  be  able 
to  eat  all  the  flesh,  but  must  perforce  leave  some  to  them. 

An  idea,  not  widely  different  from  the  Polynesian  custom  of 
taboo^  prevails  among  the  Banyai.  To  guard  property  left  in  the 
woods,  or  some  such  unprotected  place,  a  strip  of  palm  leaf, 
smeared  with  some  sticky  substance,  and  decorated  with  roots, 
twigs,  leaves,  etc.,  is  attached  to  the  property,  under  the  belief 
that  no  one  could  attempt  to  pilfex  it  without  being  seized  with 
sickness  resulting  in  speedy  death. 


FEUDALISTIC    MONARCHY. 


158 


Many  of  the  tribes  have  no  idols,  and  found  their  religiouB 
belief  on  a  fear  of  evil  spirits,  which  are,  however,  under  the 
control  of  wizards,  whose  powers  of  exorcisinjf  them  can  lie  pur- 


mSMsSm 

llliMH    111  ill  11 

jftiji 

^n 

eb 

dcS''  ^Km^B 

J 

^,m.l^^''^ 

^*^3jMp|M 

^"         °"1K3iiii 

f^^^B 

r^- 

~-     ^^^1 

■^■r^isf  M 

%\  ^ 

m^--^: 

-^^ 

'V^<  ~- 

citased  by  a  few  goats,  generally.  If  a  pei^on  falls  sick  it  is 
believed  that  lie  must  have  been  bewitched.  The  punisliment 
for  this  is  death,  and  if  the  hyaenas  refuse  to  touch  the  body  after 
execution,  then  it  is  believed  that  the  sentence  must  have  been 


164  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

superlatively  just.  About  nearly  eveiy  animal  they  have  the 
most  extraordinary  superstitions.  The  antelope  bears  the  reputa- 
tion of  causing  ulcers  if  its  saliva  but  touches  the  skin,  while  the 
fingers  and  toes  will  fall  off  if  its  flesh  is  eaten. 

Lynx  and  lion  skins  are  a  monopoly  of  the  king;  accordingly, 
no  one  but  he  can  decorate  his  person  or  his  dwelling  with  these 
royal  peltries.  The  fat  which  is  skimmed  off  the  water  in  which 
a  lion's  flesh  is  boiled  is  looked  upon  as  a  valuable  medicine,  but 
no  one  must  walk  around  the  dead  body  of  a  lion,  otherwise  the 
spell  which  prevents  these  ferocious  animals  from  entering  villages 
would  be  broken. 

Two  men  cement  their  friendship  by  making  an  incision  in 
each  other's  body  and  mixing  the  blood  which  flows  from  the 
wound  on  a  leaf  with  butter.  The  mixture  is  then  inibbed  into 
the  wound,  and  the  mixed  blood  and  butter  is  supposed  to  make 
them  brothel's  for  life. 

A  fetish  is,  in  African  idea,  almost  anything  to  which  super- 
natural qualities  attach,  or  which  is  considered  to  bring  good 
fortune  or  prevent  evil.  King  M'tesa  (who  was  a  friend  of 
Stanley)  and  liis  mother  used  to  set  apart  certain  days  for  con- 
sulting their  fetishes,  in  order  to  see  that  nothing  was  amiss  in 
the  kingdom  of  Uganda. 

It  was  something  like  an  inquiry  into  the  ecclesiastical  con- 
dition of  the  country,  and  being  a  religious  ceremony  is  appro- 
priately gone  into  on  the  fii'st  day  after  the  new  moon  appears. 
On  the  third  moon  by  account  the  king  and  all  the  court  shaved 
their  heads,  the  king,  however,  redlining  his  "cock's  comb,"  and 
the  pages  their  double  cockades,  these  being  marks  of  their 
official  ranks. 

Tlierc  are  certain  priests  who  preside  over  and  direct  the  rites 
of  religion  —  at  least,  in  some  cases.  Such  a  one  is  the  priest  of 
the  Nile,  who  lives  in  a  liut  decoi-ated  with  many  mystic  sym- 
bols —  amongst  othei-s  a  paddle,  the  badge  of  his  high  oflBce  — 
on  an  island  in  the  lake  whicli  forms  one  of  the  Nile  sources 
(Victoria  Nyanza). 

This  ecclesiastic  is  only  the  deputy  or  familiar  of  M'gussa,  the 
spirit  who  presides  over  the  water,  and  his  office  is  to  interpret 
the  secrets  the  spirit  has  to  tell  to  the  king.     There  is  even  a 


FEUDALISTIC   MONARCHY.  165 

tract  of  land  dedicated  in  some  mysterious  manner  to  the  gods,  or 
to  one  of  them. 

It  is  a  kind  of  "church  estate,"  for  although  the  king  exercises 
authority  over  some  of  the  people  who  live  on  it,  others  seem  to 
l)e  viewed  in  a  sacred  light,  and  to  ba  exempt  from  the  control  of 
the  civil  power;  neither  has  the  king  any  right  to  disi)ose  of  the 
land.  In  this  sacred  territory  there  are  vilhiges  only  every  fifth 
mile,  and  no  roads  run  through  it. 

These  priestly  magicians  (M'ganga)  are  a  sad  cui-se  to  African 
explorei's,  for  so  thorough  is  tlicir  hold  on  the  minds  of  the  people, 
that  if  they  wish  to  hamper  the  movements  of  the  traveller,  all 
they  need  do  is  to  prophesy  all  sorts  of  calamities  —  drought, 
famine,  wai-s  —  as  the  consecjucnce  of  his  being  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed, and  the  creduloasly  superstitious  i)eople  will  believe  tliem, 
and  do  their  best  to  avert  such  dire  misfortunes  by  preventing 
the  white  man  from  ever  setting  his  eyes  on  the  soil  likely  to  be 
so  cui-sed  by  his  presence. 

Their  implement  of  divination,  simple  as  it  may  appear,  is  a 
cow's  or  antelope's  horn  (Uganga),  wliich  they  stuff  with  magic 
]>owder,  also  called  Uganga.  Stuck  into  the  ground  in  front  of 
the  village,  it  is  supposed  to  ward  off   the  attacks  of  an  enemy. 

By  simply  holding  it  in  the  hand  the  magician  jn-etends  he  can 
discover  anything  that  has  been  st<3len  or  lost,  and  instances  have 
l)een  told  of  its  dragging  four  men  after  it  with  irresistible 
imjHjtus  up  to  a  thief,  when  it  belabored  the  culprit  and  drove 
him  out  of  his  senses. 

So  imbued  are  the  natives'  minds  with  belief  in  the  power  of 
channel's,  that  they  i)'-iy  the  magician  for  sticks,  stones,  or  mud 
which  he  has  doctored  or  fetished  for  them.  Tliev  believe  certain 
flowei'S  held  in  the  hand  will  conduct  them  to  anvthiniif  lost,  iis 
also  the  voices  of  certain  wild  animals,  birds,  or  beasts,  will  ensui'e 
them  good  luck  or  warn  them  of  danger. 

They  have  many  other  and  horrible  devices.  For  instance,  in 
times  of  tribulation,  the  magician,  if  he  ascertains  a  war  is  pro- 
jected by  inspecting  the  blood  and  bones  of  a  fowl  which  he  has 
flayed  for  that  purpose,  flays  a  young  child,  and  having  laid  it 
lengthwise  on  a  path,  directs  all  the  warriora  on  proceeding  to 
battle  to  step  over  his  sacrifice  and  ensure  themselves  victory. 


166  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

These  extremes,  however,  are  not  often  resorted  to,  for  the 
natives  are  usually  content  with  simpler  means,  such  as  flaying  a 
goat,  instead  of  a  child;  while,  to  prevent  any  evil  approaching 
their  dwellings,  a  squashed  frog,  or  any  such  absui*dity,  when 
placed  on  the  track,  is  considered  a  specific. 

Human  sacrifice,  disgustingly  common  among  the  West  Coast 
tribes,  is,  with  the  exceptions  mentioned,  rather  a  rare  feature  in 
the  religious  rites  of  the  interior  tribes.  The  Waganda,  when 
they  go  to  war,  in  addition  to  the  sacrifice  of  a  child  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  warriors  stepping  over  its  dead  body,  use  also  another 
and  still  more  inhuman  method  of  divination  in  which  a  child 
and  a  fowl  bound  together  are  smothered  in  the  steam  of  pots,  one 
inveited  over  the  other. 

The  min-maker  is'also  another  popular  figure  in  Africa,  but  the 
office  is  mther  a  perilous  one,  for,  if  the  rain-maker  fail  in  his 
methods,  liis  life  is  in  danger.  Baker's  description  of  one  of  these 
rain-makers  is  very  amusing.  The  hero  was  half  chief,  half  magi- 
cian, at  Obbo,  and,  at  the  time  the  incident  happened,  old  Katchiba, 
the  individual  in  question,  called  on  the  famous  explorer  and 
remarked  that  there  had  been  a  dreadful  drouth  for  a  fortnight. 

"  Well,"  I  rei)lie(l,  *'  you  are  the  rain-maker,  why  don't  you  give 
your  people  rain  ?  "  • 

"  Give  my  people  rain  ! "  said  Katchiba ;  "  I  give  them  rain  if  the}'- 
don't  give  me  goats  ?  You  don't  know  my  people  ;  if  I  am  fool  enough 
to  give  them  rain  before  they  give  me  goats  they  would  let  me  starve ! 
No,  no  !  let  them  wait ;  if  they  don't  bring  me  supplies  of  corn,  goats, 
fowls,  yams,  and  all  that  I  require,  not  one  drop  of  rain  shall  ever  fall 
again  in  Obbo.  Impudent  brutes  are  my  people !  Do  you  know  they 
liave  positively  threatened  to  kill  me  unless  I  bring  the  rain.  They 
sha'n't  have  a  drop ;  I  will  wither  the  crops,  and  bring  a  plague  upon 
their  flocks.     I'll  teach  these  rascals  to  insult  me ! " 

With  all  this  bluster  I  saw  that  Old  Katchiba  was  in  a  great 
dilemma,  and  that  he  would  give  anything  for  a  shower,  but  that  he 
did  not  know  how  to  get  out  of  the  scrape. 

Suddenly  altering  his  tone,  he  asked,  "  Have  you  any  rain  in  your 
country?"  I  replied  that  we  had  every  now  and  then.  "How  do  you 
bring  it?     Are  you  a  rain-maker  ?  " 

I  told  him  no  one  believed  in  rain-makers  in  our  country,  but  that  we 
understood  how  to  bottle  lightning  (meaning  electricity). 


FEUDALISTIC  MONARCHY.  167 

^  I  don't  keep  mine  in  bottles ;  I  have  a  houseful  of  thunder 
and  lightning,"  he  most  coolly  replied ;  ^«  but  if  you  can  bottle 
lightning  yon  must  understand  rain-making.  What  do  you  think  of 
the  weather  to-day  ?" 

I  immediately  saw  the  drift  of  the  cunning  Old  Katchiba ;  he 
wanted  professional  advice.  I  replied  that  he  must  know  all  about  it, 
as  he  was  a  reguLar  rain-maker. 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  he  answered,  "  but  I  want  to  know  what  you  think 
of  it." 

"  Well,"  I  said,  *'  I  don't  think  we  shall  have  any  steady  rain,  but  I 
think  we  may  have  a  heavy  shower  in  about  four  days."  (I  said  this 
as  I  had  observed  fleecy  clouds  gathering  daily  in  tlie  afternoon.) 

"  Just  my  opinion,"  said  Katchiba,  delighted,  "  in  four,  or  ])erhaps 
in  five  days,  I  intend  to  give  them  one  shower,  just  one  shower ;  yes, 
ni  just  step  down  to  them  now,  and  tell  the  rascals  that  if  they  will 
bring  me  some  goats  by  this  evening,  and  some  corn  to-morrow  morn- 
ing, I  will  give  them,  in  four  or  five  days,  just  one  shower." 

To  give  effect  to  this  declaration  he  gave  three  toots  on  his  magic 
whistle,  inquiring :     "  Do  you  use  whistles  in  your  country  ?  " 

I  only  replied  by  giving  so  shrill  and  deafening  a  whistle  on  my 
fingers  that  Katchiba  stopped  his  ears  and,  relapsing  into  a  smile  of 
admiration,  took  a  glance  at  the  sky  from  the  doorway  to  see  if  any 
sudden  effect  had  been  produced. 

"  Whistle  again,"  he  said  ;  and  once  more  I  performed  like  the  whistle 
of  a  locomotive.  "  That  will  do  ;  we  shall  have  it,"  said  the  cunning 
old  rain-maker,  and  proud  of  having  so  knowingly  obtained  "  counsel's 
opinion  "  on  his  case,  he  toddled  off  to  liis  impatient  subjects. 

In  a  few  days  a  sudden  storm  of  rain  and  violent  thunder  added  to 
Katchiba's  renown,  and  after  the  shower  horns  were  blowing  and 
nogaras,  or  drums,  were  beating  in  honor  of  their  chief.  Entre  7ious^ 
my  whistle  he  considered  infallible. 

Along  the  feverish  coiist  of  West  Africa  stretches  a  range  of 
country  about  three  hundred  miles  in  length,  from  the  Assinie 
River  to  the  River  Volta,  or  a  little  beyond,  to  the  fi-ontier  of 
Dahomey.  This  is  the  "Gold  Coast,"  low  and  sandy,  bounded 
on  the  east  by  the  dense  malarious  tropical  jungle  which  rises 
gradually  from  the  shore  to  the  height  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
feet,  the  whole  territory  which  goes  by  this  attractive  name  being 
about  two  hundred  miles  in  breadth. 

Visited  as  early  as  1364  by  French  adventurers  from  Rouen 


1S8  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

and  Dieppe,  it  is  now  ruled  as  a  crown  colony  by  Great  Britain. 
The  chief  establishments  for  trade  are  at  Cape  Const  Castle, 
Elinina,  and  a  few  other  places.  Cape  Coast  being  at  present  the 
seat  of  government.  In  the  interior,  and  on  both  sides  of  the 
River  Prah,  which  flows  through  it,  are  several  tiibes  or  nations 
of  kindred  mce  sjeaking  the  same  langu-ige  or  dialer  t  and  gov- 
erned bj  native  kings  of  a  moral  c  n  plexion  scarcely  less 
dusky  than  their  ikins 


These  ure  the  Wassaws,  Denkeras,  Assin,  Akem,  Aquapims, 
Aquamo,  Adangme,  Krolw,  and  many  other  "nations,"  subdivided 
into  different  tribes.  All  of  them  are  very  familiar  with  Eui-o- 
peans,  though  thej'  have  gained  little  by  this  intercourse,  except 
the  vices  of  tlieir  visitors. 

This  coast  was  long,  in  common  with  that  lying  north  and 
Houth  of  it,  the  active  scene  of  the  infamous  slave  ti'ade.  Under 
the  stimulus  of  the  riches  or  influence  acquired  through  it,  some 
of  these  petty  kingdoms  rose  into  impoitance,  formed  new  com- 
binations, or  fell,  as  rapidly  as  they  had  risen,  into  obscurity, 
after  the  decay  of  the  trafRc  m  human  flesh. 


FBODALI8TIC   MONARCHY. 


But  by  far  the  most 
important  of  all  these 
kingdoms  are  those  of 
the  F»nti»  and  AstiaiitiH, 
s  e  ]>  )i  r  ii  t  e  (I  from  eacli 
other  by  the  River  Prah ; 
the  one,  Fanti,  lying 
on  the  coast,  while  the 
other  in  in  the  interior. 
Apparently  one  people, 
and  speaking  almost  ex- 
ai-tly  the  same  language, 
they  have,  since  the 
Euj-o[iean3  made  their 
acquaintance,  been  po- 
litically separated,  raor- 
til  enemies  and  rivals, 
and  mainly  owing  to 
continued  disputes  in 
regard  to  a  claim  on  the 
[lart  of  the  Ashantis  for 
free  aet-ess  to  the  coast, 
[leriodically  at  war  with 
each  other. 

On  two  of  these  oc- 
casions the  British  gov- 
ernment has  been  foit^ed 
to  [n-ntect  the  Fantis 
from  their  more  warlike 
e  11  c  m  i  c  s,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  guard  their 
own  commercial  inter- 
ests, and  tlms  the  names 
of  the  Fantis  and 
Ashantis  liave  iM^come 
familiar  to  us. 

Tlie  Fantis  are  a  lazy,  good-for-nothing  set  at  present,  what- 
ever they  may  have   been  before  British  influeuee.     They   live 


160  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

along  the  coast,  and  chiefly  at  Cape  Coast  Castle.  They  are  well 
made,  muscular,  and  are  chocolate  colored  rather  than  black. 
Their  dress  is  a  cloth  round  the  waist  and  another  over  their 
shouldera  when  outside  their  houses,  the  upper  garment  being 
taken  off  when  a  superior  passes  them. 

The  women  are  not  good  looking,  but  have  fine  figures,  spoilt, 
however,  by  the  "dress  improver"  or  "cankey"  (a  name  also 
applied  to  a  loaf  of  bread),  which  they  wear  behind,  jind  which  is 
used  as  a  sort  of  saddle  for  carrying  their  children.  The  cloth 
round  her  waist  a  woman  allows  to  hang  down  in  the  form  of  a 
petticoat;  and,  if  she  is  married,  there  is  an  end,  or  another 
piece,  to  cover  her  lx)som. 

She  is  mentally  much  superior  to  the  man,  being  lively  and 
keen  with  eyes,  hands,  and  tongue.  In  the  last  Ashanti  war  tlie 
women  did  most  of  the  porter  work,  or  carrying  of  the  baggage. 
Both  sexes  prefer  as  their  "  cloths "  the  gaudiest  blue,  yellow, 
or  red  striped  calico.  A  girdle  or  string  of  beads,  made  of  glass, 
clay,  or  gold,  according  to  the  wealth  of  the  wearer,  is  always 
worn  around  the  waist. 

Their  head  dress  is  peculiar.  The  woolly  hair,  combed  out  with 
great  patience  until  it  may  attain  a  maximum  length  of  nine  to  ten 
inches,  is  then  ti-ained  up  in  the  form  of  a  ridge,  suppoiiied  by 
means  of  a  comb,  and  satiirated  with  grease.  Their  skin  is  diy 
and  rough,  lips  verj"  thick,  ears  large,  chin  protruding,  but  the 
nose  scarcely  so  flat  as  that  of  the  typical  negro. 

The  head  is  round,  but  the  face  long,  and  ornamented  with  a 
very  scanty  beard,  while  the  limbs  are  large-jointed,  bony  and 
muscular,  and  (if  possible)  the  women  are  uglier  than  the  men, 
tliat  is,  when  they  get  old;  and  age  among  this  people  means 
fc^ome  period  near  or  very  little  over  thirty. 

When  young,  the  girls  are  bright-eyed,  lithe  of  limb  and,  after 
custom  liiis  familiarized  the  stranger  witli  the  blackness  of  their 
skin,  are  not  absolutely  displeasing.  But  when  age  comes,  the 
face  assumes  a  monkey  look,  the  breasts  become  pendent,  and  the 
whole  pei-son  extremely  repulsive. 

The  Fanti  territory  is  divided  into  four  districts,  stretching 
about  thirty  miles  inland,  and  each  of  these  districts  is  governed 
by  a  king,  or  sometimes  by  two  joint  kings.     Succession  to  the 


FBVDALISTIC   MOHAROHY. 


161 


headship  of  the  tribes  is  hereditaiy  and  has  been  in  some  cases  held 
by  women.  The  king,  however,  of  the  confederation  of  tribes  is 
elected  hy  the  tribal  chiefs. 
Their  laws  are  despotic,  each 
chief  ruler  having  jmwer  over 
the  life  and  deiith  of  liis  sub- 

Crimiuals  ai'e  puiiislied  hy 
decaiiitation,  slavery,  foi-feit- 
ure  of  goods,  or  by  Ireing  ex- 
pelled and  exposed  to  s\mv 
death  by  famine  in  the  wil- 
derness. Inuoeeijce  or  fpiilt 
is  tested,  a.s  in  many  other 
portions  of  Africa,  by  meiins 
of  "oi-deals." 


A  CBIUIMAI,  DECAPTTATBD. 


For  instance,  a  suspect  is  ordered  to  drink  a  decoction  of  some 
poisonoiu  plant,  or  to  chew  a  handful  of  dry  rice,  when  his  inno- 
cence or  guilt  is  tested  hy  the  effect  of  the  "ordeal"  on  his 


162  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

stomach  or  his  saliva.  When  the  "  ordeal "  is  a  poison,  he  is  con- 
sidered innocent  if  his  stomach  rejects  it,  but  guilty  if  it  does 
not,  and  death,  of  course,  happening  in  such  cases,  the  man  is 
considered  properly  punished.  They  have,  however,  one  redeem- 
ing quality, —  they  provide  for  their  aged  parents. 

As  to  morals  among  the  Fanti,  they  have  long  mingled  with 
Europeans,  and  European  influence  on  the  Gold  Coast,  as  in  other 
portions  of  black  Africa,  has  been  invariably  coiTupting.  The 
slave  trade  was  at  one  time  almost  the  only  branch  of  commerce ; 
at  best  its  influence  on  the  native  character  was  pernicious. 

It  has  disappeared  now,  but  has  not  been  succeeded  by  any  other 
branch  of  legitimate  traffic  that  suffices  to  stimulate  the  possible 
latent  industiy  of  the  people.  Rum  and  other  articles  which  tend 
to  corrupt  the  morals  of  the  people  are  almost  the  only  articles  of 
import. 

In  return  for  the  moral  loss  sustained  by  the  presence  of  the 
English,  attempts  have  been  made  to  administer  an  antidote  to  the 
vices  introduced  among  them  by  traders,  in  the  shape  of  large 
doses  of  missionary  instruction.  Probably  no  set  of  savages  have 
ever  been  more  vigorously  plied  with  good  advice  at  certain  places, 
or  entirely  neglected  at  others,  than  have  the  Fantis.  Ceiiainly 
none  have  ever  profited  less  by  it. 

But  what  they  lack  in  religion,  they  make  up  in  the  quantity 
and  quality  of  their  superstitions,  not  the  least  astounding  of 
which  is  their  belief  in  a  child  "who  hiis  existed  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,"  and  yet  has  neither  eaten  nor  drunken  during 
all  this  time,  and  of  course  cannot  be  expected  to  grow. 

To  represent  this  child  they  bonow  a  baby,  when  anyone  is 
found  rich  enough  to  pay  for  the  gratification  of  his  curiosity,  and 
the  guardian  of  the  sacred  Ixibe  paints  it  with  colored  clays  in  such 
a  style  tliat  it  cannot  be  recognized  as  belonging  to  this  world. 
This  guardian  is  genei-ally  a  hideous  old  woman,  who  must  be 
quite  cognizant  of  the  swindle  she  is  perpetrating,  though, 
strange  to  say,  Fantis  of  fair  education  have  been  known  to 
believe  in  this  ridiculous  impostuix3. 

Cannibalism  does  not  now  exist  among  the  Fantis  or  Ashantis, 
though,  when  General  Sir  Charles  Macarthy  was  killed  in  the 
first  Ashanti  war,  his  heart  was  eaten  by  the  latter  people  in  order 


FEUI  iacistic  MONABOHT.  168 


to  give  them  a  share  of  his  courage.  ITuinan  sacrifices,  though 
very  common  among  the  Ashantis,  have  now  fallen  into  dianse 
among  those  tribes  living  along  the  seaboard;  there  is,  however, 
little  doubt  hut  that  at  one  time  they  were  as  common  among  the 
fantis  ns  they  are  now  among  their  ferocious  neighboi's,  the 
Dahomans  or  Ashantis. 

Polygomy  is  permitted,  though,  for  financial  reasons,  is  not 
often  practised.  The  Women,  as  the  more  intellectual  and  ener- 
getic sex  of  the  Gold  Coast,  maintain  the  right  of  divorcing  a 
husband  if  he  shows  cowaixjice  in  battle. 

A  Fanti  lives  to  a  good  old  age ;  white  hair  is  nothing  uncom- 
mon amongst  them ;  but  die  he  must  in  due  course  by  rum,  or  the 
natural  order  of  events.  Great  pomp  is  the  rule  on  such  occasions- 
Professional  mourners  —  negro  mutes  —  are  hired  for  the  cere- 
mony ;  a  slieep  is  killed  for  the  funeral  feast,  and  the  shoulder  blade 
laid  on  the  grave,  where  it  is  permitted  to  remain  for  some  time. 

The  man  who  buries  another  succeeds  to  his  property,  hut 
he  also  succeeds  to  his  debts.  In  the  fii'st  case  the  heirs  take  veiy 
good  care  to  put  their  deceased  i-elative  under  ground,  but  with 
the  defaulting  debtor  there  is  not  the  same  stimulus  on  the  part 
of  his  relatives  to  perform  the  funeral  obsequies.  Accordingly, 
in  the  vicinity  of  every  Fanti  village,  corpses  will  be  found  lying 
exposed  on  a  platfoim,  merely  covered  with  a  cloth,  nobody  hav- 
ing beHi  found  financially  courageous  enough  to  bury  them. 

As  on  every  other  occasion  of  Fanti  mirth,  grief,  or  piety, 
insufferable  noise  accompanies  the  funeml  rites.  If  the  deceased 
has  been  a  man  of  any  note,  all  his  friends  —  and  the  great  man, 
as  all  the  world  over,  has  in  Fanti  land  an  infinitude  of  friends, 
even  after  he  is  dead  —  squat  in  front  of  the  house  and  celebrate 
the  inauspicious  event  by  drinking,  yelling,  singing,  smoking, 
and  firing  muskets. 

A  dog  is  sacrificed  before  the  hut,  after  which  the  corjwe  is 
buried  along  with  considerable  sums  of  money,  gold,  and  jewels 
of  some  value.  The  firet  thing  an  enemy  does  on  entering  the 
Fanti  country  is,  accordingly,  to  rifle  the  graves,  though,  indeed, 
this  is  occasionally  done  by  the  relatives  themselves,  in  spite  of 
all  the  tenors  of  fetish  and  demon,  for  avarice  is  at  times  stronger 
than  superstition.  ""^  '*-'"' '  ''  ""'-— ^^ 


164  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  amusements  of  the  Faiitis  are  few.  Yelling  and  dancing- 
seem  to  be  the  only  exertion.  Laziness  is  the  salient  minor  vice 
of  the  Fantis.  In  this  they  excel,  nor  can  anything  better  be 
expected  of  them.  They  live  under  a  tropical  sun;  they  have  an 
example  of  lassitude  in  the  European  comnmnity,  and,  above  all, 
exertion  can  scarcely  be  expected  of  people  whose  olily  ambition 
is  to  provide  for  their  daily  wants. 

Now  on  the  Gold  Coast  a  native  can  live  luxuriously  on  two 
cents  a  day,  and  the  exertion  of  a  few  houi-s  per  week  will  supply 
him  with  all  he  requires  in  the  way  of  rum,  gaudy  Manchester 
goods,  and  tobacco.  Even  then,  so  runs  Fanti  logic,  what 
necessity  is  there  for  his  exerting  himself  to  procure  even  that? 
Sis  wife  can  do  so.  Accordingly  in  Fanti  land  thei-e  is  an  equit- 
able division  of  labor,  the  wife  earns  the  living  and  the  husband 
consumes  it. 

Whatever  the  Fantis  may  have  been,  the  Ashantis  are  now,  at 
all  events,  a  much  superior  people,  intellectually,  and,  if  cour- 
age is  a  virtue,  morally  also.  Barbarous  no  doubt  they  are,  but 
it  is  almost  an  abuse  of  the  term  to  call  them  savage.  In  their  gov- 
ernment they  display  no  little  force  and  order,  and  a  well-estab- 
lished system  of  political  institutions,  the  history  of  which  can  be 
tmced  for  at  least  two  centuries. 

Statesman-like  ability  and  military  skill  are  distinguishing 
marks  of  the  aristocnxcy  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  common  people 
display  so  much  coui-age  in  battle  there  is  little  doubt  but  thjit 
within  the  Ashanti  kingdom  lies  the  element  of  a  great  African 
military  empire,  provided  the  people  were  efficiently  trained  and 
supplied  with  the  appliances  of  modem  warfare. 

And  among  such  strong-minded  men  there  is  liope  tliat  under 
moral  influences,  stronger  than  those  they  liave  yet  come  in  con- 
tact with,  the  very"  supei'stitions  —  black  jind  cruel  though  they 
be  —  which  at  present  give  them  a  pre-eminence  over  their 
neighbors,  might  be  transmuted  to  something  noble,  pure,  and 
sweet. 

Though  not  so  powerfully  made  ns  the  Fanti,  the  Ashanti  war- 
riors are  infinitely  more  courageous;  and  the  women  are  much 
better  looking  than  their  Fanti  sistei-s.  But  women  are  looked 
upon  as  a  rpgular  arllclo  ut  nierchdiidise,  and  nothing  astonished 


KEDDALISTIC   M((NAIICHY. 


lfi.5 


the  Ashanti  warriofs  more  than  that,  when  the  English  captured 
in  the  late  war  a  couple  of  women,  they  let  them  go  free. 

"What  a  curious  people  these  white  men  are  to  send  the 
women  awayl  Whtf^  this  i»  moneif.'"  was  their  cnnimentjiry,  A 
woman  among  them  is  always  worth  at  Icitst  twentj-  or  thirty 
doU'irs  ind  a  very  attractive  damsel  may  fetch  ti  much  is  thirty 
five    n  tl  e  n  atr  mon  il     i  ket 

Government  among  tl  e  A  1  a  t  s  s  more  absolute  r  less  feu 
dal  stic  than  amo  g  other  tnbes       The  s  iccess  o      lo      not    n 


in  a  direct  line  but  to  a  brother  or  neiihew,  in  wliich  latter  case 
the  nephew  is  not  the  son  of  tlio  king's  brother,  but  of  lils  sister, 
who  (and  this  is  a  strange  oonnncntar)'  on  savage  moral-s)  iiei'd  not 
be  married,  the  only  requisite  Ix'ing  th;it  the  prolKihU;  father  l)e 
strong,  good  looking,  and  of  repuliible  oiigiii. 

The  reason  they  give  for  this  depurture  fi'om  the  dimct  line  in 
the  succession  to  the  Ashanti  emwn  is  tliat  one  can  never  be  sure 
tliat  the  king  is  the  father  of  tlic  i]UCTit*s  son,  and  that  as,  more- 
over, the  queens  are  almost  invarinbly  of  humljle  origin,  making 
the  son  of  the  "princess  royal  "  the  licir  secures  tliat  at  least  there 
should  be  some  kingly  blood  in  the  occupant  of  the  throne. 


/ 


166  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Failing  the  brother  or  the  nephew,  the  sou  can  occupy  the 
throne ;  failing  all  three,  the  chief  slave  of  the  dead  king.  But 
the  unwritten  constitution  of  Ashanti,  though  allowing  very 
8ummaiy  powers  to  the  sovereign,  controls  him  in  many  ways. 

The  powers  of  the  "Kotoko,"  or  council,  curb  the  tyranny 
of  the  king,  for  he  is  bound  to  consult  them  in  all  questions  of 
foreign  policy,  and  war  or  peace.  He  also  voluntarily,  in  times 
of  trouble,  summons  to  his  aid  a  few  chosen  councillors,  whose 
advice  he  takes  or  rejects,  as  seems  good  to  him. 

His  civil  list  is  great:  tribute  is  paid  by  the  vassal  princes, 
taxes  are  levied  on  all  the  villages,  or  "crooms,"  while  tolls  and 
custom  dues  make  up  the  rest  of  the  revenue.  He  hiw  also  in  his 
own  hands  various  gold  mines,  and  levies  a  handsome  percentxige 
on  all  the  gold  found  in  his  country,  to  which,  indeed,  he  makes 
a  formal  claim,  not,  however,  except  in  rare  cases,  enforced. 
All  nuggets,  however,  strictly  escheat  to  the  king  as  his  special 
property. 

But  where  every  man  is  a  soldier,  and  the  king  is  dependent  on 
the  good-will  of  his  subjects  —  warlike  though  they  be  —  before 
he  can  cany  out  any  of  his  ambitious  schemes,  he  is  not  veiy 
apt  to  unnecessarily  irritate  them. 

From  this  point  of  view  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor 
of  a  feudal  monarchy,  such  as  that  of  Ashanti.  Yet  between  the 
highest  nobles  and  the  king  there  is  a  wide  gulf;  as  in  Dahomey 
the  prime  minister,  or  even  greatest  general,  will  humble  himself 
in  the  dust  when  entering  the  dread  presence  of  roj'ulty.  A  des- 
cription of  an  Ashanti  king,  by  a  great  African  traveller,  gives 
an  excellent  example  of  the  richness  of  the  kingdom  as  well 
as  the  bill  baric  pomp  of  a  feudal  sovereign :  — 

His  manners,  says  Bowdich,  were  majestic,  yet  courteons,  and 
he  did  not  allow  his  surprise  to  beguile  him  for  a  moment  of  the  com- 
posure of  a  monarch.  He  appeared  about  thirty-eight,  inclined  to 
corpulence,  and  of  a  benevolent  countenance  ;  he  wore  a  fillet  of  aggry 
beads  round  his  temple,  a  necklace  of  gold  cockspur  shells  strung  by 
their  largest  ends,  and  over  his  right  shoulder  a  red  silk  cord  suspend- 
ing three  sapphires  cased  in  gold.  His  bracelets  were  the  richest  mixture 
of  beads  and  gold,  and  his  fingers  were  covered  with  rings ;  his  cloth 
was  a  dark  green  silk ;  a  pointed  diadem  was  elegantly  painted  in  white 


FEUDALISTIO  HONABCHY.  167 

on  hiB  forehead,  also  a  pattern  resembling  an  epaalet  on  each  shoulder, 
and  an  ornament  like  a  full-blown  rose,  one  leaf  rising  above  another 
until  it  covered  his  whole  breast;  his  knee-bands  were  of  aggry  beads, 
and  his  ankle-strings  of  gold  ornaments  of  the  most  delicate  workman- 
ship, small  drums,  swords,  guns,  and  birds  clustered  together.  His  san- 
dals, of  a  soft  white  leather,  were  embossed  across  the  instcp-band  with 
small  gold  and  silver  cases  of  sapphires ;  he  was  seated  in  a  low  chair, 
richly  ornamented  with  gold ;  and  he  had  a  pair  of  gold  castanets  on  his 
finger  and  thumb,  which  he  clapped  to  enforce  silence.  The  belts  of 
the  guards  behind  his  chair  were  cased  in  gold,  and  covered  with  small 
jaw-bones  of  the  same  metal. 

The  elephants'  tails,  waving  like  a  small  cloud  before  him,  were 
spangled  with  gold,  and  large  plumes  of  feathers  were  flourished  amid 
them.  His  eunuch  presided  over  these  attendants,  wearing  only  one 
massive  piece  of  gold  about  his  neck  ;  the  royal  stool,  entirely  cased  in 
gold,  was  displayed  under  a  splendid  umbrella,  with  drums,  horns, 
and  various  musical  instruments,  cased  in  gold,  about  the  thickness  of 
cartridge  paper. 

Large  circles  of  gold  hung  by  scarlet  cloth  from  the  swords  of  state, 
the  sheaths  as  well  as  the  handles  of  which  were  also  cased ;  hatchets 
of  the  same  were  inter-mixed  with  them ;  the  breasts  of  the  Ochras 
and  various  attendants  were  adorned  with  large  stars,  crescents,  and 
gossamer-wings  of  solid  gold. 

The  profusion  of  gold  in  this  picture  brings  us  to  a  considera- 
tion of  the  principal  Ashanti  industiy,  namely,  the  gold  mines 
with  which  they  allow  no  white  man  to  interfere.  When  the 
Creator  first  made  the  world,  according  to  their  philosophy.  He 
created  a  black  man  and  a  white  man. 

To  the  black  man  He  offered  a  calabash  of  gold,  rich  soil,  a 
mud  hut,  and  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth  in  abundance ;  but  the 
white  man  preferred  a  quantity  of  paper,  pens,  and  ink,  and 
having  got  knowledge,  prospered  over  the  black  man,  who  in  his 
ignorance  pi*efeiTed  the  apparent  natural  riches.  Yet  having 
made  their  choice,  they  say,  they  intend  sticking  to  it;  let  the 
white  man  keep  to  his  ink  and  paper. 

A  license  is  exacted  from  every  one  in  the  kingdom  of  Ashanti 
wearing  gold  ornaments.  Strictly  speaking,  all  the  gold  found 
belongs  to  the  king;  and  when  a  nobleman  or  rich  man  dies  the 
gold  he  may  leave  behind  him  becomes   his  majesty's  property. 


168  THE   STORY  OF   GOVEKNMENT. 

Moreover,'  it  is  forbidden  for  anyone  but  the  king's  servants 
to  sweep  the  market  place  at  Coomassie,  for  among  the  sweep- 
ings may  be  found  some  particles  of  dust  which  have  been 
dropi)ed  in  the  course  of  barter,  gold  dust  being  the  ordinary  com- 
merce of   the  country. 

When  the  king  dies,  his  treasures  are  buried  with  him  in  the 
Bantama,  or  sepulchre  of  the  Ashanti  monarchs;  and  no  doubt, 
had  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley,  as  was  originally  his  intention,  de- 
stroyed this  sacred  enclosure,  much  of  the  treasure,  the  absence 
of  which  80  disappointed  the  English  soldiers,  would  have  been 
found. 

"  Aggry  beads  "  are  ornaments  highly  prized  by  the  Ashantis. 
Their  origin  is  rather  obscure,  and  though  the  artists  of  Birming- 
ham have  attempted  to  imitate  them,  they  have  hitherto  failed  to 
produce  a  sham  which  will  impose  upon  the  art  connoisseurs  of 
the  Gold  Coast. 

It  is  probable  that  they  are  glass  mosaics,  and  of  Egjrptian  or 
PhoBnician  manufacture.  The  Egyptians  or  Phcenicians  might 
have  sold  their  goods  to  the  Berbei-s,  and  by  them  the  aggry  beads, 
among  other  manufactures  of  these  ingenious  dwellers  in  Tyre 
or  on  the  Nile  banks,  might  have  been  passed  from  tril)e  to  tribe 
until  they  reached  far  away  Ashanti. 

By  Ashanti  law  if  an  aggry  beiul  is  broken  in  a  scuffle,  seven 
slaves  must  be  paid  to  the  owner,  or  in  other  words,  upwards  of 
$225.  They  are  usually  found  at  some  distance  from  the  sea,  and 
though  only  picked  up  now  and  then  by  accident,  are  yet  plenti- 
ful, proving  that  during  the  times  these  beads  readied  the 
Ashantis,  in  far  away  ages,  the  trade  of  the  Gold  Coast  must 
have  been  flourishing. 

The  Ashanti  method  of  extracting  the  gold  from  the  soil  is  verj^ 
primitive.  A  quantity  of  the  earth,  sand,  and  gravel  through 
which  the  scales  and  little  bits  of  gold  are  scattered,  is  dug  up  by 
means  of  a  hoe,  and  washed  in  a  calabash  by  a  sharp  rotiiry  move- 
ment, which  gradually  tosses  off  the  earth  and  sand,  and  allows 
the  heavier  gold  to  remain  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 

It  is,  in  fact,  exactly  the  same  method  of  washing  gold  as  that 
known  in  California  as  "panning  out,"  a  plan  only  adopted  in 
that  coiuitry  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  richness  of  a  "placer  " 


FEUDALISTIC   MONABCHy.  169 

or  gold  deposit.   .  The  g^Id  saved  by  this  method  of  washing  is 
then  put  into  quills  for  safe  keeping. 

So  thickly  impregnated  is  the  soil  with  gold  that  even  by  this 
iiide  mode  of  extraction  great  quantities  ai-e  obtained.  After 
eveiy  shower  of  i-ain  the  streams  carry  down  sand  Ifiden  with  the 
precious  metal,  which  on  their  subsiding  is  found  mixed  up 
with  the  alluvium  left  behind  on  the  banks. 

With  the  improved  appliances  now  used  in  gold  washing 
immense  quantities  might,  no  doubt,  be  obtained ;  an  experienced 
Ashanti  gfold  washer  calculates  tliat  in  the  coui-se  of  a  year  he 
will  obtain  about  twenty  "minkali,"  in  value  two  slaves,  or 
about  *80.00. 

Gold-buying  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  is  not  a  trade  that  an 
inexperienced  hand  need  take  up.  The  weights  are  black  seeds 
called  "telekessi,"  and  each  bu3'er  has  his  own  weights  and 
scales,  so  it  is  a  pitched  battle  between  seller  and  purchaser  as  to 
who  can  cheat  the  other. 

"  Bogus  dust "  is  marnifactured  by  preparing  nuggets  of  copper 
and  silver  mixed,  and  the  fine  dust  gold  is  simulated  by  copper 
filings  and  red  conil  powder.  The  "telekessi"  weights  are 
soaked  in  butter  to  make  them  heavier,  and  imitation  ones  of 
pebble  are  even  put  in  their  place,  from  which  it  is  evident  that 
some  of  the  business  devices  of  our  modern  industrial  sjrstem  are 
in  vogue  among  the  savages. 

Mr.  Skertchly  mentions  that  in  a  small  factory  on  the  Gold 
Coast  he  hiis  seen  as  much  as  three  hundred  ounces  of  gold  taken 
in  a  single  day.  At  all  the  factories  there  are  professed  "gold- 
takew,"  whose  duty  it  is  to  assay  all  the  gold  before  it  passes 
into  the  ti*ader\s  hand,  so  as  to  detect  and  reject  the  "  Brummagem 
nuggets"  which  fire  continually  offered  them. 

A  half  naked  savage  will  arrive  in  the  factory  with  gold  dust 
to  exchange  for  guns,  powder,  or  cloth.  The  dust  is  carefully 
tied  up  in  small  pieces  of  paper  in  one  corner  of  his  waist  cloth, 
or  often  enough  conccjiled  in  the  intricate  mazes  of  his  wool. 
The  small  packet  is  opened,  and  the  gold-taker  empties  it  into 
a  copper  blow  pan,  shaped  like  a  banker's  sliovel  without  a 
liandle,  and  with  a  dexterous  movement  of  the  wrist  separates 
the  large  from  the  small  particles. 


170  THB   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

With  a  feather-tip  he  then  picks  out  all  the  suspicious  par- 
ticles and  bits  of  dust,  and  with  a  wonderfully  regulated  pufif 
blows  off  the  specks  of  mica  and  pyrites  which  would  otherwise 
have  escaped  unnoticed.  The  blown  gold  is  then  weighed  and 
handed  over  to  the  trader. 

The  wages  of  a  good  gold-taker  are  very  high,  and  some  over- 
acute,  but  penny-wise-and-pound -foolish  j)ersoiis,  who  have  dis- 
pensed with  the  services  of  these  gold-takers,  and  liave  relied  upon 
the  efficiency  of  aquafortis  and  touchstone,  have  found,  on  con- 
veying the  gold  dust  to  England,  that  they  have  been  buying 
silver  gilt,  or  even  gold  dust  made  in  Birmingham  itself. 

The  dress  of  the  Ashantis  consists  of  a  tunic  of  colored  calico 
or  some  other  cloth,  while  for  higher  occasions,  or  for  the  clothes 
of  rich  men,  silk  woven  in  the  native  looms  is  substituted.  Oma^ 
ments  of  gold,  silver,  and  "aggry  beads"  are  worn,  either  as 
decorations  or  as  charms  against  illness,  witxjhci-aft,  or  other  mis- 
fortune. 

The  grandees,  when  in  full  uniform,  add  "jujus,"  or  breast- 
plates of  gold,  and  other  glittering  omjiments,  and  cover  their 
heads  with  horned  helmets  of  an  cxtraordinarj'^  shape,  and  waving 
feather  plumes.  They  frequently  decorate  their  faces  with  deli- 
cately painted  imtterns  in  green  or  white  paint  on  the  cheeks  and 
forehead.  They  have  seveml  musical  instruments,  and  are  fond 
of  dancing,  mimicry,  story-telling,  songs,  and  all  sorts  of  fun. 

Each  nobleman  has  his  own  band  of  minstrels  and  heralds, 
who  used  to  patrol  the  city  at  stated  houi*s  of  certain  days, 
playing  the  tunes  which  belong  to  their  respective  mastei-s. 
Feudalism  is  apt  in  all  countries  to  have  the  same  belongings, 
and  hence  we  see  in  Africa  much  wliicli  will  remind  the  reader 
of  similar  scenes  in  Europe  during  the  sway  of  the  mediaeval 
chivalry. 

The  industries  of  the  Ashantis,  apart  from  mining,  though 
limited,  are  interesting.  Their  looms  are  formed  on  the  same 
principle  as  ours.  Their  cloths,  in  fineness,  brilliancy,  and  size, 
are,  when  we  consider  the  appliances  by  which  they  have  been 
produced,  and  the  innate  laziness  of  the  native  AfricJin,  admira- 
ble. They  also  paint,  with  great  ease  and  rapidity,  white  cloths, 
and  excel  in  pottery  and  goldsmith's  work. 


FEUDALISTIG  MONARCHY.  171 

Their  weights  are  very  neat  brass  casts  of  almost  every  animal, 
fruit,  and  vegetable  known  to  them,  though  the  original  ones  iu 
the  shape  of  seeds  are  still  occasionally  used,  and  univei*sally  so 
on  the  coast  for  weighing  gold.  They  also  do  good  work  in  iron^ 
tan  leather,  and  are  skilful  carpentei-s. 

The  Ashanti  army  is  recruited  from  all  able-bodied  men,  and 
is  very  numerous.  Bowdich  calculated  that  there  wei^e  150,000 
ready  forces,  and  204,000  fit  to  bear  arms.  The  number  has 
been  calculated  somewhat  higher  since  his  day,  viz.,  at  300,000. 

Looking  at  the  Ashanti  army,  as  compared  with  the  fierce 
rabbles  which  go  under  that  name  in  other  portions  of  Africa,  it  is 
almost  in  a  state  of  discipline.  War  is  begun,  if  not  with  all 
the  foiins,  yet  with  much  of  the  crnft,  diplomatic  duplicity,  and 
wholesale  lying  prevalent  in  more  civilized  communities^ 

When  the  Ashanti  monarch  proposes  to  invade  another  tribe  or 
nation,  he  despatches  envoys,  laden  witli  rich  presents,  to  the 
neighboring  powers,  appealing  with  one  hand  to  their  sense  of 
justice,  by  pointing  out  how  great  hjis  Ixjen  the  pi-ovocation,  and 
what  a  "  jutt  and  holy  war  "  is  the  systematic  murder  in  which 
he  is  about  to  engage;  and  with  the  other,  while  assuring  them 
of  his  friendship  and  affection,  he  takes  care  to  point  out  how 
they  can  be  benefited,  if  not  by  helping,  at  least  by  not  impeding 
him  in  his  proposed  operations. 

He  has  generals,  if  he  does  not  command  himself,  who  are 
accomplished  in  all  the  tactics  of  savage  warfare,  ambuscade, 
flanking  attacks,  and  feigned  retreats.  The  craft  of  the  diplom- 
atists in  the  council  is  equalled  by  the  courage  of  the  troops  iu 
the  field. 

Every  man  knows  his  place,  and  as  soon  as  war  is  declared  he 
accouties  himself  with  musket  and  cartouch  box,  and  provisioning 
himself  for  a  time  with  a  few  kalo  nuts  and  a  little  maize  meal, 
joins  the  company  to  which  he  belongs. 

The  enemy  will  supi)ly  the  rest  of  his  commissariat,  for,  like 
Stonewall  Jackson,  his  motto  is  "Always  forage  on  the  enemy." 
As  soon  as  the  army  is  on  the  march,  the  women,  daubing  them- 
selves with  white  clay,  and  stripping  themselves,  march  through 
the  towns,  beating  the  drum  and  belaboring  any  wight  who  may 
have  remained  at  home. 


172  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Carpenters,  blacksmiths,  and  other  ai-tisans  accompany  the 
army,  sutlei-s  sell  provisions  and  cheat  like  sutlers  the  world 
over,  while  money  lendera  advance  casli  to  impecunious  soldiera 
at  an  interest  of  120  to  300  per  cunt.  Lastly,  in  the  van 
follow  the  women  bearing  pots,  calabashes,  and  other  cooking 
utensils. 

In  battle  the  women  stand  behind  their  husbands,  supply  them 
with  powder,  and  animate  them  with  songs.  When  the  battle 
begins  skirmishers  advance  ;  these  are  slaves  whose  lives  are  of 
little  value.  The  secondaiy  captains  fight  in  the  front  ranks, 
while  the  great  nobles  and  the  king  sit  behind  on  stools,  shaded 
by  the  huge  umbrellas  which  denote  their  rank. 

They  are  like  the  officei-s  in  some  Spanish-American  republics, 
who,  after  the  battle  has  commenced,  take  to  the  rear  of  their 
troops,  and  shout  valiant  conmiands  to  them,  inculcating  in 
sonorous  language  how  glorious  it  is  to  fight,  or  even,  if  neces- 
sary, to  die  for  one's  country,  while  they  at  the  same  time  are 
preparing  to  falsify  their  maxim  by  flight. 

Hence  they  are  called  *'  encoumgei's  "  by  the  cynical  soldiery. 
In  the  same  manner  the  Ashanti  encoumgers  remain  in  the  rear, 
sunt)unded  by  young  men  who  cut  down  those  who  attempt  to 
reti*eat.  "It  is,"  says  the  Ashanti  soldier,  "just  iis  well  to  die 
fighting,  for  if  we  attempt  to  escape  we  are  killed  anyhow." 

The  commander-in-chief,  while  the  battle  is  raging,  sits  on  his 
stool  playing  some  kind  of  musical  instrument,  as  if  to  impress  the 
bystandei-s  that  he  is  so  confident  of  victoiy  as  to  be  perfectly 
easy  as  to  the  result.  In  case  of  defeat,  the  captains  are  expected 
to  commit  suicide. 

When  the  day  is  lost  they  seat  themselves  calmly  on  casks  of 
gunpowder,  and  blow  themselves  up  into  the  air,  that  the  Aslianti 
proverb  may  be  fullilled,  "It  is  shame  which. causes  the  chief  to 
die.'*  If  victorious,  they  never  pui-sue  the  enemy  when  it  is  near 
sunset. 

During  the  active  part  of  the  campaign  the  anny  is  forbidden 
all  other  food  except  meal,  a  quantity  of  which  each  soldier  carries 
in  the  bag  by  his  side,  and  mixes  with  the  fii*st  water  he  finds. 
No  fires  are  allowed  to  be  lit. 

They  eat  a  little  bit  of  the  heart  of  the  first  enemy  slain,  and 


FEUDALISTIC    MONARCHY. 


173 


wear  ornaments  of  liis  teeth  and  bones.  The  wliolc  fcinial  system 
of  Ashanti  is  favorable  to  military  discipline,  anil  at  the  same 
time  conducive  to  fostering  the  war  spirit  and  the  greed  of  mili- 
tary glory  and  gain. 

The  ))eople  are  a  nation  of  soldiers  as  well  disciplined  as  a 
barbarous  amiy  can  lie.  To  the  neighboring  jiowers  tliey  were, 
until  their  late  reveise  at  the  hands  of  the  British,  a  name  of 


terror.  The  Fantis  cnnHidered  it  useless  to  oppose  them;  the 
verj' name  of  "Shanti"  Wiw  almost  suiliciciit  to  make  tlieni  rmi. 
But  though  the  Asliaiitis  could  con<|iier,  thev  ccmid  not  govern, 
and  one  tribe  after  aiiotlifi  lias  revolted  from  their  rule,  and 
either  assei-te<l  their  piistiiu-  inde[>endence,  or  formed  a  new  com- 
bination fatid  ti>  tlieir  cojKpu'iois.  Since  the  monarchy  sustained 
its  last  shock,  at  tlie  hands  of  the  British,  sevenil  other  tributaries 
have  revolted  fi'om  under  its  sway,  tliough  they  are  likely,  before 
long,  to  be  i-econquered. 


174  THE   STORY   OP    GOVERNMENT. 

Police  i-egulations  are  strictly  followed  out  in  Coomassie,  the 
capital  of  this  feudal  kingdom;  none,  except  with  the  sanction 
of  the  king,  can  go  out  of  doors  at  night,  and  policemen  —  wild- 
looking  beings  with  heads  half  shaved,  long  hair  falling  over 
their  foreheads,  and  with  lances  in  their  hands  —  patrol  the 
btreets  to  see  that  this  tyrannical  regulation,  apparently  a  bit  of 
military  despotism  to  prevent  the  chance  of  plots  or  revolts,  is 
carried  out  with  i-elentless  rigor. 

Another  curious  regulation,  which  shows  that  the  Ashanti  laws 
are  not  the  poitentous  gro^vth  of  mere  wantonness  uncontrolled  by 
the  people,  or  undirected  by  some  sound  underlying  principle,  is 
that  the  king  must  attend  all  fires.  This  is  a  wise  provision, 
though  in  a  town  where  fires  must  be  common,  a  severe  tax  upon 
such  a  luxurious  monarch,  for  under  the  eye  of  the  royal  dis- 
penser of  life  and  death  the  acting  firemen  will  not  be  apt  to  be 
dilatoiy  in  their  duties  when  the  fire  horn  is  blown. 

When  an  Ashanti  dies  his  body  is  buried,  and  along  with  it  a 
quantity  of  the  gold  he  may  have  possessed;  a  similar  cus- 
tom to  one  prevalent  among  the  Fantis.  The  Bantama  is  the 
mausoleum  of  the  kings,  as  well  as  a  place  of  human  sacrifice, 
and  the  great  spiritual  stronghold  of  the  priests.  In  this  sacred 
place  is  kept  the  skull  of  Governor  Sir  Charles  Macarthy,  who 
was  killed  in  the  fii-st  war.  "By  Wednesday  and  Macarthy"  is 
a  sacred  Ashanti  oath. 

This  skull  the  Ashanti  kings  have  converted  into  a  drinking 
cup,  out  of  which,  on  solemn  occasions,  they  quaff  their  nim. 
Into  this  Bantama  no  stranger  is  allowed  to  set  his  profane  foot. 
A  trusty  chief  and  a  jiowerful  guard  watch  it  day  and  night.  It 
is,  according  to  the  varying  accounts,  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  Cooma^isie,  and  is  connected  with  the  capital  by 
a  broad  road. 

On  tlie  decease  of  any  pei-son  of  rank,  numerous  human  lives 
are  sacrificed,  tlie  number  being  proportionate  to  the  dignity  of 
the  deceased.  On  the  death  of  the  mother  of  tlie  king  who  ruled 
the  country  in  Bowdicli's  time,  no  less  than  tluee  thousand 
human  beings  were  butchered;  and  on  his  own  death,  though 
we  have  no  certain  information,  most  probably  the  number  was 
doubled. 


176  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  funeral  rites  of  a  great  captain  are  often  repeated  regularly 
every  week  for  two  or  three  months  at  a  stretch,  and  on  each 
occasion  about  two  hundred  persons  sacrificed.  These  victims  are 
usually  slaves  or  culprits,  and  principally  females,  but  it  is  usual 
to  "wet  the  grave  "  with  the  blood  of  a  freeman  of  respectability. 

Among  the  rites  of  the  Ashanti  and  Daliomey  nations  few  are 
more  familiar  in  name  to  the  most  cui-sory  reader  of  books  of 
West  African  travel  than  the  so-called  murdei-ous  ceremonies 
kno\VTi  as  the  customs. 

The  word  is  an  Anglicized  or  corrupted  form  of  the  French 
coutume^  a  general  habit  —  the  "general  habit  "in  this  case  both  in 
Dahomey  and  Ashanti  —  being  the  slaughter,  in  a  more  or  less 
cruel  manner,  and  accompanied  with  immense  pomp  and  state 
ceremonial,  of  vast  numbers  of  people,  chiefly  slaves  and  criminals, 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  Long  habit  has  rendered  the  per- 
formance of  these  ceremonies  imperative. 

Abominable  though  they  are,  they  have  even  met  a  faint,  half- 
hearted defence  or  apology  from  white  men  as  political  necessities, 
for  they  say  that  in  Ashanti  or  Dahomey  the  alx)lition  of  human 
sacrifice  would  deprive  the  people  of  one  of  their  great  annual 
spectacles,  and  thereby  endanger  the  very  monarc^hy  itself.  A 
parallel  piece  of  political  management  is  to  be  found  in  the  bloody 
gladiatorial  shows  with  which  the  Roman  despots  appeased  the  pas- 
sions of  the  populace.  The  ruling  idea  throughout  seems  to  lx> 
to  send  messengers  to  the  dead  or  to  the  gods  in  the  persons  of 
those  who  are  killed.  They  Ijelieve  tJiat  the  body  contains  a 
spirit  or  ghost  which  exists  after  death,  and  which  flits  alx)Ut 
the  neighborhood  of  the  grave,  and  even  revisits  its  old  home,  and 
holds  converse  with  those  it  formerly  loved,  or  plays  pranks  on 
those  it  disliked;  is,  in  fact,  an  ethereal,  disembodied  human  being, 
subject  to  all  the  passions  and  whims  of  such  a  one  in  the  flesh. 

By  the  grave  of  the  dead  man  are  accordingly  placed  food  that 
he  may  eat,  or  rather  that  he  may  eat  the  "  spirit "  of  the  food, 
and  vessels  tliat  he  may  cook  it. 

For  food  and  vessels,  in  fact  all  objects  animate  or  inaniniJite, 
liave  equally  souls  or  spirits  which  live  in  an  after  world,  and 
which  can  ticcompany  their  spirit  master  on  his  journeys  to  and 
from  that  shadowy  land.     They  also  believe  in  a  hades,  a  country 


FEUDALISTIG  MONARCHY.  177 

below  the  ground  wliere  the  '^dead  dwell  in  a  life  that  shall  have 
no  end/' 

In  the  other  world  only  kings,  princes,  and  nobles  enjoy  all 
voluptuous  delights ;  the  poorer  people  wait  on  them  and  share 
a  little  in  their  pleasures.  Not  only  in  this  hades,  or  heaven  — 
for  what  its  exact  character  is,  is  somewhat  dubious  even  in  their 
own  philosophy  —  do  men  come  to  life  and  revel  in  palm  wine 
and  wives,  but  they  also  believe  tliat  all  garments  a  man  has  woiti 
out  will  then  come  to  life  again  —  a  resurrection  of  old  clothes. 

Besides  this,  liis  relations  display  their  affection  by  giving 
him  an  outfit  of  weapons,  ornaments,  new  cloth,  crockery  ware, 
etc.,  so  that,  like  the  son  of  a  modem  rich  man,  he  may  go  to  the 
devil  like  a  gentleman.  But  who  is  to  carry  these  things  and  look 
after  them?  Evidently  his  wives  and  slaves.  Therefore,  a  num- 
ber of  these  are  killed  to  keep  him  company,  and  often  a  slave  is 
killed  some  time  after  his  de<ith  to  tivko  liim  a  message,  or  as 
an  addition  to  his  houseliold. 

In  Dahomey  this  custom  of  sending  messengera  is  organized 
into  a  system.  Thus  originated  human  sacrifice  which  is,  grant- 
ing the  truth  of  the  theor}'  on  which  it  is  based,  a  most  mtional 
custom.  Death  is  disagreeable  to  us  because  we  do  not  know 
where  we  are  going,  but  to  the  widow  of  an  African  chieftain  it 
is  merely  a  sui'gical  operation  and  a  change  of  existence.  That 
explains  why  Africans  submit  to  death  so  quietly. 

A  woman  at  Akropong  selected  for  the  sacrifice  was  stripped 
according  to  custom,  but  only  stunned,  not  killed  by  the  blows. 
She  I'ecovered  her  senses  and  found  hei-self  lying  on  the  ground 
surrounded  by  dead  bodies.  She  rose,  went  into  the  town  where 
the  elders  were  seated  in  council,  and  told  tliem  she  liad  been  to 
the  "Lord  of  the  Dead,"  and  had  ])een  sent  back,  because  she  was 
naked  ;  tlie  elders  must  dress  her  finely  and  kill  her  over  again.  This 
was  accordingly  done. 

But  there  is  another  kind  of  human  sacrifice,  the  slaying  of 
men  and  women  as  gifts  to  the  gods.  In  Ashanti  the  first  form 
of  sacrifice  is  pi-actised.  When  one  of  the  royal  family  dies, 
slaves  are  killed  by  the  hundred.  Horrible  as  it  may  seem  that 
such  a  thing  should  still  exist,  yet  it  is  true  that  human  sacrifices 
have  become  in  Ashanti,  as  in  Dahomey,  public  entertainments. 


178  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  sight  of  an  executioner,  in  a  shaggy  cap  of  black  monkey 
skin,  the  same  kind  that  is  used  for  ladies'  muffs,  chopping  off  the 
bead  of  a  slave,  is  to  the  Ashantis  what  the  sports  of  the  amphi- 
theatre were  to  the  Romans,  or  bull  tights  to  the  Spaniards  of  the 
present  day. 

Public  executions  in  all  countries  draw  large  crowds  of  specta- 
tors, and  in  Ashanti  this  penchant  of  the  multitude  has  been  culti- 
vated and  developed  into  an  artistic  feeling.  Decapitation  has 
become  with  them  an  art  as  various  as  music.  There  are  two 
movements  in  vogue,  tlie  allegro^  in  which  the  head  is  twisted  away 
by  a  sharp  knife  with  a  dexterous  turn  of  the  wrist  and  the 
adcyio^  in  which  the  head  is  sawn  off  in  slow  time. 

So  common  had  this  spectacle  become  in  the  days  prior  to  the 
fall  of  Coomassie,  that  when  the  little  son  of  one  of  the  German 
missionaries  —  who  was  freed  by  King  Coffee  on  the  approach  of 
the  English  troops  —  was  angiy  at  anyone,  he  would  exclaim, 
'*  Your  head  will  fall  to-morrow  I  " 

Slicing  off  heads  had  been  one  of  the  most  common  sights  that 
the  child  had  seen,  and  was  in  his  eyes  the  punishment  for  the 
most  trifling  offence.  The  place  where  the  bodies  are  cast  is  a 
swampy  place  near  the  town,  and  when  the  English  troops 
visited  it  the  effluvia  from  swollen,  putrefying  bodies  filled  the 
air  with  a  carrion  stench. 

The  whole  of  the  blood-stained  town  had  the  odor  of  death,  and 
every  breeze  that  was  wafted  over  it  bore  on  it  the  smell  of  decay- 
ing humanity,  wliile  piles  of  skulls  and  human  bones  testified  to 
the  long  continuance  of  these  horrible  sacrifices.  In  Ashanti  the 
two  great  seasons  of  sacrifice  are  the  Yam  and  tlie  Adai  customs. 

The  Yam  custom  occui-s  in  the  beginning  of  September,  at  the 
season  when  the  yams  are  ripe,  and  is  the  greatest  of  the  two 
customs;  it  consists  in  the  sacrifice,  with  much  ceremony  and 
many  rites,  of  large  numbers  of  human  beings  before  the  yams  are 
allowed  to  be  gathered. 

The  Adai  customs,  divided  into  the  "Great"  and  ''Little,"  are 
celebrated  every  three  weeks,  though  with  less  expenditure  of  life 
each  time  than  during  the  Yam  celebration.  In  November,  1881, 
a  report  reached  Europe  that  Mansah,  King  of  Ashanti  —  a  brother 
of  Koffee,  who  was  deposed  by  his  irat«  subjects  —  had  slain  two 


FEUDALISTip  HOKAROHT.  179 

hundred  girls  in  order  to  mix  their  blood  with  the  '^  swish/'  or 
clay,  for  his  new  palace. 

The  story  proved  unfounded,  though  quite  in  accord  with 
Ashanti  ideas  and  customs,  and  a  widespread  superstition  of  all 
countries  and  ages.  In  PoljTiesia,  for  example,  the  foundations 
of  some  of  the  temples  were  laid  amid  human  bodies ;  under  the 
gates  of  Mandalay  "spirit  watchera"  were  buried,  and  not  long 
ago  a  panic  pervaded  the  native  quarter  of  Madras  out  of  the 
rumor  that  the  English  government  were  about  to  ensure  the 
safety  of  the  new  harl)or  works  by  sacrificing  a  number  of  human 
beings. 

The  religion  of  the  Ashantis^is  as  rude  as  their  rites  in  honor  of 
it  are  bloody.  "Nyonmo"  is  their  Supreme  Being,  and  nearly 
evjpry  heavenly  or  terrestrial  phenomenon  is  one  of  his  manifesta- 
tions. They  worship  the  earth  and  the  sky  as  separate  deities, 
which  exercise  their  influence  over  mankind;  while  trees  auid 
rivers,  which  are  also  manifestations  of  their  gods,  can  only  exer- 
cise a  limited  power  over  particular  towns,  districts,  or  men. 

**Kra,"  or  the  soul  of  man,  existed,  in  their  belief,  before  the 
body,  and  is  transmitted  from  one  man  to  another,  so  that  the 
soul  which  left  the  body  of  an  old  man  may  liave  entered  the  body 
of  the  child  just  born.  The  priest  will  augur  in  regard  to  the 
destiny  of  the  babe  yet  unljoni,  by  asking  its  future  Km  to  tell 
one  as  to  its  foitune  in  life. 

This  Ki-a  is  distinct  from  the  body,  and  can  give  advice,  either 
good  or  bad,  according  to  its  sex  (for  there  are  male  and  female 
Kras),  to  the  body  which  it  inhabits.  Evil  spirits  and  ghosts  are, 
however,  what  the  Ashantis,  like  the  other  West  Africans,  mostly 
fear;  and  to  avert  their  displeasure,  resort  is  had  to  charms  or 
fetishes,  which  may  be  anything,  from  a  human  sacrifice  to  a  pot 
of  filth  compounded  by  the  fetish  priest. 

>  Mr.  Reade  who  lived  long  among  the  Ashantis  says  :  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  these 
Africans  are  a  stupid  people  because  they  liave  no  books,  and  do  not  wear  many  clotlics.  Tlie 
children  do  not  go  to  school,  but  they  sit  round  the  fire  at  night,  or  beneath  tlio  town  tree  in 
the  day,  and  listen  to  tlieir  el<ler5,  who  discuss  ]>o1itics,  and  matters  relating  to  government* 
law,  and  religion.  Every  man  in  a  tribe,  and  every  slave  belonging  to  a  tribe,  has  learned  at 
an  early  age  the  constitution  by  which  he  is  governed,  and  the  policy  pursued  towards  foreign 
tribes.  In  such  a  land  as  Ashanti  the  kings  and  chiefs  are  profoundly  skilled  in  the  arts  of 
diplomacy.  Their  weapon  of  offence  is  treachery  ;  the  weajMu  of  defence,  suspicion.  They^ 
hare  no  aoiiiples  and  no  delusions.  They  never  hesitate  to  betray,  and  always  hesitate  to 
beliflTO* 


180  THE   STORY   OP  GOVERNMENT. 

At  the  entrance  of  towns,  dwellings,  and  all  places  of  public 
resort,  are  fetislies  to  avert  evil ;  and  the  pathway  of  the  English 
army,  all  the  way  from  the  Pi-ah  to  Coomassie,  was  strewn  and 
littered  with  fetishes  to  avert  calamity  to  tlie  nation,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  sacred  city  being  reached  by  them. 

A  fetish  is  indeed  something  which  is  popularly  supposed  to  com- 
bine in  itself  the  god  or  his  attributes.  Fetishism  is  defined  by 
Lubbock  as  "the  stage  in  which  man  supposes  he  can  force  the 
Deity  to  comply  with  his  desires,"  and  Comte  has  used  it  to 
express  a  genei-al  theory  of  primitive  religion,  in  which  external 
objects  are  regarded  "as  animated  by  a  life  analogous  to  man's.'' 

Fetishism  thus  includes  the  woi-ship  of  "stocks  and  stones," 
and  thence  passes  by  an  imperceptible  gradation  into  idolatry. 
A  bit  of  rag,  the  claw  of  some  animal,  peculiarly  shaped  stones,  or 
I'oots,  bones,  birds'  beaks,  anything,  constitutes  a  fetish,  and 
"making  fetish"  consists  mainly  in  yelling  or  dancing. 

■  The  government  of  Dahome  or  Dahomey,  as  it  is  usually  spelled, 
presents  some  very  singular  points.  The  monarchy  is  absolute 
within  certain  limits,  yet  a  wise  king  always  takes  care  not  to  inin 
counter  to  the  wishes  of  his  subjects  in  any  matter  of  national 
imi)ortance,  or  when  the  public  sentiment  has  been  firmly  and 
unmistakably  expressed. 

But  the  curiousness  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  monarchy  is  of  a 
dual  character,  the  authority  of  the  real  sovereign  being  theoreti- 
cally supposed  to  be  shared  by  a  "bush-king,"  an  idea  which  wa.^ 
the  offspring  of  the  brain  of  Gfou,  the  eighth  king  of  the  present 
line. 

This  bush-king,  though  a  mythical  peraonage,  has  all  the 
honors,  privileges,  and  appurtenances  of  a  regular  sovereign,  and 
the  annual  "customs  "  are  prolonged  to  nearly  double  their  former 
length  in  order  to  do  him  honor.  He  has  a  palace  where  looms 
are  at  work,  making  cloth  for  his  household,  pipes,  and  other 
manufactures,  a  monopoly  of  which  is  granted  by  the  king  to  the 
landlord  or  keeper  of  the  palace  of  this  shadowy  being.  In  addi- 
tion, he  has  his  officers  of  state. 

In  a  word,  he  is  the  "c7ow5Ze"  of  the  real  king  or  "akhosu"; 
and  whatever  is  done  for  the  king  in  public  has  to  be  thrice 
repeated ;  once  for  the  Amazons,  or  female  guards,  then  for  Ad- 


FEUDALWTIU   MONARCHY. 


c]okpoii,  the  Imsli-kiiig,  and  lastly  fov  Addok- 
pcin's  Amazons.  The  ohject  of  the  iiiHtitution 
of  this  bush-kmg  is  amuaing- 

G»?zu  was  anxious  to  share  in  the  profits  of 
the  palm  oil,  imd  other  trades,  hut  could  not 
consent  to  demean  liis  royal  hands  hy  mingling 
in   commercial   transactions.     Aecoi-dingly  the 
idea  of   a  "donhle"   who  should  he 
the  tinding  monarch,  while  the  real 
sovereign  should  have  all  the  pleas- 
ure  of   spending  the   proceeds,   was 
seized   upon.       G^zu's    douhle    was 
called   Gahqpweh,    or    "Market-day 
coming." 

The  king  makes  most  of  tlie  laws, 
after  submitting  them  to  his  priiici- 
[wl  ministers,  whose  opinion  is  always 
accepted;  and  if  they  approve  of  the 

^* 


182  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

"Act  of  Parliament,"  hei-alds  are  sent  around  and  proclaim  it  to 
the  people.  The  people  have,  however,  the  privilege  of  pro- 
posing an  amendment  on  an  old  law,  when  the  'pro%  and  c<yn»  are 
discussed  fully  in  public,  without  any  fear  of  offence.  So  on  the 
whole,  the  legislative  element  is  in  mther  a  high  state  of  perfec- 
tion in  the  kingdom  of  Dahomey.  Minor  offences  are  judged 
by  the  caboceers,  or  nobles,  but  all  crimes  involving  capital 
punishment  are  heard  by  the  king,  who  alone  has  the  power  of 
life  or  death.  Many  of  the  laws  are  very  just  and  appropriate 
to  the  kingdom,  but  others  are  mere  caprices  of  a  despotic  and 
whimsical  monarch. 

Take  a  few  examples :  —  No  person  is  allowed  to  marry  a  wife 
imtil  he  has  fii-st  asked  permission  of  the  king,  who  can,  if  he 
likes,  enlist  her  in  the  Amazonian  corps;  no  subject  is  allowed 
to  sit  on  a  chair  in  public,  to  wear  shoes,  or  to  ride  in  a  hammock ; 
no  goods  landed  at  Wliydah  can  be  I'eshipped;  no  Dahomey 
woman  is  permitted  to  leave  the  country,  and  so  on. 

Every  man  is  liable  to  serve  as  a  soldier,  and  consequently  each 
individual  in  the  country  is  esteemed  according  to  his -military 
rank,  and  the  position  which  that  i-ank  entitles  him  to  hold  in 
the  different  wings  of  the  army,  these  being  of  unequal  honor  in 
public  esteem. 

The  "Ningan"  is  the  prime  minister  and  commander-in-chief 
of  the  kingdom,  in  addition  to  being  chief  magistrate,  superin- 
tendent of  police,  and  principal  executioner.  No  visitors,  unless 
they  are  created  war  captains,  can  hold  any  convei'sation  with 
him;  and  though  prime  minister,  he  has  no  dealings  with  civil 
business. 

All  such  contemptible  *affairs  as  trade  palavera  and  diplomacy 
are  beneath  the  dignity  of  an  official  whose  sole  business  in  life  is 
death.  He  alone,  of  all  the  Dahoman  subjects,  can  address  the 
king  with  tlie  prefix  "  Asah,"  a  word  supposed  to  resemble  a  lion's 
roar.  Like  all  the  high  dignitaries,  he  perfonns  most  of  his 
duties  by  deputies,  who  are,  liowevcr,  men  of  mark. 

The  second  minister  of  the  realm  is  the  "'Meu,"  whose  duties 
are  onerous  and  multifarious.  All  the  visitoi-s  to  the  court  are 
placed  under  his  care.  He  is  the  executioner  of  all  the  bush- 
kind's    victims   at   the    annual    customs,    and    collector    of    the 


184  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

revenue.  Next  to  the  Meu  is  the  Avogan  or  Viceroy  of  Whydah. 
In  addition,  there  are  several  other  officials  whose  positions  do 
not  seem  to  be  very  settled  and  who  perform  various  offices. 

The  eunuchs  rank  next  to  the  ministers.  They  superintend 
the  Amazons'  quarters,  and  have  many  privileges  not  accorded  to 
other  subjects.  The  night  guards  of  the  palace,  and  the  town 
police,  are  also  officials  of  high  rank.  The  trade  captains,  or 
"  Akhisin,"  inspect,  if  at  Whydah,  all  ships'  cargoes,  and  receive 
the  customs'  duties.  Last  of  all  come  the  commanders  of  the 
various  towns,  who  form  alx)ut  one  fifth  of  the  whole  army. 

The  soldiere  are  divided  into  several  corps,  distinguished  by 
different  uniforms.  Each  soldier  is  equipped  at  the  government 
expense,  but  they  receive  neither  pay  nor  rations,  and  on  the 
march  are  expected  either  to  cany  their  own  provisions,  to  pur- 
chase them,  or  to  forage  for  them  upon  the  enemy's  country. 
Fresh  elephant  steaks  on  such  mai-ches  are  frequently  eaten  raw, 
being  supposed  to  impart  cunning  as  well  as  courage. 

Every  soldier  is  expected  to  bring  back  a  head  or  a  prisoner; 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  campaign  the  prisoners  and  heads  are 
delivered  over  to  the  king,  who  pays  each  man  a  fixed  price  for 
his  human  plunder.  Sometimes,  in  war  time,  the  king  will,  at 
his  own  charge,  ransom  captives  of  his  people  taken  by  the  enemy. 

Surprise  is  the  chief  tactic  practised  in  war,  and  so  secret  is 
eveiything  kept  that,  on  the  declaration  of  hostilities,  it  is  rare 
that  the  king  tells  even  his  first  minister  which  town  he  intends 
to  attack  firet.  The  ai-my  marches  in  silence,  not  along  the 
regular  coast,  but  by  pathways  cut  in  the  bush;  no  fires  are  lit; 
and  all  stragglei's  are  taken  prisoners. 

In  the  dead  of  night  the  town  is  surrounded,  and  just  before 
daybreak,  when  all  is  quiet,  the  town  is  assailed,  and  all  the 
inhabitants,  if  possible,  captured,  the  object  of  all  such  attacks 
being  not  to  kill,  but  to  take  prisonei-s,  who  are  either  reserved 
for  the  annual  customs,  or  sent  as  slaves  to  different  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  or  enlisted  in  the  Dahoman  army,  where  the  highest 
offices  are  open  to  them. 

The  women  are  made  servants  to  the  Amazons,  and  reside 
witliin  the  precincts  of  the  palace.  The  town  itself  is  usually 
destroyed,  with  all  its  other  living  inhabitants.     If  resistance  is 


^yj^^N::?^) 


186  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

attempted,  then  the  struggle  is  bloody,  but  short,  for  African 
aboriginal  courage  is  but  a  spasmodic  quality;  once  let  it  evap- 
orate, it  never  returns  in  time  to  enable  the  scattered  army  to 
rally.     The  first  repulse  is  the  last. 

Disease  and  hardship  decimate  the  army  while  on  these  slave- 
hunting  expeditions  more  than  the  sword.  If  small-pox  breaks 
out  the  mortality  is  something  dreadful;  three  out  of  the  nine 
kings  of  the  present  dynasty  have  fallen  victims  to  this  disease. 

Perhaps  the  most  extraordinaiy  feature  in  Dahoman  economy 
is  the  corps  of  Amazons  or  female  warriors.  This  word  long  ago 
got  incorporated  from  the  Greek  into  our  language  as  expressing 
a  masculine  woman,  but  what  these  Amazons  really  ai-e  is  not  so 
generally  known.  Their  origin  among  the  Africans  dates  from 
1728,  when  the  exigencies  of  war  compelled  the  then  king  to 
organize  a  regiment  of  women,  with  whom  he  attacked  and 
defeated  the  old  Whydahs.  Since  then  they  liave  been  a  marked 
feature  in  the  military  establishment  of  the  Dahoman  kingdom. 

Under  Gdzu  the  corps  attained  its  maximum  of  gi*eatness.  With 
that  acuteness  which  distinguished  him  he  raised  the  Amazonian 
body  from  being  merely  a  subordinate  establishment  to  an  equal 
level  with  the  male  soldiers,  and  created  female  officers,  so  that, 
by  surrounding  himself  with  a  band  of  viragos,  bound  to  him 
by  all  the  ties  of  gratitude  and  interest,  he  could  at  once  put  a 
check  on  too  ambitious  subjects,  and  nip  in  the  bud  the  first  signs 
of  rebellion. 

On  a  certain  day,  once  in  three  years,  every  subject  must  pre- 
sent himself,  with  his  daughtens  above  a  certain  age,  before  the 
king.  The  most  promising  of  those  belonging  to  the  higher 
classes  he  selects  as  officers,  the  poorer  ones  b^ing  chosen  as  sol- 
diers, while  the  children  of  slaves  become  the  servants  of  the 
Amazons  who  reside  within  the  palace. 

This  done,  the  other  daughters  are  returned  to  their  parents  to 
be  disposed  of  as  they  may  find  proper.  Some  of  the  selected 
girls  are  "dashed"  or  presented  to  the  most  meritorious  soldiers 
as  wives,  and  all  the  female  children  of  these  Amazonian  wives 
are  Amazons  by  birth-right.  The  king,  too,  takes  several  Ama- 
zons as  concubines,  under  the  name  of  "leopard  wives,"  who 
enjoy  many  privileges. 


ISUDALISTIG   MONARCHY.  187 

With  these  exceptions,  every  Amazon  is  a  celibate;  but  as 
military  discipline  is  not  always  equal  to  preventing  the  little 
god  Cupid  from  his  mischievous  work,  a  fetish  —  called  ihe 
Demen  —  is  erected  over  one  of  the  palace  gates,  which  by  its 
power  at  once  discovers  any  Amazon  who  is  unfaithful  to  her 
military  oath  in  the  matter  of  celilxicy. 

Tlie  infoimera  also  —  who  in  these  cases  are  generally  jealous 
of  the  culprits  —  ai-e  never  backward  in  causing  the  misdemeanor 
of  the  erring  soldieress  to  reach  the  ears  of  the  king,  and  her  fears 
being  worked  on,  she  almost  invariably  confesses  the  name  of  her 
lover.  The  result  is  that  botli  are  punished,  he  assuredly  by  a 
cruel  death,  and  she  in  all  likelihood  by  blows  from  the  hands  of 
her  comrades. 

Though  the  flower  of  this  coi-ps  of  female  soldiers  perished 
under  the  walls  of  Abeokeuta  in  1864,  their  number  may  be  yet 
about  four  thousand.  They  are  divided  into  three  brigades,  each 
of  which  has  a  peculiar  head  dress  or  method  of  dressing  the  hair. 

Each  of  these  brigades  is  commanded  by  female  officers  and  sul>- 
officers,  and  is  again  divided  into  Agbaraya,  or  Blunderbuss 
women,  the  veterans  of  the  aimy  only  called  into  action  in  case  of 
urgent  need;  the  Gbeto,  or  Elephant-huntresses,  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  corps  in  the  army,  who  on  hunting  expeditions 
are  exposed  to  great  danger  from  the  infuriated  animals;  the 
Nyekpleh-hentoh,  or  Razor  women,  of  whom  there  are  only  a  few 
to  each  wing. 

Their  special  object  of  attack  is  the  king  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
huge  razors  which  they  carry  are  especially  intended  for  the  decapi- 
tation of  this  monarch.  Lastly,  there  are  the  Gulonentoh,  or 
Musketeei's,  and  the  Gohento,  or  Areheresses,  who  are  all  young 
girls,  and  more  of  a  show  coi^ps,  their  weapons  being  of  compara- 
tively little  use  in  active  warfare. 

In  addition  there  are  troops  of  camp-followers,  hewers  of  wood, 
and  drawers  of  water.  Even  they  enjoy  certain  privileges.  If 
met  with  in  the  pathway,  headed  by  a  beldame  ringing  a  bell, 
every  man,  unless  bearing  the  "king's  stick"  as  insignium  of 
rank,  must  instantly  disappear  to  the  right  or  left.  To  look  upon 
them  would  be  a  crime.  Accordingly  they  are  exceedingly  self- 
important  and  arrogantly  jealous  of  their  prerogatives. 


188  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

All  the  corps  of  Amazons,  with  the  exception  of  the  Aivh- 
eresses,  are  armed  with  muskets  or  blunderbusses,  kept  scrupu- 
lously clean,  but  though  these  female  warrioi-s  are  brave  to 
fei-ocity,  they  are  poor  markswomen,  hitting  a  haysfcick  being 
about  the  sum  of  their  rifle  accomplishments. 

The  bush-king  has  also  his  Amazons,  and  every  official,  high 
and  low,  has  also  his  '"'  double  "  among  them.  If  an  officer  is 
elevated  to  a  higher  rank,  an  Amazon  within  the  pilace  also  gets 
a  similar  title.  The  mothei-s  and  wives  of  deceased  kings  have 
also  their  representatives  among  the  Amazons,  who  are  called 
Akhosusi  (king's  wives  or  Mi  no,  mothei-s). 

The  term  "mother"  in  Dahomey  is,  however,  a  term  of  i-e- 
spect,  and  does  not  mean  a  maternal  relative.  Though  the  value 
of  the  Amazonian  corps  has  been  justly  celebrated  as  winning 
victories  for  the  Dahoman  king,  yet  at  the  same  time  we  must 
remember  that  its  existence  is  one  of  the  causes  of  the  slow  de- 
cadence of  that  kingdom.  The  pix)portion  of  celibates  is  too  gi-eat 
for  the  populfition,  being  somewhei-e  about  three  to  one. 

Four  thousand  women  represent  twelve  thousand  children, 
the  greater  numlxjr  of  whom  are  lost  to  the  State,  which  cannot 
afford  such  a  drain.  This,  combined  with  the  losses  by  disease 
and  war,  is  one  of  the  fertile  sources  of  the  national  loss  of  pres- 
tige, which  is  only  too  true;  and  ere  long,  unless  there  is  a 
change,  Dahomey  will  l)e  classed  among  the  nations  of  the  past. 
A  special  decoration  is  reserved  for  Amazons  who  have  slain 
enemies  in  battle.  This  is  a  cowry,  glued  by  the  blood  of  the 
slain  man  to  the  butt  of  the  musket,  one  cowTy  for  each  enemy  slain. 

Until  Burton's  time  we  knew  almost  nothing  of  the  fetishism 
which  constitutes  the  religion  of  the  Dahomans.  The  tradei*s  in 
charge  of  the  ''factories*'  on  the  coast  could  tell  little.  Their 
tiilk  was  of  oil,  dust,  and  ivory,  and  they  were  more  concerned 
about  how  much  was  to  l)e  made,  honestly  or  dishonestly,  out  of 
the  "black  ivory,"  than  what  their  religion  or  customs  w^ere.  So 
though  for  two  centuries  we  have  had  intercourse  with  Dahomey, 
we  are  still  much  in  the  dark  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  their 
deities  and  forms  of  worship.  This  we  know,  however,  that  they 
believe  in  a  Supreme  Being,  and  in  a  host  of  minor  deities. 

Mau,  the  Supreme  Being,  resides  in  a  wonderful  dwelling  above 


PKUDALI8TIC   MONARCHY.  189 

the  flky,  and  is  of  so  exalted  a  nature  as  to  care  very  little  for 
men  and  their  trials.  To  obtain  his  aid,  special  invocation  must 
he  directed  to  him.  Even  then  he  commits  the  care  of  human 
heinga  to  monkeys,  who  in  one  place  frequent  a  natnntlly  teiTaced 
river- bluft  to  ivhich  pilgrimages  are  made  and  wliicli  is  called  the 
Hill  of  the  Holy  Monkeys.  (Juaixliansliip  of  human  beings  is 
also  entrusted  to  leopai'ds,  snakes,  locusts,  alligatoi's,  and  inanimate 


objects  —  stones,   rags,   cowries,    leaves   of   certain    trees  —  in   a 
word,  to  anything  and  everything. 

Man's  assistiint  keeps  a  record  of  the  good  and  evil  deeds  of 
every  pei'son  by  means  of  notches  on  a  stick;  and  when  anyone 
dies  his  Itody  is  judged  according  to  tiie  records  on  this  monvl 
tally.  If  his  good  deeds  predominate  he  joins  his  spirit  in  Kut-o- 
men  or  the  "Dead-land";  but  if,  on  tlie  contrary,  his  evil  deeds 
pre[>onderate,  tlien  his  Ixxly  is  entirely  desti"oyeil,  and  a  new  one 
created  for  the  habitation  of  his  spirit  or  soul. 


190  THE  STORY  OP   GOVERNMBNT. 

In  this  belief  the  spirit  has  no  concern  with  the  body;  it  is 
released,  whether  the  deeds  of  the  person  have  been  good  or  evil, 
immediately  after;  and  whatever  is  the  social  condition  of  a  per- 
son when  he  leaves  this  world,  the  same  will  be  his  social  con- 
dition in  the  next. 

The  slave  on  earth  is  the  slave  in  the  spirit  land;  the 
king  is  still  the  monarch  there.  The  ghosts  of  parents  or  rela- 
tions take  great  interest  in  the  affairs  of  their  kin  on  the 
earth,  advising  them  as  to  their  conduct  and  affairs  out  of  the 
depth  of  knowledge  which  their  residence  in  the  spirit  world  has 
given  them.  If,  however,  the  misconduct  of  those  on  earth  is 
great,  then  this  protection  may  be  taken  from  them  and  given  to 
entire  strangers. 

The  "  customs  **  are  compliments  paid  to  these  guardian  spirits, 
and  to  stop  them  would  l)e  to  insult  these  all-powerful  and  useful 
beings.  When  the  Dahoman  monarch  requires  special  advice,  he 
applies  to  the  Bassajeh  or  holy  women,  who  consult  the  oracle  and 
obtain  an  answer.  The  common  people  in  the  same  way  apply  to 
a  fetish  priest,  who  will  act  as  a  medium  between  the  gods  and 
men. 

To  every  man  is  assigned  at  birth  a  certain  number  of  deeds, 
good  and  bad.  He  ^is  not  to  blame  for  those  bad  deeds  allotted 
to  him,  but  he  can  avoid  committing  them  by  making  certain 
offerings  to  the  deity  through  the  medium  of  the  fetish  priest. 
The  Dahoman  is  thus  an  eminently  religious  man.  Every  action 
of  his  life  is  mixed  up  -with  his  religious  ideas,  and  is  mingled 
with  the  desire  of  obtaining  a  status  in  eternity. 

Certain  priests  pi*etend  to  have  seen  this  far  away  land  of 
Kutomen;  and  if  a  person  is  dying  he  will  often  pay  a  handsome 
fee  to  the  priest  to  pay  a  visit  to  Kutomen,  with  a  view  to  beg 
the  spectral  ancestor  to  excuse  the  sick  man  attending  the  sum- 
mons. If  the  patient  recovers,  the  priest  gets  the  credit  of  per- 
suading the  ghost  to  jirolong  his  residence  on  the  earth ;  but  if 
not,  then  he  has  always  the  excuse  that  the  spirit  will  accept  of 
no  subterfuge,  and  commands  immediate  i)resence. 

Upon  one  occasion,  says  Mr.  Skertchly,  I  saw  a  priest  who  was 
about  to  depart  on  a  visit  to  Hades.  He  received  his  fee  beforehand, 
cautious  fellow,   and   went  into   an   empty  shed   near  the   patient's 


I'EITDALISTIC   MONARCHY.  191 

house.  He  then  drew  a  circle  on  the  ground,  and  took  oat  of  his 
M possible  sack"  a  number  of  charms,  all  tied  up  in  blood-stained  rags. 

Squatting  down  in  the  centre  of  this  magic  circle,  and  bidding  us  on 
no  account  to  step  within  it,  he  covered  himself  with  a  large  square  of 
grey  baft,  profusely  and  elaborately  ornamented.  In  a  few  minutes  he 
commenced  to  mutter  some  unintelligible  sounds  in  a  low  voice,  his 
body  and  limbs  quivering  like  an  aspen.  Half  an  hour  of  this  farce 
ensued,  when  the  fetisher  uncovered  himself  and  prepared  to  deliver 
the  message. 

He  said  that  he  had  found  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining  access 
to  the  ghost  who  had  summoned  the  patient,  as  when  he  knew  that  a 
priest  was  coming  he  hid  in  the  bush.  He  said  that  the  ghost  was  that 
of  Nuage  (one  of  the  sick  man^s  dead  uncles),  and  that  he  was  much 
offended  by  this  summons  not  being  answered  in  person ;  but  in  con- 
sideration of  certain  sacrifices  offered  to  Guh,  he  would  think  over  the 
matter.  Rather  an  ambiguous  answer,  but  just  in  the  prevaricating 
manner  affected  by  all  priests,  whether  in  Japan  or  on  the  Yellowstone. 

From  the  statement  of  these  priests  it  appears  that  life  in  the  other 
world  is  much  the  same  as  in  this  —  wars,  palavers,  feasts,  dances,  and 
other  incidents  going  on  in  the  same  way  as  on  eartli.  It  appears  that 
the  clothes  in  which  the  deceased  is  buried  accompany  him  to  Kuto- 
men,  for  sometimes  a  priest  will  bring  back  with  him  a  necklace,  bead, 
or  other  small  article  known  to  have  been  buried  with  the  corpse  of 
the  person  who  summons  the  sick  man. 

Sir  Richard  Burton  mentions  the  case  of  a  priest  who,  "  after 
returning  with  a  declai-ation  that  he  had  left  a  marked  coin  in 
Dead-land,  drop{>ed  it  from  his  waistcloth  at  the  feet  of  the  payer 
while  drinking  rum."  A  singular  belief  is  that  a  spirit  may  be  m 
moi*e  places  than  one  at  the  same  time.  Hence  it  is  believed  that 
a  spirit  may  remain  in  spirit  land,  and  yet  be  in  the  person  of  a 
newly  bom  infant. 

Thus  all  the  king's  children  are  inhabited  by  the  tmnsmigrated 
spirits  of  former  kings,  their  ancestors.  The  African  cannot  gi-asp 
the  idea  of  a  deity  omniscient  and  omnipresent;  accordingly  he 
has  a  number  of  media  between  himself  and  Mau,  the  Supreme 
Being. 

The  Dahoman  denies  that  his  Supreme  Being  has  bodily  foim, 
but  yet  he  ascribes  to  him  human  passions ;  a  sti*ange  medley  of 
contradictions.     They  are  not  polytheists ;   they  worship  but  one 


192  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

god,  who  is  approached,  not  through  minor  deities,  but  through 
go-betweens,  viz.,  fetishes.  These  are,  in  a  word,  like  the  saints 
or  angels  of  Christendom,  "beings  who  have  powerful  influence 
for  good  or  evil  with  Mau." 

The  most  powerful  fetish  is  Danh-gbwe,  the  tutelary  saint  of 
Whydah,  which  is  pei-sonified  by  the  harmless  snake  so  named. 
Its  worship  was  introduced  into  Dahomey  when  the  kingdom  of 
Whydah  was  conquered  and  annexed.  In  Whydah,  hidden  from 
eyes  profane  by  a  thick  grove  of  fig  trees,  is  the  famed  Danh- 
hweh,  or  fetish  snake-house. 

This  is  nothing  more  than  a  circular  swish  hut,  the  very  model 
of  the  Parian  inkstand  to  be  seen  in  every  toyshop.  From  the 
roof  depend  pieces  of  cotton  yarn,  and  on  the  floor,  which,  in  com- 
mon with  the  walls,  is  whitewashed,  are  several  pots  of  water.  The 
pythons,  to  the  number  of  twenty-two,  are  coiled  on  the  top  of 
the  wall,  or  twined  around  the  rafters.  All  these  hideous  reptiles 
are  sacred. 

To  slay  one,  even  by  accident  —  for  to  do  so  purposely  would 
not  be  dreamt  of  —  used  to  entail  instant  sacrifice  to  the  gods^ 
and  confiscation  of  all  the  offender's  property  to  the  fetish  priests. 
Nowadays  his  punishment  is  not  so  severe,  but  still  exemplary 
enough.  The  offender,  after  a  meeting  of  all  the  fetishers  of  the 
neighborhood  is  convened,  is  seated  within  a  hut  of  stick, 
thatched  with  dry  grass,  and  built  in  the  enclosure  in  front  of 
the  snake-house.  His  clothes  and  body  are  well  daubed  with 
palm-oil,  mixed  with  the  fat  of  the  murdered  snake  god. 

At  a  given  signal  the  hut  is  fired,  and  the  materials  being  like 
tinder,  the  unfortunate  offender  against  tlie  majesty  of  the  snake 
is  enveloped  in  flames.  In  excmciating  torture  he  rushes  out  of 
the  flames,  his  clothes  on  fii-e,  to  the  nearest  water,  pursued  by 
the  infuriated  priests,  who  belabor  liini  with  sticks,  stones,  and 
all  sorts  of  rubbish. 

If  he  reaches  the  water  he  is  free,  and  should  he  survive  has  ex- 
piated his  crime.  Few  are  able  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and  gener- 
ally expire  before  reaching  the  cooling  water,  clubbed  to  death 
l)y  the  fetishnien,  the  Danh-yhive-no^  or  snake -mothers,  as  they 
are  called. 

As  the  door  of  the  snake  temple  is  always  open,  the  snakes  fre- 


FEDDALISTIC   MONAKCHY.  193 

quently  wander  out  after  nightfall.  If  any  peraon  meets  one,  he 
must  prostrate  himself  before  it,  carrying  it  tenderly  in  his  anna  to 
the  temple,  where  his  humanity  to  the  snake-god  is  rewarded  by 
his  being  fined  for  meeting  the 
snake;  and,  if  lie  cannot  or  will 
not  j)ay,  he  is  imprisoned  until 
the  uttemiost  cowry'  is  ex- 
tracted from  him. 

Ordiniiry  snakes  may  be  killf<l 
with  impunity,  but  woe  to  him 
who  injures  the  Danli-gbw 
The  snake  priests  have  viirio 
neophytes  or  pupils,  who  are 
instructed  in  the  mysteries  jiei- 
taining  to  ophio logical  theology. 

Tliese  neophytes  are  re- 
cruited in  the  following  ivay: 
If  a  child  is  tjmcheil  by  one  of 
these  snakes  in  his  nocturnal 
excursions,    it    it  devoted  ever 

after  to  the  priesthood  of  the  snake,  and  its  jnirents  are  forced  to 
pay  large  fees  for  its  lengthy  instruction  in  the  rites  of  the  fetish 
after  which  he  is  allowed  to  practi.se  for  liiniHt'lf. 

Snake  worship  is  one  of  the   most  widespii.'iid  forms  of  animal 
worship  known,  hiiviiig  been  pnictised  by   must  nf  the  nations  of 


of  eichange.  They  maile  iivi 
Ilie  »ilB  of  a  aixvie*  o(  /'yj 
•e'.tlcni  ibemiielves  ui'eil  It.    I 


H  been  practiced   by 
i-oninuin  "  hiir>l-!>liell 
•irini;  InUlanK 


!eorcowiies,  or  sheUs,  as  media  of  eichanjH'.o 

j^  nations.    The  I'ilerttn  Fathers  at  Plyiuoiilh 

K  the  nelKhl- 

vliile  froi 
ciinclitlie"  white  tFiiin/fr()»''  wan  manufactured.  The 
tunce.  In  inTI.  John  ni(^ln«m  bad  £IGO  voted  him  "  In 
cuuniry  produce."  which  he  wu:i;;lad  toeii^tianin!  fcirClin  Mdlilcnuh.  SolM  dL-ih  incliiilud 
beaver  AInt,  black  and  white  uiintpnm,  IwailH,  and  inuiikut-l>all»,  value  one  fartliliig.  Il'ttm- 
jiuni  was  also  made  ot  tlie  whelk-Bhell  (Bm-rinuai).  In  Xew  MfxIco  the  ear-eliell  (lln'lolla 
ni/ucciw),  the  rotmnnn  Catirnmlan  "  AhaliHie,"  Is  used  ax  ni'iiiey.  The  Indians  wlw  re- 
iilde<l  in  [lie  vicinity  iif  tlie  old  Ituulan  u'ttleiuent  ot  Boilei.'a,  on  tlie  nnrllicrn  roa«t  of  Call- 
lomla,  uMd  at  one  time  jileceH  of  a  clain-Bhell  (.•iitTlilomiig  aniliiK,  <;itt.}  aa  money.  To 
retnm  to  the  African  cowry.  It  U  the  Cm-nra  monria  of  natiiiallHO,  a  native  of  the 
Indian  rapine  walen.  It  In  utillzB.1  ax  money  by  the  native*  nl  xmie  |urt»  of  Ilindcwtan. 
and  is  exported  lor  twrtcr  wllh  the  WR>t  African  trllwa.  In  former  time  II  wo-i  eiten- 
*lvely  used  In  Illnilostan.  Rfwu  nientlmis  that  agenllcman  rei'ldlngat CuIIauk  Utald  to 
hoiepaldrortlieerecilonof  hts/mn/jofrw  entirely  In  these  ocjwrleK.  The  IniMilInK  ciwi  about 
4.«oa  nipeei  ilcni  i£(oa  Bterllii);) ;  and  as  Klxty.four  ot  the»e  sheUs  are  eituLvalent  In  value  to 
one  iHo!,  be  paid  for  It  with  over  K.OOD.OOO  of  lliene  pliell.i.  Tons  are  annuall;  nent  out  from 
Ureipool  to  the  Coast  ot  Africa  for  trading  purposes,  and  employed  in  the  manner  described. 


194  THE  STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

antiquity,  and  at  the  present  time  by  many  barbarous  or  savage 
tribes. 

Sir  John  Lubbock  considers  that  the  widespread  worship  of 
snakes  points  us  to  the  fact  of  the  worship  having  originated 
spontaneously  in  many  different  places  and  at  different  times,  and 
that  the  worship  of  the  seipent-god  commenced  originally  as  a 
malevolent  being,  who  was  flattered,  as  cruel  rulera  ever  are,  but 
that  in  process  of  time  this  flattery,  at  first  only  an  expression  of 
fear,  came  to  be  an  article  of  faith. 

In  ancient  times  Mr.  Fergusson  shows  that  serpent  worship 
prevailed  in  Egypt,  India,  Phoenicia,  Babylonia,  Greece,  and, 
to  a  smaller  extent,  in  Italy.  In  more  modern  times  tmces  have 
been  found  in  Persia,  Cashmere,  Cambodia,  Thibet,  India,  China, 
Ceylon,  America,  and  among  the  Kalmucks.  In  Africa  serpents 
were  adored  among  the  Abyssinians,  and  in  Upper  Egypt.  All 
along  the  Gold  and  Slave  Coasts,  viz.,  Guinea,  this  snake-worship 
prevailed  at  one  time. 

Bosman,  an  old  writer  on  Guinea,  mentions  that  some  English 
sailors  who  had  killed  one  of  these  serpents,  which  they  found  in 
their  house,  were  attacked  and  killed  by  the  natives.  Not  to 
enumerate  other  instances,  even  among  the  Mahommedan,  Foulahs, 
and  Mandingoes,  and  among  the  Christianized  people  of  Sierra 
Leone,  traces  of  ophiolatry  are  said  to  exist. 

The  given  reason  why  the  snake  is  so  reverenced  in  Whydah 
is  because,  during  an  attack  on  Ardra,  it  appeared  to  the  army, 
and  so  stimulated  it  tliat  the  victory  wiis  secured.  It  is  still 
looked  upon  with  equal  veneration,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
it  did  not  avail  against  the  conquering  Dahomans,  into  whose 
kingdom  Whydah  is  now  incorporated. 

Frequently  young  women  who  are  ill  are  taken  to  the  snake 
temple  to  be  cured  and  high  fees  ai*e  exacted  for  this  service.  In 
Astley's  "Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels"  is  figured  "Agoye 
an  Idol  of  Whiddah,"  the  "God  of  Councils,"  in  the  form  of  a 
human  being  with  serpents  and  lizards  coming  out  of  the  top  of 
its  head. 

Though  nowadays  the  snake  is  looked  upon  as  equally  powerful 
in  obtaining  favors  for  its  worshippers,  yet  in  Whydah,  at  least,  it 
has  no  visible  representation  m  the  shape  of  an  image,  its  worship 


FEUDAUSTIC   MONARCHY.  195 

being  confined  to  an  adoration  of  the  living  snakes  kept  in  the 
snake-houses  in  all  the  principal  towns,  and  which,  wandering 
about  at  night,  are  a  perfect  nuisance  to  all  who  dwell  in  the 
vicinity   of  the   snake-temples. 

The  Danhsi,  or  snake-priests  ("'snake-mothers"  and  '* snake- 
wives  *'  they  ai*e  also  called),  number  upwards  of  one  thousand, 
and  are  of  both  sexes,  married  and  single.  They  generally  com- 
mence with  a  coui-se  of  preliminary  instruction  at  Whydah,  and 
finish  off  at  the  great  fetish  town  of  Somome. 

Another  deity,  almost  as  important,  is  Atin-bodun,  personified 
by  various  trees,  but  who  resides  in  some  curious  specimen  of 
ceramic  ware,  such  as  an  upturned  pot,  or  red  cullender.  He  is 
worshipped  by  offerings  of  water  poured  into  the  little  pot,  and 
is  especially  powerful  in  averting  and  curing  diseases,  especially 
fevers.  He  also  inhabits  any  tall  tree,  such  as  the  Loko  or 
poison  tree,  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  of  which  is  used  to  detect 
any  hidden  crime.  Atin-bodun  is  served  by  almost  as  many 
priests  as  the  snakes,  but  they  are  not  of  such  high  rank. 

Another  deity  is  Hu,  '"the  Dahonian  Nei)tune,'*  who  has  the 
sea  at  Whydah  in  his  charge.  Canoe  men  woi-ship  and  offer  up 
donations  of  food  to  him  to  induce  him  to  save  them  from  the 
rolling  surf.  Formerly  the  king  was  accustomed  to  send  a  man 
dressed  as  a  caboceer,  with  umbrella,  stool,  beads,  and  other 
insignia  of  his  rank,  to  the  beach,  where  he  was  j^laced  in  a 
canoe  by  the  Huno  [priest],  and,  after  sundry  offerings  and 
prayers,  caiTied  out  to  sea  and  thrown  overboard.  This  practice 
is  now  happily  discontinued. 

Khevyosoh,  the  thunder-god,  is  the  last  of  the  four  principal 
Dahoman  deities.  He  is  tlie  Slave  Coast  Jupiter,  who  presides 
over  the  weather,  and  slays  all  wlx)  offend  him  with  his  thunder- 
bolts, t.  «.,  abi^  the  lightning. 

In  considering  such  governments  as  those  of  Ashanti  and 
Dahomey  with,  their  dreadful  religious  rites,  and  their  curious, 
appalling  superstitions,  one  is  tempted  to  wonder,  when  taking 
into  account  the  vast  sums  which  have  been  subscribed  in  the  last 
hundred  years  for  missionary  purposes,  why  Christianity  has  made 
so  little  impression  on  the  African  mind. 

We  see  in  this  country  that  the  gentle  and  beautiful  teachings 


196  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  Him  who  was  born  on  the  wood  of  a  manger  and  died  on  the 
wood  of  a  cross  —  the  carpenter's  son  of  Galilee  —  have  from  the 
earliest  days  of  slaveiy  been  peculiarly  attractive  to  the  natures 
of  our  colored  brethren,  and  that  since  the  abolition  of  slavery 
Christianity  has  been  a  most  potent  factor  in  the  gradual  eleva- 
tion of  that  i-ace  which  politicians  have  been  wont  to  regard  as 
furnishing  the  most  perplexing  problem  of  our  American  attempt 
at  civilization. 

Why,  then,  have  so  much  noble  endeavor  and  so  much  wealth 
been  wasted  in  Africa?  Why  has  the  missionary  business  been 
a  most  pathetic  failure?  The  i)mctical  man  answers  these  ques- 
tions by  affirming  tliat  tlie  African  aborigines  must  be  commercially 
transfonned  and  held  under  the  dominion  or  at  least  the  protector- 
ate of  some  Euroi>ean  power,  before  any  efforts  to  plant  Chris- 
tianity can  be  crowned  with  a  satisfactory  harvest. 

The  French  are  engaged  at  present  in  attempting  to  convert 
Behanzin,  the  King  of  Dahomey,  ])y  force  of  anns,  to  certain  com- 
mercial views  which  they  think  he  ought  to  liold,  and  this  has 
been  the  English  method  with  all  African  tril)e8.  As  one  brilliant 
writer  i)uts  it,  commercialization  or  extermination  fire  tlie  only 
stepping-stones  to  civilization  in  interior  Africa  and,  indeed, 
while  the  Cliristian  powei-s  of  Europe,  for  the  sake  of  extending 
commerce  or  acquiring  territoiy,  maintain  a  martial  attitude 
towards  the  unfortuncate  natives,  there  would  seem  to  be  slight 
chance  for  the  successful  dissemination  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace. 

Is  it  not  tlien  prolwible  that  those  niinistei-s  are  quite  right 
who  in  the  recent  meetings  of  missionary  societies  have  coun- 
selled the  expenditure  of  less  money  for  foreign  missions  jvnd  more 
for  the  improvement  of  the  environment  of  the  less  pictui-esque 
but  equally  needy  heathen  in  our  great  cities?  If  the  churches 
all  over  the  country  would  club  together  and  cooperate  in 
abolishing  the  tenement-house  rookeries  or  the  sweating  shops 
of  just  one  city  every  year,  it  would  not  be  long  before  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Temple  of  Univei>;al  Brotherhood  would  be  fairly 
and  firmly  laid. 


Pehsia  ii'i>reseiitji,  perhajw,  more 
perfectly  than  niiy  existing  natioui 
except  posaibly  some  small  kingdom  among 
barbarians,  tlio  principle  of  alisolutiani,  or  iiTe- 
lon^ible  antl  fetterless  power  in  the  hands  of  one 
man,  inid  tliis  has  been  so  for  inanj'  centaries,  although 
the  ]ireaent  Pei'sians  tire  no  more  descended  from  the 
famous  Medes  and  Persians,  or  from  the  i-ice  who  defeated 
Xenophon  and  his  ten  thousand,  tlian  the  present  inliabitants  of 
our  cosmopolitan  country  ai'e  from  tha  men  who  sketched  au 
outline  of  practical  socialistic  goveniment  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Mayflower. 

Persia  has  been  so  often  invaded,  and  so  many  iiiecs  have  con- 
tributed to  the  empire,  that  it  is  now  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  trace  the  original  elements.  Rivera  flow  into  the  sea;  you  may 
trace  their  currents  for  a  little  way,  but  soon  they  ))h'nd  with  the 
ocean  and  their  elements  defy  a  chemic  auivl}-sis. 

So  with  nearly  all  ancient  realms,  Thero  has  been  a  blending 
of  namerons  nationalities;  yet  the  philologist  and  ethnologist 
may  now  and  then  detect  them  in  certain  eddies  of  the  einpire, 
where  they  have  feept  more  unmixed  than  elsewhere,  by  a  turn 


198  THE   STORY  OP   GOVBEKMENT. 

of  speech,  or  a  cast  of  countenance.  In  no  province  of  the 
country  is  the  population  wholly  Persian;  everywhere  there  are 
alien  elements. 

The  ancient  Persians  were  celebrated  for  their  handsome  per- 
sons, rather  tall  stature,  and  the  beauty  of  their  women.  The 
modern  race,  or  "Tadjiks,"  as  they  call  themselves,  have  a  fair 
share  of  good  looks;  their  features  are  regular,  their  countenances 
oval,  hair  glossy  and  luxuriant,  and  their  eyes  dark  and  soft. 
Witty,  cheerful,  frivolous,  idle,  luxurious,  and  fond  of  dress  and 
display  is  the  character  which  has  been  given  them,  an  opinion 
that  is  rather  too  sweeping  to  be  time. 

A  people  made  up  of  such  diverae  elements  is  difficult  to  char- 
acterize without  making  so  many  exceptions  thiat  the  rule  is  not 
proved,  except  to  have  no  existence.  However,  in  progress  of 
time,  notwithstanding  the  original  differences  of  the  people,  some 
few  general  chai-acteristics  will  be  found  to  have  become  common. 

These  we  may  briefly  sketch.  There  are  two  great  classes, 
the  fixed  and  the  wandering;  but  the  nomad  tribes  have  little 
voice  in  the  country,  and  it  is  from  the  fixed  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  and  country  seats  that  the  ruling  classes  and  those  who 
properly  constitute  the  stronghold  of  the  country  are  selected. 

We  may,  for  convenience,  divide  them  into  (1)  the  civil  and 
military  functionaries,  including  those  connected  with  the  couit, 
(2)  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  such  as  the  merchants,  shop- 
keepers, artisans,  membei"s  of  the  I'eligious  orders,  men  of  learn- 
ing, and  of  all  kinds  of  business;  (3)  the  agriculturists  or 
cultivators  of  the  soil;  and  lastly  (4)  there  may  be  added  the  wild 
wanderers  or  "Eeliauts." 

The  Persian  court  is  a  perfect  type  of  despotism.  Every  officer 
owes  his  elevation  to  the  favor  or  caprice  of  the  monarch,  and  is 
liable  at  any  moment  to  dismissal  without  a  chance  of  appeal 
either  to  his  superioi-s,  to  a  court  of  law,  or  to  that  greater  public 
opinion  which  controls  tyranny  and  injustice  in  other  countries. 

Treated  in  a  capricious  manner  by  his  sovereign,  he,  in 
his  turn,  rides  roughshod  over  all  his  inferiors.  Knowing  that 
he  may  fall  as  suddenly  as  he  was  raised  by  the  whim  of  the 
monarch,  he  endeavors,  during  his  uncertain  tenure  of  office,  to 
amass,  by  every  means  known  in  a  country  where  justice  and  right 


200  THB  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

are  merely  high  sounding  words  for  poets  to  mouth,  enough 
wealth  to  support  the  extravagance  which  his  ix)8ition  necessarily 
entails,  to  bribe  his  enemies  when  his  evil  day  arrives,  or  to  retire 
upon  to  a  quiet  comer  of  the  empire  if  he  be  fortunate  enough  to 
escape  the  bowstring  in  the  hour  of  his  fall. 

Deceitful,  treacherous,  venal,  aiTogant,  dishonest  and  overbear- 
ing, the  Persian  courtier  possesses  the  art  of  concealing  his  true 
character  under  a  polished  manner,  and  a  lively,  courteous,  and 
mild  countenance  which  rarely  betrays  the  workings  of  his   mind. 

Add  to  this,  he  is  often  an  acute  diplomatist,  well  informed, 
and  skilful  in  business.  A  court  so  constituted  camiot  but  be 
hated  by  all  the  poorer  classes,  who  are  the  chief  sufferers  by  it, 
and  its  pernicious  example  spreads  the  contagion  of  venality,  petty 
rascality,  and  other  evils  throughout  the  community. 

But  all  the  high  officere  of  State  are  not  selected  from  the  class 
of  nobles.  No  doubt,  as  in  most  countries,  the  **  upper  classes  " 
have  more  than  their  fair  share  of  power  and  place ;  yet  many  of 
the  public  functionaries  and  ministers  in  Persia  belong  to  the 
order  of  Mirzas,  secretaries,  or  "men  of  business." 

For  the  policy  of  the  monarchs  is  to  select  some  of  their  officers 
from  the  humblest  class  of  life,  under  the  idea  that  men  thus 
luised  to  dignity  by  the  favor  of  the  king  alone  will  be,  through 
gratitude,  more  attached  to  his  person  than  a  military  noble, 
whose  rank  would,  as  much  as  his  sovereign's  favor,  have  obtained 
for  him  power,  and  who,  at  the  beck  of  ambition  or  offended  pride, 
might  summon  to  his  aid  a  host  of  warlike  retainei's  and  plunge 
the  country  into  civil  war.  * 

These  Mirzas,  though  the  equals  of  the  nobles  in  treachery  and 
immorality,  are  yet  in  general  more  accomplished  than  they, 
being  well  versed  in  all  state-ci-aft,  mild  and  sulxlued  in  their 
address,  and  differing  from  the  nobles  in  not  indulging  in  martial 
or  athletic  exercises,  and  wearing,  instead  of  a  sword  or  dagger,  a 
eulumdaun^  or  ink  horn,  attached  to  their  girdle. 

Any  pei-son  can  get  access  to  the  king  to  lay  his  complaint 
before  him ;  but,  unless  there  be  a  desire  to  push  the  affair,  the 
comi)laint  only  is  heard.  However,  it  is  treasured  up  to  be 
brought  forth  in  due  time  when  the  functionary  complained  of 
^ets  into  disgrace,  and  an  excuse  is  desired  for  his  degradation* 


ABSOLUTISM.  201 

The  olBoe  of  collector  of  public  revenue  is  a  poor  one.  The 
people,  knowing  that  the  taxation  only  goes  to  enrich  the  court 
and  pays  for  no  work  of  public  utility,  are  unwilling  to  satisfy  the 
just  demands  of  the  collector,  and  frequently  even  threaten  to  take 
his  life.  This  unwillingness  to  meet  their  public  obligations  is  in- 
tensified by  the  fact  that  taxation  falls  chiefly  on  the  toilers. 

The  great  nobles,  foreigners  and  wealthy  native  merchants  are 
exempt  from  contributions  to  the  Shah's  exchequer,  though  the 
first  and  last  named  are  subject  to  irregular  extortions  which  are 
sometimes  even  less  bearable  than  the  systematic  bleeding  of  the 
collector. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  rapacious  officials  at  the  capital  do  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  extort  more  taxes,  and  frequently  threaten 
the  collector  with  punishment  on  the  plea  that  he  has  withheld 
taxes,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  "  squeeze  "  the  population  still  more 
thoroughly. 

Thus,  between  the  rebellious  j^eople  at  large  who  object  to  being 
bled,  and  the  officials  close  to  the  Shah  who  have  a  thirst  for  the 
silver  sweat  and  golden  blood  of  a  peo])le  (which  is  commonly 
called  taxes),  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  revenue  collector  in  Persia 
needs  the  stubbornness  of  a  mule,  the  persistency  of  a  gadfly,  and 
the  nine  lives  of  a  cat. 

Such,  however,  is  the  accui"sed  thirst  for  gold  —  so  intense,  al- 
though it  is  an  artificial  or  accidental  and  not  an  innate  passion,  so 
insanely  intense  is  the  desire  to  acquire  property  —  that,  even  in 
the  most  dangerous  districts  of  the  Shah's  dominion,  this  post  of 
danger  is  eagerly  sought. 

Many  anecdotes  are  current  in  Persia  concerning  the  collector, 
his  cunning,  and  tlie  ill  luck  that  often  attends  him  like  a  shadow. 
Yet,  although  the  Prince  of  Sliiraz  once  in  irony  ordered  a 
notorious  thief  to  be  punished  by  being  made  manager  of  the 
i*e venue  of  a  district,  as  he  could  conceive  of  no  crime  for  which 
that  appointment  would  not  be  an  adequate  punishment,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  between  the  people  and  the  public  treasury  not  a 
little  of  the  public  cash  clings  to  the  fingers  of  the  collector,  and 
that  many  of  them  accumulate  gi*eat  wealth. 

Notwithstanding  the  power  of  the  nobles,  the  people,  either 
through  a  natura\ly  high  spirit,  not  effaced  by  long  oppression,  or 


202  THE  STOBY   OF  GOVEBNMENT. 

more  probably  owing  to  long  custom  which  allows  them  to  do  so 
with  impunity,  loudly  proclaim  their  wrongs  at  court,  if  they 
consider  themselves  injured;  yet,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  and 
expense  of  travelling,  this  is  denied  to  the  residents  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  country.  The  common  people  are  frugal  and 
industrious.  Few  are  in  actual  want,  and  many  of  the  trading 
class  amass  considerable  wealth,  which  by  cunning  and  deceit 
they  manage  to  save  from  the  hands  of  the  rapacious  courtiers. 

**Eveiy  one,"  says  Sir  John  Malcolm,  "complains  of  poverty, 
but  this  complaint  as  often  pi-oceeds  from  a  desire  to  avoid  oppres- 
sion as  from  its  actual  privations."  The  government  officials  are 
paid  wretchedly  small  salaries,  and  even  these  payments  are  most 
unpunctually  made.  To  meet  his  daily  expenses  money  has  to  be 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  debts  accumulate,  and  in  a 
few  years  a  government  servant,  if  honest,  would  be  ruined. 

Xo  position  can  be  more  ignominious  than  that  of  a  Pereian 
courtier  in  disgrace.  Should  he  incur  liis  master's  displeasiu^, 
without  the  slightest  warning  he  is  deprived  of  his  property, 
offices,  dignities  and  honors.  His  slaves  are  sold  or  handed  over 
to  the  favorite  of  the  hour,  his  wives  and  childi-en  are  insulted  or 
even  exposed  to  the  brutality  of  his  grooms  and  guards,  while  he 
himself  is  beaten  with  a  stick  or  mutilated  by  the  executioner's 
knife.     Tiie  new  favorite  is  often  a  mere  boy,  as  in  our  picture. 

Yet  these  revei-ses  of  fortune  are  not  final.  Tliey  are  philo- 
sophically accepted  as  accidents  which  must  always  happen  to  one 
who  embraces  the  precarious  life  of  a  courtier,  and  by  the  Orien- 
tal, who  considei-s  every  misfortune  as  pre-oidained  by  fate  and 
impossible  to  be  prevented,  are  viewed  in  a  way  not  widely  differ- 
ent from  that  in  which  a  European  Secretary  of  State  might  i-egard 
an  official  announcement  that  his  sovereign  had  been  pleased 
to  dispense  with  his  services,  or  an  unfavorable  expression  of 
public  opinion  in  the  shape  of  a  severe  newspaper  article  on  his 
policy. 

Indeed,  though  Persian  sovereigns  express  veiy  savagely  their 
displeasing  at  the  policy  of  a  minister,  he  may,  after  experiencing 
the  infelicity  of  being  disgraced,  be  received  again  into  royal  favor. 
His  family  in  such  a  case  is  sent  back  to  him,  with  as  many  of  his 
slaves  as  can  be  recovered ;  and  his  property,  pruned  of  all  danger- 


204  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

ous  exuberance,  is  returned.  A  bath  mollifies  his  bruised  feet, 
a  cap  conceals  his  cr()[)ped  ears,  and  the  white-washed  culprit  is 
often  reinstated  in  the  very  government  he  has  lost,  perhaps 
carrying  with  him  a  sentence  of  disgi^aee  to  his  successor  to  whose 
inti'igues  he  owed  his  temponiry  fall. 

It  is  indeed  surprising  how  carelessly  the  king  and  his  ministers 
l)estow  situations  of  confidence  on  strangers,  or  on  men  who,  from 
having  been  the  sufferei-s  of  great  injustice,  might  be  dreaded  as 
their  bitterest  enemies ;  yet  the  management  of  a  conquered  state 
is  frequently  intrusted  to  the  khan  or  prince  who  before  possessed 
it  in  his  own  right.  The  pardoned  rebel  of  one  province  is 
appointed  to  the  supi-eme  command  in  another;  and  the  disgraced 
noble  or  governor  is  sent  to  take  charge  of  a  district  where  the 
utmost  fidelity  and  zeal  are  required. 

No  official,  however  high,  can  be  sure  of  his  life;  it  lies  in  the 
hands  of  the  king  as  nmch  as  does  the  life  of  the  meanest  subject. 
The  death  of  an  official  is  detennined,  the  warrant  for  his  execu- 
tion is  made  out,  and  an  officer  is  despatched  to  execute  it.     The 
man  rides  as  fast  as  horses  pressed  into  his  service  can  carry  him 
until  he  arrives  at  the  city  where  the  doomed  man  lives.     He 
exhibits  his  mandate  to  the  governor  or  chief  man  of  the  city,  and 
commands  him  to  assist  him.     As  soon  as  the  door  of  the  victim's 
house  is  opened,   the    executioner  rushes  in,  and,   di*awing    his 
scimitar,  falls  on  the  unfortunate  man  with  the  exclamation,    "It 
is  the  king's  command,"  cuts  him  down,  and  strikes  off  his  head. 
Karely  is  any  resistance  offered. 

Cases  have  biien  known  in  which  a  powerful  man  has  attempted 
to  waylay  the  messenger  oji  the  road,  when  he  knew  his  errand, 
and,   depriving  him  of  the  warrant,   has  delayed  his  fate    until 
another  could  be  got,  or  until  he  has  had  time  to  obtain    paidon. 

But  usually,  suc^h  is  the  awe  of  the  king's  name  that  no  atttn:pt 
is  made  by  the  victim  to  escape  his  fate.  He  calmly  submits* 
"It  is  the  (lecrcc;  of  Allah  —  it  is  fjite  —  Allah  be  praised!  "  As 
for  his  nearest  kin,  they  fly  from  him  as  from  a  thing  accui«ed. 
The  dependcmts  whom  an  hour  ago  he  could  have  made  happy 
Avith  a  smile  desert  him  as  one  whose  touch  would  defile.  He  is 
like  an  infected  creature.  "All  nature  seems  to  be  roused  againitt 
liim,"  are  the  woi-ds  of  an  ancient  writer  in  Persia. 


206  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  Gholams  are  the  king's  guards,  and  ate  composed  of  young 
men  held  in  favor  by  him.  Generally  they  are  young  Circassian 
or  Georgian  captives,  and  accordingly  their  condition  is  that  of 
slaves,  though,  the  ]X)sition  being  one  of  honor  and  emolument, 
the  sons  of  tlie  highest  noblemen  may  be  found  there. 

The  Gholam  Corps  numbers  three  thousand  or  four  thousand 
men,  and,  in  addition  to  acting  as  escorts  to  the  king  and  guards 
to  his  palaces,  they  are  often  despatched  on  delicate  missions, 
such  as  that  we  have  described  in  relation  to  the  execution  of  a 
disgraced  ofScial.  In  the  execution  of  these  errands  they  often 
amass  large  sums  by  extortion ;  and  the  surest  pi-oof  of  the  in- 
vidious character  which  they  bear  is  the  fact  that  their  very  name 
carries  terror.  The  arrival  of  a  gholam  e  shahee  is  enough  to 
throw  a  whole  district  into  alaim;  it  has  even  depopulated  a 
village  for  a  time. 

The  inhabitants  of  different  districts  differ  considerably  in 
character,  and  in  their  reputation  for  courage  or  cowardice. 
The  inhabitiints  of  the  towns,  or  ShehereSs^  are  even  moi-e  mixed 
than  those  of  the  countrj-^  districts.  In  general,  though  by  no 
means  to  be  held  up  as  models  for  young  men,  they  are  of  a  better 
character  than  the  higher  ehisses,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  industrious, 
polite,  sociable,  good  servants  and  indulgent  masters,  though 
largely  imbued  with  deceit  and  greed. 

The  merchants  are  often  wealthy,  and  in  general  are  intelligent 
and  cultivated.     The  small  sliopkeepers  are  more  distinguished 
for  insincerity  and  cunning,  both  vices,  though  inherent  in    the 
race,  being  fostered  by  their  constnnt  diead  of  the  caprice  of  their 
superiors.     The  merchants,  on  the  other  hand,  are,  as  all  through 
the  East,  held  in  more  considenitiou,  being  looked  upon  not   only 
as  a  source  of  revenue,  but  also  as  a  useful  medium  for   main- 
taining friendly  relations  with  foreign  stiites. 

The  ecclesiastical  law  is  administered  by  a  numerous  body  of 
priests  of  all  ^rrades,  from  the  Sudder  al  Suddoor  down  to  the 
lowest  of  the  moUahs.  The  niooshteheds  are  the  highest  order, 
and  are  the  supnmie  pontiffs  of  the  kingdom,  who,  subject  to  the 
approbation  of  the  sovereign,  nominate  all  the  principal  judges. 
They  usually  number  three  or  four,  and  are  elected  by  the  people 
count  of  their  acknowledged  sanctity. 


aOo  THE  STORY   OF   €K>VEENMENT. 

The  Sheik  al  Islam,  or  niler  of  the  faith,  ranks  next^to  the 
mooshteheds.  He  is  a  salaried  judge,  his  duty  being  to  admin- 
ister the  written  law.  He  is  often  a  man  of  quite  as  great 
influence  as  the  mooshteheds,  his  official  superiors.  The  other 
ecclesiastical  ofiicials  are  those  ooanected  with  the  mosques. 

Eveiy  mosque,  except  the  very  inaigniiicant  ones,  has  a 
staff  of  three,  viz.,  tlie  mostwuUa,  who  manages  its  temporal 
affairs,  and  who  may  be  said  to  be  a  kind  of  churchwarden ;  the 
muezzin,  or  caller  to  prayers  (the  "beadle  "),  and  the  mollah,  or 
priest  proper,  who  conducts  the  ceremonial  of  the  Mohammedui 
religion.  They  also  preach  a  sort  of  sermon  on  texts  from  the 
Koran  —  the  Mohammedan  Bible, 

Besides  these,  there  are  in  every  city,  and  connected  with  all 
seminaries  of  learning,  a  crowd  of  moUahs,  who  live  by  their  arts, 
and  have  Httle  of  the  priest  but  the  name.  They  practise  astrol- 
ogy, write  letters  and  contracts  for  those  who  are  ignorant  of  pen- 
manship, and  thus  contrive  to  prolong  a  miserable  life. 

Nothing  can  be  lower  than  the  character  of  these  people. 
Their  hypocrisy,  profligacy  and  want  of  principle,  are  the  sub- 
jects of  stories,  epigrams,  and  proverbs  without  end.  "Take 
care,"  says  one  adage,  "of  the  face  of  a  woman  and  the 
heels  of  a  mule;  but  with  a  mollah  be  on  your  guard  at  all 
points."  "To  hate  like  a  mollah,"  and  "to  cheat  like  a  mollah  '* 
are  sayings  of  frequency  in  the  mouth  of  a  Persian. 

It  is  not  the  moUahs  alone  who  are  the  subject  of  Pereian 
jocularity.     All  classes  who  are  concerned  in  the  administration 
of  the  law  or  Mohammedan  religious  ceremonies  are  proverbial  for 
their  dishonesty  and  trickery.     Chief  among  these  are  the  seyeda, 
or  descendants  of   the    prophet,   who   are    accounted    rogues     hy 
nature  i  but  after  they  have  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,   to  the 
birthplace  of  Mohammed,  are  considered  to  have  graduated  in  all 
dishonesty  and  rascality.     In  the  repertory  of  Peraian    jests,  nine 
tenths  hinge  upon  what  a  mollah  or  a  hadji  (Mecca  pilgrim)  did, 
and  the  anecdotes  are  told  with  a  grave  humor  peculiarly   charac- 
teristic of  the  East.     The  aUtivatorg  of  the  sail,  in  Persia,    though 
^-M«ires.<;ed.  ;ire  hospitable,  active,  and  intelligent,  and  are    more 
^^^^fortiibli-   in    their   lives   than    the   average   woikman  in   any 
^^^^kr  overgrown  cities. 


AB80LT7TIS1C  .  209 

Penian  wameti,  like  those  of  all  other  Mohammedan  countries, 
aie  not  looked  upon  as  the  equals  of  the  men.  They  are  hy  some 
Moslem  priests  even  belieTed  not  to  have  souls,  and  in  every  case 
are  mere  slaves  who  minister  to  the  pleasure  of  their  haughly 
lords.  In  many  cases,  however,  their  sharp  wit  enables  them  to 
gain  an  ascendency  over  their  more  lethargic  husbands,  and  even 
to  sway  the  affairs  of  the  court  at  their  own  sweet  will. 

An  Eastern  seraglio  is  yet  a  "gilded  cage,'*  tenanted  by 
uneducated  women,  whose  only  thoughts  are  to  please  their  mas- 
ter and  amuse  their  aimless  existence.  Intrigue,  discontent  and 
crime  are  the  natural  sequence  of  such  a  state  of  matters.  The 
harem  life  has  been  often  described,  but  by  none,  it  is  said  by 
those  acquainted  with  the  subject,  in  more  faithful  colors  than  by 
the  French  writer  Chardin. 

The  seraglio  of  the  king,  says  M.  Chardin,  is  most  commonly  a 
perpetnal  prison,  from  whence  scarce  one  female  in  six  or  seven  has 
the  good  fortune  to  escape,  for  women  who  have  become  the  mothers 
of  living  children  are  provided  with  a  small  establishment  within  the 
walls,  and  are  never  suffered  to  leave  them.  But  privation  of  liberty 
is  by  no  means  the  worst  evil  that  exists  in  these  melancholy  abodes. 

Except  to  that  wife  so  fortunate  as  to  produce  the  firstborn  son, 
to  become  a  mother  is  the  most  dreaded  event  that  can  happen  to  the 
wretched  favorites  of  the  king.  When  this  occurs,  not  only  do  the 
mothers  see  their  last  chance  of  liberty  and  marriage  cut  off,  but 
they  live  in  the  dreadful  anticipation  of  seeing  their  children  de- 
prived of  life  or  sight,  when  the  death  of  their  lord  shall  call  a  new 
tyrant,  in  the  person  of  his  son,  the  brother  of  their  offspring,  to  the 
throne. 

Should  they  escape  having  children,  by  an  assiduous  court  paid  to 
the  king's  mother,  or  to  the  mother  of  his  eldest  son,  it  sometimes 
happens  that  they  obtain  the  good  fortune  of  being  bestowed  upon 
some  of  the  officers  about  the  court;  for  the  ministers  and  grandees, 
who  are  always  intriguing  with  these  influential  ladies,  seldom  fail  of 
soliciting  a  female  of  the  royal  harem  either  for  themselves  or  their 
sons. 

Indeed,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  king  liimself  to  bestow 
one  of  these  fair  captives  upon  one  of  his  favorites,  or  his  courtiers;  and 
sometimes,  when  the  harem  gets  crowded,  this  is  done  to  a  great  extent 
as  a  measure  of  economical  expediency.  Happy  the  woman  thus  freed 
from,  her  prison,  for  she  at  once  exchanges  the  situation  of  a  slave  for 


202  THE  8T0BY  OF   GOVEBNMENT. 

more  probably  owing  to  long  custom  which  allows  them  to  do  so 
with  impunity,  loudly  proclaim  their  wrongs  at  court,  if  they 
consider  themselves  injured;  yet,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  and 
expense  of  travelling,  this  is  denied  to  the  residents  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  country.  The  common  people  are  frugal  and 
industrious.  Few  are  in  actual  want,  and  many  of  the  trading 
class  amass  considerable  wealth,  which  by  cunning  and  deceit 
they  manage  to  save  from  the  hands  of  the  rapacious  courtiers. 

**Evei7  one,"  says  Sir  John  Malcolm,  "complains  of  poverty, 
but  this  complaint  as  often  pi-oceeds  from  a  desire  to  avoid  oppres- 
sion as  from  its  actual  privations.'*  The  government  officials  are 
paid  wretchedly  small  salaries,  and  even  these  payments  are  most 
unpunctually  made.  To  meet  his  daily  expenses  money  has  to  be 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  debts  accumulate,  and  in  a 
few  years  a  government  servant,  if  honest,  would  be  ruined. 

No  position  can  be  more  ignominious  than  that  of  a  Persian 
courtier  in  disgrace.  Should  he  incur  his  master's  displeasure, 
without  the  slightest  warning  he  is  deprived  of  his  property, 
offices,  dignities  and  honors.  His  slaves  are  sold  or  handed  over 
to  the  favorite  of  the  Iiour,  his  wives  and  childi*en  are  insulted  or 
even  exposed  to  the  brutality  of  his  grooms  and  guards,  while  he 
himself  is  beaten  with  a  stick  or  mutilated  by  the  executioner's 
knife.     The  new  favorite  is  often  a  mere  boy,  as  in  our  picture. 

Yet  these  revei-ses  of  foi-tune  are  not  final.  They  are  philo- 
sophically accepted  as  accidents  which  must  always  happen  to  one 
who  embraces  the  precarious  life  of  a  courtier,  and  by  the  Orien- 
tal, who  considei-s  every  misfortune  as  pre-oniained  by  fate  and 
impossible  to  be  prevented,  are  viewed  in  a  way  not  widely  differ- 
ent fi'om  that  in  which  a  European  Secretary  of  State  might  regard 
an  otlicial  announcement  that  his  sovereign  had  been  pleased 
to  dispense  with  his  services,  or  an  unfavomble  expression  of 
public  opinion  in  the  shape  of  a  severe  newspaper  article  on  his 
policy. 

Indeed,  though  Persian  sovereigns  express  veiy  savagely  their 
displeasure  at  the  policy  of  a  minister,  he  may,  after  experiencing 
the  infelicity  of  being  disgraced,  be  received  again  into  royal  favor. 
His  family  in  such  a  case  is  sent  back  to  him,  with  as  many  of  his 
slaves  as  can  be  recovered ;  and  his  property,  pruned  of  all  danger- 


196  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  Him  who  was  born  on  the  wood  of  a  manger  and  died  on  the 
wood  of  a  cross  —  the  carpenter's  son  of  Galilee  —  have  from  the 
earliest  days  of  slavery  been  peculiarly  attractive  to  the  natures 
of  our  colored  brethren,  and  that  since  the  abolition  of  slavery 
Christianity  lias  been  a  most  potent  factor  in  the  gradual  eleva- 
tion of  that  race  which  politicians  have  been  wont  to  regard  as 
furnishing  the  most  perplexing  problem  of  our  American  attempt 
at  civilization. 

Why,  then,  have  so  much  noble  endeavor  and  so  much  wealth 
been  wasted  in  Africa?  Why  has  the  missionary  business  been 
a  most  pathetic  failure?  The  pmctical  man  answers  these  ques- 
tions by  aflRrming  that  the  African  aborigines  must  be  commercially 
transformed  and  held  under  the  dominion  or  at  least  the  protector- 
ate of  some  European  powei-,  before  any  efforts  to  plant  Chris- 
tianity can  be  crowned  with  a  satisfactory  harvest. 

The  French  are  engaged  at  present  in  attempting  to  convert 
Behanzin,  the  King  of  D«ahomey,  by  force  of  anus,  to  certain  com- 
mercial views  which  they  think  he  ought  to  hold,  and  this  has 
been  the  English  method  with  all  African  tril)es.  As  one  brilliant 
writer  puts  it,  commercialization  or  extermination  «are  the  only 
stepping-stones  to  civilization  in  interior  Africa  and,  indeed, 
while  the  Christian  powei's  of  Europe,  for  the  sake  of  extending 
commerce  or  acquiring  temtoiy,  maintain  a  martial  attitude 
towards  the  unfortunate  natives,  there  would  seem  to  be  slight 
chance  for  the  successful  dissemination  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace. 

Is  it  not  then  probable  that  those  niinistei-s  are  quite  right 
who  in  the  recent  meetings  of  missionary  societies  have  coun- 
selled the  expenditure  of  less  money  for  foreign  missions  and  more 
for  the  improvement  of  the  environment  of  the  less  pictui-esque 
but  equally  needy  heathen  in  our  great  cities?  If  the  churches 
all  over  the  country  would  club  together  and  cooperate  in 
abolishing  the  tenement-house  rookeries  or  the  sweating  shops 
of  just  one  city  every  year,  it  would  not  be  long  before  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Temple  of  Univei*sal  Brotherhood  would  be  fairly 
and  firmly  laid. 


Peusia  i-e]i  reset  its,  perhaps,  more 
perfectly  tliaii  any  existing  nation, 
except  possibly  some  small  kingdom  iimong 
barbarians,  the  pfinciple  of  absolutism,  oi-  irre- 
sponsible ami  fetterless  power  lit  tlie  lianilw  nf  one 
man,  and  tliis  has  been  so  for  many  centuries,  iilllumgli 
the  present  Persians  are  no  moiB  descended  fmni  l!ie 
famous  Medes  and  Persians,  or  fi'om  the  i.iee  who  defeated 
Xenophon  and  his  ten  thousand,  than  tlie  present  inliabitants  of 
our  cosmopolitan  country  are  from  ths  men  who  slcet(!bed  an 
outline  of  practical  socialistic  government  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Mayflower. 

Pemia  has  been  so  often  invaded,  and  so  many  nun's  have  eon- 
tribnted  to  the  empire,  that  it  is  now  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
toti-ace  the  original  elements.  Rivew  flow  into  the  sea;  you  may 
ti-ace  their  currents  for  a  little  «-a\-,  but  soon  thi'v  blend  with  the 
ocean  and  their  elements  defy  a  ehemic  analysis. 

So  with  neatl)-  all  ancient  realms.  Tliere  has  been  a  blending 
of  nnmerons  nationalities;  yet  the  philologist  and  ethnologist 
may  now  and  then  detect  them  in  certain  eddies  of  the  empire, 
where  they  have  tept  more  unmixed  than  elsewhert-,  by  a  turn 


198  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  speech,  or  a  cast  of  countenance.  In  no  province  of  the 
country  is  the  population  wholly  Persian;  everjrwhere  there  are 
alien  elements. 

The  ancient  Persians  were  celebrated  for  their  handsome  per- 
sons, rather  tall  stature,  and  the  beauty  of  their  women.  The 
modern  race,  or  "Tadjiks,"  as  they  call  themselves,  have  a  fan- 
share  of  good  looks;  their  featui'es  are  regular,  their  countenances 
oval,  hair  glossy  and  luxuriant,  and  their  eyes  dark  and  soft. 
Witty,  cheerful,  frivolous,  idle,  luxurious,  and  fond  of  dress  and 
display  is  the  character  which  has  been  given  them,  an  opinion 
that  is  rather  too  sweeping  to  be  true. 

A  people  made  up  of  such  diveree  elements  is  difficult  to  char- 
acterize without  making  so  many  exceptions  that  the  rule  is  not 
pi-oved,  except  to  have  no  existence.  However,  in  progress  of 
time,  notwithstanding  the  original  differences  of  the  people,  some 
few  genei'al  chai-acteristics  will  be  found  to  have  become  common. 

These  we  may  briefly  sketch.  There  are  two  great  classes, 
the  fixed  and  the  wandering;  but  the  nomad  tribes  have  little 
voice  in  the  country,  and  it  is  from  the  fixed  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  and  country  seats  that  the  ruling  classes  and  those  who 
properly  constitute  the  stronghold  of  the  country  are  selected. 

We  may,  for  convenience,  divide  them  into  (1)  the  civil  and 
military  functionaries,  including  those  connected  with  the  comt, 
(2)  the  inhabitiints  of  the  towns,  such  as  the  merchants,  shop- 
keepers, artisans,  merabei-s  of  the  religious  ordei*s,  men  of  learn- 
ing, and  of  all  kinds  of  business;  (3)  the  agriculturists  oi 
cultivators  of  the  soil ;  and  lastly  (4)  there  may  be  added  the  wild 
wanderers  or  "Eeliauts." 

The  Persian  couit  is  a  perfect  type  of  despotism.  Every  officer 
owes  his  elevation  to  the  favor  or  caprice  of  the  monarch,  and  is 
liable  at  any  moment  to  dismissal  without  a  chance  of  appeal 
either  to  his  superioi-s,  to  a  court  of  law,  or  to  that  greater  public 
opinion  which  controls  tyranny  and  injustice  in  other  countries. 

Treated  in  a  capricious  manner  by  his  sovereign,  he,  in 
his  turn,  rides  roughshod  over  all  his  inferiors.  Knowing  that 
he  may  fall  as  suddenly  as  he  was  raised  by  the  whim  of  the 
monarch,  he  endeavors,  during  his  uncertain  tenure  of  office,  to 
amass,  by  every  means  known  in  a  country  where  justice  and  right 


198  THE   STOEY  OF   QOVKEMMEKT. 

of  speech,  or  a  cast  of  countenance.  In  no  province  of  the 
country  is  the  population  wholly  Persian;  everywhere  there  are 
alien  elements. 

The  ancient  Persians  were  celebrated  for  their  handsome  per- 
sons, rather  tall  stature,  and  the  beauty  of  their  women.  The 
modern  race,  or  "Tadjiks,"  as  they  call  themselves,  have  a  fair 
aliaits  of  good  looks;  their  featui'es  are  regular,  their  countenances 
oval,  hair  glossy  and  luxuriant,  and  their  eyes  dark  and  soft. 
Witty,  cheerful,  frivolous,  idle,  luxurious,  and  fond  of  dress  and 
display  is  the  character  which  has  been  given  them,  an  opinion 
that  is  rather  too  sweeping  to  be  ti-ue. 

A  people  made  up  of  such  diverse  elements  is  difficult  to  char- 
acterize without  making  so  many  exceptions  that  the  rule  is  not 
proved,  except  to  have  no  existence.  However,  in  progress  of 
time,  notwithstanding  the  original  differences  of  the  people,  some 
few  general  ehai-acteristics  will  be  found  to  have  become  common. 

These  we  may  briefly  sketch.  There  are  two  great  classes, 
the  fixed  and  the  wandering;  but  the  nomad  tribes  have  little 
voice  in  the  country,  and  it  is  from  the  lixed  inhiibitants  of  the 
cities  and  country  seats  that  the  ruling  classes  and  those  who 
properly  constitute  the  stronghold  of  the  country  are  selected. 

We  may,  for  convenience,  divide  them  into  (1)  the  civil  and 
military  functionaries,  including  those  connected  with  the  couit, 
(2)  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  such  as  the  merchants,  shop- 
keepers, artisans,  membei'S  of  the  religious  orders,  men  of  learn- 
ing, and  of  all  kinds  of  business;  (3)  tlie  agriculturists  or 
cultivators  of  the  soil ;  and  lastly  (4)  there  may  be  added  the  wild 
wanderers  or  "Eeliauts." 

The  Persian  court  is  a  perfect  type  of  despotism.  Every  officer 
owes  his  elevation  to  the  favor  or  caprice  of  the  monarch,  and  is 
liable  at  any  moment  to  dismissal  without  a  chance  of  appeal 
either  to  his  superiors,  to  a  court  of  law,  or  to  that  greater  public 
opinion  which  controls  tyranny  and   injustice   in  other  countries. 

Treated  in  a  e^ricioua  manner  by  his  sovereign,  he,  in 
his  turn,  rides  rqil^h<{^^*iytBr  all  his  inferiors.  Knowing  that 
^  liu  may  fnil  w  iu(Uutiu^!jlrjre  was  laised  by  the  whim  of  the 
[  bis  utiifrtain  tennri'  of  office,  to 
Inhere  justice  and  right 


200  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

are  merely  high  sounding  words  for  poets  to  mouth,  enough 
wealth  to  support  the  extravagance  which  his  position  necessarily 
entails,  to  bribe  his  enemies  when  his  evil  day  arrives,  or  to  retire 
upon  to  a  quiet  corner  of  the  empire  if  he  be  fortunate  enough  to 
escape  the  bowstring  in  the  hour  of  his  fall. 

Deceitful,  treacherous,  venal,  aiTogant,  dishonest  and  overbear- 
ing, the  Persian  courtier  possesses  the  art  of  concealing  his  true 
character  under  a  polished  manner,  and  a  lively,  courteous,  and 
mild  countenance  which  rarely  betrays  the  workings  of  his   mind. 

Add  to  this,  he  is  often  an  acute  diplomatist,  well  informed, 
and  skilful  in  business.  A  court  so  constituted  camiot  but  be 
hated  by  all  the  poorer  classes,  who  are  the  chief  sufferers  by  it, 
and  its  pernicious  example  spreads  the  contagion  of  venality,  petty 
rascality,  and  other  evils  throughout  the  community. 

But  all  the  high  officei's  of  State  are  not  selected  from  the  class 
of  nobles.  No  doubt,  as  in  most  countries,  the  *'  upper  classes '' 
have  more  than  their  fair  share  of  power  and  place ;  yet  many  of 
the  public  functionaries  and  ministers  in  Persia  belong  to  the 
order  of  Mirzas,  secretaries,  or  "men  of  business." 

For  the  policy  of  the  monarchs  is  to  select  some  of  their  officers 
from  the  huni])lest  class  of  life,  under  the  idea  that  men  thus 
raised  to  dignity  by  the  favor  of  the  king  alone  will  be,  through 
gratitude,  more  attached  to  his  pereon  than  a  military  noble, 
whose  rank  would,  as  much  as  his  sovereign's  favor,  have  obtained 
for  him  power,  and  who,  at  the  beck  of  ambition  or  offended  pride, 
might  summon  to  his  aid  a  host  of  warlike  i*etainera  and  plunge 
the  country  into  civil  war.  • 

These  Mii-zas,  though  the  equals  of  the  nobles  in  treachery  and 
immorality,  are  yet  in  general  more  accomplished  than  they, 
being  well  versed  in  all  state-ci*aft,  mild  and  sulxlued  in  their 
address,  and  differing  from  the  nobles  in  not  indulging  in  martial 
or  athletic  exercises,  and  wearing,  instead  of  a  sword  or  dagger,  a 
cuhimdaun^  or  ink  horn,  attached  to  their  girdle. 

Any  pei-son  can  get  access  to  the  king  to  lay  his  complaint 
before  him ;  but,  unless  there  be  a  desire  to  push  the  affair,  the 
complaint  only  is  heard.  However,  it  is  treasured  up  to  Ix? 
brought  forth  in  duc^  time  when  the  functionary  complained  of 
gets  into  disgrace,  and  an  excuse  is  desired  for  his  degradation. 


ABSOLUTISM.  201 

The  office  of  collector  of  public  revenue  is  a  poor  one.  The 
people,  knowing  that  the  taxation  only  goes  to  enrich  the  court 
and  pays  for  no  work  of  public  utility,  are  unwilling  to  satisfy  the 
just  demands  of  the  collector,  and  frequently  even  threaten  to  take 
his  life.  This  unwillingness  to  meet  their  public  obligations  is  in- 
tensified by  the  fact  that  taxation  falls  chiefly  on  the  toilers. 

The  great  nobles,  foreigners  and  wealthy  native  merchants  are 
exempt  from  contributions  to  the  Shah's  exchequer,  though  the 
first  and  last  named  are  subject  to  irregular  extortions  which  are 
sometimes  even  less  bearable  than  the  systematic  bleeding  of  the 
collector. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  rapacious  officials  at  the  capital  do  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  extort  more  taxes,  and  frequently  threaten 
the  collector  with  punishment  on  the  plea  that  he  has  withheld 
taxes,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  "  squeeze  "  the  populati6n  still  more 
thoroughly. 

Thus,  between  the  rebellious  people  at  large  who  object  to  being 
bled,  and  the  officials  close  to  the  Shah  who  have  a  thirst  for  the 
silver  sweat  and  golden  blood  of  a  people  (which  is  commonly 
called  taxes),  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  revenue  collector  in  Persia 
needs  the  stubbornness  of  a  mule,  the  persistency  of  a  gadfly,  and 
the  nine  lives  of  a  cat. 

Such,  however,  is  the  accui*sed  thirst  for  gold — so  intense,  al- 
though it  is  an  artificial  or  accidental  and  not  an  innate  passion,  so 
insanely  intense  is  the  desire  to  acquire  property  —  that,  even  in 
the  most  dangerous  districts  of  the  Shah's  dominion,  this  post  of 
danger  is  eagerly  sought. 

Many  anecdotes  ai-e  current  in  Persia  concerning  the  collector, 
his  cunning,  and  the  ill  luck  that  often  attends  him  like  a  shadow. 
Yet,  although  the  Prince  of  Shiraz  once  in  irony  ordered  a 
notorious  thief  to  be  punished  by  being  made  manager  of  the 
revenue  of  a  district,  as  he  could  conceive  of  no  crime  for  which 
that  appointment  would  not  be  an  adequate  punishment,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  between  the  people  and  the  public  treasury  not  a 
little  of  the  public  cash  clings  to  the  fingers  of  the  collector,  and 
that  many  of  them  accumulate  gi*eat  wealth. 

Notwithstanding  the  power  of  the  nobles,  the  people,  either 
through  a  natura\ly  high  spirit,  not  effaced  by  long  oppression,  or 


202  THE  STOBY  OF  60VEBKMENT. 

more  probably  owing  to  long  custom  which  allows  them  to  do  so 
with  impunity,  loudly  proclaim  their  wrongs  at  court,  if  they 
consider  themselves  injured;  yet,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  and 
expense  of  travelling,  this  is  denied  to  the  residents  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  country.  The  common  people  are  frugal  and 
industrious.  Few  are  in  actual  want,  and  many  of  the  trading 
class  amass  considerable  wealth,  which  by  cunning  and  deceit 
they  manage  to  save  from  the  hands  of  the  rapacious  courtiers. 

**Eveiy  one,"  says  Sir  John  Malcolm,  "complains  of  poverty, 
but  this  complaint  as  often  pit)ceeds  from  a  desire  to  avoid  oppres- 
sion as  from  its  actual  privations."  The  government  officials  are 
paid  wretchedly  small  salaries,  and  even  tliese  payments  are  most 
unpunctually  made.  To  meet  his  daily  expenses  money  has  to  be 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  debts  accumulate,  and  in  a 
few  years  a  government  servant,  if  honest,  would  be  ruined. 

No  position  can  be  more  ignominious  than  that  of  a  Peraian 
courtier  in  disgrace.  Should  he  incur  his  master's  displeasure, 
without  the  slightest  warning  he  is  deprived  of  his  property, 
offices,  dignities  and  honors.  His  slaves  are  sold  or  handed  over 
to  the  favorite  of  the  hour,  his  wives  and  childi-en  are  insulted  or 
even  exposed  to  the  bi-utality  of  his  grooms  and  guards,  while  he 
himself  is  beaten  with  a  stick  or  mutilated  by  the  executioner's 
knife.     The  new  favorite  is  often  a  mere  boy,  as  in  our  picture. 

Yet  these  revei-ses  of  fortune  are  not  final.  They  are  philo- 
soi^hically  accepted  as  accidents  which  must  always  happen  to  one 
who  embraces  the  precarious  life  of  a  courtier,  and  by  the  Orien- 
tal, who  considei's  every  misfortune  as  pre-oidained  by  fate  and 
impossible  to  be  prevented,  are  viewed  in  a  way  not  widely  differ- 
ent from  that  in  which  a  European  Secretary  of  State  might  regaixl 
an  otlicial  announcement  that  his  sovereign  had  been  pleased 
to  dispense  with  his  services,  or  an  unfavorable  expression  of 
public  opinion  in  the  shape  of  a  severe  newspaper  article  on  his 
policy. 

Indeed,  though  Persian  sovereigns  express  veiy  savagely  their 
displeasure  at  the  policy  of  a  minister,  he  may,  after  experiencing 
the  infelicity  of  being  disgraced,  be  received  again  into  royal  favor. 
His  family  in  such  a  case  is  sent  back  to  him,  with  as  many  of  his 
slaves  as  can  be  recovered ;  and  his  property,  pruned  of  all  danger- 


k 


202  THE  STOBY  OF  60VEBKMENT. 

more  probably  owing  to  long  custom  which  allows  them  to  do  so 
with  impunity,  loudly  proclaim  their  Avrougs  at  court,  if  they 
consider  themselves  injured;  yet,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  and 
expense  of  travelling,  this  is  denied  to  the  residents  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  country.  The  common  people  are  frugal  and 
industrious.  Few  are  in  actual  want,  and  many  of  the  trading 
class  amass  considerable  wealth,  which  by  cunning  and  deceit 
they  manage  to  save  from  the  hands  of  the  rapacious  courtiers. 

**Eveiy  one,"  says  Sir  John  Malcolm,  "complains  of  poverty, 
but  this  complaint  as  often  proceeds  from  a  desire  to  avoid  oppres- 
sion as  from  its  actual  privations."  The  government  officials  are 
paid  wretchedly  small  salaries,  and  even  tliese  payments  are  most 
unpunctually  made.  To  meet  his  daily  expenses  money  has  to  be 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  debts  accumulate,  and  in  a 
few  years  a  government  servant,  if  honest,  would  be  ruined. 

No  position  can  be  more  ignominious  than  that  of  a  Persian 
courtier  in  disgrace.  Should  he  incur  liis  master's  displeasure, 
without  the  slightest  warning  he  is  deprived  of  his  property, 
offices,  dignities  and  honors.  His  slaves  are  sold  or  handed  over 
to  the  favorite  of  the  hour,  his  wives  and  childii>n  are  insulted  or 
even  exposed  to  the  brutality  of  his  grooms  and  guards,  while  he 
himself  is  beaten  with  a  stick  or  mutilated  by  the  executioner's 
knife.     The  new  favorite  is  often  a  mere  boy,  as  in  our  picture. 

Yet  these  revei-ses  of  fortune  are  not  final.  They  are  philo- 
soi^hically  accepted  as  accidents  which  must  always  happen  to  one 
who  embraces  the  precarious  life  of  a  courtier,  and  by  the  Orien- 
tal, who  considei-s  every  misfortune  as  pre-oi*dained  by  fate  and 
impossible  to  be  prevented,  are  viewed  in  a  way  not  widely  differ- 
ent from  that  in  which  a  European  Secretary  of  State  might  regaixl 
an  official  announcement  that  his  sovereign  had  been  pleased 
to  disi^ense  with  his  services,  or  an  unfavorable  expression  of 
public  opinion  in  the  shape  of  a  severe  newspaper  article  on  his 
policy. 

Indeed,  though  Persian  sovereigns  express  veiy  savagely  their 
displeasure  at  the  policy  of  a  minister,  he  may,  after  experiencing 
the  infelicity  of  being  disgraced,  be  received  again  into  royal  favor. 
His  family  in  such  a  case  is  sent  back  to  him,  with  as  many  of  his 
slaves  as  can  be  recovered ;  and  his  property,  pruned  of  all  danger- 


196  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  Him  who  was  born  on  the  wood  of  a  manger  and  died  on  the 
wood  of  a  cross  —  the  carpenter's  son  of  Galilee  —  have  from  the 
earliest  days  of  slavery  been  peculiarly  attractive  to  the  natures 
of  our  colored  brethren,  and  that  since  the  abolition  of  slavery 
Christianity  has  been  a  most  potent  factor  in  the  gitidual  eleva- 
tion of  that  itice  which  politicians  have  been  wont  to  regard  as 
furnishing  the  most  perplexing  problem  of  our  American  attempt 
at  civilization. 

Why,  then,  have  so  much  noble  endeavor  and  so  much  wealth 
been  wasted  in  Africa?  Why  has  the  missionary  business  been 
a  most  pathetic  failure?  The  pi-actical  man  answers  these  ques- 
tions by  affirming  that  the  African  aborigines  must  be  commercially 
transformed  and  lield  inider  the  dominion  or  at  least  the  protector- 
ate of  some  European  power,  l)efore  any  efforts  to  plant  Chris- 
tianity can  be  crowned  with  a  satisfactoiy  harvest. 

The  French  are  engaged  at  present  in  attempting  to  convert 
Behanzin,  the  King  of  Dahomey,  l)y  force  of  arms,  to  certain  com- 
mercijil  views  which  they  think  he  ought  to  hold,  and  this  has 
been  the  English  method  with  all  African  tribes.  As  one  brilliant 
writer  puts  it,  commercialization  or  extermination  are  the  only 
stepping-stones  to  civilization  in  interior  Africa  and,  indeed, 
while  the  Christian  powers  of  Europe,  for  the  sake  of  extending 
commerce  or  acquiring  temtory,  maintain  a  martial  attitude 
towards  tlie  unfortunate  natives,  there  would  seem  to  be  slight 
chance  for  the  successful  dissemination  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
Prince  of  PeJice. 

Is  it  not  then  ])rol)al)le  that  those  ministei's  are  (juite  right 
who  in  the  recent  meetings  of  missionarj^  societies  have  coun- 
selled the  expenditure  of  less  money  for  foreign  missions  and  more 
for  the  improvement  of  the  environment  of  the  less  ])i(itui'esque 
but  equally  needy  heathen  in  our  great  cities?  If  the  churches 
all  over  the  country  would  club  together  and  coiiperate  in 
abolishing  the  tenement-house  rookeries  or  the  sweating  shops 
of  just  one  city  every  year,  it  would  not  be  long  liefore  the  foun- 
dations of  the  Temple  of  Univei-sal  Brotherhood  would  be  fairly 
and  firmlv  laid. 


Peusia  it'prfseiits,  perliaps,  more 
perfectly  than  any  fsisting  nation, 
except  jiosaibly  some  small  kingdom  Eimonff 
barbarians,  the  primjipie  nf  alisolutisin,  or  iiTC- 
sponsiblL'  and  fetterless  i>owcr  in  llie  hands  nf  one 
man,  and  this  has  been  sn  for  many  ociituries,  although 
ihf  ]iresent  PersiaiiH  Hre  no  more  descended  from  the 
famous  Medes  and  Persians,  or  fniin  the  i.u'c  hIio  defeated 
Xenoplion  and  his  ten  thousiind,  than  i\iv  prt-sent  inhabitants  of 
our  cosinoix>litiin  country  are  fi-oni  th^  men  who  sketched  .111 
outline  of  pi-actical  socialistic  goviTiimi'iit  in  the  i-ahin  of  the 
Mayflower. 

Persia  has  Ix'cn  so  often  invaded,  and  so  niiiny  races  have  con- 
tributtid  to  the  empire,  that  it  is  now  dilheull.  if  not  impossible, 
to  tince  the  original  elements.  Hiveis  flow  into  the  sea;  you  may 
tiTice  their  cuiTents  for  a  little  w;iy,  hut  soon  they  lilenil  with  the 
ocean  and  their  elements  defy  a  chemii-  analysis. 

So  with  nearly  all  ancient  realms.  Thci-c  lias  lx?en  a  blending 
of  numerous  nationalities;  yet  the  philologist  and  ethnol^^^ist 
may  now  and  then  detect  them  in  certain  eddies  of  the  cmpii'e. 
where  they  have  kept  more  unmixed  than  elsewhere,  by  a  turn 


198  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  speech,  or  a  cast  of  countenance.  In  no  province  of  the 
country  is  the  population  wholly  Persian;  everjrwhere  there  are 
alien  elements. 

The  ancient  Persians  were  celebrated  for  their  handsome  per- 
sons, rather  tall  stature,  and  the  beauty  of  their  women.  The 
modern  race,  or  "Tadjiks,"  as  they  call  themselves,  have  a  fair 
sliare  of  good  looks;  their  featui'es  are  regular,  their  countenances 
oval,  hair  glossy  and  luxuriant,  and  their  eyes  dark  and  soft. 
Witty,  cheerful,  frivolous,  idle,  luxurious,  and  fond  of  dress  and 
display  is  the  character  which  has  been  given  them,  an  opinion 
that  is  rather  too  sweeping  to  be  tiTie. 

A  people  made  up  of  such  diverse  elements  is  difficult  to  char- 
acterize without  making  so  many  exceptions  tliat  the  rule  is  not 
pioved,  except  to  have  no  existence.  However,  in  progress  of 
time,  notwithstanding  the  original  differences  of  the  people,  some 
few  general  chamcteristics  will  be  found  to  have  become  common. 

These  we  may  briefly  sketch.  There  are  two  great  classes, 
the  fixed  and  the  wandering;  but  tlie  nomad  tribes  have  little 
voice  in  the  country,  and  it  is  from  the  fixed  inhabitants  of  the 
cities  and  country  seats  that  tlie  ruling  classes  Jind  those  who 
properly  constitute  the  stronghold  of  the  country  are  selected. 

We  may,  for  convenience,  divide  them  into  (1)  the  civil  and 
military  functionaries,  including  those  connected  with  the  couit, 
(2)  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  such  as  the  merchants,  shop- 
keepers, artisans,  merabei*s  of  the  i*eligious  orders,  men  of  learn- 
ing, and  of  all  kinds  of  business;  (3)  the  agriculturists  or 
cultivators  of  the  soil ;  and  lastly  (4)  there  may  be  added  the  wild 
wanderers  or  "Eeliauts." 

The  Pei-sian  couit  is  a  perfect  type  of  despotism.  Every  officer 
owes  his  elevation  to  the  favor  or  caprice  of  the  monarch,  and  is 
liable  at  any  moment  to  dismissal  without  a  chance  of  appeal 
either  to  his  superioi-s,  to  a  court  of  law,  or  to  that  greater  public 
opinion  which  controls  tyranny  and  injustice  in  other  countries. 

Treated  in  a  capricious  manner  by  his  sovereign,  he,  in 
his  turn,  rides  rouglishod  over  all  his  inferiors.  Knowing  that 
he  may  fall  as  suddenly  as  he  was  raised  by  the  whim  of  the 
monarch,  he  endeavors,  during  his  uncertain  tenure  of  office,  to 
amass,  by  every  means  known  in  a  country  where  justice  and  right 


200  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

are  merely  high  sounding  words  for  poets  to  mouth,  enough 
wealth  to  support  the  extravagance  which  his  ix)sition  necessarily 
entails,  to  bribe  liis  enemies  when  his  evil  day  arrives,  or  to  retire 
upon  to  a  quiet  corner  of  the  empire  if  he  be  fortunate  enough  to 
escape  the  bowstring  in  the  hour  of  his  fall. 

Deceitful,  treacherous,  venal,  arrogant,  dishonest  and  overbear- 
ing, the  Persian  courtier  possesses  the  art  of  concealing  his  true 
character  under  a  polished  manner,  and  a  lively,  courteous,  and 
mild  countenance  which  rarely  betrays  the  workings  of  his   mind. 

Add  to  this,  he  is  often  an  acute  diplomatist,  well  informed, 
and  skilful  in  business.  A  court  so  constituted  camiot  but  be 
hated  by  all  the  poorer  classes,  who  are  the  chief  sufferers  by  it, 
and  its  pernicious  example  spreads  the  contagion  of  venality,  petty 
rascality,  and  other  evils  throughout  the  community. 

But  all  the  high  officei*s  of  State  are  not  selected  from  the  class 
of  nobles.  No  doubt,  as  in  most  countries,  the  '*  upper  classes  " 
have  more  than  their  fair  share  of  power  and  place ;  yet  many  of 
the  public  functionaries  and  ministers  in  Persia  belong  to  the 
order  of  Mirzas,  secretaries,  or  "men  of  business." 

For  the  policy  of  the  monarchs  is  to  select  some  of  their  officers 
from  the  1  nimblest  class  of  life,  under  the  idea  that  men  thus 
rnised  to  dignity  by  the  favor  of  the  king  alone  will  be,  through 
gratitude,  more  attached  to  liis  person  than  a  military  noble, 
whose  rank  would,  as  much  as  his  sovereign's  favor,  have  obtained 
for  him  power,  and  who,  at  the  beck  of  ambition  or  offended  pride, 
might  summon  to  his  aid  a  host  of  warlike  retainei's  and  plunge 
the  country  into  civil  war.  • 

These  Mirzas,  though  tlie  equals  of  the  nobles  in  treachery  and 
immorality,  are  yet  in  geneml  more  accomplished  than  they, 
being  well  versed  in  all  state-craft,  mild  and  sulnlued  in  their 
address,  and  differing  from  tlie  nobles  in  not  indulging  in  martial 
or  athletic  exercises,  and  wejiring,  instead  of  a  sword  or  dagger,  a 
cuhimdaun^  or  ink  horn,  attached  to  their  girdle. 

Any  pei-son  can  get  access  to  the  king  to  lay  his  complaint 
before  him ;  but,  unless  there  be  a  desire  to  push  the  affair,  the 
complaint  only  is  heard.  However,  it  is  treasured  up  to  l)e 
brought  forth  in  duo  time  when  the  functionarv  complained  of 
gets  into  disgrace,  and  an  excuse  is  desired  for  his  degradation. 


ABSOLUTISM.  201 

The  office  of  collector  of  public  revenue  is  a  poor  one.  The 
people,  knowing  that  the  taxation  only  goes  to  enrich  the  court 
and  pays  for  no  work  of  public  utility,  are  unwilling  to  satisfy  the 
just  demands  of  the  collector,  and  frequently  even  threaten  to  take 
his  life.  This  unwillingness  to  meet  their  public  obligations  is  in- 
tensified by  the  fact  that  taxation  falls  chiefly  on  the  toilers. 

The  great  nobles,  foreigners  and  wealthy  native  merchants  are 
exempt  from  contributions  to  the  Shah's  exchequer,  though  the 
first  and  last  named  are  subject  to  irregular  extortions  which  are 
sometimes  even  less  beai*able  than  the  systematic  bleeding  of  the 
collector. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  rapacious  officials  at  the  capital  do  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  extort  more  taxes,  and  frequently  threaten 
the  collector  with  punishment  on,  the  plea  that  he  has  withheld 
taxes,  so  as  to  induce  him  to  "  squeeze  "  the  population  still  more 
thoroughly. 

Thus,  between  the  rebellious  people  at  large  who  object  to  being 
bled,  and  the  officials  close  to  the  Shah  who  have  a  thirst  for  the 
silver  sweat  and  golden  blood  of  a  peoj)le  (which  is  commonly 
called  taxes),  it  is  easy  to  see  that  a  revenue  collector  in  Persia 
needs  the  stubbornness  of  a  mule,  the  persistency  of  a  gadfly,  and 
the  nine  lives  of  a  cat. 

Such,  however,  is  the  accursed  thirst  for  gold  —  so  intense,  al- 
though it  is  an  artificial  or  accidental  and  not  an  innate  passion,  so 
insanely  intense  is  the  desire  to  acquire  property  —  that,  even  in 
the  most  dangerous  districts  of  the  Shah's  dominion,  this  post  of 
danger  is  eagerly  sought. 

Many  anecdotes  are  current  in  Persia  concerning  the  collector, 
his  cunning,  and  the  ill  luck  that  often  attends  him  like  a  shadow. 
Yet,  although  tlie  Prince  of  Sliiraz  once  in  irony  ordered  a 
notorious  thief  to  be  punished  by  being  made  manager  of  the 
revenue  of  a  district,  as  he  could  conceive  of  no  crime  for  which 
that  appointment  would  not  be  an  adequate  punishment,  there  is 
little  doubt  that  between  the  people  and  the  public  treasury  not  a 
little  of  the  public  cash  clings  to  the  fingei-s  of  the  collector,  and 
that  many  of  them  accumulate  great  wealth. 

Notwithstanding  the  power  of  the  nobles,  the  people,  either 
through  a  naturally  high  spirit,  not  effaced  by  long  oppression,  or 


202  THE  8T0EY   OF  OOVEBNMENT. 

more  probably  owing  to  long  custom  which  allows  them  to  do  so 
with  impunity,  loudly  proclaim  their  wrongs  at  court,  if  they 
consider  themselves  injured;  yet,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  and 
expense  of  travelling,  this  is  denied  to  the  residents  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  coimtry.  The  conmion  people  are  frugal  and 
industrious.  Few  are  in  actual  want,  and  many  of  the  trading 
class  amass  considerable  wealth,  which  by  cunning  and  deceit 
they  manage  to  save  from  the  hands  of  the  rapacious  courtiers. 

"Eveiy  one,"  says  Sir  John  Malcolm,  "complains  of  poverty, 
but  this  complaint  as  often  proceeds  from  a  desire  to  avoid  oppres- 
sion as  from  its  actual  privations."  The  government  officials  are 
paid  wretchedly  small  salaries,  and  even  these  payments  are  most 
unpunctually  made.  To  meet  his  daily  expenses  money  has  to  be 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest,  debts  accumulate,  and  in  a 
few  years  a  government  servant,  if  honest,  would  be  ruined. 

No  position  can  be  more  ignominious  than  that  of  a  Pei-sian 
courtier  in  disgrace.  Should  he  incur  his  master's  displeasure, 
without  the  slightest  warning  he  is  deprived  of  his  property, 
offices,  dignities  and  honors.  Ilis  slaves  are  sold  or  handed  over 
to  the  favorite  of  the  hour,  his  wives  and  chilcb-en  aro  insulted  or 
even  exposed  to  the  brutality  of  his  grooms  and  guards,  while  he 
himself  is  beaten  with  a  stick  or  mutilated  by  the  executioner's 
knife.     The  new  favorite  is  often  a  mere  boy,  as  in  our  picture. 

Yet  these  revei-ses  of  fortune  are  not  final.  They  are  philo- 
sophically accepted  as  accidents  which  must  always  happen  to  one 
who  embraces  the  precarious  life  of  a  comtier,  and  by  the  Orien- 
tal, who  considei-s  every  misfortune  as  pre-oidained  by  fate  and 
impossible  to  be  prevented,  are  viewed  in  a  way  not  widely  differ- 
ent from  that  in  which  a  European  Secretary  of  State  might  regard 
an  official  announcement  that  his  sovei-eign  had  been  pleased 
to  dispense  with  his  sei*vices,  or  an  unfavorable  expression  of 
public  opinion  in  the  shape  of  a  severe  newspaper  article  on  his 
policy. 

Indeed,  though  Persian  sovereigns  express  veiy  savagely  their 
displeasure  at  the  policy  of  a  minister,  he  may,  after  experiencing 
the  infelicity  of  being  disgraced,  be  received  again  into  royal  favor. 
His  family  in  such  a  case  is  sent  back  to  him,  with  as  many  of  his 
slaves  as  can  be  recovered ;  and  his  property,  pruned  of  all  danger- 


204  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

ous  exuberance,  is  returned.  A  batli  mollifies  his  bruised  feet, 
a  cap  conceals  his  cropped  ears,  and  tlie  white- washed  culprit  is 
often  reinstat(Kl  in  the  very  government  he  has  lost,  perhaps 
carrying  with  him  a  sentence  of  disgmce  to  his  successor  to  whose 
inti'igues  he  owed  liis  temporary  fall. 

It  is  indeed  surprising  how  carelessly  the  king  and  his  ministers 
bestow  situations  of  confidence  on  strangers,  or  on  men  who,  from 
having  been  the  sufferei-s  of  great  injustice,  might  be  dreaded  as 
their  bitterest  enemies ;  yet  the  management  of  a  conquered  state 
is  frequently  intrusted  to  the  klian  or  prince  who  before  possessed 
it  in  his  own  right.  The  pardoned  rebel  of  one  province  is 
appointed  to  the  supreme  command  in  another;  and  the  disgraced 
noble  or  governor  is  sent  to  take  charge  of  a  district  where  the 
utmost  fidelity  and  zeal  are  required. 

No  ofiicial,  however  higli,  can  Ixj  sure  of  his  life;  it  lies  in  the 
hands  of  the  king  as  mucli  as  does  the  life  of  the  meanest  subject. 
The  death  of  an  official  is  determined,  the  warrant  for  his  execu- 
tion is  made  out,  and  an  officer  is  despatched  to  execute  it.    The 
man  rides  as  fiust  as  horses  pressed  into  his  service  can  carry  him 
until  he  arrives  at  the  city  wliere  the  doomed  man  lives.     He 
exhibits  hil^  mandati^  to  the  governor  or  chief  man  of  the  city,  and 
commands  him  to  tissist  him.     As  soon  as  the  door  of  the  victim's 
house  is  opened,   the    executioner  rushes   in,   and,   diawing    his 
scimitar,  falls  on  the  unfortunate  man  with  the  exclamation,    "It 
is  thj  king's  connnand,"  cuts  him  down,  and  strikes  oflf  his  bead. 
llarely  is  any  resistance  offered. 

Cases  have  IxM^n  known  in  which  a  powerful  man  has  attempted 
to  waylay  the*  messenger  on  the  road,  when  he  knew  his  errand, 
and,  depriving  him  of  the  warrant,  has  delayed  his  fate  until 
another  could  be  got,  or  until  he  has  had  time  to  obtain    paidon. 

But  iLsually,  such  is  the  awe  of  the  king's  name  that  no  Htttn:pt 
is  made;  In'  the  victtim  to  escape  his  fate.  He  calmly  submit^. 
"It  is  the  decrci*  of  Allah  —  it  is  fate  —  Allah  be  praised!  "  As 
for  his  near(\st  kin,  they  fly  from  him  as  from  a  thing  accursed. 
The  dependent's  whom  an  hour  ago  he  could  have  made  happy 
witli  a  smile  desert  liim  as  one  whose  touch  would  defile.  He  is 
like  an  infected  creature.  "All  nature  seems  to  be  roused  againut 
him,"  are  the  words  of  an  ancient  writer  in  Persia. 


206  THE  8T0EY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  Gholams  are  the  king's  guards,  and  ai-e  composed  of  young 
men  held  in  favor  by  him.  Generally  they  are  young  Circassian 
or  Georgian  captives,  and  accordingly  their  condition  is  that  of 
slaves,  though,  the  position  being  one  of  honor  and  emolument, 
the  sons  of  tlie  highest  noblemen  may  be  found  thei'e. 

The  Gholam  Corps  numbers  three  thousand  or  four  thousand 
men,  and,  in  addition  to  acting  as  escorts  to  the  king  and  guards 
to  his  palaces,  they  are  often  despatched  on  delicate  missions, 
such  as  that  we  have  described  in  relation  to  the  execution  of  a 
disgraced  official.  In  the  execution  of  these  errands  they  often 
amass  large  sums  by  extortion ;  and  the  surest  pi*oof  of  the  in- 
vidious character  which  they  bear  is  the  fact  that  their  very  name 
carries  terror.  The  aiTival  of  a  gholam  e  shahee  is  enough  to 
throw  a  whole  district  into  alaim;  it  has  even  depopulated  a 
village  for  a  time. 

The  inhabitants  of  different  districts  differ  considerably  in 
character,  and  in  their  reputation  for  courage  or  cowardice. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  towns,  or  Shehere^s^  are  even  more  mixed 
than  those  of  the  country  districts.  In  general,  though  by  no 
means  to  be  held  up  as  models  for  young  men,  they  are  of  a  better 
character  than  the  higher  chisses,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  industrious, 
polite,  sociable,  good  servants  and  indulgent  masters,  though 
largely  imbued  with  deceit  and  greed. 

The  merchants  are  often  wealthy,  and  in  general  are  intelligent 
and  cultivated.  The  small  shopkeepers  are  more  distinguished 
for  insincerity  and  cunning,  both  vices,  though  inherent  in  the 
race,  being  fostered  by  their  constant  diead  of  the  caprice  of  their 
superiors.  The  merchants,  on  the  other  hand,  are,  as  all  through 
the  East,  held  in  more  consideration,  being  looked  upon  not  only 
as  a  source  of  revenue,  but  also  as  a  useful  medium  for  main- 
taining friendly  relations  with  foreign  states. 

The  ecclesiastical  law  is  administered  by  a  numerous  body  of 
priests  of  all  grades,  from  the  Sudder  al  Suddoor  down  to  the 
lowest  of  the  mollahs.  The  mooshteheds  are  the  highest  order, 
and  are  the  supreme  pontiffs  of  the  kingdom,  who,  subject  to  the 
approbation  of  the  sovereign,  nominate  all  the  principal  judges. 
They  usually  number  three  or  four,  and  are  elected  by  the  people 
cunt  of  their  acknowledged  sanctity. 


208  THE   STORY   OF   OOVBRNMENT. 

The  Sheik  al  Islam,  or  ruler  of  the  faith,  ranks  next* to  the 
mooshteheds.  He  is  a  salaried  judge,  his  duty  being  to  admin- 
ister the  written  law.  He  is  often  a  man  of  quite  as  great 
influence  as  the  mooshteheds,  his  official  superiors.  The  other 
ecclesiastical  officials  are  those  connected  with  the  mosques. 

Eveiy  mosque,  except  the  very  insignificant  ones,  has  a 
staff  of  three,  viz.,  the  mostwuUa,  who  manages  its  temporal 
affairs,  and  who  may  be  said  to  be  a  kind  of  churchwarden ;  the 
muezzin,  or  caller  to  prayers  (the  "  beadle  "),  and  the  mollah,  or 
priest  proper,  who  conducts  the  ceremonial  of  the  Mohammedan 
religion.  They  also  preach  a  sort  of  sermon  on  texts  from  the 
Koran  —  the  Mohammedan  Bible. 

Besides  these,  there  are  in  every  city,  and  connected  with  all 
seminaries  of  learning,  a  crowd  of  moUahs,  who  live  by  their  arts, 
and  have  Uttle  of  the  priest  but  the  name.  They  practise  astrol- 
ogy, write  letters  and  contracts  for  those  who  are  ignorant  of  pen- 
manship, and  thus  contrive  to  prolong  a  miserable  life. 

Nothing  can  be  lower  than  the  character  of  these  people. 
Their  hypocrisy,  profligacy  and  want  of  principle,  are  the  sub- 
jects of  stories,  epigrams,  and  proverbs  without  end.  "Take 
care,''  says  one  adage,  "of  the  face  of  a  woman  and  the 
heels  of  a  mule;  but  with  a  mollah  be  on  your  guard  at  all 
points."  "To  hate  like  a  mollah,"  and  "to  cheat  like  a  mollah  ** 
are  sayings  of  frequency  in  the  mouth  of  a  Persian. 

It  is  not  the  mollahs  alone  who  are  the  subject  of   Persian 
jocularity.     All  classes  who  are  concerned  in  the  administration 
of  the  law  or  Mohammedan  religious  ceremonies  are  proverbial  for 
their  dishonesty  and  trickery.     Chief  among  these  are  the  seyeds, 
or  descendants  of  the   prophet,  who   are   accounted   rogues    by 
nature ;  but  after  they  have  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  to  the 
birthplace  of  Mohammed,  are  considered  to  have  graduated  in  all 
dishonesty  and  rascality.    In  the  repertory  of  Persian    jests,  nine 
tenths  hinge  upon  what  a  mollah  or  a  hadji  (Mecca  pilgrim)  did, 
and  the  anecdotes  are  told  with  a  grave  hiunor  peculiarly  charac- 
teristic of  the  East.     The  cultivators  of  the  soil^  in  Persia,    though 
oppressed,  are  hospitable,  active,  and  intelligent,  and  are    more 
comfortable   in   their   lives   than   the   average   workman  in   any 
of  our  overgrown  cities. 


AB80LUTIS1C  209 

Penian  wamen^  like  those  of  all  other  Mohammedan  countries, 
are  not  looked  upon  as  the  equals  of  the  men.  They  are  bjr  some 
Moslem  priests  even  belieyed  not  to  have  souls,  and  in  every  case 
are  mere  slaves  who  minister  to  the  pleasure  of  their  haughty 
lords.  In  many  cases,  however,  their  sharp  wit  enables  them  to 
gain  an  ascendency  over  their  more  lethargic  husbands,  and  even 
to  sway  the  affairs  of  the  court  at  their  own  sweet  will. 

An  Eastern  seraglio  is  yet  a  "gilded  cage,"  tenanted  by 
uneducated  women,  whose  only  thoughts  are  to  please  their  mas- 
ter and  amuse  their  aimless  existence.  Intrigue,  discontent  and 
crime  are  the  natural  sequence  of  such  a  state  of  matters.  The 
harem  life  has  been  often  described,  but  by  none,  it  is  said  by 
those  acquainted  with  the  subject,  in  more  faithful  colors  than  by 
the  French  writer  Chardin. 

The  seraglio  of  the  king,  says  M.  Chardin,  is  most  commonly  a 
perpetual  prison,  from  whence  scarce  one  female  in  six  or  seven  has 
the  good  fortune  to  escape,  for  women  who  have  become  the  mothers 
of  living  children  are  provided  with  a  small  establishment  within  the 
walls,  and  are  never  suffered  to  leave  them.  But  privation  of  liberty 
is  by  no  means  the  worst  evil  that  exists  in  these  melancholy  abodes. 

Except  to  that  wife  so  fortunate  as  to  produce  the  firstborn  son, 
to  become  a  mother  is  the  most  dreaded  event  that  can  happen  to  the 
wretched  favorites  of  the  king.  When  this  occurs,  not  only  do  the 
mothers  see  their  last  chance  of  liberty  and  marriage  cut  off,  but 
they  live  in  the  dreadful  anticipation  of  seeing  their  children  de- 
prived of  life  or  sight,  when  the  death  of  their  lord  shall  call  a  new 
tyrant,  in  the  person  of  his  son,  the  brother  of  their  offspring,  to  the 
throne. 

Should  they  escape  having  children,  by  an  assiduous  court  paid  to 
the  king's  mother,  or  to  the  mother  of  his  eldest  son,  it  sometimes 
happens  that  they  obtain  the  good  fortune  of  being  bestowed  upon 
some  of  the  officers  about  the  court;  for  the  ministers  and  grandees, 
who  are  always  intriguing  with  these  influential  ladies,  seldom  fail  of 
soliciting  a  female  of  the  royal  harem  either  for  themselves  or  their 
sons. 

Indeed,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  king  himself  to  bestow 
one  of  these  fair  captives  upon  one  of  his  favorites,  or  his  courtiers ;  and 
sometimes,  when  the  harem  gets  crowded,  this  is  done  to  a  great  extent 
as  a  measure  of  economical  expediency.  Happy  the  woman  thus  freed 
from  her  prison,  for  she  at  once  exchanges  the  situation  of  a  slave  for 


210 


THB   STOEY   OP   GOVERNMEH's- 


that  of  a  legitimate  and 
inflaential  wife,  and  the 
head  of  a  domestic  estab- 
lishment, where  uhe  ia 
ever  treated  with  the  at- 
tention due  to  one  who 
has  been  the  favorite  of 
a  king. 

In  the  case  of  the 
women  of  villagers  and 
laborers  the  veil  is  en- 
tirely dispensed  with, 
and  they  may  be  seen 
following  their  occupa- 
tions like  women  of 
their  class  in  Europe, 
or  other  parts  of  the 
world  where  the  Mo- 
hammedan faith  has  not 
instilled  the  idea  that 
the  females  of  the  na- 
tion are  to  be  carefully 
watched  and  excluded 
from  the  gaze  of  all  but 
their  loids.  Most  of 
the  harem  women  are  of 
Circassian,  Georgian,  or 
Armenian  blood,  and 
are  often  fair  in  com- 
plexion, well  formed, 
and  handsome,  with 
large  black  languish- 
ing eyes,  rich  red  lips 
and  pearly  teeth.  Their 
natural  c  It  a  r  m  s  are, 
however,  often  de- 
stroyed by  the  custom  they  have  of  painting  their  cheeks  with 
various  colors,  by  constantly  smoking,  which  spoils  their  teeth, 


I   PEBBIAM  TILLAGE   BELLE. 


ABSOLUTISM.  211 

and  by  the  habit  of  tattooing  on  their  persons  various  fanciful 
figures.  A  fine  head  of  hair  is  looked  upon  as  indispensable  to 
a  harem  beauty.  If  nature  denies  this  adornment,  it  is  supplied, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  by  artificial  means,  a  custom  which  is 
not  absolutely  unknown  in  a  certain  civilized  (country,  of  whicli 
Teheran  is  not  the  capital. 

A  shift  find  trousei-s  of  colored  silk  or  cotton  constitute  the 
dress  worn  within  doors,  supf)lemente(l,  if  the  weather  be  cold,  by 
a  jacket,  shawl,  cloak,  or  fui-s.  The  head  is  enveloped  in  a  silk 
handkerchief,  so  arranged  as  to  form  a  kind  of  turban.  When 
the  women  go  outside,  they  fold  themselves  in  a  wrap[)er  of  *'blue 
checked  stuff,"  which  covei-s  them  from  head  to  foot,  only  leaving 
a  small  laced  opening  for  their  eyes,  through  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  even  the  lady's  husband  to  detect  the  pei"souality. 

Like  the  Peruvian  Ladies,  the  Pei'sians  ding  to  their  incognita 
with  the  keenest  relish,  as  one  of  the  few  fragments  of  personal 
liberty  which  they  possess.  Frankish  civilization  is  slowly  pen- 
etrating Iran,  a,s  the  empire  of  Persia  is  called;  but  it  has  not 
yet  progressed  so  far  as  to  induce  the  women  to  wear  gowns. 
These  they  call  '' trousers  with  one  leg,"  and  prefer  to  possess 
this  garment  with  the  nonnal  number  of  divisions. 

The  following  description  of  the  gala  dress  of  a  lady  of  high 
rank  as  given  by  Lady  Slieil,  who  spent  much  time  in  Persia,  will 
be  read  with  relish  by  all  women  who  take  a  natural,  innocent  and 
commendable  interest  in  dress:  — 

The  Shah's  mother  wore  a  pair  of  trousers  made  of  gold  brocade. 
These  Persian  trousers  are  always  very  wide,  each  leg  b^ing,  when  the 
means  of  the  wearer  permit  it,  wider  than  the  skirt  of  a  govn,  so  that 
they  have  the  effect  of  an  exceedingly  ample  petticoat ;  and,  as  crino- 
lines are  unknown,  the  elegatites  wear  ten  or  eleven  pairs  of  trousers, 
one  over  the  other,  in  order  to  make  up  for  the  want  of  the  above 
important  invention.  But  to  return  to  the  Shah's  mother.  Her 
trousers  were  edged  with  a  border  of  pearls  embroidered  on  braid  ;  she 
had  a  thin  blue  crepe  chemisette,  also  trimmed  with  pearls.  This 
chemisette  hung  down  a  little  below  the  waist  nearly  meeting  the  top 
of  the  trousers,  wliich  are  always  fastened  by  a  running  string.  A 
small  jacket  of  velvet  was  over  the  chemisette,  reaching  to  the  waist, 
but  not  made  close  in  front,  and  on  the  head  a  small  shawl   pinned 


204  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

ous  exuberance,  is  returned.  A  batli  mollifies  his  bruised  feet, 
a  cap  conceals  his  cropped  ears,  and  tlie  white-washed  culprit  is 
often  reinstated  in  the  very  government  he  has  lost,  perhaps 
carrying  with  him  a  sentence  of  disgmce  to  his  successor  to  whose 
intrigues  he  owed  his  temporary  fall. 

It  is  indeed  surprising  how  carelessly  the  king  and  his  ministers 
bestow  situations  of  confidence  on  strangers,  or  on  men  who,  from 
having  been  the  sufferei-s  of  great  injustice,  might  he  dreaded  as 
their  bitterest  enemies ;  yet  the  management  of  a  conquered  state 
is  frequently  intrusted  to  the  khan  or  prince  who  before  possessed 
it  in  his  own  right.  The  pardoned  rebel  of  one  province  is 
appointed  to  the  supreme  command  in  another;  and  the  disgraced 
noble  or  governor  is  sent  to  take  charge  of  a  district  where  the 
utmost  fidelity  and  zeal  are  required. 

No  ofiicial,  however  high,  can  be  sure  of  his  life;  it  lies  in  the 
hands  of  the  king  as  nmcli  as  does  tlie  life  of  the  meanest  subject. 
The  death  of  an  official  is  determined,  the  warrant  for  his  execu- 
tion is  made  out,  and  an  officer  is  despatched  to  execute  it.    The 
man  rides  as  fast  iis  horses  pressed  into  his  service  can  carry  him 
until  he  arrives  at  the  city  where  the  doomed  man  lives.     He 
exhibits  liis  mandate  to  the  governor  or  chief  man  of  the  city,  and 
commands  him  to  assist  him.     As  soon  as  the  door  of  the  victim's 
house  is  opened,   the    executioner  rushes  in,   and,   drawing    his 
scimitar,  falls  on  the  unfortunate  man  with  the  exclamation,    "It 
is  the  king's  command,"  cuts  him  down,  and  strikes  off  his  bead. 
Rarely  is  any  resistance  offered. 

Cases  have  Ix^en  known  in  which  a  powerful  man  has  attempted 
to  waylay  the  messenger  on  the  road,  when  he  knew  his  errand, 
and,  depriving  him  of  the  wantint,  has  delayed  his  fate  until 
another  could  be  got,  or  until  he  has  had  time  to  obtain    paidon. 

But  usually,  such  is  the  awe  of  the  king's  name  that  no  atttffpt 
is  made  by  the  victim  to  escape  his  fate.  He  calmly  submit^. 
*'It  is  the  decree  of  Allah — it  is  fate  —  Allah  be  praised!  "  As 
for  his  nearest  kin,  they  fly  from  him  as  from  a  thing  accursed. 
The  dependents  whom  an  hour  ago  he  could  have  made  happy 
with  a  smile  desert  him  as  one  whose  touch  would  defile.  He  is 
like  an  infected  creature.  "All  nature  seems  to  be  roused  agaiimt 
him,"  are  the  words  of  an  ancient  writer  in  Persia. 


206  THE  8T0EY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  Gbolams  are  the  king's  guards,  and  are  composed  of  young 
men  held  in  favor  by  him.  Generally  they  are  young  Circassian 
or  Georgian  captives,  and  accordingly  their  condition  is  that  of 
slaves,  though,  the  position  being  one  of  honor  and  emolument, 
the  sons  of  tlie  highest  noblemen  may  be  found  there. 

The  Gholam  Corps  numbers  three  thousand  or  four  thousand 
men,  and,  in  addition  to  acting  as  escorts  to  the  king  and  guards 
to  his  palaces,  they  are  often  despatched  on  delicate  missions, 
such  as  that  we  have  described  in  relation  to  the  execution  of  a 
disgraced  official.  In  the  execution  of  these  eiTands  they  often 
amass  large  sums  by  extortion ;  and  the  surest  proof  of  the  in- 
vidious character  which  they  bear  is  the  fact  that  their  very  name 
<}arries  terror.  The  aiTival  of  a  gholam  e  shahee  is  enough  to 
throw  a  whole  district  into  alaim;  it  has  even  depopulated  a 
village  for  a  time. 

The  inhabitants  of  different  districts  differ  considerably  in 
character,  and  in  their  reputation  for  courage  or  cowardice. 
The  inhabitiints  of  the  towns,  or  Shehere^s^  are  even  more  mixed 
than  those  of  the  country  districts.  In  general,  though  by  no 
means  to  be  held  up  as  models  for  young  men,  they  are  of  a  better 
character  than  the  higher  classes,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  industrious, 
polite,  sociable,  good  servants  and  indulgent  masters,  though 
largely  imbued  with  deceit  and  greed. 

The  merchants  are  often  wealthy,  and  in  general  are  intelligent 
and  cultivated.  The  small  shopkeepers  are  more  distinguished 
for  insincerity  and  cunning,  both  vices,  though  inherent  in  the 
race,  being  fostered  by  their  constant  dread  of  the  caprice  of  their 
superiors.  The  merchants,  on  the  other  hand,  are,  as  all  through 
the  East,  held  in  more  consideration,  being  looked  upon  not  only 
as  a  source  of  revenue,  but  also  as  a  useful  medium  for  main- 
taining friendly  relations  with  foreign  stixtes. 

The  ecclesiastical  law  is  administered  by  a  numerous  body  of 
priests  of  all  grades,  from  the  Sudder  al  Suddoor  down  to  the 
lowest  of  the  mollahs.  The  mooshteheds  are  the  highest  order, 
and  are  the  supreme  pontiffs  of  tlie  kingdom,  who,  subject  to  the 
approbation  of  the  sovereign,  nominate  all  the  principal  judges. 
They  usually  number  three  or  four,  and  are  elected  by  the  people 
on  account  of  their  acknowledged  sanctity. 


208  THE  STORY   OF  eOVERNMENT. 

The  Sheik  al  Islam,  or  ruler  of  the  faith,  ranks  next* to  the 
mooshteheds.  He  is  a  salaried  judge,  his  duty  being  to  admin- 
ister the  written  law.  He  is  often  a  man  of  quite  as  great 
influence  as  the  mooshteheds,  his  official  superiors.  The  other 
ecclesiastical  officials  are  those  connected  with  the  mosques. 

Every  mosque,  except  the  very  insignificant  ones,  has  a 
staff  of  three,  viz.,  the  mostwulla,  who  manages  its  temporal 
affairs,  and  who  may  be  said  to  be  a  kind  of  churchwarden ;  the 
muezzin,  or  caller  to  prayers  (the  "beadle"),  and  the  mollah,  or 
priest  proper,  who  conducts  the  ceremonial  of  the  Mohammedan 
religion.  They  also  preach  a  sort  of  sermon  on  texts  from  the 
Koran  —  the  Mohammedan  Bible. 

Besides  these,  there  are  in  every  city,  and  connected  with  all 
seminaries  of  learning,  a  crowd  of  mollahs,  who  live  by  their  arts, 
and  have  Kttle  of  the  priest  but  the  name.  They  practise  astrol- 
ogy, write  letters  and  contracts  for  those  who  are  ignorant  of  pen- 
manship, and  thus  contrive  to  prolong  a  miserable  life. 

Nothing  can  be  lower  than  the  character  of  these  people. 
Their  hypocrisy,  profligacy  and  want  of  principle,  are  the  sub- 
jects of  stories,  epigrams,  and  proverbs  without  end.  "Take 
care,**  says  one  adage,  "of  the  face  of  a  woman  and  the 
heels  of  a  mule;  but  with  a  mollah  be  on  your  guard  at  all 
points.'*  "To  hate  like  a  mollah,"  and  "to  cheat  like  a  mollah  '' 
are  sayings  of  frequency  in  the  mouth  of  a  Persian. 

It  is  not  the  mollahs  alone  who  are  the  subject  of   Persian 
jocularity.     All  classes  who  are  concerned  in  the  administration 
of  the  law  or  Mohammedan  religious  ceremonies  are  proverbial  for 
their  dishonesty  and  trickery.     Chief  among  these  are  the  seyeds, 
or  descendants  of  the   prophet,  who  are   accounted   rogues    by 
nature  ^  but  after  they  have  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,   to  the 
birthplace  of  Mohammed,  are  considered  to  have  graduated  in  all 
dishonesty  and  rascality.    In  the  repertory  of  Persian    jests,  nine 
tenths  hinge  upon  what  a  mollah  or  a  hadji  (Mecca  pilgrim)  did, 
and  the  anecdotes  are  told  with  a  grave  humor  peculiarly  charac- 
teristic of  the  East.     The  cultivators  of  the  soil^  in  Persia,    though 
oppressed,  are  hospitable,  active,  and  intelligent,  and  are    more 
comfortable   in   their  lives   than   the   average   workman  in   any 
of  our  overgrown  cities. 


ABSOLUTISM.  209 

Penian  wamen^  like  those  of  all  other  Mohammedan  countries, 
are  not  looked  upon  as  the  equals  of  the  men.  They  are  hj  some 
Moslem  priests  even  believed  not  to  have  souls,  and  in  every  case 
are  mere  slaves  who  minister  to  the  pleasure  of  their  haughty 
lords.  In  many  cases,  however,  their  sharp  wit  enables  them  to 
gain  an  ascendency  over  their  more  lethargic  husbands,  and  even 
to  sway  the  affairs  of  the  court  at  their  own  sweet  will. 

An  Eastern  seraglio  is  yet  a  ** gilded  cage,'*  tenanted  by 
uneducated  women,  whose  only  thoughts  are  to  please  their  mas- 
ter and  amuse  their  aimless  existence.  Intrigue,  discontent  and 
crime  are  the  natural  sequence  of  such  a  state  of  matters.  The 
harem  life  has  been  often  described,  but  by  none,  it  is  said  by 
those  acquainted  with  the  subject,  in  more  faithful  colors  than  by 
the  French  writer  Cliardin. 

The  seraglio  of  the  king,  says  M.  Chardin,  is  most  commonly  a 
perpetual  prison,  from  whence  scarce  one  female  in  six  or  seven  has 
the  good  fortune  to  escape,  for  women  who  have  become  the  mothers 
of  living  children  are  provided  with  a  small  establishment  within  the 
walls,  and  are  never  suffered  to  leave  them.  But  privation  of  liberty 
is  by  no  means  the  worst  evil  that  exists  in  these  melancholy  abodes. 

Except  to  that  wife  so  fortunate  as  to  j)roduce  the  firstborn  son, 
to  become  a  mother  is  the  most  dreaded  event  that  can  happen  to  the 
wretched  favorites  of  the  king.  When  this  occurs,  not  only  do  the 
mothers  see  their  last  chance  of  liberty  and  marriage  cut  off,  but 
they  live  in  the  dreadful  anticipation  of  seeing  thoir  children  de- 
prived of  life  or  sight,  when  the  death  of  their  lord  shall  call  a  new 
tyrant,  in  the  person  of  his  son,  the  brother  of  their  offspring,  to  the 
throne. 

Should  they  escape  having  children,  by  an  assiduous  court  paid  to 
the  king's  mother,  or  to  the  mother  of  his  eldest  son,  it  sometimes 
happens  that  they  obtain  the  good  fortune  of  being  bestowed  upon 
some  of  the  officers  about  the  court ;  for  the  ministers  and  grandees, 
who  are  always  intriguing  with  these  influential  ladies,  seldom  fail  of 
soliciting  a  female  of  the  royal  harem  either  for  themselves  or  their 
sons. 

Indeed,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  the  king  himself  to  bestow 
one  of  these  fsur  captives  upon  one  of  his  favorites,  or  his  courtiers;  and 
sometimes,  when  the  harem  gets  crowded,  this  is  done  to  a  great  extent 
as  a  measure  of  economical  expediency.  Happy  the  woman  thus  freed 
from  her  prison,  for  she  at  once  exchanges  the  situation  of  a  slave  for 


210 


THE   STOEY   OP   GOVBENMENI- 


that  of  a  legitimate  and 
inflnential  wife,  and  the 
head  of  a  domestic  estab- 
liabment,  where  she  ia 
ever  treated  with  the  at- 
tention due  to  one  who 
has  been  the  favorite  of 
a  king. 

Ia  the  case  of  tbe 
wotneD  of  villagers  and 
laborers  the  veil  is  en- 
tirely dispensed  with, 
and  they  may  be  seen 
following  their  occupa- 
tions like  women  of 
their  class  in  Europe, 
or  other  parts  of  the 
world  wliere  the  Mo- 
hammedan faith  has  not 
instilled  the  idea  that 
the  females  of  the  na- 
tion are  to  be  carefully 
\vatched  and  excluded 
from  the  gaze  of  all  but 
their  loids.  Most  of 
the  harem  women  are  of 
Circassian,  Georgian,  or 
Armenian  blood,  and 
are  often  fair  in  com- 
plexion, well  formed, 
and  hand!st»nie,  with 
large  black  languish- 
ing eyes,  rich  red  lips 
and  pearly  teeth.  Their 
natural  charms  are, 
however,  often  de- 
stroyed by  tbe  custom  they  have  of  painting  their  cheeks  with 
various  colors,  by  constantly  smoking,  which  spoils  their  teeth. 


A  PEBSIAH  TILLAGE  BELLE. 


ABSOLUTISM.  211 

and  by  the  habit  of  tattooing  on  their  pei*sons  various  fanciful 
figures.  A  fine  head  of  hair  is  looked  upon  jis  indispensable  to 
a  harem  l)eauty.  If  nature  denies  this  adornment,  it  is  supplied, 
either  wholly  or  in  part,  by  artificial  means,  a  custom  which  is 
not  absolutely  unknown  in  a  certain  civilized  countrv,  of  which 
Teheran  is  not  the  capital. 

A  shift  and  trousens  of  colored  silk  or  cotton  constitute  the 
dress  worn  within  doors,  sup[)lementc(l,  if  the  weather  be  cold,  by 
a  jacket,  shawl,  cloak,  or  fui-s.  The  head  is  enveloped  in  a  silk 
handkerchief,  so  arranged  as  to  form  a  kind  of  turban.  When 
the  women  go  outside,  they  fold  themselves  in  a  wrapi)er  of  "blue 
checked  stuff,"  which  covei-s  them  from  head  to  foot,  only  leaving 
a  small  laced  opening  for  their  eyes,  through  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  even  the  lady's  husl)and  to  detect  the  pei-sonality. 

Like  the  Peruvian  ladies,  the  Pei*sians  cling  to  their  incognita 
with  the  keenest  relish,  as  one  of  the  few  fragments  of  i)ersonal 
liberty  which  they  possess.  Frankish  civilization  is  slowly  pen- 
etrating Iran,  as  the  empire  of  Persia  is  called;  but  it  has  not 
yet  progressed  so  far  as  to  induce  the  women  to  wear  gowns. 
These  they  call  ''trousers  with  one  leg,"  and  j)refer  to  possess 
this  garment  with  the  nonnal  num])er  of  divisions. 

The  following  description  of  the  gala  diess  of  a  lady  of  high 
rank  as  given  by  Lady  Slieil,  who  s})ent  much  time  in  Pei-sia,  will 
be  read  with  relish  by  all  women  who  tak(j  a  natural,  innocent  and 
commendable  interest  in  dress:  — 

The  Shah's  inother  wore  a  pair  of  trousers  made  of  gold  brocade. 
These  Persian  trousers  are  always  \qv\  wide,  each  leg  being,  when  the 
means  of  the  wearer  permit  it,  wider  than  the  skirt  of  a  govyn,  so  that 
they  have  the  effect  of  an  exceedingly  ample  petticoat ;  and,  as  crino- 
lines are  unknown,  the  elegantes  wear  ten  or  eleven  pairs  of  trousers, 
one  over  the  other,  in  order  to  make  up  for  the  want  of  the  above 
important  invention.  But  to  return  to  the  Shah's  mother.  Iler 
trousers  were  edged  with  a  border  of  pearls  embroidered  on  braid  ;  she 
had  a  thin  blue  cr^pe  chemisette,  also  trimmed  with  pearls.  This 
chemisette  hung  down  a  little  below  the  waist  nearly  meeting  the  top 
of  the  trousers,  which  are  always  fastened  by  a  running  string.  A 
small  jacket  of  velvet  was  over  the  chemisette,  reaching  to  the  waist, 
but  not  made  close  in  front,  and  on  the  head  a  small  shawl    pinned 


212  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

under  the  chin.  On  the  8hawl  were  fastened  strings  of  large  pearls  and 
diamond  sprigs.  Her  arms  were  covered  with  handsome  bracelets, 
and  her  neck  with  a  variety  of  costly  necklaces.  Her  hair  was  in 
bands  and  hung  down  under  the  shawl  in  a  multitude  of  small  plaits. 
She  wore  no  shoes,  her  feet  being  covered  with  cashmere  stockings. 
The  palms  of  her  hands  and  the  tips  of  her  fingers  were  dyed  red  with 
an  herb  called  henna,  and  the  edges  of  the  inner  part  of  the  eyelids  were 
colored  with  antimony.  All  the  Kajars  [the  Tartar  tribe  to  which  the 
present  dynasty  belongs]  have  naturally  large  arched  eyebrows,  but 
not  satisfied  with  this,  the  women  enlarge  them  with  great  streaks  of 
antimony.  Her  cheeks  were  well  rouged,  as  is  the  invariabla  custom 
among  Persian  women  of  all  classes.  In  fact,  like  their  contemporaries 
in  Europe,  the  Persian  ladies 

*'  With  carious  artft  dim  charms  revive, 
And  triumph  in  the  bloom  of  lifty-five.  '* 

Ignorant,  sensual,  frivolous,  with  no  intellectual  resources  to 
fall  back  upon,  except  the  occasional  introduction  of  some  femin- 
ine elocutionist  or  story-teller,  the  conversation  of  a  harem  party 
is  wearisome  in  the  extreme. 

All  that  delicacy  which  we  associate  with  a  woman  is  absent 
from  their  discourse;  scandal  and  gossip  are  the  only  subjects 
of  conversation,  and  on  every  topic  they  express  themselves  with 
the  most  disgusting  grossness.  A  friendly  tete-d-tSte  is  every  now 
and  then  broken  up  by  a  violent  quarrel  among  the  beauties,  when 
invective  and  abuse,  the  indecency  of  which  would  bar  their 
repetition  almost  in  a  police  court  or  the  pages  of  some  of  our 
*' progressive  "  daily  papers,  are  said  to  flow  from  their  Eastern 
tongues  with  a  fluency  which  long  practice  and  a  freedom  from 
anything  like  shamefacedness  can  only  supply. 

The  marriage  ceremonies  are  elaborate  and  peculiar.  Like  all 
other  Mohammedans,  they  are  not  allowed  more  than  four  legal 
wives,  but  they  can  have  as  many  concubines  as  they  can  purchase. 
A  girl  is  often  l>etrothed  to  her  future  husband  in  infancy,  and  never 
sees  him  until  they  stand  before  the  priest  to  complete  the  bargain. 
She  has,  however,  the  option  of  refusing  to  do  so ;  but  this  is  a 
privilege  so  hedged  round  with  difficulties  as  to  be  practically 
useless.  Of  late,  however,  it  has  become  customary  to  allow  the 
future  husband  and  wife  to  see  each  other,  but  only  "under  the 


214  THE   STOEY    OF   GOVEENME^'T. 

rose."  The  marriage  can  be  witnessed  by  two  men,  or  by  one 
man  and  two  women.  The  certificate  is  carefully  preserved  by 
the  woman,  for  in  case  there  be  a  divorce,  the  possession  of  it  is 
the  only   means    by   which  she  can  recover  her  dowry. 

Great  rejoicings  take  place  at  every  marriage,  and  in  the  case 
of  even  the  middle  classes  ai-e  accompanied  by  an  expenditure  so 
profuse  as  to  be  often  almost  ruinous.  The  feasting  will  hist 
from  three  to  forty  days,  according  to  the  mnk  of  the  contract- 
ing parties;  thi*ee,  at  least,  are  necessary.  On  the  first,  the  com- 
pany assembles;  on  the  second,  the  bride's  hands  are  stained  with 
henna ;  on  the  third,  the  rite  takes  place,  with  much  ceremony 
and  not  a  little  humor.  This  brief  account  of  the  conclusion 
of  a  wedding  by  an  eye-witness  is  full  of  curious  points.  The 
bride  has  retired  to  her  room. 

The  husband,  who  in  this  case  is  a  middle-aged  widower,  makes  his 
ap])earance,  and  a  looking-glass  is  immediately  held  up  in  such  a  posi- 
tion as  to  reflect  the  face  of  his  bride,  whom  he  now  for  the  first  time 
sees  unveiled.  It  is  a  critical  and  anxious  moment,  for  it  is  that  in 
which  the  fidelity  of  his  agents  is  to  be  proved,  and  the  charms  of  his 
beloved  to  be  compared  with  those  pictured  to  him  by  his  ardent 
imagination,  while  the  young  ladies  in  attendance,  as  well  as  the 
gossiping  old  ones,  are  eager  to  catch  the  first  glimpse,  and  communi- 
cate to  all  the  world  their  opinion  of  her  claims  to  beauty. 

Then  the  bridegroom  takes  a  bit  of  sugar-candy,  and  biting  it  in  two 
eats  one  half  himself,  and  presents  the  other  to  his  bride,  a  custom 
apparently  traceable  to  the  ancient  confarreatio^  <»r  ^'  eating  together," 
a  portion  of  the  marriage  ceremony  in  an  early  state  of  society,  of 
which  the  modern  bridecake  is  a  remnant.  On  tlie  present  occasion 
he  had  no  teeth  to  bite  with,  jin<l  so  he  broke  the  sugar  with  his 
fingers,  which  offended  tlie  yoiuig  woman  so  much  tliat  she  cast  her 
portion  away.  He  then  took  her  stockings,  threw  one  over  his  left 
shoulder,  placed  the  other  under  his  ri^lit  foot,  and  ordered  all  the 
spectators  to  withdraw.  They  retired  accordingly  and  tlie  happy 
couple  were  left  alone. 

One  passage  in  this  descri})lioii  illustrates  a  f(^atuie  in  the  Per- 
sian women  that  we  have  not  yet  mentioned,  namely,  that,  though 
little  better  than  slaves,  they  exert  their  rights  in  a  manner 
sometimes  far  fron;  agreeable,  (^f  ungovernable  temper,  and  with 
no  moral  training  wliieli  would  teacli  them  to  resti*ain  their  pas- 


AB80LTTTI8H.  816 

sions,  they  exert  their  will  in  a  most  pronoimoed  maonei',  go  in 
and  out  of  the  harem  when  it  pleases  them  (that  is,  the  harems  of 
the  middle  clasises),  and  when  their  deaii-es  aiB  thwiirted,  will  not 
unfrequently  give  forcible  expi'eaaiou  to  their  opinion  with  the 
sharp  point  of  their  slipijur  on  their  husband's  body.  Slaves, 
generally  Circassians  and  Georgians,  lire  sometimes  so  far  admitted 
to  their  master's  good  graces  as  to  liecome  inmates  of  the  harem ; 
but  slavery  in  Persia  is  of  im  exceedingly  mild  character.  In 
all  Peraian  families  of  consequence,  the  major  domo,  or  person  in 


PKOCESDIOH. 


trust  —  the  house  steward  in  faet^will  generally  be  found  to  be 
a  khanezadeh,  or  slave  bom  in  tJie  house  —  the  offspring  of  domestic 
slaves,  bought  when  young,  and  reared  and  manicd  under  their 
owner's  auspices. 

The  third  mode  of  union  noticeable  in  Persia  is  accounted  dis- 
reputable in  most  Moslem  countries,  namely,  that  of  a  woman 
living  with  a  man  as  his  wife  for  a  specified  {wriod.  This  insti- 
tution, peculiar  to  Persia,  is  not  looked  upon  even  there  as  com- 
mendable in  the  highest  degree.  Only  men  of  rank  make  these 
limited  marri^;es  and,  practically,  such  marriages  are  for  life, 
the  contract  being  for  ninety  years,  and  the  children  of  such  mar- 
riages enjoying  all  the  privileges  of  those  of  the  regular  wives. 


216  THE  STORY  OF    GOVEENMENT. 

Divoi-ce,  however,  can  be  at  any  time  had  by  the  man,  yet  most 
husbands  hesitate  to  adopt  this  mode  of  disposing  of  a  bad  matri- 
monial bargain.  The  scandal,  and,  above  all,  the  necessity  of 
returning  her  dowry,  are  motives  which  eflfectually  restrain  him. 

If  the  wife,  through  ill-usage  or  other  cause,  sues  for  divorce 
and  obtains  it,  she  forfeits  all  right  to  receive  back  any  part  of 
her  dowry,  and  cases,  as  might  be  expected,  are  not  unknown  in 
which  the  baser  sort  have  taken  advantage  of  this  law  to  force,  by 
continued  ill-usage,  the  wife  to  demand  a  divorce.  Bad  temper, 
extravagance,  and  such  like,  are  the  usual  pleas  brought  forwai*d 
as  grounds  for  a  divorce.  Adultery  is  never  one  of  these,  for  if 
this  were  proved  to  have  been  committed,  capital  punishment, 
without  recourae  to  legal  proceedings,  would  be  the  fate  of  the 
unhappy  delinquent. 

Harassed  by  repeated  invasions,  plunderings,  and  long  ages  of 
misrule,  Persia  has  fallen  from  the  position  she  once  occupied  as 
the  granary  of  the  world.  Her  irrigation  works,  and  other  means 
by  which  the  arid  ground  was  made  to  blossom  with  heavy  crops, 
have  been  long  allowed  to  fall  into  decay. 

Famine  is  often  a  visitor  in  the  land.  Few  manufactures 
flourish,  and  a  countr}'  which  has  great  capabilities  is  allowed  to 
lie  half  waste,  a  few  miserable  cultivatoi-s,  or  petty  artisans, 
being  the  only  source  from  which  the  taxes  to  supply  the  luxury 
and  extravagance  of  the  court  can  be  extracted.  In  modern 
Persia  there  is  no  more  a  Darius  or  a  Xerxes  than  there  are  the 
hosts  whom  they  led  to  victory  or  to  spoil.  No  longer  do  the 
Medean  cohorts  advance,  "all  gleaming  in  purple  and  gold.", 

There  are  scarcely  any  roads  in  the  countrj-  fitted  foi  wheeled 
carriages,  and  nearly  all  the  goods  are  borne  on  the  backs  of 
horses,  mules,  or  camels ;  accordingly,  the  di-awbacks  of  bad 
government  put  one  side,  it  is  hardly  possible  for  a  dense 
population  to  subsist.  From  all  accounts,  the  population  of  Per- 
sia, though  the  wandering  tribes,  or  Eeliauts,  it  is  impossible  to 
give  with  anything  like  accumcy,  is  less  than  8,000,000.  In 
Chardin's  day,  the  population  of  Ispahan,  the  then  capital,  was 
estimated  to  be  upwards  of  700,000.  In  1800,  Sir  John  Malcolm 
considered  that  it  could  not  contain  more  than  100,000  souls; 
and  owing  to  the  devastation  it  has  suffered  from  famine  since  that 


ABSOLUTISM.  217 

date,  it  is  probable  that  a  census  would  now  show  a  much  smaller 
number  of  inhabitants,  perhaps  60,000.  Teheran  has  200,000, 
Meshed  60,000,  and  Tauris  is  credited  with  165,000  inhabitants. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  bad  roads.  Navigable  rivers  there 
are  none ;  and,  although  telegraphs  have  been  erected,  railways 
are  a  thing  of  the  future.  They  may  be  built  after  the  coal  fields 
are  developed.  Every  imported,  or  even  home-produced,  article 
which  has  to  be  carried  any  distance,  is  thus  necessarily  dear. 
Silk,  cottoft,  tobacco,  rice,  a  little  grain,  dried  fruits,  sulphur, 
horses,  wax,  and  gall  nuts,  are  the  chief  exports.  Of  manu- 
feustured  articles,  she  exports  a  little  gold  and  silver  brocade,  and 
some  silk  and  cotton  stuffs,  chiefly  to  Russia. 

The  whole  revenue  of  the  empire  is  considerably  less  than  $10,- 
000,000,  and  is  expended  by  the  court,  the  cost  of  which  is  great, 
tiiough,  in  justice,  it  ought  to  be  mentioned,  that  during  the 
reign  of  the  present  Shah  the  income  has  increased  $3,500,000 
per  annum.  Notwithstanding  the  Mohammedan  law,  Persian 
kings  often  marry  more  than  four  wives.     The  late  Shah  had  thirty. 

The  military  force  varies,  the  standing  army  being  usually 
about  50,000  men,  in  addition  to  about  30,000  irregular  cavalry, 
who  are  called  out  in  case  of  necessity ;  but,  on  an  emergency, 
the  Persian  monarch  could  put  into  the  field  150,000  men, 
exclusive  of  camp  followers. 

How  well  this  army  was  equipped  in  former  times  may  be 
inferred  from  the  story  told  regarding  the  Sliah  who  besieged 
the  mud-walled  town  of  a  Kurdish  chief.  A  big  gun  was  brought 
up  against  it,  but  it  was  found  that  only  three  balls  could  be  pro- 
cured which  would  fit  it.  After  two  were  tired,  the  town  was 
summoned  to  surrender;  but  the  only  result  was  a  request  to  his 
Persian  majesty  to  *'fire  his  third  ball,  and  be  done,  and  leave 
them  alone  in  peace  I'* 

In  modem  times  European  arms  have  been  obtained,  and  the 
whole  military  force  is  being  drilled  after  the  modern  methocb, 
by  English  and  other  officers  in  the  service  of  the  present  Shah. 
The  system  may  be  more  satisfactory  to  the  Persian  government 
than  to  the  officers  concerned,  as  they  find  that,  beyond  specious 
promises,  they  have  considerable  difficulty  in  rescuing  any  of  their 
pay  out  of  the  hands  of  the  officials  through  which  it  has  to  pass. 


218  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  average  pay  of  a  private  is  about  $20  per  annum,  in 
addition  to  a  ration  of  three  pounds  of  bread.  A  captain  receives 
about  sixty  tomans,  and  a  lieutenant-colonel  commanding  a  regi- 
ment 500  tomans ;  while  the  colonel  commanding  two  regiments, 
the  highest  rank  in  the  army,  only  enjoys  pay  to  the  extent  of 
about  1,000  tomans.     A  toman  is  at  present  worth  about  $2.15. 

The  monarch  is  known  as  the  Shah^  and  lias  been  from  the 
earliest  times  an  absolute  sovereign,  having  despotic  authority 
over  the  lives  and  property  of  all  his  subjects,  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest.  Though  usually  his  eldest  legitimate  son  succeeds 
him,  yet  he  has  the  power  to  put  any  of  his  male  oflEspring  —  the 
son  of  a  slave  it  may  be  — on  the  throne;  and  at  one  time  it  was 
common  for  the  reigning  sovereign  either  to  destroy  or  to  put  out 
the  eyes  of  all  his  other  sons,  so  that  the  heir  might  reign  in 
peace. 

If  the  new  sovereign  proves  weak,  some  of  his  enemies  soon 
discover  this,  and  the  most  probable  result  is  that,  after  a 
rebellion  and  a  series  of  murders,  a  new  dynasty,  in  the  person  of 
a  successful  soldier,  is  established.  It  thus  follows  that,  though 
the  Shah  of  Pei-sia  is  absolute,  yet  he  has  to  keep  his  power  by  the 
force  of  circumstances,  and,  if  a  wise  man,  will  hesitate  to  exercise 
it  in  a  manner  which  would  excite  the  hatred  of  his  subjects. 

The  Koran  and  the  numerous  traditional  sayings  of  the 
immediate  successors  of  Mohammed  form  the  basis  of  the  whole 
civil  and  criminal  law,  as  administered  by  the  priests  in  Persia, 
as  in  other  Mohammedan  countries.  But  in  Pei^sia  there  is  also 
the  urf^  or  "common  law,"  administered  by  secular  magistrates. 

The  Sheik-al-Islam  is  the  head  of  the  first-named  court,  though 
greatly  controlled  by  the  mooshteheds,  or  high  priests,  while 
the  urf  is  administered  by  the  king  in  person,  by  his  lieuten- 
ants, governors  of  provinces,  chief  magistmtes  of  towns,  col- 
lectors of  the  revenue  of  districts,  and  by  thqt  officials  who  act 
under  them.  The  power  of  life  and  death  rests  with  the  king, 
who  rarely  delegates  it,  except  to  princes  of  the  blood  royal,  or  to 
governors  of  remote  provinces.  The  governing  principle  in 
Mohammedan  law  is  what  has  been  called  the  lex  talionis^  an  eye 
for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.  Murder,  though  a  capital 
offence,   can  yet  be  compounded  with  the  heirs  of   a  murdered 


ABSOLUTISM. 


219 


man.  The  punishment  of  death  is  often  aggravated  by  the  bar- 
barous methods  in  which  it  is  inflicted.  Decapitation,  strangling, 
or  stabbing  i:3  the  common  mode  of  execution ;  but  impalement, 
or  tearing  asunder  by  horses  or  by  the  bent  boughs  of  trees,  is  not 
uufrequently  practised  when,  in  the  opinion  of  the  judge,  the 
offence  warrants  this  addition  to  the  punishment.  Tortures  are 
sometimes   introduced  with  a  view  to   the   discovery  of  hidden 


treasure,  but  rarely  in  any  other  case,  Tim  loss  of  the  eyes  is  the 
common  penalty  for  political  offences.  Mutilation  is  the  punish- 
ment meted  out  to  a  tliJef,  tliiiugli  he  may  be  forgiven  or  his  sen- 
tence lightened  at  the  option  of  the  injured  party.  The  king's 
relatives  fill  nearly  all  the  chief  posts,  such  as  the  governorships 
of  provinces;  while  the  other  offices  of  state  are  given,  as  already 
related,  to  persons  of  lowly  rank,  whose  influence  miglit  there- 
after be  expected  through  gratitude  to  l)e  exeix;ised  in  the  kinjf's 


220 


THE   STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 


behalf.  Every  province  has  a  sum  fixed  for  which  it  is  taxed. 
Accordingly,  the  governor  and  his  agents  use  every  means  to 
squeeze  this  sum,  and  whatever  more  they  can,  out  of  the  i)eople. 

The  overplus  remains  in  the  official's  hands  as  his  salary  or 
perquisite.  At  all  events,  no  one  troubles  him  so  long  as  the 
royal  treasury  in  Teheran  receives  the  quotum  at  which  the  pro- 
vince his  been  rated.  Extortion,  therefore,  as  might  be  expected, 
flourishes  in  Persia,  especially  if  the  district  be  far  removed  from 
the  capital  and  in  a  soil  congenial  to  it. 

The  ancient  religion  of  the  Persians  (the  religion  of  the  Magi) 
long  ago  gave  place  to  Mohammedanism  and  now  lingers  only 
among  the  Guebres,  a  persecuted  sect  in  Persia,  and  among  the 
Parsees  of  India  —  an  ancient  colony  of  Persians  who  have  almost 
monopolized  the  financial  business  of  Bombay  and  other  cities. 

It  was  an  extremely  elaborate  system,  the  central  principle 
being  the  worship  of  fire  and  of  light.  In  its  main  features  it  was 
reformed  and  restored  by  Zoroaster  who  seems  to  have  lived  about 
five  or  six  hundred  years  before  Christ  and  whose  "  Zendavesta  "  is 
one  of  the  most  ancient  books  in  the  Persian  language. 

The  Parsees  and  the  Guebres  never  willingly  throw  filth  into 
fire  or  water.  The  trade  of  a  smith  is  proscribed  among  them  by 
custom  though  not  by  law.  They  use  no  firearms  as  a  rule,  nor 
extinguish  a  fire,  though  in  cases  of  very  destructive  fires  they 
have  been  known  to  assist  in  putting  them  out.  A  Parsee  or  a 
Guebre  is  rarely  found  as  a  sailor,  his  fear  of  defiling  the  sea 
deterring  him  from  following  this  occupation.  When  a  person  is 
dying,  they  keep  a  dog  near  to  drive  away  the  evil  spirits. 

They  neither  bury  nor  burn  their  dead,  but  inter  the  body  in 
a  circular  tower  called  dockmetis^  or  dokhma.  In  these  towers 
are  inclined  planes  on  which  the  corpses  are  deposited,  and  the 
birds  of  the  air  are  invited  to  devour  them.  They  even  augur 
as  to  the  happiness  or  misery  of  the  deceased,  according  as  the 
left  or  right  eye  is  fii-st  pecked  out  by  the  vultures.  Our  illus- 
tration represents  the  burial  of  a  Parsee  traveller  on  the  plains  of 
Hindostan. 

The  Parsees,  like  the  Jews,  are  a  persecuted  race,  and  both 
have  daily  the  mortification  of  seeing  their  saci*ed  lands  in  the 
possession  of  the  Mohammedans.     The  former  are,  nevertheless. 


222  THE  STORY  OP  GOVERNMENT. 

much  fewer  than  the  latter,  for,  except  the  colony  which  has  found 
an  asylum  in  India,  and  the  few  thousands  who  still  cling  to 
Persia,  it  is  rare  to  find  one  in  any  other  country. 

Our  picture  shows  a  persecuted  Guebre  making  himself  known 
to  others  by  a  secret  sign.  He  has  been  wandering  from  village 
to  village  to  elude  the  attentions  of  Mohammedan  priests  who 
have  suspected  his  pockets  of  being  as  full  of  gold  as  his  head 
was  of  heresy.  At  last,  on  the  edge  of  Kurdistan,  he  has  found  a 
town  where  he  can  safely  rest.  In  India,  the  Parsees  would 
be  lost  in  the  vast  sea  of  people  inhabiting  that  empire,  were  it 
not  for  their  distinctive  dress  and  other  peculiarities  which  mark 
them  out  prominently  from  the  Mussulmans  or  Hindoos. 

Their  high,  brimless  hats,  set  a  little  back  so  as  to  form  an 
angle  with  the  head,  at  once  proclaim  the  nationality  of  the  wearer, 
be  it  seen  in  any  Indian  city,  or  in  the  streets  of  London  or  Liver- 
pool ;  for,  though  not  a  widely  scattered  people,  no  fear  of  caste 
pollution  stands  in  their  way  should  they  desire  to  seek  fortune 
in  countries  beyond  the  sea,  albeit,  theoretically  at  least,  they  ought 
not  to  pass  any  length  of  time  on  the  surface  of  water. 

But  the  Parsee,  though  a  monotheist,  is  the  worshipper  of  a 
second  god,  and  that  is  the  rupee.  He  despises,  he  loathes,  the 
hideous  idolatry  of  the  Hindoos;  but  he  bows  do\vn  before  the 
silver  image  which  Victoria,  Kaisar-i-Hind,  has  set  up  in  her 
Indian  dominions. 

With  the  Mohammedan  religion  all  the  learning  of  which 
Persia  can  boast  came  into  the  country;  but  that  is  little.  Logic, 
metaphysics,  judicial  astrology,  astronomy,  mathematics  and  medi- 
cine, are  about  the  only  branches  of  knowledge  cultivated  with 
any  degree  of  success.  Much  of  their  astronomy,  as  well  as  their 
logic  and  metaphysics,  is  puerile  in  the  extreme.  Geography  is 
little  understood,  though  mathematics  is  taught  on  much  better 
principles,  owing  to  their  possessing  the  works  of  Euclid. 

Alchemy  is  a  favorite  study,  but  chemistry  is  unknown.  Their 
knowledge  of  medicine  is  on  a  par  with  the  state  of  the  science  as 
left  by  Galen  and  Hippocrates,  whose  disciples  they  profess  to  be. 
A  few  colleges  have  been  established,  but  are  not  very  prosperous, 
and  the  experiment  of  sending  promising  young  men  to  be  edu- 
cated in  Europe  does  not  meet  with  much  approval. 


ABSOLUTIBM.  22& 

Sine  art;  is  at  a  low  ebb,  it  being  repugnant  to  the  Mohammedim 
&ith  to  make  tepresentations  of  any  created  thing.  The  stone 
and  seal  cutters  of  Shiniz  and  Ispahan  are,  however,  famous  for 


A  OnXBHB  MAKIMQ  IIIMBBLF  KlIOWIT  BY  A  SECRET  SIGH. 

their  skill,  as  Cashan  is  for  lacquered  tiles.  Herat,  Meshed,  and 
Shiniz  are  equally  celebrated  for  sword-blades  and  steel  work 
generally.  Their  coins  were  at  one  time  struck  by  the  hammeT, 
but  in  1872  a  mint  was  established  at  Sultanet-Abed.  near 
Tdunui. 


S24  THE   BTORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  literature  of  Persia  consists  chiefly  of  writings  on  theology 
and  polemics,  and  some  works  of  history,  romance,  and  iKwtrj-. 
Some  of  their  manuseriptjj  are  Ixjautifully  illuminated.  Persia, 
indeed,  was  once  noted  for  her  bai-ds,  and  the  flowurj-,  historical 
songs  of  Meerkhond  and  Khoudeniir  are  sung  to  this  day. 

We  have  been  pictiu-ing  Persia  as  it  is ;  but,  as  elsewhere  in  the 
East,  European  habits  are  creeping  in.  French  millinery  can  be 
seen  in  Teheran,  and  Krupp  guns  in  Shiraz. 

Telegraph  lines  worke<l  by  Europeans  span  the  kingdom,  greatly 
to  the  amusement  of  the  Shah,  though  with  less  diversion  to  the 
distant  officials,  especially  about  the  time  that  the  taxes  are 
due. 

How  "a  dog,  witli  its  tail  in  Teheran  and  its  muzzle  in  Lon- 
don, can  bark  in  the  one  place,  when  it  is  pinched  in  the 
other,"  is  not  easy  to  explain  to  the  averse  Persian  mind,  though 
regarding  the  fact  of  the  case  there  is  painfully  little  doubt. 

In  a  few  more  decades  probably  the  absolutism  of  Persia  will 
be  a  darkness  of  the  past  and  over  the  markets  of  Meshed  and 
t^e  gardens  of  Ispahan  Progress  m'IU  throw  tlie  radiance  of  elec- 
tric light. 


VI. 


f{ulc  of   Castc^ 


INDIA,  whicli  is  regarded  by  biologistij  aa  the  birth-place  of  the 
human  race,  has  been  for  centuries  a  marvel  and  a  mystery 
to  western  minds,  and  its  government,  before  the  East  India 
Company  took  possession  of  many  of  the  provinces,  was  a 
curious  mixture  of  absolutism  such  as  we  have  depicted  in  Persia, 
and  of  a  kind  of  religious  despotism. 

The  absolutism  has  ceased,  even  in  those  provinces  which, 
though  not  exactly  under  British  rule,  are  yet,  by  their  adjacency, 
under  British  eye;  but  the  religious  despotism  still  flourishes 
thi-oughout  the  vast  domain  which  liails  Victoria  as  Empress. 

This  religious  government  within  a  government  is  the  rule  of 
caste,  and  is  what  we  shall  examine  in  this  chapter;  Ixicause, 
although  India  is  nominally  and  (tonmiercially  under  Englisli  dom- 
ination the  tyranny  of  caste  is  still  paramount  there  and  is  liable, 
as  in  the  Indian  mutiny,  if  sufficient  provocation  be  given,  to  cause 
a  tremendous  popular  outbreak. 

For,  though  Disraeli  cleverly  souglit  to  enlist  tlie  loyalty  of  the 
Oriental  fancy  })y  making  Victoria  Empress  of  India,  that  is,  lunk- 
ing  her  higher  in  relation  to  her  Indian  than  to  her  English  subjects, 
yet  her  natural  distance  from  India  cannot  be  overcome  in  the 
popular  mind  by  a  mere  juggle  of  words,  and  it  must  Jbe  admitted 
that,  despite  tlieir  governing  India  the  English  are  a  mere  fringe 

225 


226  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

on  its  vastness  —  a  dewdrop  on  a  lion's  mane,  liable  to  be  shaken 
off  if  his  dormant  majesty  should  awake. 

So  with  Christianity,  which  has  made  but  little  headway  against 
the  dominant  Superstition  of  the  Hindoos,  whose  religion  is  one  of 
the  few  Pagan  faiths  that  liave  had  sacred  books.  In  these  books 
are  embalmed  sound  maxims  of  morality,  and  sentiments  of  such 
nobility  that  in  this  fact  alone  the  Indian  faith  soars  above  those 
of  ancient  Greece,  Home,  or  Assyria,  where  ideas  of  religion  were 
bounded  by  the  erection  of  temples  and  statues  to  deities  Avho 
spoke  to  their  worshippers  in  no  higher  form  than  what  appealed 
to  the  eye. 

The  Vedas,  or  Hindoo  Scriptures,  describe  a  state  of  society 
widely  at  variance  with  Hindoo  life  and  the  religious  tenets 
of  the  present;  so  that  if  these  sacred  books  are  to  be  viewed 
as  the  foundations  of  the  prevailing  religions  of  India,  much  of 
Hindooism  must  have  been  invented  by  the  Brahmins  of  a  later 
date. 

The  "  Code  of  Menu  "  is  another  of  the  sacred  books  of  Hin- 
dooism. It  is  of  a  much  more  recent  date  than  the  Vedas,  though 
at  the  time  it  was  written  the  Hindoo  race  had  not  extended 
beyond  the  Vindhya  Mountains.  It  is  one  of  the  deepest  and 
most  subtle  of  all  holy  books,  and  though  now  "  olwolete  in  many 
respects,"  is  really  the  foundation  of  modem  Hindooism  —  legal, 
social  and  political. 

The  religion  of  the  Hindoos,  like  nearly  every  other  form  of 
worship,  savage  and  civilized,  has  altered  much  since  their  Bible 
was  written.  It  was  purer  in  former  times,  but  it  appears  to  have 
adopted  from  time  to  time  the  deities  of  the  black-skinned 
aborigines  whom  they  had  conquered,  and  to  have  imbibed  many  of 
their  superstitions. 

The  foundation  of  Braliminism  consists  in  a  triad,  or  "trimurti," 
in  which  Brahmd  ii  the  creator,  Vishnoo  the  preserver,  and  Siva 
the  destroyer.  Beneath  these  there  seems  to  lie  the  idea  of  "an 
Unspeakable  Unity,  Brahm  or  Brihm."  These  three  members  of 
the  Hindoo  Trinity  were  not,  however,  coeval.  Vishnoo  worship 
is  of  a  much  younger  date  than  that  of  Siva,  whose  popularity 
was  near  its  height  at  the  birth  of  Christ. 

Hindoo  woi"ship  is  now  almost  entirely  concentmted  on  Vishnoo 


THE  BULE   OV  CABIB. 


227 


and  Siva,  aiid  the  female  divioities  associated  with  tbem,  and 
BrahmA  is  now  little  regarded,  having  but  one  existing  temple 
in  India.  Unlike  the  gods  of  Greece  and  Rome,  Avho  took  upon 
themselves  the  form  of  mankind,  only  to  gratify  some  passion,  as 
a  rule,  or  at  best  to  &vor  some  frieud,  the  great  Hindoo  deities 
only  do  so  for  some  good  and  beneficent  purpose.  They  are 
generally  sculptured  and  worshipped  in  human  form,  more  or  less 


UKMAKKH   FKOU   Till 


altered  according  to  the  idealistic  tendencies  of  the  priest  or  tlie 
aiiists. 

Thus  Vishnoo  undertakes  ten  "avatars,"  or  incarnations,  in 
iirder  to  save  the  world.  These  incarnations  form  the  subject  of 
one  of  tlie  loftiest  portions  of  Hindoo  theology,  and  under  one 
of  these  forms  —  that  of  the  beautiful  Krishna,  or  Kama  tlie  Hero 
—  he  is  moat  frequently  adored  by  his  devotees. 

When  the  "Rig- Veda"  was  written,  Siva — ^who  is  now  a  most 
frightful  and  revolting  deity  —  was  looked  upon  as  aomethii^ 


228  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

very  different,  namely,  as  the  "  god  of  prayer  and  religfious  asceti- 
cism, perfect,  infinite ;  the  refuge  of  worlds,  the  succorer  of  mis- 
fortune, the  spring  of  wealth,  monarch  of  the  world,  lord  of 
Brahmd  himself,  yet  giving  in  his  own  person  the  example  of  pen- 
ance and  pain."  Compared  with  the  Greek  mythology,  that  of 
India  is  infinitely  deeper,  more  mysterious,  and  vastly  more  sub- 
lime.^ 

Much,  however,  of  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  Hindoo 
theology  dates  from  a  period  subsequent  to  the  Christian  era. 
Accordingly,  some  writers  of  good  repute  —  Wilson  in  England, 
and  Lassen  in  Germany,  for  example  —  are  of  the  belief  that 
traces  of  Christian  influence  may  be  detected  in  it.  Most  of  the 
grosser  forms  of  materialism  exist  among  the  modern  Hindoos, 
mingled  with  the  brighter  and  more  excusable  worship  of  the 
elements. 

For  instance,  water^vorship^  a  form  of  religion  widely  spread 
among  nations  both  savage  and  civilized,  is  a  part  of  their  faith. 
To  this  day,  the  Brahmin  prays  to  the  Ganges  as  the  Roman 
offered  up  his  petition  to  Father  Tiber,  and  the  devout  children 
of  a  believer  consider  his  soul  safe,  if  he  dies  by  its  l)anks,  choked, 
it  may  be,  by  the  Ganges  mud.  The  dead  are  thrown  into  the 
stream,  and  mothers  even  offer  up  their  children  to  the  Holy 
River. 

No  place  is  with  the  Hindoo  so  appropriate  for  piuyer  as  the 
banks  of  "  the  river,"  which  to  him  is  what  the  Nile  is  to  the 
Egyptian.  Here  they  bathe  and  offer  up.  their  vows,  their  prayers, 
and  their  offerings  of  fruit,  flowei's,  rice  and  sweetmeats.  Even 
in  places  where  the  liver  is  of  considerable  breadth,  garlands  of 
flowers  are  suspended  across  it. 

Though  all  of  the  sue  red  river  is  holy  to  the  devout  Hindoo, 
yet  so  peculiarly  sanctifying  is  one  particular  spot,  near  the  eon- 
Iluence  of  the  Ganges  with  the  Jumna,  that  all  who  bathe  therein 


1  "I  cannot  help  saying,"  remarks  Ludlow,  •*  that  when  I  compare  Greek  mythology  with 
Hin('.oo  I  am  reminded  of  the  saylnj?  of  the  old  Egyptian  prteftt,  that  the  Greeks  were 
mere  children;  so  immca.su rably  decider  does  the  Hindoo  mind  api)ear  to  go  in  Hounding  the 
mysteries  of  the  universe,  of  our  own  selves.  The  pervading  yearning  which  manifests  itself 
for  an  abiding  union  with  God,  the  linu  hold  wliich  it  has  of  what  I  take  to  l>e  the  truth  of 
truths  for  mankind  —  that  God  must  take  flesh  for  the  salvation  of  the  world  —appear  to  me 
principles  which  make  the  noblest  of  Greek  myths  seem  but  as  babbling  nursery  rhymes 
beside  the  Hindoo." 


THE  KITLB  OF  CASTK.  229 

must  of  necessity — their  souls  l)eing  purified  from  every  sinful 
taint  —  go  straight  to  the  gates  of  Paradise.  To  ensure  this 
blissful  end  of  life,  every  year  numbers  of  devotees  commit  suicide 
by  drowning  themselves  in  the  river,  and  so  systematically  is  this 
superstition  fostered  that  the  Bnihmins  keep  lK)ats  for  the  pur- 
ixjse  of  assisting  their  clients  to  perfonn  this  last  holy  office. 

The  intending  suicide  rows  into  the  stream,  into  which,  after 
fastening  to  his  legs  jai-s  full  of  stones,  he  tlirows  himself,  or  he 
simply  walks  into  the  8tre«am  with  jars  fastened  in  front  and 
behind  his  body,  and  reaching  the  middle  of  the  stream,  he 
leisurely  fills  the  jars  with  water.  The  jard  have  hitherto  buoyed 
him  up,  but  as  they  fill  the  bearer  sinks  into  the  sacred  sti-eam. 
Corpses  ai-e  sunk  in  the  same  manner,  the  devont  relfitives  towing 
the  body  into  mid-stream,  after  its  purification  hy  a  quantity  of 
straw  ignited  round  it. 

What  becomes  of  the  body  after  bein^  sunk  concerns  no  one ; 
the  alligator  may  devour  it,  or  the  hungry  jatrkal  tear  it  to  pieces 
as  it  strands  on  the  muddy  shore ;  but  the  sacred  Ganges  has . 
received  it,  and  the  soul  has  Ixjen  wafted  to  Paradise.  This  method 
of  sinking  bodies  is,  however,  only  pi-actised  by  those  too  poor  to 
bear  the  exjKjnse  of  a  funeral  pile ;  the  richer  classes  invariably 
bum  the  body  and  thi-ow  the  ashes  into  the  river.  At  Benares, 
where  self-immolation  by  drowning  was  once  common,  the  police 
now  have  orders  to  prevent  it  as  far  as  possible. 

All  the  Bi-ahmins,  but  especially  the  priests,  are  propitiated 
with  divine  honors ;  and,  indeed,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
the  Brahmin  is  himself  worshipped  by  his  wiie.  Their  daughters 
under  eight  years  of  age  are  worshipped  as  forms  of  the  goddess 
Bhavani,  and  gifts  of  flowere,  fruit,  water,  garlands,  and  incense 
are  offered  to  them. 

The  wives  of  Brahmins  are  worshipped  by  other  men,  and  it  is 
not  uncommon  for  a  hundred  of  these  ladies  to  he  invited  to  the 
house  of  a  rich  man,  who,  after  having  rei>eated  prayers  and  pmise 
before  them,  concludes  the  ceremony  by  offering  them  rich  gifts. 
These  people  of  Brahminic  caste  are  venerated  as  descendants  of, 
and  endowed  with  some  of  the  divine  substance  of,  their  progeni- 
tor Brahm&,  who  was  at  one  time  worshipi)ed  as  the  Creator. 

On  the  decay  of  the  worship  of  Brahm&,  Siva  and  Vishnoo  came 


280  THE   STOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

into  vogue  as  deities ;  the  worship  of  Siva  being  supposed  to  be 
the  more  ancient  in  date.  Siva  is  represented  in  various  ways. 
Sometimes  his  images  represent  liim  as  a  silver-colored  man  with 
five  faces,  in  each  face  thi'ee  eyes,  of  which  the  third  is  in  the 
forehead ;  he  is  seated  on  a  lotus,  and  clad  in  a  garment  of  tiger 
skin. 

In  other  images  he  is  represented  as  having  only  one  head,  but 
still  a  third  eye,  with  the  figure  of  a  half  moon  on  the  forehead, 
and  is  riding  upon  a  bull,  naked  and  covered  with  ashes,  his  eyes 
inflamed  with  intoxicating  drugs ;  in  one  of  his  hands  carrying  a 
horn,  in  the  other  a  drum. 

Vishnooism  may  l)e  considered  as  a  sort  of  i-e formed  Sivaism, 
more  refined  and  spiritual  than  that  of  the  destroying  and  renova- 
ting god ;  its  progress  has,  however,  been  slow,  and  its  popularity 
by  no  means  so  gi-eat  as  that  of  Sivaism.  Its  followers  are  divided 
into  several  sects,  each  of  which  is  distinguished  by  its  secrets, 
sacrifices,  and  particular  signs. 

To  Vishnoo  are  offered  no  bloody  sacrifices ;  fruits,  flowers, 
water,  clarified  butter,  sweetmeats,  cloths,  ornaments,  and  such 
like,  are  accounted  appropriato  gifts  to  a  god  who  is  the  "  preserver 
of  all  things.''  He  is  a  household  god.  Little  images  are  made 
for  sale,  and  worshipped  whenever  a  person  enters  into  a  new 
house,  or  to  procure  tlie  removal  of  family  misfortunes. 

The  heaven  of  Vishnoo  is  a  region  so  glorious,  that  the  vivid 
fiastern  imagination  revels  in  devising  terms  glowing  enough  in 
which  to  describe  it.  All  destruction  of  life  is  to  him  abhorrent. 
In  addition  to  the  Hindoo  Trinity  there  are  many  inferior  gods^ 
such  as  Kamadcva,  the  god  of  lives,  and  Krishna  K&madeva,  the 
son  of  Brahmd,  who  is  represented  as  a  beautiful  youth,  holding 
in  his  hand  a  bow  and  arrow  made  of  flowers.  His  constant  com- 
panions are  his  wife,  Rati,  the  goddess  of  pleasure,  the  cuckoo, 
the  humming  bird,  and  the  gentle  breezes. 

He  is  continually  wandering  through  the  "  three  worlds,"  con- 
versing with  his  mother  and  wife,  in  gardens  and  temples,  or 
riding  by  moonlight  on  a  parrot  or  lor}',  attended  by  nymphs  or 
dancing  girls,  the  foremost  of  whom  bears  his  standard  —  a  fish 
painted  on  a  red  ground. 

Animals  are  also  venerated  hv  the  Hindoos.     As  the  ancient 


THB  BULK  OP  CASTE.  281 

I  worshipped  Atiior,  the  Celestial  Yeiius,  under  the  fona 
of  a  cow,  BO  the  modem  Hindoos  pay  court  to  Bhavani  under  the 
repreaentation  of  the  same  animal.  The  religious  beliefs,  as  well 
as  the  superstitions  of  the  lower  classes,  vary  much  in  different 
locaiities,  and  have  often  little  in  common  with  the  Hindooism  of 
tlie  Brahmins. 

Brahminism  has  two  aspects,  separated  by  a  vast  chasm.  One 
is  philosophical,  the  other  popular ;  one  is  for  the  few,  the  other 
for  the  many.     In  its  original  or  highest  form  it  is  extremely 


simple,  being  a  kind  of  spiritual  pantheism,  in  wliich  nothing 
really  exists  except  Brnhmfi ;  in  other  words,  nothing  exists  but 
God,  and  everything  existing  is  God. 

But  between  this  faith  as  found  in  the  Ycdas  and  the  corrupt 
polyUieism  of  the  Puranas  there  is  an  immense  gulf,  which, 
however,  is  bridged  over  by  the  word  "emanation."  In  the 
philosophical  creed,  ever3rthing  is  identified  with  Brahmfi ;  in  the 
popular,  everything  emanates  from  Brahm&.  Stones,  plants,  ani- 
mals, men,  gods,  demons,  every  conceivable  object,  issue  from  this 


232  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

one  self-existent  nnivei-sal  soul,  as  drojKs  from  the  ocean,  sparks 
from  the  fire. 

Yet,  into  these  stones,  plants,  and  animals,  the  spirit  of  man 
may  pass,  or  they  nuiy  rise  to  1x5  gods,  and  the  personal  gods  are 
direct  emanations^  from  the  Supreme  Being.  Tliis  leads  to  tlio 
doctrine  of  inc«arnation. 

Vishnoo,  for  example,  as  preserver  and  pervader,  passes  into 
men  to  deliver  the  world  from  the  power  of  evil  demons,  while 
Kama  and  Krishna  are  among  the  more  popular  incarnations.  In 
other  words,  men,  animals,  plants,  stones,  piiss  through  innumer- 
able existences,  and  they  can  rise  to  be  gods.  But  gods,  men, 
animals,  plants,  and  every  conceivable  emanation  fi-om  the  supreme 
soul,  aim  at  and  must  end  in  ieal^oii)tion  into  their  source, 
Brahmd. 

Caste  is  everywhere  an  essential  part  of  religion.  Xo  longer,  as 
it  once  was,  a  bond  of  union  among  large  Ixxlies  of  men,  it  now 
splits  up  the  social  fabnc  into  numerous  communities,  and  thus 
prevents  all  natural  or  patriotic  combinations.  In  the  present 
day  the  family  iKmd  in  India  is  even  stronger  than  that  of  caste, 
and  as  both  are  connected  with  religion,  they  weld  those  con- 
cerned so  firmly  together  that  Hindoos,  as  a  rulo,  have  few  sym- 
pathies and  little  disposition  to  co-operate  with  othei"s,  beyond  the 
circle  of  their  own  families,  and  none  at  all  Ix^yond  the  limits  of 
their  own  immediate  castes. 

What,  then,  in  detail  is  this  caste,  which  compels  six  laborers 
camped  under  one  tree,  and  otherwise  undistinguished  from  each 
other  in  dress  or  peraon,  to  build  six  choolas  or  cooking  places. 


»  When  the  following  lines  from  "  I'ope'H  Ks»ay  on  Man  "  were  reitlted  to  a  Brahmin  priest, 
he  enthusiastically  exclaimed  that  the  poet  must  liaro  been  a  lirahmin  priest  in  one  of  his 
incarnations. 

"  All  are  but  parts  of  one  stui>endous  whole, 

Whose  body  Nature  is,  and  Ood  the  soul ; 

That,  clianp;ed  thnmgh  all,  and  yet  in  all  the  Mime, 

(treat  in  the  earth  as  in  the  ethereal  frame, 

Warms  in  the  sun,  refreshes  on  the  breeze, 

Glows  in  the  stars,  and  blossoms  on  the  trees ; 

Lives  through  all  life,  extends  through  all  extent, 

Spreads  undivided,  operates  unspent; 

Hreathes  in  our  soul,  informs  our  mortal  part, 

As  full,  as  i>erfert,  in  a  hair  as  heart; 

As  full,  as  perfect,  in  vile  man  who  mounis, 

As  the  rapt  seraph  who  adores  and  bums. 

To  Him  no  high,  no  low,  no  great,  no  small ; 

He  Alls,  He  lK)unds,  connects,  and  equals  all." 


TH£  BVLE  OF  CASTE.  288 

and  eat  as  jEat  apart  as  if  they  were  men  of  different  races,  liabits 
and  antipathies,  instead  of  being  near  neighbors,  perhaps  fellow- 
villagers,  speaking  the  same  tongue  and  worshipping  the  same 
gods? 

CiUfte  is  the  division  of  the  j>eople  into  certain  classes,  between 
wlioni  liard  mid  fast  lines  are  drawn,  and  who,  theoretically  at 
least,  follow  from  one  generation  to  another  the  same  pursuits, 
do  not  intennany  with  each  other,  and,  so  far  as  commingling 
Avith  each  other  is  concerned,  might  almost  be  said  to  be  distinct 
nices.  Though  much  has  been  written  on  the  subject  of  caste, 
great  misimderstanding  still  exists  regarding  its  nature. 

In  the  "Institutes  of  Menu,  '  a  work  which  lays  down  the 
earliest  ari-angements  of  Hindoo  society,  the  niles  of  caste  are  very 
distinctly  defined.  In  this  code  we  find  four  castes  defined  as 
composing  the  nation,  though  the  existence  of  mixed  castes  is  also 
mentioned.  These  four  main  divisioni  are:  1,  The  Brahmin,  or 
priest ;  2,  The  Kshatriya,  Cliuttree,  or  soldier ;  8,  The  Vaisya,  or 
husl)andman  ;  and  4,  The  Soodriv,  or  servant,  in  which  were  doubt- 
less comprised  most  of  the  (converted  aborigines. 

In  modern  times  tlu»  A'aisya  caste  has  disappeared,  the  Kshatriya 
mainly  subsists  among  the  warlike  Rajpoots  of  the  northwestern 
fi'onticr,  and  the  Soodm  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  among  the  J&ts 
and  Mahnittius,  unless,  indeed,  we  take  the  hauglity  Bmhminical 
view  of  the  question,  and  include  fis  Soodras  all  who  are  not 
Bndimins.  Tlie  Bmhniiu  is  the  pinnacle  of  this  social  edifice,  and 
l)eneath  him  are  endless  castes,  vaiying  according  to  locality,  but 
seldom  less  than  seventy,  and  sometimes  reaching  as  high  as  170 
iu  number. 

For  three  thousand  yeais,  by  means  of  this  powerful  instrument 
<»f  caste,  the  Brdlnnins  liave  preserved  their  ascendency  over  their 
fellows  in  India,  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  tlie  men,  who 
could  so  long  hold  their  sway  over  turbulent  races,  speaking  many 
languages,  and  obeying  few  laws,  must  have  l)een  wise,  prudent, 
and  firm  in  their  iK)lie3'. 

The  world  can  show  no  other  example  of  such  a  lease  of  power. 
Had  the  Brahmin  attempted  to  mauitain  his  influence  by  mere 
bmte  force,  he  would  long  ago  liave  been  swept  from  the  earth. 
But  lie  rules  without  affecting  sovereignty;   he  enjoys  many  of 


234  THE   STORY   OF   GOVBBNMENT. 

the  prerogatives  of  priesthood  without  separating  himself  from 
human  society.  His  original  superiority  was  at  first  above  all 
moral  and  intellectual ;  his  privileges,  even  now  hemmed  round 
with  numberless  disadvantages,  were  originally  bound  up  with  the 
severest  austerities. 

The  life  of  a  Brahmin,  as  set  foilh  in  the  holy  books,  is  divided 
into  four  periods.  During  the  first,  he  must  perform  the  most 
menial  offices  for  a  superior,  to  whom  he  attaches  himself  as  a 
disciple.  During  the  second  only  lie  mixes  fully  in  social  life, 
maiTies  and  begets  children.  During  the  third,  he  devotes  him- 
self to  religious  pi-actices  and  acts  of  austerity.  The  fourth  is  a 
period  of  entire  self-abstraction,  till  he  leaves  the  body,  as  a  bird 
leaves  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

The  Bi-ahmin  owes  his  supremacy  mainly  to  the  fact  that  till 
recently  he  only  of  the  Indian  castes  was  acquainted  with  Sanscrit, 
in  which  language  are  stored  the  treasures  of  Hindoo  faith  and 
philosophy.  Every  trade,  every  art  in  India,  is  carried  on  by  rules 
laid  down  in  these  sacred  books,  the  meaning  of  which  is  unknown 
to  the  practitioners  thereof;  but  still  they  blindly  obey  them,  for 
the  Brahmins  have  so  ordered. 

Medical  secrets  are  hereditary  in  certain  Brahmin  families,  and 
to  them  the  sick  have  to  resort.  Music  will  bo  traditional  in  one 
family,  and  geometry  in  another ;  so  that  the  intellectual  qualities, 
to  which  of  all  others  the  hereditary  principle  is  so  unfavorable, 
are  influenced  by  caste. 

If  a  man  of  any  caste  becomes  defiled  so  that  he  is  no  longer 
capable  of  mingling  among  his  fellow-men,  he  cannot  go  to  those* 
of  his  own  class  for  purification,  but  must  apply  to  the  Brahmins; 
who  alone  possess  the  power  of  reinstating  him  in  society ;  though 
even  "  the  outcasts  "  have  their  own  priesthood,  composed  mainly 
of  devotees,  whom  a  long  life  of  holiness  and  meditation  upon 
the  Godhead  have  raised  to  such  a  rank  above  ordinary  mortals, 
that  they  seem  to  become  almost  capable  of  ridding  themselves  of 
"  the  dreary  progress  of  transmigration  from  shape  to  shape  during 
millions  of  years." 

Here  again  theory  does  not  always  agree  with  practice,  for  of 
late  yeare  the  grip  of  the  Brahmins  has  been  gradually  slacken- 
ing, and  their  character  for  piety  and  learning  deteriorating.     In 


THK   ItULK   OF   CASTE.  285 

earlier  days  the  Brahmin  was  treated  with  the  reverence  befitting 
his  reputed  descent;  he  \vas  regarded  as  a  divine  being  sprung 
from  the  mouth  of  Bralim&  the  Creator,  accoriling  to  the  Hindoo 
Triad.  But  biii  traditional  reputation  as  a  sage  and  saint,  his 
single-minded  devotion  to  his  religious  doties,  his  mental  abstrao 


lion,  the  purity  of  Km  iliiumter,  bis  babituilc  and  mude  of  living 
have  undergone  a  nidical  cliange. 

He  is  no  longer  an  ascetic,  dev'otctl  to  n;ligiou3  contempUtion. 
renouncing  all  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  living  to  a  patriarchal 
age  in  some  sequestered  retreat,  and  regiirdeil  by  prince  and  [jcasant 
as  the  embodiment  of  autboritj-,  alike  in  law  ami  religion. 


236  THK  stohy  of  government. 

On  the  contrarj',  the  majority  are  extremely  worldly,  and  not 
a  few  shockingly  immoral  individuals,  wlio  i)ractise  few  austerities, 
and  in  spite  of  their  notorious  poveily  engage  in  secular  occupa- 
tions for  the  purpose  of  gi-atifying  their  greed  of  gain.  Even 
their  old  monopoly  of  Sanscrit  learning  has  been  ruthlessly 
invaded  by  low  caste  men  and  Western  scholars,  man}'  of  whom 
are  infinitely  more  learned  than  the  majority  of  the  sacerdotal 
order. 

The  endless  r.imificationb  of  the  four  original  cJistes  deprived 
them  of  much  of  their  power,  and  the  consequence  is  that  to 
compensate  themselves  for  their  loss  from  this  source  they  have 
engaged  in  almost  evciy  calling,  and  their  cupidity  is  so  great  that 
every  principle  of  law  and  morality  is  shamefully  compromised  in 
their  dealings  with  mankind. 

Still,  until  ca:;te  vanishes,  perhaps  not  even  then,  the  "thrice 
born  "  and  his  poita^  or  sacred  cord,  Avill  be  an  object  of  awe  to 
millions  of  those  whom  the  ancient  law  of  India  has  oi-dained  to 
be  his  social  inferioi's.  This  fact  of  a  low  caste  entailing  a  social 
ban  is,  however,  tempting  many  parialis  to  become  Mohammedans, 
since  within  the  pule  of  Islam  all  men  are  equals. 

Below  the  Brahmin  there  are  many  castes,  no  caste  associating 
with  that  which  is  lower  than  it  in  the  social  scale.  So  strictly 
is  this  carried  out  that  in  cases  where  castes,  widely  distinct  from 
one  another,  live  in  the  same  district,  the  very  low  caste  people 
are  excluded  from  the  highways.  This  is  the  system ;  the  princi- 
ple is  something  different  altogether. 

It  is,  in  tli'j  eye  of  the  Hindoo,  a  God-appointed  system  of 
society  in  which  every  man  shall  have  his  settled  place,  with 
which  he  must  rest  and  be  content,  no  matter  what  may  \ye  his 
discomfort  therein ;  and  it  cannot  be  denied  tliat  thouorh  the 
practice  is  productive  of  much  evil,  yet  at  tlie  same  time  it  has 
kept  a  people,  wlio  liave  no  higher  controlling  principle,  from 
sinking  into  a  materialism  so  gro.^s  tliat  the  morals  and  the  whole 
fabric  of  their  national  and  social  life  would  have  been  shaken 
thereby. 

Pi»rhaps  it  is  better  that  the  Hindoo  should  look  upon  the 
Brainniu  as  his  head,  than  that  lie  should  have  no  one  whom  he 
can  legard  as  the  supreme  director  of  his  faith. 


THB  BULB  OF  CASTK. 


287 


The  high  caste  man  is  deSled  hy  the  low  caste  man,  hat  the  Iot 
caste  man  is  not  defiled  by  contact  with  anyone  beneath  him. 
Thus,  the  higher  you  ascend  in  the  scale  of  caste,  the  more  di£G- 
cult  does  it  become  to  keep  from  pollution. 

Hence,  the  Brahmin,  who  is  the  highest  of  all,  most  cook  his 
own  food,  draw  bis  own  water,  and,  like  every  high  caste  man, 
perform  for  himself  every  duty  by  the  performance  of  which  it 
is  possible   for  him   to  be    pol- 
luted.    Theoretically,  at   least, 
the  Brahmin  is  i)oIluted  if  the 
shadow  of  a  low  caste  man  fulls 
upon  him,  or  if  he  glances  into 
the   high   caste   man's  pot,  let 
alone  his  being  touched  by  such 
an  unholy  being. 

A  Brahmin  will  even  turn 
aside  and  sjiit  if  a  low  caste 
man  should  pass  him  in  the  pub- 
lic street  or  highway,  liow 
caste  is  not  therefore,  without 
its  comi)ensating  ad  vantage. 


The    low   caste 


may   go 


about  careless  as  to  who  touches 
him,  or  whose  shadow  falls  on  "^ 
his  vile  person ;  lie  cannot  be 
defiled.  He  can,  if  wealth v 
enough,  hire  a  liigh  caste  man 
—  for  high  caste  by  no  means 
implies  wealth-^to  do  any 
oiDce  for  him,  and  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  the  work  of  liis  sujw- 
rior  in  the  Hindoo  social  scale,  wliile  those  above  him  are  practi- 
cally debarred  fmm  sharing  in  hi.s  labors. 

Hence,  the  high  caste  man  finds  it  proiitAble  to  become  the 
servant  of  the  low  caste  man  wlio  may  be  able  to  i>ay  for  his 
menial  offices.  Brahmins  are,  therefore,  gi-catly  run  after  as 
cooks,  food  being  the  medium  through  which  pollution  can  be 
most  easily  imiarted.     A   Brahmin  cook  is  greatly   in  demand 


288  THE  STouy  of  goveunmknt. 

in  native  Indian  regiments,  some  of  the  men  of  which  are  often 
of  high  castes. 

In  a  word,  the  Brahmin  "  can  cook  for  every  man,  whilst  no 
one  can  cook  for  him";  and  the  food  proceeding  from  his  hands 
is  always  pure.  The  caste  system  is  not,  tlierefore,  an  unmitigated 
evil.  To  use  the  words  of  a  thoughtful  student  of  India,  there 
is  nothing  in  it  so  very  oppressive,  inhuman,  and  monstrous,  and 
on  the  bulk  of  the  Hindoo  people  it  weighs  but  slightly. 

India  is  emphatically  the  land  of  human  horrors,  where  freaks 
of  superstitious  fantasy  encounter  the  traveller  in  nearly  every 
village.  Preeminent  among  cranks  of  all  nations  is  the  Hindoo 
Fakir,  and  the  amount  of  self-torture  which  these  fanatics  will 
embrace  and  yet  live,  is  almost  incredible. 

Having  the  tongue  bored  with  a  red-hot  iron  was  at  one  time 
a  self-torture  so  popular,  that  under  a  clump  of  banyan  trees,  near 
the  temple  of  the  bull  god  at  Chinsurah,  the  devotees  used  to 
range  themselves  in  a  long  line,  in  order  to  get  the  operation 
performed  by  a  blacksmith,  who  bore  the  reputation  of  not  only 
doing  it  effectually,  which  was  well,  but  also  —  what  was  equally 
important  among  the  poverty-stricken  Fakirs  —  cheaply. 

To  walk  with  parched  peas  in  your  shoes  was,  in  the  days  of 
severe  penance  in  Europe,  held  to  be  a  most  reputable  punishment 
for  sins  divers  and  many.  But  the  Hindoo  Fakir  quite  outstrips 
the  European  one.  A  case  is  on  record,  doubtless  only  a  specimen 
of  many,  of  a  Fakir  who  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of  a  mosque 
gaily  chanting  a  hymn,  with  his  sandals  nailed  to  his  feet  by  iron 
spikes,  which  projected  above  the  instep. 

Others  will  make  the  pilgrimage  to  a  shrine,  not  on  foot,  but 
by  rolling  their  bodies  along  the  ground  the  whole  waj-,  by  ad- 
vancing on  their  backs,  pushing  themselves  along  by  their  heels, 
on  their  hands  and  feet,  and  by  various  other  equally  inconve- 
nient methods  of  progression. 

Others  will  sit  motionless  in  one  place  until  the  joints  of  their 
limbs  get  so  stiff  that  they  cannot  bend  them,  or  with  hands 
clenched  until  the  nails  grow  through  the  flesh,  or  by  holding  the 
arm,  by  means  of  support,  in  such  a  position  that  in  time  it 
withei-s.  There  is  really  no  end  to  the  ingenuity  of  these  devotees 
in  inflicting  long  and  lasting  tortures  on  themselves  without  pre- 


ran   ItULE   OF   CASTE.  2S9 

vipitating  deatli,  wIucIl  would  be  a  pleasure  in  coni|iftrison,  and 
hence  not  bo  meritorious  in  the  eyes  of  the  goda. 

Anothei-  method  of  torture,  which  must  be  well  known  to  most 
readers  by  means  of  the  illustmtions  of  it,  Ls  that  in  wliich  hooks 
are  inserted  in  the    muscles  of  the  devotees'  backs,  and  then  a 


number  of  them  are  swung  in  an  appiiratus  not  unlike  the 
"merry-go-round"  seen  at  fairs,  only  in  this  case  the  solo  sup- 
port by  which  the  victim  iu  suspended  in  mid-air  is  the  hook  and 
cord  inserted  in  his  living  flesh. 

One  of  the  most  curious  parts  of  this  business  is  that,  if  a  per- 


240  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNME^*T. 

son  wishes  to  reap  the  benefits  that  the  gods  are  supposed  to 
shower  on  the  meritorious  people  who  practise  this  species  of 
torture,  he  has  no  difficulty  in  procuring  a  substitute  who  will 
submit  to  it  for  a  small  sum,  though  self-torture  is  now  pro- 
hibited by  the  British  authorities. 

As  remarkable  as  the  Fakirs,  though  in  a  far  better  way,  are  the 
municipal  institutions  of  Hindostan,  which  date  from  a  period  long 
before  the  dawn  of  history.  Their  principle  is  the  famous  "  village 
system,"  the  leading  idea  in  which  is,  that  the  people  of  a  partic- 
ular community  do  not  consist  of  individual  units,  but  are  a  body 
corporate,  for  the  regulation  of  whose  affairs  certain  functionaries 
are  required,  and  which,  as  a  body,  enjojrs  certain  rights  over  the 
soil.  These  rights,  and  the  method  of  administering  them,  vary 
infinitely,  but,  nevertheless,  over  all  Hindoo  India  the  village  sys- 
tem in  a  more  or  less  defined  fonn  exists. 

The  land  is  not  the  land  of  any  individual ;  it  belongs  in  common 
to  the  village,  and  each  is  only  entitled  to  his  share  of  the  produce 
—  in  kind  or  in  money  —  of  the  soil,  as  a  component  member  of 
the  body  corporate  which  holds  the  land  in  common.  These  lands 
are  sometimes  worked  by  the  villagers,  at  other  times  by  hired 
lalxDrei-s,  or  are  let  out  to  temporary  tenants. 

In  most  cases  the  former  rule  —  which  seems  to  liave  been  tlie 
general  one  in  early  times  in  India  —  prevails.  The  office-bearei-s 
of  the  village,  including  all  the  artificei's,  form  an  institution  which 
has  undergone  no  alteration  from  time  immemorial,  and  they  also 
enter  into  calculations  connected  with  the  stiitistics  of  an  agricul- 
tural village. 

The  patel^  or  head  of  the  village,  has  freehold  land,  or  special 
rights ;  and  the  kulkarni^  or  accountant,  Jilso  receives  remuneration 
in  various  ways.  These  two  officers  supply  the  machinery  in  ever}- 
village  for  collecting  statistical  details.  The  Barra  Balloota  von- 
sists  of  twelve  hereditiiry  office-bearei-s,  including  the  patel  and 
kulkarni^  who  receive  certain  fees  or  renmneration  from  the  village 
in  exchange  for  professional  services. 

Thus  the  sutar^  or  carj^enter,  the  lohar^  or  smith,  the  chamhar^ 
or  shoemaker,  are  paid  by  each  villager,  and  they  mend  all  imple- 
ments for  agricultural  purposes,  the  owners  finding  the  materials. 
Some  of  the   office-bearers  have  a   right  to  a  certain  number  of 


THE  BULB  OF   CASTE. 


241 


rows  in  the  crops,  and  all  the  fees  form  items  in  the  calculations. 
It  is  a  system  so  admirable  that  one  can  scarcely  conceive  any- 
thing more  suited  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  Hindoo  life  and 
character.  By  means  of  it,  India  is  a  collection  of  little,  indepen- 
dent, self-governing  states,  each  under  its  potail,  or  head-man, 
which  can  survive,  and  have  survived  revolutions  out  of  number, 
to  which  they  are  all-impassive ;  thus  the  people,  though  slaves  so 
far  as  political  freedom  is  concerned,  are  yet  municipally  in  poi^ 


session  ot   the  most  jierfect   independence.     Tliey  want  nothing 
from  any  higher  state,  so  long  as  it  wants  nothing  from  them. 

This  village  system  must  have  been  devised  by  men  of  long  heads 
and  great,  honest  hearts,  since,  after  the  trial  of  every  conceivable 
system  of  administration  —  for  which  experiments  there  were  no 
earthly  reasons  except  vanity  and  that  i^culiar  Anglo-Saxon  con- 
tempt for  everything  not  emanating  from  British  brains  —  they  are 
returning  to  the  system  devised  so  many  thousand  years  ago  by 
the  village  wortiiies  of  Ilindostan. 


242  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Lord  Metcalf  says  that  if  a  district  remains  for  a  series  of  yeai-s 
the  scene  of  continued  pillage  and  massacre,  so  that  the  village 
cannot  be  inhabited,  the  scattered  villagers,  nevertheless,  return 
whenever  the  power  of  peaceful  possession  revives.  A  generation 
may  pass  away,  but  the  succeeding  generation  will  return ;  the 
sons  will  take  the  place  of  their  fathers,  the  same  site  for  the 
village,  the  same  position  for  the  liouses,  the  same  lands  will 
be  occupied  by  the^  descendants  of  those  who  were  driven  out 
when  the  village  was  depopulated. 

The  quarrels  arising  out  of  the  village  system  are  settled  by 
a  Punchaijct^  or  jury  of  five  or  more,  who  decide  both  tlie  fact 
and  the  law ;  and  though  the  Hindoo,  when  before  an  English 
tribunal,  is  often  too  apt  an  example  of  the  duplicity  and  fraud 
which  alloy  the  characteristics  of  the  race,  yet  he  has  little  chance, 
if  bound  by  oaths  which  he  respects,  or  which  custom  has  led  him 
to  believe  sacred,  of  escaping  from  the  meshes  of  the  legJil  net 
with  which  the  Punchayet  surrounds  all  those  who  come  before  it. 

While  considering  the  matter  of  native  administration  of  jus- 
tice, the  subject  of  Hindoo  thieves  is  apt  to  obtrude  itself.  In 
very  old  civilizations,  and  in  overcrowded  communities,  the  trade 
of  stealing  advances  with  the  other  arts  and  sciences,  until,  as  in 
India  and  China,  thieving  and  burglary  have  grown  to  be,  not  the 
vulgar,  clumsy  handicrafts  they  are  in  America,  or  Europe,  but 
really  capable  of  being  ranked  among  the  fine  arts. 

The  Hindoo  thief  is  an  expert.  For  example,  a  burglar  will 
bore  a  hole  through  the  wall,  and  as  Indian  village  huts  are  often 
built  of  mud  his  labors  are  greatly  lightened.  Tlie  hole  being 
big  enough  to  allow  of  his  body  entering,  he  does  not  immediately 
take  this  step,  having  learnt  by  long  experience  that,  no  matter 
how  cautious  he  may  be,  the  quick-eared  owner  may  have  heard 
his  movements,  and  be  ready  the  moment  his  head  protrudes 
through  the  hole  his  hands  and  crowbar  have  made,  to  descend 
upon  it  with  a  pickaxe  or  a  drawn  sword. 

The  burglar,  therefore,  adopts  the  precaution  of  inserting  a 
stick  with  a  bunch  of  grass  the  shape  and  size  of  a  human  head. 
If  a  blow  descend  on  the  feeler^  the  burglar  instantly  decamps, 
knowing  that  the  house  is  on  the  watch  and  alarmed.  If  no  such 
i*esult  follows,  he  enters  himself,  picks  up  all  he  can,  and  hands 


THE    r.lILB    OF    CASTK. 


243 


the  plunder  through  the  hole  to  his  partner  outside,  wlio  preimres 

it  for  being  carried  f>IT.  mid  gives  the  alarm  shoiihl  tlic  least  sign 

of  danger  appear. 

Then  there  is  tlie  thie£  wlio  inuies  under  a  house  until  he  comes 

to    the    women's   apartment,    knowing   that   so   sei'urely    is   thia 

guarded  by  the  rooms  on  either  side  that  little  care  is  exerted  to 

protect  the  inmates'  abundant  jewelry  scattered  round.     Having 

arrived  at  the  scene  of  his  depredations  lie  gently  raises  the  floor 

and    admits    himself 

noiselessh  '"tn  this  d<i 

mestic    holj    of    holies 

Silently    he    absorlw 

about    his    person     the 

metallic  treiisures  of  the 

Zenana,  and  will   even 

abstract  the  bantjles  ind 

bracelets  from  the  limbs 

and  the  iings  from  tht 

noses  and    eirs   of   the 

sleeping  beiuties    with- 
out awaking  them 

There  >re  thieves  not 
less  courageous,  who 
will  entei  i  cnmp  vt 
night,  jKiss  the  sentnes 
and  even  step  o  ^  i  r 
sleeping  dogs,  until  the\ 
reach  the  officei-s'  teiit-s, 

these  gentlemen  Ijeing  quiti;  unaware  of  the  presence  of  midnight 
visitors  until  in  the  morning  they  timl  themselves  clothed  witli 
nothingness.  A  superior  hand  will  even  tiike  the  blanket  from 
around  a  sleeper  without  rousing  liini. 

Then  there  are  the  many  different  kinds  of  [.ickpocketa  and 
"cut-purses,"  who  will  enter  the  crowded  hizaar  aimed  with  a 
sharp  little  knife,  with  which  they  relieve  the  girdles  of  the  buyers 
and  sellers  of  the  purses  concealed  in  the  folds  of  that  universal 
Oriental  article  of  dress ;  or  the  more  dangerous  thief,  wlio  will 
gain  access  to  a  house  in  the  dark,  liis  naked  body  well  oiled. 


244  THE   STORY  OF   OOVEBNMEKT. 

If  seized,  his  supple  body  slips  through  the  victim's  hands,  or  if 
he  is  likely  to  be  caught,  the  sharp  knife  which  hangs  by  a  string 
around  the  thicFs  neck  inflicts  an  ugly  wound  on  the  wrists  or 
other  portions  of  the  person  of  the  captor. 

The  riches  of  India  have  for  ages  been  proverbial.  "  The 
wealth  of  Omus  or  of  Ind,"  has  been  a  magnet  to  many  an  advent- 
urer, from  Turkish  Sultans  to  English  lords,  like  Clive,  and  the 
quantity  of  their  spoils  has  been  almost  incalculable. 

When  Mahmoud  of  Ghazni  plimdered  Muttra,  the  fabled  birth- 
place of  Krishna,  he  obtained,  during  an  orgy  of  rapine  and  mass- 
acre lasting  twenty  days,  an  incredible  amount,  the  gift  of 
millions  of  devotees. 

Among  the  loot  which  he  bore  to  his  Alpine  home  were 
huge  idols  of  pure  gold,  with  eyes  of  rubies  and  decorations  of 
sapphires  and  diamonds,  the  spoil  taking  850  elephants  to  trans- 
port it. 

At  a  later  date,  when  he  sacked  Somnauth,  where  for  forty 
centuries  had  stood  the  Temple  of  Soma,  "  lord  of  the  moon," 
piles  of  diamonds  and  sapphires,  rubies  and  gold,  streamed 
from  the  hollow  interior  of  the  idol,  which  the  Brahmins  had 
earnestly  endeavored  to  ransom.  The  Mohammedans  entertain  a 
strong  repugnance  to  image-worship,  and  Mahmoud  had  been 
famous  for  destroying  such  stumbling-blocks  of  offence  to  Moliam- 
medan  eyes. 

The  ransom  of  their  chief  idol  offered  by  the  priests  was  a  tre- 
mendous temptation,  but  principle  prevailed,  and  the  religious 
warrior  with  one  blow  from  his  mighty  battle-axe  sent  the  idol 
reeling  to  the  ground  among  the  groaning  priests.  His  piety  was 
well  rewarded.  In  a  few  hours  the  accumulations  of  ages  changed 
hands.  James  Russell  Lowell,  one  of  our  most  American  of  poets, 
has  put  this  striking  stoiy  into  vivid  verse. 

THE  SULTAX  MAHMOUD. 

Mahmoud  once,  the  idol-breaker,  spreader  of  the  faith, 
"Was  at  Somnauth  sorely  tempted,  so  the  legend  saith. 
In  the  great  pagoda's  centre,  monstrous  and  abhorred, 
Granite  on  a  throne  of  granite,  sat  the  temple's  Lord. 
Mahmoud  paused  a  moment,  silenced  by  that  silent  face, 
Wliich,  with  eyes  of  stone  unwavering,  awed  the  ancient  place. 


THE  BULE   OF  CASTE.  246 

Then  the  Bnihmiiis  knelt  before  him,  by  hig  doubt  made  bold, 

Offering  for  their  idol* a  ransom  countless  gems  and  gold. 

Oold  was  yellow  dirt  to  Mahmoud,  but  of  precious  use, 

Since  from  gold  the  roots  of  power  suck  a  magic  juice. 

*'  Were  yon  stone  alone  in  question,  this  would  please  me  well,  ** 

Mahmoud  said,  **  but,  with  that  block  there,  I  my  truth  must  sell. 

Wealth  and  rule  slip  down  with  Fortune,  as  her  wheel  turns  round; 

Ho  who  keeps  his  faith,  he  only,  cannot  be  discrowned. 

Little  were  a  change  of  station,  loss  of  life  or  crown; 

But  tlie  wreck  wore  past  retrieving,  if  the  man  fell  down.** 

Saying  this,  his  mace  ho  lifted,  smote  with  might  and  main, 

And  the  idol,  on  the  pavement  tumbling,  burst  in  twain. 

Luck  obeys  the  downrijlit  striker.    From  the  hollow  core 

Fifty  times  the  Brahmins*  offer  flooded  all  the  floor. 

In  addition  to  such  temples  reared  for  the  worship  of  tlie  gods, 
there  are  in  India  many  holy  places,  in  some  of  which  shrines  are 
erected  and  in  others  not.  To  these  places  great  numbers  of  pil- 
grims throng,  and  reside  for  a  time,  in  the  hope  of  imbibing  from 
the  surroundings  something  of  the  sanctity  which  is  connected 
with  them. 

Others,  whose  lives  have  been  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  gain 
or  in  the  neglect  of  religion,  resoit  liere  towards  the  evening 
of  their  days,  so  as  to  die  in  a  sacred  locality.  They  even  erect 
temples  and  tanks  for  water  at  these  places,  so  that  by  such  meri- 
torious deeds  they  may  secure  repose  for  their  souls.  It  is,  how- 
ever, to  the  Ganges,  the  Jumna,  the  Indus,  the  Cavery,  the  Krishna, 
and  otlier  more  or  less  sacred  rivers,  that  the  Hindoo  chiefly  makes 
his  pilgrimages. 

Water  is,  according  to  liis  belief,  the  best  means  of  moral 
as  well  as  physical  purification  —  a  belief  which  according  to 
Homer  was  held  by  the  ancient  Greeks.  Of  these  holy  Hindoo 
places,  the  city  of  Benares  is  the  holiest.  What  Jerusalem  was 
to  the  Crusader,  and  Mecca  to  the  Mahometan.  Benares  is  to 
the  Hindoo. 

According  to  Brahminic  pliilosophy,  Benares  is  too  holy  to 
be  a  part  of  this  world,  and  instccad  is  situated  on  the  point 
of  Siva's  trident.  Hence,  no  earthquakes  are  ever  exi^erienced 
there.  From  this  city  there  is  a  way  direct  to  heaven — a 
royal  road  to  salvation.  A  very  short  breathing  of  its  holy  air  is 
sufficient  to  secure  this,  provided  the  pilgrim  visit  the  shrines  and 
pay  for  the  privilege  of  so  doing. 


246  THE  ST»>Rr  •►r  ootebsuest. 

All  things  ar»f  ^x:«k(ible  t« j  in«r  ;?J*i> ;  Jind  it  even  lies  within  the 
pOB?<*ib£litIe^  that  the  -  l-ee wacin:?  **  Englishman  who  resorts 
thither  to  Lre^ithe  hL*  Ll^^r  mnj  occiZn  ** afa^rption  into  Brahmi." 
And  it  niivr  be  mention*^ L  a*  *:cjc  of  the  curiosities  of  religious 
fanaticLsm,  tliat  the  H:::«I»>?s  aiErm  that  one  Englishman  actually 
avuileil  hiaaself  of  this  j»rivil«e<^- 

Extni«>rdLnarr  thoimrh  this  statement  mav  seem,  it  is  believed 
that  Job  Chamock,  who  in  loV^>  Liid  the  foundation  of  the  East 
India  C«>uijKiny*s  power  ia  Bengal,  absolutely  became  a  Hindoo, 
and  yearly  sacrificed  a  cock  oa  his  natire  wife's  tomb,  and  that 
General  Ste\»"art  also  et^raged  a  Brahmin  to  perform  daily  wor- 
ship among  the  c^^llection  of  iilols  which  he  had  arranged  on  the 
portico  of  his  house.  Night  and  d:iy.  at  all  seasons  of  the  year, 
everj'  dusty  nxul  leading  to  Benar&i  is  thronged  with  pilgrims 
wendiu*::  their  wav  t«»  this  centre  of  Hindoo  devotion. 

But  the  Hindoo  shrine  which  is  most  known  in  Europe  is  that  of 
Juggernaut,  Juggernauth.  or  Jagannat*h.  Wlien  we  speak  of  a 
person  crushing  himself  untler  the  Juggernaut  wheels  of  custom, 
we  mean  to  express  that  the  indi^-iduaFs  fear  of  the  opinion 
of  otliers  is  irreater  than  the  strenirth  of  his  own  vrilh  and  we  but 
borrow  a  simile  from  one  of  the  mivst  famous  of  Indian  supersti- 
tions or  relicrious  rites. 

The  temple  is  situattnl  in  Pooive.  or  Juggernaut,  in  the  province 
of  Orissa,  about  two  lunuln.Hl  and  lifty  miles  southwest  of  Calcutta, 
and  is  cliieflv  remarkable  for  the  idol  containe<l  in  it,  which  is 
annually  dragged  in  its  car  in  procession. 

Indeed,  were  it  not  for  this  annual  procession,  and  tlie  crowds 
wliich  come  t^)  witness  or  tiike  pLxrt  in  it,  the  whole  affair  would 
>>e  of  little  imi>ortance,  and  command  no  attention  from  anyone 
not  immediatelv  interested.  The  town  in  which  this  celebrated 
prfKjession  is  held  is  mean,  dirty  and  badly  built.  The  streets 
are  fTowded  with  sacred  oxen,  who  ai*e  trained  to  attack  with 
their  Ju^niH  any  intrudei-s  on  the  Siicredness  of  the  route. 
VnrumH  kinrls  of  monkeys  may  l)e  seen  perched  on  the  houses, 
wallH,  and  treses  ;  and  in  the  water-tanks  are  tame  crocodiles,  which 
are  objer^t^  of  woi'ship. 

The   Pagoda  of    Juggernaut   is    at   the    end   of   the    principal 
ittreet,  whidh  is  \i:ry  wide  and  composed  almost  entirely  of  reli- 


248  THE    STORY   OF   GOVKKXMENT. 

gious  establishments  with  low-piUared  verandas  in  front,  and  plan- 
tations of  trees  interposed.  The  temple  stands  \vithin  a  square 
space  inclosed  by  a  lofty  stone  wall,  and  measuring  650  feet  on  a 
side. 

The  principal  entrance  is  crowded  with  the  baskets  and 
umbrellas  of  the  natives,  and  the  hute  of  dried  leaves  and 
branches  which  serve  as  a  shelter  for  a  number  of  Fakirs,  and  it 
opens  on  a  vestibule  witli  a  pyramidal  roof.  On  eacli  side  is  a 
monstrous  figure,  representing  a  kind  of  crowned  lion. 

In  front  is  a  column  of  dark-colored  basalt,  of  very  light  and 
elegant  proportions,  surmounted  by  the  figure  of  the  monkey-god 
Hanuman,  the  Indian  Mercury.  The  great  pagoda  rises  from 
twenty  feet  high  within  the  outer  inclosure ;  from  a  base  thirty 
feet  square  it  rises  180  feet,  tapering  slightly  from  bottom  to  top, 
and  rounded  off  on  the  upper  part,  being  crowned  with  a  kind  of 
dome.  The  temple  is  dedicated  to  Krishna,  who  is  the  principal 
object  of  worsliip  in  the  character  Juggernaut,  and  as  an  incarna- 
tion of  Vishnoo,  but  is  held  in  joint  tenancy  with  Siva  and  with 
Sabhadra,  the  supposed  sister  and  wife  of  Siva.  There  are  idols  of 
each,  consisting  of  rudely  sculptured  blocks  of  wood  about  six  feet 
in  height. 

Krishna  is  dark  blue,  Siva  wliite,  and  Sabhadni  of  a  yellowish 
hue.  In  front  of  the  altar  on  which  these  idols  are  placed  is  a  figure 
of  the  hawk-god,  Garounda.  A  repast  is  daily  served  to  these  idols ; 
it  consists  of  410  lb.  rice,  225  lb.  flour,  350  lb.  clarified  butter, 
(ghee),  167  lb.  treacle,  65  lb.  vegetables,  186  lb.  milk,  24  lb.  spices, 
84  lb.  salt,  and  41  lb.  oil.  During  the  meal  the  doors  are  closed 
against  all  but  a  few  favored  individuals  sanctified  by  long  fasts 
and  a  habit  of  asceticism  and  penitence.  Loud  strains  of  peculiar 
music  drown  all  other  sounds  while  the  gods  are  consuming  their 
daily  rations. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  temple  is  a  tank,  to  which  the 
gods  are  brought  by  their  attendants  to  pass  a  few  days  annually, 
devoted  to  bathing  in  the  cool  watei^s  of  the  sacred  pool.  Each 
idol  has  its  own  car,  but  that  of  Juggernaut  is  the  i)rincipal  one. 

It  is  al)Out  thirty  feet  square,  mounted  on  sixteen  wheels,  each 
more  than  six  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  whole  construction  is 
upwards  of  forty  feet  high.     It  is  i)lentifully  adorned  externally 


THE  RULE   OF   CASTE. 


'with  sculptniea  ot  the  usual  Indian  tvpe,  and  is  conTentionally  sup- 
posed to  he  drawn  hy  two  wooden  horses,  which  are  only  attached 


to  it  on  the  day  of  procession  when  two  stout  cables  itre  attaclied 
to  the  car.  These  are  seized  hy  thousands,  or  hy  as  many  as  can 
obtain  a  place  to  hold  Ity,  and  formerly  when  it  went  along  the  city. 


260  THK   STORY   OF   GOVEUNMENT. 

there  were  many  that  offered  themselves  as  a  sacrifice  to  the 
idol,  and  despei-ately  lay  down  on  the  ground  that  the  chariot- 
wheels  might  crush  them. 

But  as  the  British  Government  no  longer  makes  profit  out  of  the 
pilgrims  by  the  tax  put  upon  them,  it  is  doing  all  it  can  to  dis- 
courage the  annual  religious  pandemonium.  Instead  of  hundreds 
immolating  themselves  before  the  idol's  car,  only  occasionally  now, 
and  even  these  are  rare  occasions,  a  poor  decrepit  wretch,  weary 
of  life,  or  drugged  by  the  priests  with  Indian  hemp  or  opium, 
will  madly  throw  himself  before  the  wheels  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  the  police,  who  have  orders  to  prevent  such  suicide. 

The  Hindoo  is  beginning  to  be  wonderfully  cautious  of  that 
swarthy  skin  of  his,  even  in  the  service  of  the  gods,  and  with 
a  view  to  his  salvation.  On  a  late  occasion,  indeed,  instead  of 
thousands  of  devotees  struggling  to  get  at  the  ropes,  not  a  single 
hand  assisted  to  drag  the  car  along ;  and  to  the  hoiTor  and  chagrin 
of  the  Brahmins,  for  the  fii*st  time  in  history,  the  idols  of  Jugger- 
naut came  to  a  standstill  in  the  streets  of  Pooree.  But  yet  in 
civilized  America  we  are  di-agging  along  many  a  crushing  Jugger- 
naut in  the  shape  of  colossal  corporations  which  plunder  the 
people  and  debauch  the  politicians.  Let  us  hope,  however,  not  for 
long. 

Speaking  of  the  Juggernaut  car  of  custom  or  of  conventionality 
which  crushes  the  individuality  of  so  many  recalls  another  meta- 
phor borrowed  from  India.  Most  readei-s  know  of  the  Pinkerton 
men  who  can  be  hired  in  some  states  by  any  rich  man  or  corpora- 
tion to  fire  on  striking  employees.  During  the  last  strike  on  the 
New  York  Central  the  indignation  of  the  public  was  aroused  by  the 
murderousness  of  one  of  these  gangs,  and  many  newspapers 
referred  to  them  as  Pinkerton  thugs. 

This  word  and  comparison  come  from  India,  where  murder  used 
to  be  not  merely  a  fine  art,  but  an  article  of  faith  among  some 
fanatics,  the  surest  way  not  merely  of  sending  but  of  going  to 
heaven.  "  Thuggee,"  as  this  religious  crime  is  called,  originated 
in  this  manner:  The  goddess  Kali,  as  well  as  those  of  Devee, 
Doorga,  or  Bhavani,  by  all  of  which  she  is  known,  is  looked  upon 
as  Siva's  wife. 

She  is  represented  in  her  statues  as  many-handed,  her  hands  full 


THE   Biri.B  OP   CASTE. 


251 


of  varioos  kinds  of  wenpons,  and  arouud  her  neck  a  stiing  of 
human  skolls ;  and  in  old  times,  according  to  Hindoo  mythology 
she  made  war  upon  a  race  of  giants,  from  every  drop  of  whose 
blood  sprang  a  demon, 
which  blood  again  had 
the  power  of  propagat- 
ing other  demons, 
until  the  land  wa» 
overrun  with  diablerie- 

At  Lost  tlie  goddess 
created  two  men  to 
whom  she  gave  hand- 
kerchiefs to  destroy 
the  demons.  When 
they  had  [(crfoi-med 
this  tiisk,  slie  presented 
them  with  the  hand- 
kerchiefs, iiml,  hi  ad- 
dition, the  ]>nvilege  of 
using  tlitMn  against 
human  beings  for  their 
livelihood  Hence 
arose  the  caste  of 
Thug^ 

The  J  aie  known  to 
hive  existed  during 
the  seventeenth  ceii 
tui),  T\hen  they  used 
female  decoys  for  tht 
uiiwirj  tnvcUer,  as 
thtj  did  ^Mtlun  the 
pi  esent  ct  ntUM 
though  these  decoys 
are  of  a  much  older 
use  than  that  j^eriod.  The  fmteriiity  is  not  emiipoNed  of  men 
of  one  caste,  but  of  people  of  different  castes  and  religions,  and 
living  in  different  districts ;  liaving  secret  signs  and  a  peculiar 
dialect  known  to  all  those  who  are  initiated  into  the  fraternity. 


252  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Strange  to  say,  however,  the  majority  of  them  are  nominally  not 
Hindoos,  but  Mohammedans,  and  their  tradition  is  that  they  origi- 
nally  sprang  from  seven  tribes,  all  of  that  religion,  living  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Delhi,  from  which  they  were  dislodged  in  the 
seventeenth  century. 

The  Hindoos,  however,  say  that  the  caste  was  in  existence  long 
before  Mohammed's  time ;  but  as  they  all  agree  in  worshipping 
the  Hindoo  god  Kali,  observe  the  Hindoo  fe?.sts  in  her  honor, 
make  offerings  at  her  temples,  and,  especially  after  any  murder, 
present  to  her  a  piece  of  silver  and  some  sugar,  they  may  be  said 
to  be  a  Hindoo  sect. 

Those  who  are  initiated  into  the  body  are  taught  the  secret 
signs,  but  only  those  who  apply  the  noose  receive  the  sacred 
wafer  of  Thuggee,  which  is  believed  to  change  a  man's  whole 
nature.  From  boyhood  to  mjinhood  they  are  taught  to  look  upon 
the  strangulation  of  uiwffending  victims  as  their  calling  in  life,  into 
which  they  are  gradually  initiated. 

First,  the  neophyte  is  employed  as  a  scout,  or  sotha^  only^ 
his  duty  Ijcing  to  give  warning  of  the  approach  of  a  traveller. 
Sometimes  the  women  and  children,  jis  less  ai)t  to  be  suspected, 
are  employed  in  this  work ;  then  lie  is  allowed  to  see  the  corpse 
after  it  has  been  strangled,  and  to  assist  at  the  interment ;  lasth% 
after  a  solemn  initiation  bv  means  of  the  sacred  sujrar,  he  is 
elevated  to  the  rank  of  a  hhuttote^  or  st rangier,  and  allowed  to  use 
the  noose,  or  roomal^  by  which  the  victims  are  dispatched. 

The  whole  gang  is  governed  by  a  jamadar^  sirdar ,  or  chief,  and 
has  attached  to  it  a  ffitru^  or  teacher.  Nothing  about  their  unholy 
calling  is  in  the  Thug's  eyes  unholy ;  on  the  contrary,  everything 
is  sacred.  The  liufhaees^  or  gravediggers,  constitute  one  of  the 
highest  grades  in  the  order.  The  pickaxe  with  which  tlie  gravt* 
is  dug  is  solemnly  forged  and  consecrated.  It  is  considered  as  a 
gift  from  Kali,  and  looked  upon  accordingly  with  great  veneration. 

Every  seventh  day  this  pickaxe  is  brought  out  and  worshipped^ 
and,  no  matter  how  pressing  the  necessity,  the  grave  for  the  victim 
can  be  dug  by  no  other  instalment.  All  the  Thugs  follow  some 
ostensible  trade,  but  travel  about  from  place  to  place,  under 
various  disguises,  straggling  into  villages  in  twos  and  threes,  and 
meeting  as  strangers.     Secrecy  is  one  of  the  essentials  of  their 


I'HB   ItlTLK   OF   CASTE. 


work ;  never  Mill  tliey  knowingly  Htraiigle  a,  victim  in  the  presence 
of  anyone  not  belonging  to  tlieir  order. 

One  of  them  sometimes  passes  as  a  man  of  rank,  with  numerous 
attendants,  and  liis  women  in  palanquins,  which  in  realit>  contaut 


generally  the  implements  of  their  calling.  Tliey  fall  in  with 
other  travellers  as  it  liy  accident,  or  for  mutvial  iimtection.  Suil- 
dunly,  at  the  favoi-able  spot,  one  throw-s  the  waisthaiid  or  tinlKiii 
round  the  victim's  ncok.  another  draws  it  tight,  both  pnsliing  Iiini 
forward  witli  their  other  hiinds,  a  third  aeizL-H  hiiii  hy  tlie  legs 
and  throws  him  on  the  ground. 


254  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERN^IENT. 

To  strangle  a  man  single-handed  is  accounted  a  rare  feat,  and 
one  so  transcendent  that  it  will  ennoble  the  strangler's  descen- 
dants for  generations  to  come.  If  the  locality  is  dangerous, 
a  canvas  screen  is  thrown  up  as  if  to  conceal  women,  and  the  body 
buried  behind  it ;  or  one  of  them  will  distract  the  attention  of 
travellers  by  pretending  to  be  in  a  fit.  If  a  stranger  approaches, 
nevertheless,  they  weep  over  the  body  as  over  a  dear  comrade. 
The  traces  of  the  murder  are  quickly  obliterated. 

Such  is  their  expertness  that  one  hundred  Thugs  have  been 
known  to  slaughter  on  an  average  eight  hundred  persons  in  a 
month,  and  keep  up  this  record  for  several  years.  They  always 
go  forward,  never  passing  through  towns  or  villages  through 
which  their  victims  have  passed.  If  they  kill  a  man  of  note,  they 
take  care  to  dispose  of  all  his  attendants.  They  have  implicit 
faith  in  omens ;  but  when  the  omens  are  once  favorable,  they  look 
upon  the  victim  as  an  appointed  sacrifice  to  the  deity,  so  that  if 
he  is  not  slain,  Devee  would  be  wroth  with  them.  So  they  eat, 
drink,  and  sleep  without  remorse  upon  new-filled  graves. 

Before  the  body  is  buried,  it  is  pierced  with  holes  to  prevent  it 
swelling,  and  the  grave  is  so  neatly  smoothed  over  that  it  is  next 
to  impossible  for  any  one  of  the  uninitiated  to  point  out  where 
one  exists,  even  though  newly  made.  This  last  rite  over,  the 
Thugs  seat  themselves  round  a  white  cloth,  on  which  are  laid  the 
sacred  pickaxe,  fresh  from  digging  the  grave,  a  salver  of  silver, 
and  some  coarse  sugar.  The  sugar  is  distributed  to  all  present, 
and  eaten  in  silence.  The  silver  is  supposed  to  be  dedicated  to 
Kali,  as  is  also  the  sugar. 

This  done,  the  cloth  is  folded  up,  the  plunder  divided,  after 
shares  have  been  set  aside  for  religious  and  charitable  purposes,  in 
accordance  Avith  the  ranks  of  the  members  of  the  gang,  and  the 
Thugs  go  on  their  way  again  in  the  guise  of  simple  traders, 
artisans,  or  travellers.  The  victims  they  do  not  consider  killed 
by  them.  It  was  God  who  allowed  them  to  be  killed,  and  con- 
science never  seems  to  trouble  them. 

Remorseless  murderers,  their  hands  steeped  in  human  blood, 
they  might,  in  their  own  villages,  be  good  fathers,  faithful  friends, 
and  be  respected  in  their  community  as  skilful  artisans,  agricul- 
turalists, or  traders,  whose  real  calling  was  never  suspected,  though 


THE  HTTLE  OP   CASTU. 


sse 


the  eommiinity,  of  ooune,  profit  I^  their  wealth.  Generally,  how- 
BTer,  thej  take  the  precantlon  of  paying  tribute  to  the  Zemindar, 
or  to  the  police  officials,  whose  very  near  relatives  were  often 
members  of  the  infamous  gang. 

Some  Thugs,  it  is  said,  were  even  in  the  employ  of  the  govern- 
ment itself.     Even  when  discovered,  superstition  often  protected 


them,  for  there  was  a  title  that  such  and  t,  1  a  njal  v  is  struck 
with  leprosy  for  having  had  two  Th  iga  tnmpled  to  death  hy  ele 
phants.  Indeed,  so  openly  even  long  after  tl  e  Bnt  sh  rule  was 
established  in  India,  was  Thuggee  practised,  that  meichants  came 
from  a  distance  to  purchase  the  plunder  of  ivhicli  the  murderers 
had  robbed  their  victims. 

Though  the  murders  are  uondncted  ^vith  Meci-ecy,  yet  it  ought 


256  THE   8TOBV   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

to  be  mentioned  that  this  is  only  part  of  the  system,  and  not  really 
from  any  fear  of  the  consequences,  for  the  Thug  exults  in  his 
crime,  and  if  caught  never  attempts  to  defend  himself,  but  boasts, 
as  he  is  being  led  to  the  scaffold,  of  the  number  and  quality  of  the 
victims  whom  he  has  jissisted  in  sacrificing  to  the  goddess  of 
destruction. 

The  Thugs  believe  that  at  one  time  Kali  assisted  them  in 
their  work  by  devouring  the  bodies  of  the  victims,  but  that  one 
of  the  fraternity  having  indiscreetly  pried  into  her  proceedings, 
she  took  offence,  and  left  them  in  future  to  bury  their  victims. 
She,  however,  so  far  assisted  them  that  she  presented  one  of  her 
teeth  for  a  pickaxe,  a  rib  for  a  knife,  and  the  hem  of  her  lower 
garment  for  a  noose.    Hence  the  sacredness  of  all  these  implements. 

Though  the  existence  of  this  horrible  caste  was  well  known  to 
the  natives,  and  even  to  the  native  officials,  with  such  secrecy  was 
their  business  conducted  that  the  working  of  the  system  has  only 
been  thoroughly  understood  of  late.  Such  were  the  pleasant  possi- 
bilities of  travelling  in  India,  in  addition  to  such  iis  are  shown  in 
the  suggestive  picture  of  a  siesta  in  the  jungle,  where  an  American 
explorer  is  vividly  depicted  saving  the  life  of  his  servant  by  the 
dexterous  use  of  a  bit  of  cord.  Between  snakes,  tigers,  and 
TImgs,  the  secret  places  of  India  are  very  alluring  to  the  adventur- 
ers but  not  nice  winter  resorts  for  quiet  citizens. 

Yet  though  India  is  the  home  of  many  a  dark  and  horrible  su- 
pei-stition,  it  is  also  the  lionie  of  a  religion  gentle  and  beautiful, 
which  of  late  years  has  l)een  spreading  in  European  countries,  and 
has  even  quite  a  strong  following  in  the  United  States.  Tliis  re- 
ligion is  Buddhism,  and  a  brief  account  of  the  founder  of  this  in- 
teresting faith  may  be  of  value. 

Buddha  was  a  rajah's  son,  heir  to  a  throne,  but  in  the  midst 
of  the  pleasures  of  the  sensual  court  of  Kapilavastu,  the  young 
[)rince  Siddhartha  (his  original  name)  found  that  there  was  no 
happiness,  and  that  outside  his  palace  gates  there  were  misery 
and  crime,  and  suffering  and  death,  such  as  in  the  days  of  his 
frivolous  life  he  had  never  dreamt  of.  Life  inanimate  alone  pre- 
sented to  him  pictures  which  were  not  those  of  desolation.  The 
Brahmins  afforded  him  no  consolation  ;  their  creed  gave  the  young 
prince  no  comfort,  nor  did  it  conform  to  what  he  believed  were 


'  THE  BULB  OF  CASTS.  257' 

the  designs  of  the  beneficent  Creator  of  the  uitiverHe.  Mi»  resolve 
vma  made. 

"I  am  determined,"  he  said,  "that  in  disftppearing  from  here 
below  I  will  not  be  any  more  sabjeot  to  the  vicissitudes  of  traii»- 
migration.  I  will  find  the  way  to  put  an  end  to  birtli  and  death, 
and  when  I  have  discovered  it  1  will  impart  it  to  the  world.  I 
will  teach  the  law  of  grace  to  everyone." 

He  was  then  twenty>nine  years  of  age ;  but  he  separated  from 
father  and  motlier,  wife  and  children,  and  set  out  to  visit  the 
schools  of  the  masters  of  the  laws  at  Manoii.  and  gave  up  six 


years  to  the  study  of  the  religious  system,  as  well  an  tu  tlie  ascetic 
exercises  enjoined  on  the  Brahmins.  He  was  not  long  in  artiving 
at  the  conclusion  that  this  road  was  not  the  one  calculated  ti)  load 
to  the  goal  he  had  in  view. 

Breaking  loose  from  all  the  old  faiths,  he  fimnded  ii  new  one, 
sod  believed  tumself  to  be  imbued  with  tlie  (qualities  of  Buddha. 
and  in  the  possession  of  ]>erfect  wisdom.  Commencing  his  preach- 
ing at  Benares,  in  the  thirty<8ixth  year  of  liis  age,  he  i-eturned  to 
Kapilavastn,  and  converted  to  the  new  faith  his  father.  Win  wife, 
and  family.     His  name  was  soon  known  all  over  Central  India. 

Nov  commenced  his  contests  with  the  Iti-alimins,  which  several 


268  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

times  imperilled  his  life.  But  for  more  than  forty  years  he  con- 
tinued his  bloodless  crusade  without  other  protection  than  what 
was  afforded  him  by  the  love  of  his  followers,  the  austerity  of  his 
morals,  and  the  perfection  of  his  wisdom.  Feeling  his  end  approach- 
ing, this  great  and  good  man  took  a  tender  leave  of  his  companions 
in  labor,  and  seating  himself  under  a  tree  expired.  In  the  year 
543  B.  c.  his  followers  met  and  settled  the  dogmas  of  their  master, 
for  he,  like  the  sweet-souled  Son  of  the  Cai-penter,  liad  himself  com- 
mitted nothing  to  writing.^ 

The  religion  of  Buddha,  or  Fo,  as  it  is  sometimes  called  in  China, 
may  well  be  styled  one  of  the  best  forms  of  religion  ever  invented 
by  man.  It  inculcates  benevolence,  humility,  piety,  and  in  all 
things  moderation.  It  has  no  sacrifices,  and  none  of  its  rites  are 
secret  or  cruel.  Its  sacred  books  are  open  to  the  perusal  and  study 
of  everyone,  and  this  fact  alone  is  one  of  the  guarantees  of  the 
good  faith  of  its  originator. 

But  in  the  more  corrupt  state  into  which  it  fell  after  the  death 
of  its  founder,  it  had  images  of  all  kinds  in  tlie  temples.  There 
are  images  representing  gods  of  the  hills,  woods,  valleys,  etc.,  as 
well  as  household  deities,  to  whom  offerings,  but  not  sacrificas, 
are  made.  Li  the  temples,  which  are  very  numerous,  there  are 
altars,  bells,  and  beads,  jewels  and  exquisite  gem-work.  In  the 
shadow  of  the  temple  walls  the  native  goldsmiths  and  jewellers  ply 
their  craft,  making  relics  to  sell  to  the  pious.  Incense  and  tapers 
burn  day  and  night  in  these  buildings,  around  the  images,  some  of 
which  are  of  colossal  size ;  and  the  utes  of  the  religion  are  celebra- 
ted by  singing,  processions  of  priests,  and  such-like  ceremonials. 

The  trausmignition  of  souls  is,  now  at  least,  a  leading  doctrine 
among  the  Buddhists,  and  accordingly  it  follows,  from  their  hold- 
ing tliis  belief,  that  they  avoid  animal  food  and  the  act  of  sacrifice, 
either  of  which  might  involve  the  killing  of  some  human  being 
who  was  performing  one  of  the  states  of  transmigration.     In  Tibet 

>  '•  His  doctrine,"  writes  M.  Aim<^  Hambert,  •'  which  he  never  intended  to  have  any  other 
end  tlian  that  of  working  a  moral  reform  in  the  Brahmin  worship,  and  substituting  a  reign  of 
duty  for  that  of  the  gods,  and  the  practice  of  good  for  that  of  vain  ceremonies,  became  in 
its  turn  a  dogmatic  system,  accompanied  by  a  superstitious  and  idolatrous  worship.  Buddhism 
is  now  the  principal  religion  in  the  Island  of  Ceylon,  the  Burman  Empire,  the  Kingdoms  of 
Siam  and  Annara,  Tonquin,  Til)et,  Tartar>',  Mongolia,  China,  and  Japan.  It  reignod  for  some 
time  in  the  whole  of  India,  Java,  and  other  islands,  and  still  exists  in  Cashmere  and  Nepaul, 
the  number  of  its  adherents  exceeding  four  hundred  millions  of  souls,  an  amount  which  no 
other  religion  on  the  globe  has  attained. 


THE  BDIjE  of  CjLSIE. 


269 


they  hava  monastflries,  containing  numerous  monlu,  who  pass  their 
tune  in  religious  exerciaes  and  study. 

The  head  of  tlie  faith  is  the  Dala'i  Larna,  or  Grand  Lama, 
vho  resides  at  Lhasa,  which  is  accordingly  the  capital  of  the 
northern  Buddhist  world.  This  person^e  has  di%-ine  honora  paid 
to  him,  and  is  also  the  nominal  sovereign  of  the  country,  though 
the  real  governing  power  is  vested  in  the  Chinese  governor  and 
a  Tibetan  minister.     Lamaism,  or  the  "  Great  Vehicle,"  is,  bow- 


ever,  so  amplified  a  form  of  the  fiuth  of  Gautama  as  to  be  really 
a  new  religion,  or  sect. 

Buddhism  is  now  closely  studied  by  European  scholars.  The 
Brahmins  called  the  Buddhist»  Sangataa,  or  atheists.  This  can 
only  be  in  ita  very  corrupt  state,  for  eucli  a  doctrine  could  surely 
never  maintain  its  hold  upon  one  third  of  the  human  race,  com- 
priang  nationalities  so  varied  as  the  keen-trading  Chinese,  the 
energetic  Tibetans,  tlie  gentle,  dispassionate  Hindoos,  and  the  war- 
li^,  intelligent  Burmese  and  Siamese. 

It  was  a  protest  against  idolatry  and  Brahminism  by  a  man 
irilo  was  not  a  Brahmin  but  a  rajah's  son.     It  abolished  caste, 


260  THE   STOEY   OF   GOVERNlklENT. 

and  hence,  independently  of  other  reasons,  tlie  violent  opposition 
it  meets  with  from  the  Brahmins.  It  is  really  somewhat  difficult 
to  understand  its  actual  doctrines ;  but  whatever  they  are.  Buddh- 
ism has  been  a  power  in  the  world,  and  it  would  be  a  nish 
assertion  to  make  that  it  has  not  been  on  tlie  whole  for  good. 
In  India,  thougli  not  properly  the  national  religion  —  Bmliminism 
being  so  —  it  probably,  in  the  number  of  its  followers,  at  one  time 
far  outstripped  those  holding  tlic  indigenous  faith  of  the  country. 

The  marriage  customs  of  a  nation  like  the  Hindoo,  or  indeed 
any  of  the  older  nationalities,  arc  so  much  a  part  of  their  govern- 
mental status  that  a  full  description  of  them  cannot  rightly  l>e 
considered  out  of  place,  and  will  doubtless  l>e  intensely  interesting 
to  all  whose  thoughts  ever  turn  to  the  important  subject  of  mar- 
riage, which  ought  to  be  the  abiding  rock  —  the  firm  foundation  of 
human  society. 

In  the  "  Institutes  of  Menu  "  the  most  clatomte  directions  ai-e 
laid  down  in  regard  to  the  choice  of  a  Bmhmin's  wife,  and  to  the 
ceremonies  that  must  be  undergone  by  a  Brahmin's  son  before 
wedlock.  He  must  sit,  for  instance,  on  a  stately  bed,  decked  with 
a  garland  of  flowers.  His  father  then  presents  him  with  a  copy 
of  the  Vedas,  and  a  cow,  the  symbol  of  Venus.  The  father  next 
reads  the  youtli  a  grave  lecture  on  his  coming  duties,  and  how 
he  ought  to  select  a  wife. 

The  qualifications  for  a  Brahmin's  bride  are  many  and  strict,  if 
the  code  of  the  great  Hindoo  legislator  is  followed.  Not  only  is 
a  girl  with  red  hair  —  a  rare  case  among  the  Hindoos  —  to  be 
avoided,  but  care  must  also  be  taken  to  shun  one  with  little  hair 
or  with  too  much.  The  bride  elect  must  not  Ix)  immoderately 
talkative,  nor  must  she  have  inflamed  eyes. 

The  young  Brahmin  must  avoid  one  "  with  the  name  of  a  con- 
stellation, of  a  tree,  or  of  a  river,  of  a  barbarous  nation,  or  of  a 
mountain,  of  a  winged  creature,  a  snake,  or  of  a  slave,  or  one  with 
any  name  raising  an  image  of  terror.  Let  him  choose  for  a  wife 
a  girl  whose  form  has  no  defect ;  who  has  an  agreeable  name ; 
who  walks  gracefully,  like  a  young  elephant  (strange  comparison  I)  ; 
whose  teeth  are  small,  whose  hair  is  modemte  in  quantity,  and 
whose  body  has  an  exquisite  softness." 

The  siege  of  the  girl's  parents  is  not  decided  upon  until  a  fortu- 


THE   RTTLE  OF   CASTE.  281 

nate  da^  has  boen  ftzed.  The  father  of  the  young  man  then  takes 
a  number  of  small  presents,  and  proceeds  to  the  house  of  tlie 
bride-elect,  but  will  immediately  tarn  back  if  any  animal  of  evil 
omen,  such  as  a  fox,  a  cat,  or  a  serpent  should  cross  his  path. 
But  even  if  all  go  well  with  the  ambassador  at  the  house  of  tlie  lady 
whom  he  hopes  to  make  his  daughter-in-law,  the  fatlier  of  the  girl 
does  not  give  his  consent  until  he  hears  the  chirp  of  one  of  the 
small  lizards  that  creep  aboutold  walls.  When  this  favorable  omen 
occurs  the  bride's  father  &&• 
sents,  and  the  marriage  day  is 
fixed. 

The  four  summer  months 
usually  chosen  are  the  most 
Incky  in  the  whole  calendar; 
and,  probably  on  account  of 
the  field-labors  being  suspended 
during  that  i)eriod,  because  of 
the  great  heat,  some  leisure  is 
aftortled  for  tlie  performance  , 
of  the  ceremony.  During  the 
night  preceding  the  nuptial 
flay,  the  houses  of  bride  and 
bridegroom  resound  witli 
music,  and  buniing  Inm[»  are 
placed  at  the  door  l»y  women 
who  utter  wishes  for  their  wel- 
fare. Balls  of  rice  are  made 
hj'  the  women,  who  towards 
the  close  of  the  night  eat  rice 
with  the  bride  and  bridegi-oom. 

Next   raoniing  tlie   wimien  '""^  hatek  <; 

again  assemble,  and  men  v-raaking  recommences.  With  buniing 
lamps  in  their  lirt:ids,  ii  "  ^es-sel  uf  pure  water,  balls  of  rico-flour, 
and  a  quantity  of  l»etel,  tliey  i>i-oceed  to  visit  the  neighboring 
families,  and  present  tlieni  with  the  plant."  On  their  return  liome 
the  marriage  rites  ai-e  continued. 

After  placing^the  future  husband  and  wife  upon  a  framework, 
or  wicket  of  bamboo,  and  thrice  waving  around  their  feet  a  wisp  of 


262  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

lighted  straw,  the  women  taking  a  ball  of  thread,  and  encompass- 
ing the  bamboo  fi-amework  four  times,  bind  the  betrothed  pair 
together,  fastening  one  end  of  the  thread  on  the  right  arm  of  the 
youth,  and  the  left  arm  of  the  maiden,  with  a  few  blades  of  durva- 
grass. 

The  bodies  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  are  next  anointed  with 
fragrant  unguents.  When  these  ceremonies  are  completed,  little 
offerings,  intended  to  secure  the  happiness  of  the  betrothed,  are 
made  at  the  houses  of  both  parents  to  the  manes  or  spirits  of  their 
deceased  ancestors.  Presents  of  betel,  fruit,  and  sweetmeats  are 
then  exchanged  between  the  bride  and  bridegroom;  and  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon  their  heads  are  shaved. 

Immediately  after  the  performance  of  this  part  of  the  ceremony, 
a  large  stone  is  placed  in  the  midst  of  a  small  aitificial  pond  of 
water,  surrounded  by  trees,  in  which  are  suspended  lamps  with 
wicks,  made  of  the  fruit  of  the  thorn-apple.  Upon  this  stone  the 
bridegroom  stands,  and  the  women,  with  the  burning  lamps,  rice- 
Imlls,  etc.,  in  their  hands,  approach  him  in  single  file,  and  success- 
ively touch  his  forehead  with  the  various  objects  which  they  bear. 
The  bride,  bridegroom  and  all  the  principal  personages  concerned 
fast  until  the  whole  ceremony  of  the  nuptials  is  completed. 

Rich  people,  and  even  those  who  cannot  afford  such  display, 
often  spend  large  sums  on  their  weddings,  and  conduct  the  cere- 
monies with  the  pomp,  splendor,  and  lavishness  so  dear  to  the 
Oriental,  and  sometimes  to  the  Occidental,  heart.  At  night,  the 
bridegroom,  superbly  dressed,  glittering  with  gold  and  silver  orna- 
ments, and  with  a  crown  on  his  head,  is  carried  in  a  golden  palan- 
quin to  the  bride's  dwelling. 

Before  him  n^ove  a  long  procession  of  servants  bearing  silver 
staves,  and  open  carriages  containing  singers  and  dancing-girls, 
some  of  whom,  later  on,  perform  the  celebrated  egg-dance.  All 
along  the  line  of  march  attendants,  carrying  lighted  flambeaux,  dis- 
charge fireworks  as  they  advance ;  and  scattered  amongst  them 
are  musicians  who  play  on  various  instruments.  It  is  not  a  little 
significant  that,  since  the  English  conquest  of  India,  these  musi- 
cians arc  frequently  Europeans,  and  European  guns  are  also  fired, 
every  now  and  then,  as  accompaniments  to  this  marching  — 
sometimes  martial  — musics. 


THE  BULB  OF  CASTE.  268 

OccaaionaUy  these  midnight  marriage  processiona,  when  passing 
through  the  vilhige,  are  playfully  attacked  by  the  boys  and  young 
people.  But  these  encounters,  commenced  in  sport,  not  unfre- 
quently  end  in  dread  earnest  mth  the  loss  of  many  lives. 

The  ceremonies  which  follow  when  the  bridegroom  has  reached 
the  bride's  house  —  sucli  as  h  is  being  undressed  by  the  bride's  father 
a:td  clothed  in  new  garments,  such  as  standing  on  a  stool  beneath 
which  a  cow's  head  and  other  sacred  things  have  been  buried,  such 
as  covering  the  bride  with  old  gaiments  and  carrying  her  seven 
times  round  her  future  lord,  then  letting  them  gaze  on  each  other. 


"is4*!ii>' 


f  soiiTiiEiiy  ixiiiA. 


and  approacli  and  sit  down  together,  take  up  so  much  time  that 
once  in  one's  life  would  seem  a  festive  sufficiency  on  this  question 
of  marriage  d  la  Hindoo.  But  we  must  remember  that  time  has 
little  meaning  or  value  to  an  Eastom  mind  whose  constant  concept 
is  eternity,  and  a  stretch  of  eei-emony  that  would  be  tremendously 
tedious  to  us  is  to  them  but  a  soft  and  agreeable  recreation. 

The  father-in-law  next  presents  the  bridegroom  with  fourteen 
blades  of  the  fragrant  kusa  grass,  pours  water  into  the  palm  of  his 
right  hand,  and  reads  a  mantra,  or  incantation,  over  it.  Water  is 
then  spilt  upon  the  ground,  and  the  officiating  Brahmin,  having 


264  THE   STOliY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

directed  the  youth  to  dip  his  fingers  into  a  vessel  of  water, 
approaches  with  tlie  girl,  and  placing  her  hand  upon  that  of  her 
husband,  binds  them  together  with  a  garland  of  flowers. 

When  the  bride  has  been  formally  given  and  received,  the  garland 
of  flowers  is  removed,  while  the  father  of  the  bride  repeats  tlie 
Gdyairi^  or  lioliest  vei'se  of  the  Vedas.  A  kind  of  curtain  is  then 
drawn  over  the  heads  of  the  married  pair,  who  once  more  regard 
each  other,  after  which  they  are  directed  to  bow  to  the  priest  and  to 
the  company,  and  to  invoke  the  blessings  of  the  gods  and  Brahmins. 

During  these  ceremonies,  portions  of  the  Misra  —  work  on  the 
various  onlers  of  the  Hindoos  —  are  reheai'sed  by  the  Ghatakas, 
and  the  foreheads  of  the  guests  are  marked  with  sandal-wood 
powder.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  are  finally  fastened  together 
by  their  garments  in  token  of  union,  and  led  back  into  the  midst 
of  the  family. 

Celibacy  is  accounted  a  disgrace  both  to  men  and  women.  If 
a  man  loses  his  wife  he  immediately  looks  out  for  a  second,  but  if 
she  also  dies  he  has  difficulty  in  getting  a  third,  owing  to  the  be- 
lief that  some  bane  is  upon  him.  To  avoid  this  supposed  cui-se, 
he  betrotlis  himself  to  a  tree^  on  which  the  threatened  evil  falls. 
Fifty  is  the  age  wliich  the  sacred  books  fix  as  the  period  beyond 
which  a  man  should  not  marry,  but  the  Brahmins  disregard  this 
injunction. 

Though  Indian  women  are  not  treated  with  the  same  courtesy 
and  consideration  as  they  are  in  Western  society,  and  are  in  many 
respects  even  degraded,  yet  it  is  erroneous  to  suppose  that  they 
are  mere  slaves,  or  are  sunk  as  low  as  thev  are  in  Mohammedan 
harems. 

Still  a  Hindoo  woman  is  not  considered  the  equal  of  a  man. 
She  is  looked  upon  with  small  consideration,  and  is  supposed  to 
be  incapable  of  acquiring  that  degree  of  mentality  which  would 
allow  of  her  ascension  in  the  social  scale.  If  a  man  does  anything 
reprehensible,  it  is  usually  said  that  he  has  acted  in  the  spirit  of 
a  woman,  and  she,  on  the  other  hand,  as  the  excuse  for  any  fault 
she  has  committed,  lays  all  the  blame  on  the  natural  inferiority  of 
her  sex. 

The  Ahh6  Dubois,  a  well-known  and  much  esteemed  writer 
on    the    Hindoos,  considers    that    from   some   strange   perversity 


THB  BOLE.  OF  CASTE.  265 

of  taste,  or  from  tlie  effect  of  custom,  the  Hindoo  women  have 
absolutely  imbibed  a  taste  for  ill-treatment  "  They  would,"  he 
assumes,  "despise  tlieir  husbnnds  if  they  treated  them  with  famil- 
iarity.     I  have 


t  wife  in  a 
rage  with  her 
li  us  band  for 
talking  with  her 
in  an  easy  strain. 
'His  behavior 
covera  me  with 
shame,'  quoth 
she,  *  and  I  dare 
no  longer  show 
my  face,  Sutli 
conduct  among 
OB  was  nevci- 
seen  till  n  o  w , 
Is  he  become 
a  Paranguaif 
(Frank),  and 
does  he  sui>- 
pose  me  to  lie  a 
woman  of  that 
caste?' '" 

Yet,  if  tht-y 
are  despiseil  in 
private,  they  are 
treated  with  the 

highest     respect  iuk  Kn(i-nAN<Fii  at  a  m ajumm^k  i  i:i.KiiiiArlox. 

in  public. 

Among  the  ryott,  or  peasants,  thaw  is  wo  sepiiration  of  the 
women.  Both  sexes  sit  at  night  round  the  lamp,  engaged  in 
cheerful  conversation,  weaving,  spinning,  cocking,  or  jilaying  a 
kind  of  game  of  dominoes. 

Among  the  martial  tribes  of  India,  sucli  as  the  Iiaji>oots,  the 
opinion  of  the  women  is  taken  in  all  affairs  of  moment ;  and  before 
■n-ar  is  decided  upon,  the  chief  and  his  wife  first  agitate  the  sub- 


266  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

ject  in  private,  after  which  it  is  confided  to  the  tribal  council 
which,  in  turn,  petitions  the  ruling  princes  in  regard  to  the  decision 
at  which  they  have  arrived. 

The  wife  is  also  the  guardian  of  the  heir  to  the  chieftainslii[> 
during  his  minority.  Among  them  the  women  arc  everywhere 
treated  with  great  delicacy,  i-espect,  and  even  affection.  Among 
these  people  —  the  Rajpoots  —  Colonel  Tod  describes  a  curious 
festival,  wliich  is  known  as  the  "  Festival  of  the  Bracelet." 

The  Festival  of  the  Bracelet  is  in  spring,  and  whatever  its  ori- 
gin, it  is  one  of  the  few  occasions  where  an  intercourse  of  gallan- 
try of  the  most  delicate  nature  is  established  between  the  fair  sex 
and  the  cavaliei-s  of  Rajast'hin.  Though  the  bracelet  may  be  sent 
by  maidens,  it  is  only  on  occasions  of  urgent  necessity  or  danger. 

The  Rajpoot  dame  bestows  with  the  rakhi  (bracelet)  the  title 
of  adopted  brother ;  and  while  its  acceptance  secures  to  her  all  the 
protection  of  a  cavalier  servante^  scandal  itself  never  suggests  any 
other  tie.  He  may  hazard  his  life  in  her  cause,  and  yet  never 
receive  a  smile  in  reward,  for  he  cannot  even  see  the  fair  objec^t 
who,  as  brother  of  her  adoption,  has  constituted  him  her  defender. 

But  there  is  a  charm  in  the  mystery  of  such  a  connection  nevcM* 
endangered  by  close  observation ;  and  the  loyal  to  the  fair  may 
well  attach  a  value  to  the  public  recognition  of  being  the  rakhi- 
bund  bhdcy  the  '  l^mcelet-bound  brother,'  of  a  princess. 

The  intrinsic  value  of  such  a  pledge  is  never  looked  to,  nor  is 
it  requisite  it  should  be  costly,  though  it  varies  with  the  means  and 
rank  of  the  donor,  and  may  be  of  floss-silk  and  spangles,  or  gold 
chains  and  gems.  Tlie  acceptance  of  the  pledge  and  its  return  is 
by  the  katcJdl^  or  corset,  of  simple  silk  or  satin,  or  gold  brocade 
and  pearls.  In  shape  or  application  there  is  something  similar  in 
Europe ;  and,  for  defending  the  most  delicate  part  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  fair,  it  is  peculiarly  appropriate  as  an  emblem  of  de- 
votion. 

A  whole  j)rovince  has  often  accompanied  the  katchli ;  and  the 
monarch  of  India  was  so  pleased  with  this  courteous  delicacy  in 
the  customs  of  Rajiist'han,  on  receiving  tlie  bmceletof  the  Princess 
Kurnavati,  which  invested  him  with  the  title  of  brother,  and  uncle 
and  protector  to  her  infant,  Oody  Sing,  that  he  pledged  himself  to 
her  service,  '  even  if  the  demand  were  tlie  Castle  of  Rent'uml)or.' 


THE  BTTLB   OF  CASTE. 


26T 


Hnmaiooo  proved  himself  a  true  knight,  mid  even  abandoned  his 
conquests  in  Bengal  when  called  on  to  redeem  his  pledge,  and 
succour  Cheetore  and  the  widows  and  minor  sons  of  Sanga  Raria. 

Certainly  the  women  of  Northern  India  are  not  slaves,  nor  in  a 
menial  position  in  the  households  of  their  huslands.  They  have 
ever  been  treated  with  resi^ct  and  even  devotion,  and,  like  women 
in  the  Western  World,  Iiave  been  the  inspiring  causes  of  nohle 
deeds  on  the  part  of  their  admirers  and  pi-otectors.  To  win  their 
unseen  smiles  the  Hindoo 
warrior  toils  and  bleeds ; 
for  tliere  is  no  recess  of 
the  harem  into  which  the 
renown  of  a  manly  char- 
acter and  gallant  actions 
will  not  i>eiictrate. 

The  hards,  who  re- 
semble the  troubadours 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
the  minstrels  of  ancient 
Greece,  are  everywhere 
admitted,  to  the  palace  as 
well  as  to  the  cott^e;  I 
and  the  youth  of  their 
country  decorated  in  their 
glowing  songs  with  all 
the  ornaments  of  poetrj-, 
are    presented    to    the 

ardent  imaginations  of  the  fair  in  a  light  highly  calculated  to  in- 
spire admiration  and  love. 

In  general,  the  women  of  India  enjoy  complete  liberty ;  only 
the  women  of  the  higher  classes,  or  those  in  pjirts  of  the  country 
where  Mohammedanism  prevails,  are  at  all  secluded.  Among  the 
lower  class,  indeed,  they  have  to  assist  in  domestic  affairs,  in  busi- 
ness, and  in  the  labors  nf  agriculture. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  custom  is  that  which  prevails  in 
some  parts  of  India  —  Mysore,  for  example.  If  a  woman  of  any  of 
the  four  pure  castes  tii-e  of  her  husband,  or,  being  a  widow,  is 
wearied  of  a  life  of  celibacy,  and  goes  to  the  temples  and  eats  some 


268  THE   STORV   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

of  the  rice  offered  up  to  the  idol,  she  is,  if  of  Brahmin  caste,  offered 
the  option  of  either  living  in  the  temple  or  out  of  it. 

If  she  chooses  the  former  she  receives  a  daily  allowance  of  food, 
and  a  piece  of  cloth  annually.  She  must  in  return  sweep  the 
temple,  fan  the  idol  with  a  yak's  tail,  and  perform  the  duties  of 
a  wife  to  the  attendant  Bnxhmins.  The  male  children  of  these 
women  are  termed  moylar^  hut  are  fond  of  wearing  the  Brtihmin- 
ical  thread . 

The  daughtei's  are  usually  hrought  u[)  to  live  like  their  mothers, 
and  the  remainder  given  in  marriage  to  the  moylars  —  who  are 
either  employed  in  menial  offices  about  the  temple,  or  engage  in 
agriculture  or  otlier  occupations.  These  temple-women  are  not 
looked  upon  as  following  a  disgraceful  life,  but  are,  on  the  con- 
trar>',  treated  with  profound  resi)ect  by  the  visitors  to  the  shrines. 

The  women  of  this  chai-acter  were  formerly  the  only  educated 
females  in  India,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  while  a  woman  bom 
into  this  disreimtable  ti-ade,  or  adopted  in  a  family  of  tliis  kind,  is 
not  Ivvild  to  pursue  a  shameless  vocation,  other  women  who  have 
fallcMi  from  \irtue  are  esteemed  to  have  discrraced  themselves  and 
their  families. 

A  Hindoo  woman's  time  does  not  hang  heavily  on  her  hands. 
If  belonging  to  an  industrious  family,  she  rises  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, lights  her  lamp,  and  s[)ius  some  cotton  for  the  clothing  of  her 
faniilv  ;  she  next  feeds  and  attends  to  the  children.  This  done, 
she  s[)rinkles  and  purifies  the  floor.  Next  she  sweeps  the  house 
and  the  yard.  She  now  breakfasts,  cleins  the  bmss  and  the  stone 
vessels  with  straw,  ashes,  and  water.  Her  next  duty  is  to  cleanse, 
bruise,  and  boil  rice.  About  ten  or  eleven  o'clock  she  tiikes 
a  towel,  and  accompanies  the  women,  her  neighl)oi's,  to  the  tank, 
or  river,  to  bathe. 

The  last  incident  in  the  life  of  the  Hindoo  woman  is  the  famous, 
or  infamous,  but  now  almost  abandoned,  Suttee,  When  a  Hindoo 
dies  he  is  burned  on  a  funeral  pile,  composed  of  faggots  of  wood 
drenched  with  inllaminable  substances,  and  so  built  as  to  allow 
a  free  drau'Wit  of  air  to  plav  from  beneath. 

His  ashes  are  then  thrown  into  the  Ganges,  or,  if  the  place  of 
cremation  is  at  a  disUmee  from  the  sacred  river,  into  a  liver  which 
is  S2i])posed  to  be  the  Ganges.     For  instance,  when  a  young  Indian 


THB  KTJLE  OF  GABTK.  269 

prince  died  some  yeara  ago  at  Florence,  hia  body  was,  by  permission 
of  tiie  autboritiea,  burned  on  the  banks  of  the  Amo. 

If  the  deceased  is  of  Brahminio  rank,  or  a  man  of  wealth,  the 
cremation  takes  place  with  gi-eat  and  costly  pomp ;  but  if  poor, 
and  moreover  of  low  caste,  his  wretched  corpse  is  disposed  of  as 
soon  OS  possible.  The  burning  of  the  corpse  is  a  widely  spread 
custom,  and  one  which,  in  the  interest  of  public  liealth,  is  highly 
to  be  commended  in  tropical  countries. 

But,  for  the  chief  wife  of  the  deceased  to  voluntarily  become  a 


"Suttee  "  is  something  revolting.  Yet,  formerly,  until  auppi-essed 
by  the  British  Government,  nothing  was  more  common.  The  wife 
mounted  the  funeral  pile  and  laid  herself  down  by  her  dead  hus- 
band. The  faggots  were  lighted,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  smote 
rolled  in  volumes  around  the  dead  and  the  living. 

If  through  pain  the  living  victim  attempted  to  escape,  she  was 
secured  by  bamboo  rods  laid  across  her  body,  and  held  at  either 
side.  Generally  her  sufferings  were  short,  tlie  smoke  choking  her 
before  the  fire  seized  upon  her  flesh.  But  sometimes  they  were 
unneoesBarily  prolonged  by  the  faulty  construction  of   the  pile; 


270  THE   STOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

and  cases  have  even  been  known  in  which  the  poor  creature  has 
attempted,  and  even  made  good,  her  escape  from  the  torments  to 
which,  unaware  of  her  own  powers  of  endurance,  she  had  volun- 
tarily submitted. 

In  most  cases,  however,  the  stupefied  body  soon  consumed,  and 
mingled  its  ashes  with  those  of  the  form  beside  it.  Sometimes, 
no  doubt,  the  "  Suttee  "  was  stupefied  with  drugs,  such  as  opium, 
before  ascending  the  pile,  though  this  has  been  denied,  on  the 
gi'ound  that  as  the  woman  has  to  undergo  certain  forms  and  repeat 
certain  prayei*s  before  she  ascends  the  pile,  it  requires  tlie  pos- 
session of  all  her  senses  unimpaired  to  perform  these  aright. 

It  is  not  compulsory  on  the  Hindoo  woman  to  perform  tliis 
"  Suttee '';  it  is  only  regarded  as  a  pious  act  on  her  part,  and  it 
may  be  noted  that  it  is  generally  the  Brahmins'  widows  who  per- 
form it.     The  reason  is  obvious. 

A  woman  of  that  high  cjiste  is  left  a  widow ;  from  being  es- 
teemed as  a  goddess,  worshipped  by  those  beneath  her  as  part 
of  Brahma,  the  giver  of  life  —  before  whom  kings  were  abject 
slaves  —  who  could  commit  any  crime  so  long  as  it  did  not  infringe 
the  sacred  laws  of  caste  —  in  a  word,  one  of  the  chosen  of  the 
earth,  she  sinks,  by  her  refusal  to  become  a  "  Suttee  "  with  her 
husband,  to  be  an  unclean  thing,  loathed,  despised,  and  treated 
with  contempt  by  the  very  Pariahs,  for  whose  shadows  to  fall  upon 
lier  a  few  hours  before  was  contamination  the  most  vile. 

For  a  delicate  girl  like  her  to  lose  all  caste  is  misery  compared 
with  which  the  agony  of  a  few  minutes  is  nothing.  These  facts 
we  must  tiike  into  account  if  we  would  justly  estimate  the  motives 
which  induce  a  Hindoo  widow  to  be  burned  with  her  husband,  or 
in  default  of  burning  to  be  buried  alive. 

In  1829,  Lord  William  Bentinck,  among  the  many  other  excellent 
reforms  which  he  was  the  means  of  introducing  into  India,  forbade 
the  performance  of  *'  Suttee  "  within  the  British  dominions,  under 
severe  penalties.  Notwithstanding  the  passive  resistance  of  some 
of  the  Indian  conservatives  of  those  days,  and  the  presentation  of 
a  petition  to  the  Privy  Council  in  favor  of  it  by  some  rich  Hindoos, 
the  action  of  the  Governor-General  was  supported  by  the  Home 
Government,  and  ''  Suttee  "  is  now  rare,  or  conducted  with  great 
secresy,  in  the  British  Territories  as  well  as  in  the  Protected  States. 


THR   BULK   or   CA8TE.  271 

3%a  law»  of  inheritance  among  tlie  Hindoos  are  very  curious. 
The  momeitt  a  son  ia  born  he  acquires  a  vested  right  in  his 
father's  property,  which  c-annot  be  sold  without  the  recognition 
of  this  right  of  joint  ownership.  It  is,  in  fact,  simply  a  sort  of 
Hindoo  law  of  entail,  with,  however,  muny  viiriations  on  the 
'  European  system. 

For  instance,  when  a  hou  comes  of  age,  he  can,  even  agiuust 


the  will  of  the  jmrent,  coniijel  a  divisiDn  of  tlie  piofMirty ;  and, 
should  the  parent  acquiesre,  one  sou  can  always  have  a  division  of 
the  property  against  the  will  of  the  others.  On  such  a  division 
taking  pWe.  the  father  lias  no  advaiitaj^-  ovf;r  his  childrt'n,  except 
that  he  has  two  shares  iiislea<l  of  nni;. 

Sir  Henrj'  Maine,  the  great  English  livwyv",  oh:seives  that  the 
ancient  law  of  the  German  tribes  ^vas  very  similar ;  the  atloil,  or 
flomoin,  of  ihe  family  being  the  joint  iiro^ierty  of  the  father  and 
his  sona.  Among  the  Hindoos,  also,  there  are  cases  in  which  the 
law  of  primogeniture  is  followed  as  i-egards  politii^al  office  and 
power,  but  not  regarding  property,  a  singular  distinction. 


272  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

JSducation  is  at  a  low  stand  in  Hindostan.  Tlie  child  generally 
begins  to  acquire  the  elements  of  knowledge  in  its  fifth  year,  being 
then  taught  the  alphabet,  or  sent  by  its  father  to  school.  With  the 
exception  of  architecture  and  the  manufacture  of  jewelrj',  the  fine 
arts  have  never  greatly  prospered  in  India,  the  grinding  despotisms 
which  from  time  immemorial  have  crushed  the  country,  having 
been  unfavorable  to  the  progress  of  painting  and  other  branches  of 
art.  In  architecture  even,  it  is  probable  that  they  never  attained 
any  great  perfection  until  the  Moliammedans  came  among  thorn. 

For  instance,  arched  bridges  are  believed  to  have  been  unknown 
to  the  native  engineers.  The  art  of  sculpture  early  occupied  the 
Hindoo  mind,  and  most  of  their  designs  were  influenced  by  theii* 
religious  opinions,  the  gods  and  their  mythology  being  the  solitary 
subject  in  which  the  minds  of  the  artists  revelled.  Hence  the 
appalling  sameness  in  most  of  their  figures. 

Painting  has  been  less  Jissiduously  cultivated  than  the  sister  art 
of  sculpture.  The  color  in  their  pictures  —  generally  frescoes  — 
is  often  good,  but  the  drawing  is  bad,  and  the  style  hard,  and 
lacking  in  light  and  shade.  The  modem  artists,  though  minutely 
copying  tlie  object  on  which  they  are  at  work,  have  no  idea  of 
middle  tints  or  of  the  harmonies  of  hues. 

Music  is  at  an  equally  low  standard  or  rather  ebb,  fur  it  is  clear 
that  formerly  the  Hindoos'  skill  and  taste  in  this  art  were  higher 
than  now  ;  but  some  of  their  poems,  such  as  those  in  tlie  "  Vedas," 
are  of  a  very  high  literary  value. 

Jewelry  is  manufactured  with  the  sim[)lest  appliances,  in  very 
beautiful  patterns — frequently  by  plaiting  wire-work  in  dainty  forms, 
though,  of  course,  with  much  of  that  brilliant  barbarism  which  is 
associated  with  everything  Oriental,  and  in  Delhi  a  jeweller  pur- 
suing his  ti-ade  in  the  street  used  to  l>e  no  uncommon  sight. 

Agriculture  varies  in  different  partis  of  India,  as  might  l)e 
expected  from  a  people  so  various  in  i*ace.  Horses  are  never 
employed,  their  places  in  all  the  labora  of  the  field  being  supplied 
by  cows,  bullocks,  or  oxen.  The  illustrations  which  we  give  of 
Indian  husbandry  show  how  primitive,  even  to  tliis  day,  are  the 
methods  and  machines  in  vogue. 

Of  the  many  extraordinary  sights  which  are  common  in  India 
none,  perhaps,  is  more  wonderful  and  fearfully  fascinating  to  a 


THB  HULK   UF   CA8TB.         .  178 

stranger  than  an  exhibdtion  bf  snake-charming.  For  a  couple  of 
rupees  —  about  eighty  cents  —  one  can  witnesa  this  spectacle  in 
almost  any  Indian  village,  for  there  are  numerous  strolling  vaga- 
bonds who  seem  able  to  handle  the  most  deadly  snakes  with  ajtparent 
impunity  hy  meant  of  music. 

It  is  said  that  tliese  snakes  have  their  fangs  extnicted.  This,  no 
doubt,  is  often  the  caav;  but  not  invariably  so,  for  men  ai«  now 
and  then  bitten  by  these  cobras  and  die  in  frightful  contortions. 
Some  of  the  iierfomiances  of  these  serpeiit-cliarnicrs  are  remark- 
jd)lc,  as  will  Ik- 
seen  by  the  follow- 
ing |>assage  from 
Oeneral  C'anii>- 
liell's  Indian  Jour- 
nal :  — 

When  I   was  on 
General  I>alryra- 
j>lc'a    staff   at    Tri- 1 
chinopoly,  there  m 
a  dry  well   in   the  I 
garden,  whiph    ■ 
the    favorite    iutunt  | 
of    snakes    and 
wliich   I   shot   se 
era).     One  morning  9 
I  discovered  a  large  ] 
o>bra-di-capcllo 
the  bottom  of  this  I 
well,  basking  in  the  ' 
Miin;    but    while    I 
ran  to  fetch  my  gnn, 
some  of  the  native 

servants  began  to  pelt  him  with  Atones,  nml  drove  him  into  liis  hole 
among  the  brick-work,  T  therefore  sent  f<ir  the  snake-cliamifni  to  get 
hitn  out. 

Two  of  these  worthies  liaving  arrived,  we  lowere<l  tliem  into  the  well 
by  means  of  a  rope.  One  of  them,  after  performing  sundry  incan- 
tations, and  sprinkling  himself  and  his  companion  with  ashes  prepared 
from  the  dung  of   a  saorcd  cow,  began  to  play  a  shrill  monotonous 


274  THE    8TORV    OF     GOVERNMENT. 

ditty  upon  a  pipe  ornamented  witli  shells,  brass  rings,  and  beads,  while 
the  other  stood  on  one  side  of  the  snake's  hole,  holding  a  rod  furnished 
at  one  end  with  a  slip  noose. 

At  first  the  snake,  who  had  been  considerably  annoved  before  he 
took  refuge  in  his  hole,  was  deaf  to  the  notes  of  the  charmer;  but 
after  half  an  hour's  constant  playing,  the  spell  began  to  operate,  and 
the  snake  was  heard  to  move.  In  a  few  minutes  more  he  thrust  out 
his  head ;  the  horsehair  noose  was  dexterously  8lij)j)ed  over  it  and 
drawn  tight,  and  we  hoisted  up  the  men,  dangling  their  snake  in 
triumph.  Having  carried  him  to  an  open  8[>ace  of  ground,  they 
released  him  from  the  noose. 

The  enraged  snake  immediately  made  a  rush  at  the  bystanders, 
])utting  to  flight  a  crowd  of  native  servants  who  had  assembled  to  wit- 
ness the  sport.  The  snake-charmer,  tapping  him  on  the  tail  with  a 
switch,  induced  him  to  turn  up<m  himself,  at  the  same  time  sounding 
his  pipe. 

The  snake  coiled  himself  up,  raised  his  head,  expanded  his  liood, 
and  appeared  about  to  strike ;  but  instead  of  doing  so,  he  remained 
in  the  same  position,  as  if  fascinated  by  the  music,  darting  out  his 
slender  forked  tongue,  and  following  with  his  head  the  motion  of  the 
man's  knee,  which  he  kept  moving  from  side  to  side,  within  a  few 
inches  of  him,  as  if  tempting  him  to  bite. 

N"o  sooner  did  the  music  cease,  than  the  snake  dashed  forward  with 
such  fury  that  it  required  great  agility  on  the  part  of  the  man  to  avoid 
him,  and  then  immediately  the  snake  made  off  as  fast  as  he  could  go. 
The  sound  of  the  pipe,  however,  invariably  made  him  stop,  and  obliged 
him  to  remain  in  an  upright  position  as  long  as  the  man  continued  to 
play. 

^Vfter  repeating  this  experiment  several  times,  :i  fowl  was  placed 
within  its  reach,  which  he  instantly  dashed  at  and  bit.  The  fowl 
screamed  out  the  moment  it  was  struck,  but  ran  off,  and  began  picking 
among  its  companions  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

I  pulled  out  my  watch  to  see  how  long  the  venom  took  to  operate. 
In  about  half  a  minute,  the  comb  and  wattles  of  the  fowl  began  to 
change  from  a  red  to  a  livid  line,  and  were  soon  nearly  black,  but  no 
other  symptom  was  apparent.  In  t\yo  minutes  it  began  to  stagger,  was 
seized  with  strong  convulsions,  fell  to  the  ground,  and  continued  to 
struGfccle  violently  till  it  expired,  exactly  three  minutes  and  a  half  after 
it  had  been  bitten. 

On  i)lucking  the  fowl,  we  found  that  it  had  merely  been  touched  on 
the  extreme  ])oint   of   the   pinion.     The   wound,   not  larger  than  the 


276  THE   STORY-  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

puncture  of  a  needle,  was  surrounded  by  a  livid  spot ;  but  the  remain- 
der of  the  body,  with  the  exception  of  the  comb  and  wattles  (which 
were  of  a  dark  livid  hue),  was  of  the  natural  color;  and  I  afterwards 
learned  that  my  coachman  (a  half-caste)  had  eaten  it. 

Thq  charmer  now  offered  to  show  us  his  method  of  catching  snakes,  and 
seizing  the  reptile  (about  five  feet  long)  by  the  point  of  tlie  tail  with  his 
left  hand,  he  slipped  the  right  along  the  body  with  lightning  swiftness 
and,  grasping  him  by  the  throat  with  his  finger  and  thumb  held  him  fast, 
and  forced  him  to  open  his  jaws  and  display  his  poisonous  fangs. 

Having  now  gratified  my  curiosity,  I  proposed  that  the  snake  should 
be  destroyed,  or  at  least  that  his  fangs  might  be  extracted,  an  operation 
easily  performed  with  a  pair  of  forceps.  But  the  snake  being  a  remarka- 
bly fine  one,  the  charmer  was  unwilling  to  extract  his  teeth,  as  he  said 
the  operation  sometimes  proved  fatal,  and  begged  so  hard  to  be  allowed 
to  keep  him  as  he  was,  that  I  at  last  suffered  him  to  put  him  in  a  basket 
and  carry  him  off. 

After  this  he  frequently  brought  the  snake  to  the  house,  still  with 
his  fangs  entire,  as  I  ascertained  by  personal  inspection,  but  so  tame 
that  he  handled  him  freely  without  fear.  But  one  day  the  snake 
bit  the  charmer  and  ended  his  life. 

The  moral  character  of  the  Hindoo  has  been  much  misrepre- 
sented by  ignorant  men,  incapjible  through  prejudice,  or  from  the 
want  of  that  habit  of  making  duo  allowance  for  the  different  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  Hindoo  is  placed,  of  forming  a  calm 
and  charitable  judgment  on  the  mce. 

The  Hindoo  must  not  be  weighed  in  an  American  balance,  any 
more  than  an  American  should  be  measured  according  to  Hindoo 
standards.  Morality  may  be  absolute,  not  comparative  or  relative ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  putting  mere  philosophical  ethics  aside, 
we  must,  for  the  sake  of  arriving  at  something  like  an  intelligible 
estimate,  adoi)t  a  standard  somewhat  elastic. 

The  perfectly  moral  nation  is  a  poet's  dream  of  the  future,  as 
the  utterly  wicked  is  a  something  which  has  not  yet  existed.  The 
Hindoos,  it  must  be  remembered,  notwitlistanding  the  magnifi- 
cence of  their  courts,  the  gorgeousness  of  their  shrines,  and  even  the 
high  state  of  some  of  the  arts  among  them,  are  a  comparatively  bar- 
barous people.  Their  sacred  books  may  be  exalted  in  tone ;  but  their 
religion  is  nevertheless  gross,  licentious,  and  cruel  in  many  of  its 
^ain  featui-es. 


THE  RULE   OF   CASTE. 


277 


Their  paseions  are  excited  by  art  and  by  religious  pageantries, 
and  their  religious  fanaticLsm  by  a  cunning,  unscrupulous  priest- 
hood, ^vhich  his,  by  the  aid  of  that  most  ingeniously  devised 
legend  of  caste, 
Imund  all  beneath 
it,  and  there  iti  no 
one  above  it,  in 
iron  b  o  11  d  t  as 
merciless  jind  un 
Ijreakable  as  tlioso 
<if  fate  according 
to  the  old  Oieek 
idea. 

But  tlie  Indian 
is  not  the  sinie 
(dl  over  India 
The  fierce  wild 
men  of  the  lonei 
Himalayan  liilU 
who  used  to  be 
Imnted  like  wild 
Iteasts  by  the  Eng- 
lish, seem  haidly 
the  Hjvme  race  as 
the  polished,  po- 
lite and  subtle 
denizens  of  the 
j^reat  cities.  The 
bold  mountain 
tribes  are  vastly 
superior  in  manly 
virtues  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  plains, 
and  even  the 
dwellers    in    the  mountain  t 


low  lands  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Lower  Ganges  differ  in  charao- 
ter.  Yet,  wherever  we  find  the  Hindoo  he  is  deceitful  and  sUppery, 
full  of  adulation  and  compliment,  treacherous  and  rather  wicked. 


278  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

He  excels  in  etiquette  and  courtesy.  He  has  at  least  five 
different  ways  in  which  he  will  make  obeisance,  according  to 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  or  the  person  before  whom  he 
desires  to  debase  himself,  and  he  runs  a  close  race  with  the 
Spaniard  in  the  skill  with  which  he  can  invent  and  pour  forth 
high-sounding  titles  and  cringing  flatteiy  to  the  person  addressed. 

Of  all  the  races  of  India  a  Bengalee  is  the  most  despicable. 
Lord  Macaulay,  who  had  lived  among  them  and  knew  them  well, 
long  ago  expressed  their  character  thoroughly.  Speaking  of  the 
men  with  whom  Warren  Hastings  had  to  deal,  he  says :  — 

What  the  Italian  is  to  the  Englishman,  what  the  Hindoo  is  to  the 
Italian,  what  the  Bengalee  is  to  other  Hindoos,  that  was  Nuncomar 
[a  native  minister]  to  other  Bengalees.  The  physical  organization 
of  the  Bengalee  is  feeble  even  to  effeminacy. 

He  lives  in  a  constant  vapor  .bath;  his  pursuits  are  sedentary,  his 
limbs  delicate,  his  movements  languid.  During  many  ages  he  has  been 
trampled  upon  by  men  of  bolder  and  more  hardy  breeds.  Courage, 
independence,  and  veracity,  are  qualities  to  which  his  constitution  and 
his  situation  are  equally  unfavorable. 

His  mind  bears  a  singular  analogy  to  his  body.  It  is  weak  even  to 
helplessness  for  purposes  of  manly  resistance ;  but  its  suppleness  and 
tact  move  the  children  of  sterner  climates  to  admiration  not  un mingled 
with  contempt.  All  those  arts  which  are  the  natural  defence  of  the 
weak  are  more  familiar  to  this  subtle  race  than  to  the  Ionian  of  the 
time  of  Juvenal,  or  to  the  Jew  of  the  dark  ages. 

What  the  horns  are  to  the  buffalo,  what  the  paw  is  to  the  tiger, 
what  the  sting  is  to  the  bee,  what  beauty  —  according  to  the  old  Greek 
song  —  is  to  woman,  deceit  is  to  the  Bengalee.  Large  promises,  smooth 
excuses,  elaborate  tissues  of  circumstantial  falsehood,  chicanery,  per- 
jury, and  forgery,  are  the  weapons,  offensive  and  defensive,  of  the 
people  of  the  Lower  Ganges.  .  .  . 

As  usurers,  as  money-changers,  as  sharp  legal  practitioners,  no  class 
of  human  beings  can  bear  a  comparison  with  them.  With  all  his  soft- 
ness, the  Bengalee  is  by  no  means  placable  in  his  enmities,  or  prone 
to  pity.  TheT[)ertinacity  with  which  he  adheres  to  his  purposes  yields 
only  to  the  immediate  pressure  of  fear.  Nor  does  he  lack  a  certain 
kind  of  courage  which  is  often  wanting  in  his  masters.  To  inevitable 
evils  he  is  sometimes  found  to  oppose  a  passive  fortitude,  such  as  the 
Stoics  attributed  to  their  ideal  sage. 


THE  «ULE   OF   CA8TK.  279 

A  European  warrior,  who  rushes  on  a  battery  of  cannon  with  a  loud 
hurrah,  will  sometimes  shriek  under  the  surgeon^s  knife,  and  fall  in  an 
agony  of  despair  at  the  sentence  of  death.  But  the  Bengalee,  who 
would  see  his  country  overrun,  his  house  laid  in  ashes,  his  children 
murdered  or  dishonored,  without  having  the  spirit  to  strike  one  blow, 
has  yet  been  known  to  endure  torture  with  the  Hrraness  of  Mucins, 
and  to  mount  the  scaffold  with  the  steady  step  and  even  pulse  of 
Algernon  Sidney. 

The  general  lack  of  kindness  with  which  the  Hindus  are  treated 
by  their  Anglo-Saxon  masters  strikes  the  most  careless  and  unob- 
servant traveller  in  every  corner  of  Victoria's  Oriental  possessions. 
Nor  does  time  nor  the  frightful  warning  given  by  the  Sepoy  Rebel- 
lion seem  to  soften  in  any  w<ay  the  English  habit  of  oppression. 

An  English  clergyman  not  long  ago  saw  the  following  sight, 
A  passing  Hindu,  he  says,  was  rudely  taken  to  task  by  a  petty 
captain  for  not  making  a  salaiim,  or  profound  bow,  on  the  street 
to  him. 

"  Why  should  I  ?  "  said  the  man.  ^^  You  have  conquered  our 
race,  but  I  won't  salaam."  "  I'll  take  you  to  the  general,"  said 
the  captain,  "and  see  if  you  will  then."  This  was  done,  and  the 
geneml,  as  brutal  as  his  inferior  officer,  roared  out :  "  Make  a 
salaam,  sir."  The  num  still  firmly  but  calmly  refused,  whereupon 
the  general  seized  him  by  the  neck,  tlirew  him  to  the  ground, 
buried  his  face  in  the  dust,  and  ordered  fifty  lashes  to  be  given 
him. 

Thus  by  sheer  brute  force  was  this  Hindu  punished  for  an  inde- 
pendence which  did  him  honor.  But  the  mild  Hindu,  as  a  rule, 
submits  to  the  English  as  to  a  superior  race,  and  all  he  can  do  is 
to  bide  his  time.  Yet,  if  not  subdued  by  justice  and  kindness, 
will  he  not  seek  his  revenge  some  day,  especially  as  his  intelligence 
increases  ? 

What,  then,  is  to  l)e  the  immediate  future  of  this  empire  of  many 
mysteries,  which  is  regarded  by  our  scientists  as  the  original  birth- 
place or  8tarting-ix)int  of  humanity  ?  The  question  is  involved, 
apparently,  not  so  much  in  the  evolution  of  the  present  East 
Indian  race,  as  it  is  in  several  European  questions  of  political, 
racial,  and  governmental  quality,  now  pressing  forward  for  answer. 


280  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

For,  as  hinted  in  the  beginning  of  this  brief  pen-picture,  the 
English,  though  now  dominating  India,  are  merely  a  light  fringe 
on  her  vast  darkness.  Underneath  the  supple  servility  shown  to 
them,  a  keen-eyed  traveller  cannot  help  detecting  an  intense 
bitterness  —  an  immense  hate. 

But  the  East  Indians,  thanks  to  their  system  of  caste,  have  little 
cohesion  or  faculty  of  continuous  cooperation.  They  might  by  a 
sudden  uprising  drive  their  present  ownei-s  into  the  ocean,  but  in 
a  few  yeai-s,  very  likely,  some  other  predatory  nation  would  be 
again  setting  the  heel  of  conquest  or  of  commerce  upon  their 
necks. 

With  the  Russians  restlessly  pushing  south,  and  with  a  collision 
between  Russia  and  England,  as  is  probable,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  twentieth  century,  India  might  possibly  achieve  a  temporary 
independence,  but  it  would  seem  far  more  liable,  if  it  had  a  chance, 
to  welcome  the  Russian  invasion  and  glide  from  English  under 
Russian  sway,  simply  as  a  change  of  evils. 

Yet  it  is  difficult  for  even  the  heartiest  hater  of  England's 
commercial  civilization  to  see  how  the  East  Indian  people  could 
benefit  by  any  such  change.  Russia  is  still  only  a  barbarism  very 
lightly  gilded,  and  Russo-Indian  rule  would  be  more  likely  to  ravage 
ruthlessly  what  remains  of  India's  former  splendor  in  the  way  of 
palaces  and  temples  than  to  restore  or  maintain  what  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  has  spared.  And,  as  for  the  masses  of  the  people,  they 
would  find  individual  Russians  as  cruel  or  more  so  than  the  average 
English  officer  or  private  of  to-day. 


Pekhaps  tlie  oddest  kind  of  government  —  a 
icholastic  oligarchy^  with  a  figurelieud  en]i)eror 
^f  — ia  tliiit  furnished  hy  the  vast  Empire  of  China 
vhich  may  be  regarded  an  the  most  compact  country  in  the  world, 
since  it  encloses  an  area  of  nearly  4,000,000  square  milea.  That 
China  is  the  oldest  of  nations  of  which  we  have  anj'thing  like  a 
continuous  and  tolerably  correct  history,  little  doubt  can  be 
entertained. 

The  researches  of  antiquarians  have  jH-oved  that  in  Babylon 
astronomical  observations  and  calculiitious  were  mada  2,231  years 
liefoie  Christ,  and  Chinese  records  speak  of  an  eclipse  calculated 
2,155  years  before  our  em  of  reckoning.  That  this  eclipse 
really  occurred  was  proved  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  who  visited 
China  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Gaubil,  a  Jesuit  preeminent  for  his  mathematical  attainments, 
examined  the  series  of  thiily-six  ecliiKes,  tt)  whit-li  the  Chinese 
philosopher,  Confucius,  alludes  in  his  writings,  and  the  Catholic 
scholar  decided  that  thirty-two  of  these  were  absolutely  correct, 
two  uncertain,  and  two  false.  But  the  chronology  of  the  Chinese 
extends  far  back  of  the  flnjt  of  these  eclipses  whose  occurrence 

rernmcnt  by  «  Itv,  Hnil  In  >U  agai  bu  been  one  o(  IIib 


THE   BTOKY  OF   GOVEllNMENT. 


the  scientific  priest  declared  to  be  established  as  evidence  of  the 
accuracy  of  Chinese  history. 

Before  considering  the  form  of  government  among  this  mysteri- 
ous people,  perhaps  a  brief  sketch  of  the  countrj'  and  some  of  its 
customs  might  furnish  good  stepping-stones  to  an  underatanding 
of  its  political  peculiarities.  China  proper  lies  Ijetween  18°  and 
41°  north  latitude.  Its  eastern  extremity  bordering  on  Corea  is 
marked  by  124°  east  longitude,  and  iia  western  boundary  on 
Burraah  and  Western  Thibet  is  cut  by  98°  east  longitude.  Its 
seaboard  extends  over  2,500  miles  with  many  bays  and  estuaries, 
so  thickly  studded  wth  islands  that  from  this  geographical  fact  is 

derived  one  of 
the  titles  of  the 
emperor,  "Lord 
of  ten  thousand 
isles." 

This  e  n  o  r  - 
mous  territory  is 
divided  into 
eighteen  prov- 
inces varying  in 
size.  Each  prov- 
ince is  sub-di- 
vided into  poo», 

A.   QLIMPBE   OF    THE   OREAT    WALU  .  , 

counties,  and 
pi-efectures.  A  poo,  the  capital  of  which  is  a  market  town,  con- 
sists of  a  number  of  towns  and  villages.  A  county,  the  capital 
■  of  which  is  a  walled  city,  consists  of  a  number  of  poos;  and  a 
prefecture,  the  cajiital  of  which  is  also  a  walled  city  but  larger, 
is  a  collection  of  counties,  the  province  being  several  prefectures 
with  a  still  larger  walled  city  taken  genciiilly  iis  its  capital. 

Tluis  the  eighteen  provinces  contain  about  four  thousand  walled 
cities,  the  walls  in  some  cases  being  so  broad  that  two  carriages 
can  lie  driven  abreast.  The  great  wall  of  China,  built  to  keep 
out  the  Tartars,  runs  hundreds  of  miles  across  the  country.  It  is 
now  in  ruins.  Tiie  wall  around  Nankin  is  eighteen  miles  in 
hmgth.  These  Avails,  as  a  rule,  are  crowned  with  castles  and 
iiave  embra-surcs  for  artilleiy  and  loopholes  foi'  musketry,  and  on 


A  8CH(;lasti(!  oligarchy.  283 

Uie  ramparts  huge  tttoiica  me  luoisely  piled  to  be  mlled  dowu  on 
Iiesiegers.  During  the  war  in  which  Chribtiau  England  forced 
opium  as  an  article  of  nieicliandise  nn  the  Cluneuc,  this  primitive 
kind  of  warfare  (that  seern»  to  belong  more  to  the  tlays  when 
PjTi'hus  was  killed  at  Aigos  hy  a  tile  from  the  hands  of  a  woman) 
came  into  uae,  and  some  English  soldiera  were  killed  by  these  stones. 
At  the  north,  eiust,  west,  mid  south  sitles  of  eiich  Chinese  city 


are  folding  gates  of  great  strength  which  are  fui-tlirr  secured  hy 
equally  massive  inner  giites.  The  south  g;ite  is  called  the  gate 
of  honor,  being  regarded  as  especially  governmental.  Jtv  it  the 
officials  always  enter  and  depart,  and  no  funerals,  or  unclean 
men'handise  are  allow.'^d  ti.  go  thmugh;  and  the  simlh  gate  of 
I'ekin  is  genenilly  kept  I'losed  except  for  the  einpeiin-. 


284  THE    STORY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  streets  are  wider  iu  the  north  than  in  the  south  of 
China,  and  those  of  Pekin  are  very  broad  —  and  diity  beyond 
description  or  conception.  They  must  be  smelt  to  be  idealized. 
The  narrowness  of  the  streets  makes  them  cool  in  the  summer 
months  and  in  many  towns  they  are  partially  roofed  by  the 
residents  with  canvas,  matting,  or  thin  planks  of  timber.  Many 
of  the  towns  also  in  the  north  of  Formosa  are  ])rotected  in  this 
way. 

The  sidewalks  to  the  shops  are  arched  over,  and  as  they  are 
frequent!}'  constructed  in  rude  arcades,  it  is  possible  to  pass 
from  one  end  of  the  town  to  tfie  other  withcmt  annoyance  from 
sun  or  rain,  thus  furnishing  a  model  for  the  umbrellaed  streets 
of  that  reformed  Boston  which  Bellamv  l)eheld  in  his  vision, 
"Looking  Backward."  The  streets  are  paved  with  granite  slab;, 
bricks,  or  cobblestones ;  Canton,  for  iiLstancje,  being  entirely 
slabbed,  while  Soochow  is  l)artly,  and  partly  cobblestoned. 

But  the  sewerage  system  may  be  best  descril)ed  as  a  mai-vellously 
successful  scheme  to  produce  an  intolerable  stench  in  the  summer 
montlis,  which  the  high-sounding  titles  of  the  streets  might 
seem  by  force  of  sarcasm  to  render  still  more  exasperating,  for 
one  encountei-s  sucli  names  as  "The  Street  of  (iolden  Profits,  the 
Street  of  Benevolence  and  Love,  of  Saluting  Dmci^oiis,  of  Refresh- 
ing Breezes,  of  Five  Happinesses,  of  Ninefold  Brightness,  of 
Accumulated  Goodness,"  and  so  forth.  Other  streets  are  simplv 
numbered  Fii-st,  Second,  Third,  etc. 

Chinese  shops,  which  are  called  Hongs,  are  built  of  bricks,  as 
a  rule,  and  arc  entirely  open  in  front.  Very  few  of  them  have 
glass  windows,  except  in  tlie  city  of  Pekin.  At  tlie  door  stand 
very  long  signboards  on  each  side  of  which,  in  bright  letters  of 
gold,  orange,  and  other  gay  coloi-s,  are  painted  thc^  name  of  the 
hong,  and  of  the  various  commodities  which  it  contains. 

In  some  cases  the  shopkeeper  placets  above  the  door  a  small  sign- 
board in  shape  of  some  pailicular  article  which  he  has  for  sale;  ius, 
for  instance,  a  boot-maker  might  display  a  boot;  or  a  spectacle- 
maker  a  i)air  of  spectacles.  Some  shopkeepei-s,  not  satisfied  with 
the  enormous  signboards,  advertise  themselves  still  further  by 
painting  their  names  and  a  list  of  their  wares  in  large  characters 
on  the  outer  walls  of  the  cities  in  which  thev  live. 


OTZll.  f 

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IF!1 

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■ 

KI^C^ 

y|;4— Vf^i^K 

^J^]..ii^^^l 

^!s~ 

s»l 

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■^Ih^^^''!^'^'  Si 

!■■■ 

IIEj^i^ 

1 

9 

^sUl./i 

l^'«!     1 

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IH 

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H^S 

^^XW  jjftSKTN^^H^SH 

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ft#           V^ 

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WriTil  1  ir             ij^b^ 

IH 

^l^^l 

286  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERXMENT. 

In  the  rural  districts,  on  the  outer  wall  of  their  dwelling 
houses,  is  a  board  recoixling  the  name  of  each  person  residing 
within,  and  this  custom  extends  to  some  of  the  towns.  Above 
the  entrance  of  each  hong  lanterns  are  suspended  and  from  the 
rooi  lamps  of  glass  or  of  thin  liom,  on  which  are  gaily  colored 
images  of  players  and  pagodas. 

These  numerous  bright  signboards  and  lanterns  lend  a  Chinese 
street  a  most  cheerful  and  animated  look.  The  hongs  are  not 
distributed  promiscuously  throughout  Chinese  towns  but  are  con- 
fined to  certain  quartera,  each  branch  of  tmde  having  its  special 
place.  No  members  of  the  tradesman's  family  reside  either  above 
or  behind  the  shop,  and  in  the  evening  when  the  shutters  are  put 
up,  the  tradesman  hastening  to  his  home  in  another  part  of  the 
town  leaves  his  stock  in  the  care  of  his  apprentices. 

In  the  streets  where  the  gentry  reside,  the  houses  are  very  well 
built,  but  of  one  story  only.  As  the  walls  which  front  the  street 
have  no  windows,  they  present  in  many  cases  the  appearance  of 
encampments.  Chinese  houses,  also,  have  no  fireplaces  and  in 
cold  weather  the  occupants  keep  themselves  warm  by  wearing 
much  clothing,  or  by  means  of  bi-aziers  in  which  charcoal  embers 
are  kept  burning.  As  the  houses  and  shops  which  form  the 
streets  of  a  Chinese  city  are  rarely  of  the  same  height,  or 
an-anged  in  straight  lines,  every  t^)wn  has  a  strikingly  in^egular 
appearance. 

The  streets  or  squares  are  not  adorned  like  thase  of  Euro- 
pean cities  with  stone,  marble,  or  bronze  statues  of  the  learned, 
the  brave,  and  the  good,  but  instead,  in  nearly  all  the  chief 
cities  of  China  monumental  arches  arc  erected  in  honor  of  re- 
nowned warriors,  illustrioiLs  statesmen,  public-spirited  citizens, 
learned  scliolars,  and  last,  but  not  least,  virtuous  Avomen  Such 
monuments  are  built  of  brick,  marl)lo,  and  old  red  sandstone,  or, 
more  commonly,  of  granite. 

A  monument  of  this  kind  consists  of  a  triple  arch  or  g<iteway, 
that  is,  a  large  centre  gate  and  smaller  gate  on  each  side.  On  a 
large  smooth-shining  slab  above  the  middle  gateway  are  sculp- 
tured figures,  or  cliai-acters,  setting  forth  the  object  for  which  the 
citizens,  by  Inq)crial  permission,  raised  the  arch.  One  of  the 
largest  of  these  monuments  is   in  the  city  of  Toong-Ping  Chan, 


288  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERXMENT. 

ill  honor  of  a  scholar  who,  at  the  fige  of  eighty-two,  took  the  firat 
place  at  the  examination  for  the  Hanlin,  or  Doctor's  degree. 
As  Baltimore  with  us  is  called  the  City  of  Monuments,  IIoo 
Chow  Foo  in  China  is  called  the  City  of  Arches.  When  the 
traveller  entei-s  this  city  by  the  south  gate,  a  vista  of  arches  very 
impressive  greets  his  gaze,  each  of  them  being  of  vast  dimen- 
sions and  riclily  s(?ulptured. 

riie  Chinese  tiike  many  precautions  to  save  their  cities  from 
conflagrations.  Wells  are  sunk  in  many  streets,  and  the  law 
lequires  that  in  various  parts  of  the  cities  large  tubs  of  water 
nnist  be  kept.  On  the  tops  of  the  houses,  also,  they  frequently 
place  earthen  jai-s  containing  water,  and  in  all  large  cities  there 
are  several  fire  brigades  maintained  entirely  by  public  contribu- 
tions. Tlie  engines,  water-buckets  and  lanterns  of  these  brigades 
are  usually  kept  in  different  temples.  The  officers  and  men  have  a 
unifonn,  and  on  their  hats  in  large  characters  the  name  or  num- 
l)er  of  their  brigade,  and  the  words  "  Kow-Fow  "  or  fire-quencher. 

Besides  these  provisions  by  tlie  citizens,  the  members  of  the 
local  government  of  each  city  are  called  on  to  render  their  help. 
For  instance,  in  Canton  each  luagisti-ate  hixs  in  his  employ  sevend 
men  whose  special  duty  it  is  to  prevent  robberies  when  fires  occur, 
and  under  the  connnand  of  the  governor  are  two  hundred  men 
whose  duty  consists  in  helping  lirenien. 

In  addition  to  this,  from  the  forty-eight  guardhouses  of  the 
ritv,  in  the  event  of  a  fire,  two  men  are  instantly  told  off  to 
hasten  to  the  scen(;,  and  at  the  close  of  every  month  the  prefect 
and  provincial  tn^asurer,  who  are  very  high  ofiicials,  are  required 
to  inspect  all  the  goverjimcnt  servants  whose  duties  lie  in  the 
<li reaction  of  extinixuisliin<r  fires. 

Moreover,  with  the  view  of  keeping  all  officials  thoroughly 
awake  to  their  duties,  it  is  the  law  that  in  case  eighty  houses 
are  destroyed  bv  a  conflairration,  all  the  officials  where  it 
occurred  arc  reducecl  in  rank  one  decrree,  and  even  when  ten 
houses  are  destroyed,  the  matter  is  reported  to  the  centml  govern- 
ment at  Pekin. 

A  few  days  after  a  fire,  the  firemen  of  each  brigade  present 
receive  tis  a  reward  for  their  services  roast  pig  — a  great  Chinese 
delicacy  —  jars  of  choice  wine,  and  small  sums  of  money,  the  men 


A  SCHOLASTIC  OLIOABCHY.  289 

who  hokl  the  hcnie  receiving  more  thaii  otheiv,  anil  those  who  }uij>- 
pen  to  receive  wouikIh  during  this  puhlie  duty  being  still  more 
liberally  remunerated.  Persons  who  cause  fires  ]>y  carelessness, 
or  otherwise,  when  caught,  ai'e  severely  punislie<I.  It  i^  only  just 
to  add  that  the  Chinese  are  excellent  firemen;  i[nick  to  an'ive  . 
at  the  !ice>ie  of  action,  and  very  daring. 

The  jKipulation  of  Oliiniv,  according  to  SacliarofF  fifty  years  ago, 
liad  reached  the  3tU{>endoiis  figure  of  414,68t!,9(t4.  During  the 
next  twenty  years  a  great 
rebellion  occun'ed,  in  wliich 
many  cities,  towns,  and  vil- 
lages with  all  their  inliabi- 
tants  were  blotted  out.  This 
rebellion  covered  a  i>eriod  of 
fifteen  yeara,  but  in  spite  of 
Bocli  reduction  and  cheek  of 
population,  it  is  probable 
that  tlie  empire  contains  to- 
day 450,000  000 

Of  the  moml  diaracter  of 
this  people  whase  i  normon'* 
number  tempts  us  to  liken 
them  to  the  sands  on  the  sea 
shore,  it  is  not  eii.s>  to  speik 
justly;  for  tins  tliaracter  !■< 
a  book  written  lu  strange  let 
ters  more  complex  to  one  of 
another  race,  religion,  aiul 
language,  and  more  difficult 

to  decipher   than   the  ofldly  <ni>Ksi-,  mujuku. 

shaped  word-symbols  that  compose  their  written  language. 

In  the  same  indivi<luals,  virtues  and  vices  almost  incompi-e- 
hensibly  incompatible  are  found  side  by  side.  Oentleness, 
modesty,  industry,  cheerfulness,  politeness,  filial  affection  and 
reverence  for  old  age  are  in  one  and  the  same  Cliinaman  the 
comi>anionB  of  insincerity,  cruelty,  jealousy,  ingratitude,  and 
avarice. 

But  inatanees  of  moral  inconsistencies  might  be  found  among 


290  THE   8TORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

other  nations;  and  if  a  native  of  the  Flowery  Kingdom,  for 
the  purpose  of  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  American 
people,  should  familiarize  himself  with  the  records  of  our  police 
and  other  law  courts,  and  with  the  curious  transactions  that  occur 
in  our  commercial  circles,  and  the  scandals  that  so  often  drag  our 
society  do\vn  from  its  dollar-shining  pinnacle,  sucli  a  Chinese 
traveller  might  give  his  countrymen  at  home  a  very  one-sided  and 
dei)reciatory  account  of  this  country. 

Besides,  we  should  not  forget  that  we  possess  tlie  manifold  bless- 
ings of  Christianity  of  many  kinds,  fnmi  Catholicism  to  Univer- 
salism,  and  that  we  have  a  fonn  of  government,  under  which  we 
are,  at  least,  invited  to  tlream  that  we  are  free.  So  that,  when 
we  consider  the  political  and  social  condition  of  China  and  her 
institutions,  it  would  seem  to  us  rather  extraordinary  that  such 
an  amount  of  good  can  be  found  in  the  national  characiter. 

The  government,  to  be  sure,  is  an  irresponsible  despotism; 
their  judges  are  bribable;  their  judicial  procedure  places  its 
whole  reliance  on  the  infliction  of  torture.  Their  police  are  dis- 
honest and  their  prisons  dens  of  cruelty.  Their  social  life  lalx)rs 
under  the  blight  of  polygamy  and  of  slavery;  and  their  customs 
hold  women  in  a  state  of  degmdation.  Yet,  notwitkstanding  the 
conditions  so  unfavorable  to  the  development  of  civil  and  social 
virtues,  the  Chinese  may  l>e  fairly  characterized  as  a  courteous, 
orderly,  industrious,  sober,  patriotic  and  j^eace-loving  people. 

The  Emperor  of  China  is  taught  to  regard  himself  as  the  inter- 
preter of  the  decrees  of  heaven,  and  he  is  recognized  by  the  people 
as  their  connecting  link  with  the  gods,  l)eing  designated  by 
such  titles  as  the  ^^Son  of  Heaven,"  the  '*Lord  of  Ten  Thousand 
Yeai-s,"  and  the  "Imperial  Supreme."  This  mighty  potentiite  is 
assisted  in  the  management  of  his  government  by  a  cabinet  of  four 
ministers.  In  addition  to  which  general  council  are  six  supreme 
tribunals  for  the  conduct  in  detail  of  all  governmental  business. 

Tlie  first  of  these  tribunals  is  termed  Loo  Poo,  and  divided  into 
four  departments;  the  first  of  which  selects  officers  to  fill  the 
various  places  in  the  respective  provinces  and  districts.  The 
second  takes  cognizance  or  keeps  watch  on  all  such  officials. 
The  tliird  affixes  the  imperial  seal,  along  side  of  which  the  em- 
peror sometimes  makes  marks  in  lettei's  of  red  with  what  is  styled 


A   SCHOLABTLC   OLKiARUHY.  liSl 

the  vermilion  pencil,  to  all  books  and  pnrchmente;  and  the  fourth 
keei«  the  record  of  the  j^od  service  and  merits  of  distinguished 
men. 

The  second  Boai-d  ia  termed  Hoo  Poo,  and  has  the  care  of  the 
imperial  revenues.  The  third,  called  Lee  Poo,  superintends  the 
religions  rites  of  the  people  and  keeps  in  order  all  temples 
endowed  by  the  imperial  government.  The  fourth  Board,  Ping 
Poo,  has  charge  of  all  the  naval  and  military  establishments. 
The  fifth.  King  Poo,  supervises  all  criminal  proceedings.  The 
sixth,  which  is  termed  Ling  Poo,  superintends  all  public  works 
such  as  mines,  manufactories,  highways,  canals,  bridges,  etc. 

The  chief  minister  of  each  of  these  tribunals  lays  the  decisions 
or  the  information  secured  by  his  particular  board  before  the 
cabinet  and  when  the  cabinet  lias  thoroughly  discussed  them,  they 
are  submitted  with  due  reverence  to  his  Imperial  Majesty. 
The  power  of  these  ministers  is  apparently  nominal,  since  the 
emperor  holds  himself  responsiUe  to  none  but  the  gods,  and  looks 
upon  the  people  ae  his  childi-en. 

But  while  outwardly  a  Chinese  sovereign  might  manifest  con- 
tempt for  the  suggestion  of  his  cabinet,  as  a  rule,  in  practice 
mnch  heed  is  given  to  their  advice;  very  few,  indeed,  of  the 
sovereigns  of  China  feeling  themselves  sufficiently  endowed  with 
the  wisdom  of  this  world  to  be  able  to  rule  without  the  advice 
of  others.  Besides  tlie.se  councils,  there  are  two  others  —  the  Too- 
Cha  Yum  and  the  Tsung-Pin  Fow. 

The  former  as  a  Board  of  Censors  is  supposed  to  attend  the 
meetings  of  the  councils  just  described  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining whether  plots  are  being  concocted  against  the  stability  of 
^e  government;  and  the  members  of  this  boaid  are  also  frequently 
sent  into  the  provinces  to  watch  the  way  things  are  going  there. 
Or,  in  other  words,  the  Absolutism  of  China  depends  almost  as 
much  for  its  safety  on  the  service  of  spies  as  the  Plutocracy  of 
America- is  beginning  to  depend  on  the  Pinkertons. 

The  second  of  these  two  extra  Boards  consists  of  six  high  offi- 
cials, who  keep  a  register  of  the  births,  deaths,  marriages,  and 
relations  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal,  and  make  reports  upon 
their  conduct.  These  records  are  referred  to  the  emperor  everj- 
-decade,  on  which  occasion  he  confers  titles  and  rewards. 


292  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

These  titles  are  of  four  kinds  —  hereditary,  honorary,  for  state 
service,  and  for  literary  attainments,  and  it  is  imperative  on  the 
ministers  of  this  Board  to  furnish  at  frequent  intervals  to  the  first- 
named  tribunals  repoits  on  the  conduct  of  the  emperor's  different 
sons,  so  that  it  may  be  discerned  which  one  possesses  in  the  high- 
est degree  the  essentials  of  a  good  sovereign.  These  repoils,  like 
all  others,  finally  come  to  the  emperor  who  has  the  power  of 
naming  his  successor.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  the  eldest  son 
succeeds. 

As  every  emperor  of  each  <lynasty  had  many  Avives,  the  scions 
of  imperial  houses  are  numerous,  and  once  it  was  the  custom 
to  give  official  employment  to  each  of  them.  But  this  custom 
caused  so  much  trouble  and  gave  rise  to  so  many  conspiracies  and 
rebellions  that  it  was  abandoned,  and  each  prince  nowadays  lias 
to  rest  satisfied  with  the  high-sounding  but  empty  title  of  his 
rank,  and  he  is  liable  to  be  deprived  of  that,  if  any  act  on  his 
part  is  deemed  beneath  the  family  dignity. 

While  the  emj^eror  is  regarded  by  his  people  as  the  representa- 
tive of  heaven,  the  Empress,  or  head  wife,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
the  representative  of  Mother  Earth,  and  is  sup[)ose(l  to  exercise 
some  peculiar  influence  over  nature,  one  of  hc^r  chief  duties 
being  to  sec  that  woi'shi[)  i:;  duly  paid  to  the  tutelary  deity  of 
silkwomis.      It  is  also  her  official  function  to  examine  carefullv 

« 

the  weaving  of  the  silk  stuff  which  the  ladies  of  the  Imperial 
harem  make  into  garments  for  c(?rt;iin  state  idols. 

She  is  supposed  to  know  no  politics,  but  there  are  instances  on 
record  of  Chinese  empresses  who  have  been  as  familiar  tis  some  of 
the  noted  French  dames  of  the  bust  century  with  the  minutest 
details  of  State  intrigues.  The  choice  of  an  empress  and  of  the 
sub-wives  of  the  sovereign  depends  solely  on  their  beauty  or  per- 
sonal qualities,  and  not  on  their  family  connections.  Tliey  ai-e 
chosen  in  the  following  fashion. 

The  (laughter  of  the  empress-dowager,  or  in  her  alwence  a  royal 
lady  invested  with  authority  for  the  purpose,  liolds  what  might  W 
fashionably  termed  a  "'drawing-room,"  and  invites  Tartar  ladies 
and  daughtei*s  of  Bannermen,  that  is,  oi  those  Ixvronial  houses 
which  have  a  right  to  carry  banners  from  various  paiis  of   the 

ipirc.     The  belle  of  this  assembly  is  chosen  to  be  itiised  to  the 


A   SCHOLuUTIC   OLIGA&GHT.  298 

dignity  of  empreas,  and  those  next  in  personal  attractions  am 
selected  for  the  rank  of  sub-wivea. 

But  BOmetiniea  a  woman  of  the  lower  orders  attains  to  this 
lofty  rank.  The  mother  of  the  Emperor  Hien-Fung  was  the 
keeper  of  a  fruit  store  and,  like  Nell  Gwynne,  the  orange  girl 
who  attracted  the  attention  of  Charles  II.,  and  from  whose  liaison 
with  him  are  descended  some  of  the  peers  of  England,  her  grace 
and  beauty  raised  her  to  a  power  in  the  state. 

In  each  of  the 
piDvinces  there  is  a 
formidable  army  of 
officials,  namely: 
govemor-g  e  n  e  r  a  1 , 
governor,  treasurer, 
special  commissioner, 
literary  chancellor, 
chief  justice ;  the  last 
fonr  being  of  equal 
rank;  six  tautaie  of 
equal  rank ;  ten  pre- 
fects of  equal  rank; 
and  s  e  V  e  n  t  y-t  w  o 
comity  rulers  of 
equal  rank. 

Each  of  these  offi- 
cials has  11  council  to 
assist  him  in  the  dis- 
charge of  \\\A  duties, 
and  besides  these  of- 
ficials every  town  and  village  has  its  governing  body,  so  tliat 
the  empire  may  be  said  to  be  honey-combed  with  officialism.  All 
these  officials,  as  it  was  in  ancient  Peni,  are  subordinate  to  the 
one  above  them;  it  is  a  continuous  chain.  Officials  of  certain 
grades  are  not  allowed  t«  hold  office  in  their  native  province,  nor 
without  Imperial  permission  to  marry  in  the  province  where  they 
have  been  appointed  to  office;  and  to  prevent  the  possibility  of 
acqniiing  too  much  local  influence,  they  are  removed  in  some  cases 
ereiy  tluee  years  and  in  other  cases  every  six  to  other  posts  of  duty. 


THE  FRmr  a  OIL  wuo 


294 


THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 


All  officials  are  supposed  to  be  appointed  by  the  emperor  on 
recommendation  of  the  Board  of  Ceremonies,  and  candidates  for 
office,  according  to  law,  have  to  be  men  who  have  graduated  at 
great  literary  examinations.  But  the  memberij  of  the  Board  of 
Ceremonies  sometimes  submit  to  the  notice  of  his  majesty  the 
names  of  men  whose  literary  rank  has  been  bought. 

There  are  nine  marks  of  distinction  by  which  the  rank  of  a 
Chinese  officer  may  be  readily  recognized;  A  member  of  the  first 
class  wears  on  the  band  of 
his  cap  a  dark  red  coral 
ball  or  button ;  for  the 
second  class  tliis  button  is 
light  red;  for  the  third, 
light  blue ;  for  the  fourth, 
dark  blue;  the  fiftli  class 
wear  a  ball  of  crystal, 
while  mother  of  pearl  is 
the  ball  of  the  sixth  class 
mandarin.  Members  of 
the  seventh  and  eighth 
cluss  wear  a  golden  ball, 
in  one  case  smaller,  and 
for  the  ninth  class,  a  sil- 
ver ball.  Each  official 
may  be  further  distin- 
guished by  a  decoration  of 
peacock  feathers.  This 
feather  runs  from  the  base 
of  the  ball  on  the  hat  slop- 
ing downwards  at  the  back.  The  first  of  the  outer  garments 
worn  by  an  officer  is  a  long  loose  robe  of  blue  silk,  richly  em- 
broidered with  threads  of  gold.  It  reaches  the  ankles  of  the 
wearer,  and  is  bound  around  his  waist  by  a  belt.  Above  this 
robe  is  a  violet  tunic  with  very  wide  sleeves,  but  usually  thrown 
back  over  the  wrists, 

When  an  officer  approaches  the  Imperial  presence  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conferring  with  the  emperor  or  performing  the  kowtow, 
which  in  China  is  the  usual  act  of  obeisance,  etiquette  prescribes 


A  8CH0L.ASIIC   OLIOABCHT. 


295 


that  the  sleeres  of  tiiis  tunic  should  be  stretched  over  the  hands, 
which  action  of  course  renders  him  helpless.  This  custom  was 
originally  adopted  to  preclude  any  attempt  on  the  life  of  the 
emperor  by  those  whose  duties  call  them  into  his  presence.  A 
similar  one  prevails  in  the  Court  of  Peraia. 

The  army  is  made  up  uf  the  lowest  class  io  the  empire,  and 
used  to  he  uniformed  so  as  to  frighten  the  beholder.  Govern- 
ment residences  are  provided  for  all  Chinese  officials.  These 
buildings  are  called  yamum  and  sometimes  are  extensive,  cover- 


A  OULPBTT 


BY  HIS  WIFE. 


ing  acres.  Fi-om  the  i-oofs  of  the  halls  iu  many  of  these  official 
dwellings  riclily  gilded  boai-ds  are  hung  on  which  are  set  forth 
moral  maxims  from  Confucius  and  other  of  tlie  great  ^vriters; 
some  of  these  illuminated  niottoen  being  the  gifts  of  the  emperor  to 
former  officers  distinguished  for  faithful  service.  To  these 
l/amun»  are  attached  public  office:*,  and  to  thase  occupied  by  dis- 
trict ruletij,  chief  justices,  etc.,  large  prisons  are  attached. 

County  rulere,  prefects,  and  chief  justices  are  the  officials 
specially  appointed  to  preside  in  the  courts  of  law;  and  whether 
it  be  of  civil  or  criminal  character,  a  judge  is  assisted  by  deputies 
or  a  deputy.     To  explain  fully  how  justice,  so-called,  is  admin- 


296  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

istered  in  China,  it  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  accused  person  is 
first  brought  before  the  gentry  or  elders  of  his  village  or  county. 

These  punish  him,  if  the  crime  be  of  a  criminal  nature,  either  by 
imprisonment  or  by  exposing  him  for  some  time  in  what  is  called 
a  cangue  at  the  corner  of  one  of  the  most  frequented  thorough- 
fares, or  right  near  the  place  where  the  crime  was  committed;  or 
by  ha/ing  him  whipped  through  the  streets  with  a  crier  reciting 
his  crime, 

One  form  of  the  cangue  is  a  box,  through  the  top  of  which  the 
head  protrudes,  and  through  the  sides  of  which  both  hands,  with  a 
chain  connecting  them,  are  thrust.  Tlie  illustration  represents  a 
loving  Chinese  wife  feeding  her  cangued,  or  canned,  husband, 
who  has  committed  some  slight  offence  against  the  peace  and 
dignity  of  the  emperor  —  possibly,  by  fighting  near  the  temple. 
A  commoner  form  of  the  cangue  is  just  the  wooden  collar  alone  of 
a  proportion  to  the  man  as  in  the  illustration. 

Should  a  case,  however,  appear  of  importance,  the  prisoner, 
with  the  depositions  and  the  comments  on  his  case,  is  forwarded 
for  the  mandarin  or  ruler  of  the  Poo  to  which  the  village  belongs. 
If  the  mandarin  finds  the  case  within  his  jurisdiction,  he  pun- 
ishes the  prisoner;  if  not,  he  sends  him  up  to  a  still  higher  official, 
the  county  ruler,  Avho  might  send  up  the  case  to  the  prefect  of 
his  department,  who  in  turn  might  send  it  up  to  the  provincial 
capital,  where  the  chief  justice,  who  only  tries  capital  cases,  has 
his  residence. 

The  chief  justice  will  then  submit  his  decision  to  the  governop- 
gencral  and,  before  a  sentence  of  the  chief  justice  can  be  carried 
into  effect,  it  would  be  necessary  that  the  criminal  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  governor-general  should  make  an  acknowledgment  of 
his  guilt.  If  the  prisoner  were  convicted  of  treason,  piracy,  or 
highway  robbery,  the  governor-general  could  order  his  execution  at 
once.  But  if  lie  were  guilty  of  parricide,  matricide,  or  fratricide, 
the  governor-general  must  bring  the  case  to  the  notice  of  the  King 
Poo,  or  Board  of  Punishments,  at  Pekin;  the  president  of  Avhich 
would  submit  it  in  turn  to  the  cabinet,  who,  after  brooding 
over  it,  would  lay  it  before  the  emperor,  who,  it  is  said,  carefully 
examines  the  depositions  on  all  such  cases  before  confirming  the 
sentence. 


A.  SCHOLASTIC   OLIQABCHY. 


297 


A  cnriouB  sort  of  lottery  adds  a  certain  spice  to  the  life  of  con- 
victed criminals,  for  at  the  close  of  each  year  the  governor-general 
forwardj  to  Pekin  a  register  of  the  names  of  those  condemned  to 
death.  The  emperor,  after  inspecting  each  registiT,  with  liis 
vermilion  pencil  makes  a  mark  against  three  or  fuur  names  on 
each  page.  Tlie  registers  are  then  returned  to  tht!  provincial 
governor  and  the  law  takes  its  course  against  the  marked  men. 

Those,  however,  whose  names  have  been  jxtsaed  over  do  not  obtain 
a  free  pardon;  bat  the  second  and  third  year  go  up  with  names 
of  fresh  offenders  to  lie  passed  Upon  by  the  emperor.     Should  they 


e8ca]>e  the  mark  of  the  vermilion  pencil  on  the  third  occasion, 
their  death  sentence  is  then  commuted  to  trauijportatioii  for  life. 

The  mode  of  trials  in  China  is  startlin;;  to  all  who  live  in  lands 
■where  the  sj-stem  of  giving  a  prisoner  every  opportunity  to  defend 
and  explain  liiinsclf  i»revaih;  for  trials  in  Cliincso  courts  of 
law  are  conducted  by  torturi;.  P.nt  then  we  who  jiridc  ourselves 
on  our  advance  in  civilization  must  remcnilHir  that  only  two  hun- 
dred ycara  ago  our  ancestoi-s  were  torturing,  not  only  [Kilitical 
prisoners,  but  also  women  and  young  girls,  to  uhtain  confessions 
of  their  pr!u;tii'e  of  witi-Iicraft.  Young  girls  praci  isi^  just  as  much 
witchcraft  to-diiy,  hut  they  jia^  not  the  ones  who  ai-e  tortured  on 
account  of  it. 

Chinese  court«  arc  open  to  the  general  public,  but  (heir  cruel- 
ties keep  away  all  visitors  except  those  personally  interested  in 
the  case.  A  calendar  of  '•^•^■^  '»  l-  tiF'"''  "''*''  *'"'  prisoners' 
names  subjoined,   used  tg^^^ffiuM'^Al^^Spnter  gates  of   the 


298  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

yamun^  but  this  custom  has  lapsed  into  disuse  and  the  list  is  now 
placed  on  a  pillar  in  one  of  the  inner  courts,  where  it  has  no 
chance  of  attracting  public  attention. 

The  judge  sits  behind  a  large  table  covered  with  a  red  cloth, 
and  the  prisoner  is  made  to  kneel  in  front  as  a  mark  of  respect  to 
the  court,  by  whom  he  is  accounted  guilty  until  proved  innocent. 
Secretary  and  turnkeys  stand  on  each  side,  no  one  sitting  but  the 
judge.  The  charge  is  read  aloud  and  the  prisoner  called  upon 
to  plead  either  guilty  or  "not  guilty."  As  the  prisoner  rarely 
pleads  guilty,  trials  are  very  numerous. 

The  prisoner  is  asked  a  great  many  leading  questions,  and 
should  his  answers  be  evasive,  torture  is  at  once  applied  to  him  as 
a  means  of  extracting  truth.  The  commonest  form  of  this  torture 
is  a  beating  over  his  neck  and  shoulders  with  a  double  cane 
in  the  hands  of  the  state  turnkey.  Should  he  continue  to  gfive 
evasive  answers,  he  is  likely  to  be  beaten  about  the  jaws  with 
two  thick  pieces  of  leather,  shaped  not  unlike  the  sole  of  a 
slipper. 

Sometimes  this  latter  instrument  is  applied  with  such  force  as 
to  loosen  his  teeth  and  cause  his  mouth  to  swell  to  such  a  degree 
that  for  days  he  is  unable  to  speak  or  masticate.  If  he  still  main- 
tains his  innocence,  he  is  beaten  over  the  ankles  with  pieces  of 
hard  wood,  and  sometimes  as  a  result  of  this  the  ankle  bones  are 
broken.  If  he  still  persists  in  refusing  to  plead  guilty,  a  severer 
torture  is  applied.  The  present  writer  saw  the  following  pun- 
ishment administered  in  Canton  in  1873. 

A  large  trestle  was  placed  perpendicularly,  and  the  prisoner  in 
a  kneeling  posture  was  made  to  lean  against  it.  His  arms  were 
then  pushed  backward  and  stretched  into  the  upper  legs  of  the 
trestle  from  the  ends  of  which  they  were  suspended  by  cords 
fastened  around  the  thumbs  of  each  hand.  The  legs  were  then 
pushed  backwards  and  drawn,  his  knees  resting  on  the  ground, 
toward  the  upper  legs  of  the  trestle  by  cords  around  the  large  toe 
of  each  foot.  « 

When  he  had  thus  been  bound,  the  questions  were  again  put 
to  him,  and  his  answers  being  unsatisfactory  he  was  whipped 
up  and  down  his  thighs  by  a  split  bamboo  cane  till  the  blood 
ran  down   and   the   man  fainted.     Whereupon  he  was  untied, 


292  THE   8TOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

These  titles  ai-e  of  four  kinds  —  hereditary,  honorarj-,  for  state 
service,  and  for  literary  attainments,  and  it  is  imperative  on  the 
ministers  of  this  Board  to  furnish  at  frequent  intervals  to  the  first- 
named  tribunals  reports  on  the  conduct  of  the  emperor's  different 
sons,  so  that  it  may  l^e  discerned  which  one  possesses  in  the  high- 
est degree  the  essentials  of  a  good  sovereign.  These  reports,  like 
all  others,  finally  come  to  the  emperor  who  has  the  power  of 
naming  his  successor.  As  a  geneml  rule,  however,  the  eldest  son 
succeeds. 

As  every  emperor  of  each  dynasty  had  many  wives,  the  scions 
of  imperial  houses  are  numerous,  and  once  it  was  the  custom 
to  give  official  employment  to  each  of  them.  But  this  custom 
caused  so  much  trouble  and  gave  rise  to  so  many  conspimcies  and 
rebellions  that  it  was  abandoned,  and  each  prince  nowadays  has 
to  rest  satisfied  with  the  high-sounding  but  empty  title  of  his 
rank,  and  he  is  liable  to  be  deprived  of  that,  if  any  art  on  his 
part  is  deemed  beneath  the  family  dignity. 

While  the  emperor  is  regarded  by  his  people  as  the  representa- 
tive of  heaven,  the  Empress,  or  head  wife,  on  tlie  other  hand,  is 
the  representative  of  Mother  Earth,  and  is  su})posed  to  exercise 
some  peculiar  influence  over  nature,  one  of  her  chief  duties 
being  to  sec  tliat  woi-sliij)  i:;  duly  paid  to  the  tutelaiy  deity  of 
silkwonns.  It  is  also  licr  official  function  to  examine  carefully 
the  weaving  of  the  silk  stu(T  wliidi  the  ladies  of  tlie  Imperial 
harem  make  into  garments  for  certain  state  idols. 

Slie  is  supposed  to  know  no  polities,  but  there  are  instances  on 
record  of  Chinese  empresst^s  who  have  been  as  familiar  jus  some  of 
the  noted  French  dames  of  the  bust  century  with  the  minutest 
details  of  Stiito  intrigues.  The  choice  of  an  empress  and  of  the 
sub-wiyes  of  the  soyereign  depends  solely  on  their  l)eauty  or  j)er- 
sonal  qualities,  and  not  on  their  family  connections.  Tliey  are 
chosen  in  the  following  fashicm. 

The  daughter  of  the  empress-dowager,  or  in  her  absence  a  royal 
lady  invested  with  authority  for  the  puri)ose,  liolds  wliat  might  Ih^ 
fashionably  termed  a  *' drawing-room, "  and  inyites  Tartar  ladies 
and  daughters  of  Bannermen,  that  is,  of  those  baronial  houses 
which  hayc  a  right  to  carry  banners  from  various  parts  of  the 
empire.      The  l)elle  of  this  assembly  is  chosen  to  be  raised  to  the 


A  SCHOLASTIC   OLIOA&CHT.  29S 

dignity  t£  empiess,  and  tiiose  next  in  personal  attractions  are 
selected  iat  the  rank  of  sub-wives. 

But  sometimea  a  woman  of  the  lower  orders  attains  to  this 
lofty  rank.  The  mother  of  the  Emperor  Hieu-Fuug  was  the 
keeper  of  a  fruit  store  and,  like  Nell  Gwynne,  the  orange  girl 
who  attracted  the  attention  of  Charles  II.,  and  from  whose  liaison 
with  him  are  descended  some  of  the  peers  of  England,  her  grace 
and  heauty  raised  her  to  a  power  in  the  8tat«. 

In  each  of  the 
provinces  there  is  a 
formidable  array  of 
ofBcials,  namely: 
governor-g  e  n  e  r  a  1 , 
governor,  treasurer, 
special  commissioner, 
literary  chancellor, 
chief  justice;  the  last 
four  being  of  equal 
rank;  six  tautais  of 
equal  rank;  ten  pre- 
fects of  equal  rank; 
and  a  e  V  e  n  t  y-t  w  o 
coonty  rulers  of 
equal  rank. 

Each  of  these  offi- 
ciah)  has  a  council  to 
assist  him  in  the  dis- 
chai^  of  his  duties, 
and  besides  these  of- 
ficials every  town  and  village  has  its  governing  body,  so  that 
the  empire  may  be  said  to  be  honey-combed  with  officialism.  All 
these  officials,  as  it  was  in  ancient  Peru,  are  subordinate  to  the 
one  above  them;  it  is  a  continuous  chain.  Officials  of  certain 
grades  are  not  allowed  to  hold  office  in  their  native  province,  nor 
without  Imperial  permission  to  maiTy  in  the  province  where  they 
have  been  appointed  to  office;  and  to  prevent  the  possibility  of 
acquirii^  too  much  local  influence,  they  are  removed  in  some  cases 
ereiy  Uiroe  years  and  in  other  cases  every  six  to  other  poets  of  duty. 


THE  FRurr 


294 


THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 


All  officials  are  supposed  to  be  appointed  by  the  emperor  on 
recommendation  of  the  Board  of  Ceremonies,  and  candidates  for 
oEGce,  according  to  law,  have  to  be  men  who  have  graduated  at 
great  literary  examinations.  But  the  members  of  the  Board  of 
Ceremonies  sometimes  submit  to  the  notice  of  his  majesty  the 
names  of  men  whose  literary  rank  has  been  bought. 

There  are  nine  marks  of  distinction  by  which  thu  rank  of  a 
Chinese  officer  may  be  readily  recognized :  A  member  of  the  first 
class  wears  on  the  band  of 
his  cap  a  dark  red  coral 
ball  or  button ;  for  the 
second  class  this  button  is 
light  red;  for  the  third, 
light  blue ;  for  the  fourth, 
dark  blue;  the  fifth  class 
wear  a  ball  of  crystal, 
while  mother  of  pearl  is 
the  ball  of  the  sixth  class 
mandarin.  Members  of 
the  seventh  and  eighth 
class  wear  a  golden  ball, 
in  one  case  smaller,  and 
for  the  ninth  class,  a  sil- 
ver ball.  Each  official 
may  be  further  distin- 
guished by  a  decoration  of 
peacock  feathers.  T  li  i  s 
feather  runs  from  the  base 
of  the  ball  oil  the  hat  slop- 
ing downwards  at  the  back.  The  first  of  the  outer  garments 
worn  by  an  officer  is  a  long  loose  robe  of  blue  silk,  richly  em- 
broidered with  threads  of  gold.  It  reaches  the  ankles  of  the 
wearer,  and  is  bound  around  his  waist  by  a  belt.  Above  this 
robe  is  a  violet  tunic  with  verj-  wide  sleeves,  but  usually  thrown 
back  over  the  wrists. 

When  an  officer  approaches  the  Imperial  presence  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conferring  with  the  emperor  or  performing  the  kowtow, 
which  in  China  is  the  usual  act  of  obeisance,  etiquette  prescribes 


A   SCHOLASTIC   OLIQARCHT.  296 

that  the  sleoTes  of  this  tunic  should  he  stretched  over  the  hands, 
vhich  action  of  course  renders  him  helpless.  This  custom  was 
originally  adopted  to  preclude  any  attempt  on  the  life  of  the 
emperor  by  tliose  whose  duties  call  them  into  his  presence.  A 
similar  one  prevails  in  the  Court  of  Pereia. 

The  army  is  made  up  of  the  lowest  class  in  the  empire,  and 
used  to  be  uniformed  so  as  to  frighten  the  Iwholder.  Govern- 
ment residences  are  provider!  for  all  Chinese  officials.  These 
boildings  aie  called  yamum  and  sometimes  are  extensive,  cover- 


ing acres.  Fiom  the  i-oofs  of  the  balls  in  many  of  these  official 
dwellings  richly  gilded  boards  are  hung  on  which  ai-e  set  forth 
moral  maxims  from  Confucius  and  oilier  of  the  great  writers; 
some  of  these  illuminated  mottoes  I>eing  the  gifts  of  the  emperor  to 
former  officers  distiiiguislied  for  faithful  ser\-icc.  To  these 
yavmn»  are  attached  publit;  offices,  and  to  those  occupied  by  dis- 
trict rulers,  chief  justices,  etc.,  large  prisons  are  attached. 

County  rulci-s,  prefects,  and  chief  justices  are  the  officials 
specially  appointed  to  preside  in  the  courtit  of  law ;  and  whether 
it  be  of  civil  or  crimiiml  cliaracter,  a  judge  is  assisted  by  deputies 
or  a  deputy.     To  explain  fully  how  justice,  so-called,  is  admin- 


296  THE   STOBY   OF     GOVERNMENT. 

istered  in  China,  it  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  accused  person  is 
first  brought  before  the  gentry  or  elders  of  his  village  or  county. 

These  punish  him,  if  the  crime  be  of  a  criminal  nature,  either  by 
imprisonment  or  by  exposing  him  for  some  time  in  what  is  called 
a  cawpie  at  the  corner  of  one  of  the  most  frequented  thorough- 
fares, or  right  near  the  place  where  the  crime  was  committed;  or 
by  ha/.ing  him  whipped  through  the  streets  with  a  crier  reciting 
his  crime. 

One  form  of  the  cangue  is  a  box,  through  the  top  of  which  the 
head  protrudes,  and  througli  the  sides  of  which  both  hands,  with  a 
chain  connecting  them,  are  thrust.  The  illustration  represents  a 
loving  Chinese  wife  feeding  her  cangued,  or  canned,  husband, 
who  has  committed  some  slight  offence  against  the  peace  and 
dignity  of  the  emperor  —  possibly,  by  fighting  near  the  temple. 
A  commoner  form  of  the  cangue  is  just  the  wooden  collar  alone  of 
a  proportion  to  the  man  as  in  the  illustration. 

Should  a  case,  however,  appear  of  importance,  the  prisoner, 
with  the  depositions  and  the  comments  on  his  case,  is  forwarded 
for  the  mandarin  or  ruler  of  the  Poo  to  which  the  village  belongs. 
If  the  mandarin  finds  the  case  within  his  jurisdiction,  he  pun- 
ishes the  prisoner;  if  not,  he  sends  him  up  to  a  still  higher  official, 
the  county  ruler,  who  might  send  up  the  case  to  the  prefect  of 
his  department,  who  in  turn  might  send  it  up  to  the  provincial 
capital,  where  the  chief  justice,  who  only  tries  capital  cases,  has 
his  residence. 

The  chief  justice  will  then  submit  his  decision  to  the  governop- 
general  and,  before  a  sentence  of  the  chief  justice  can  be  carried 
into  effect,  it  would  Ix)  necessary  that  the  criminal  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  governor-general  sliould  make  an  acknowledgment  of 
his  guilt.  If  the  prisoner  were  convicted  of  treason,  piracy,  or 
highway  robbery,  the  governor-general  could  order  his  execution  at 
once.  But  if  Tie  were  guilty  of  parricide,  matricide,  or  fratricide, 
the  governor-general  must  bring  the  case  to  the  notice  of  the  King 
Poo,  or  Board  of  Punishments,  at  Pekin;  the  president  of  which 
would  sul)nnt  it  in  turn  to  the  cabinet,  who,  after  brooding 
over  it,  would  lay  it  before  tlie  emperor,  who,  it  is  said,  carefully 
examines  the  depositions  on  all  such  cases  before  confirming  the 
sentence. 


A  SCHOLASTIC   OUOABCHT.  .     297 

A  cmioos  sort  of  lottery  adds  a  oertain  spice  to  the  life  of  cod- 
Ticted  criminals,  for  at  the  close  of  each  year  the  governor-general 
forwards  to  Fekin  a  register  of  the  names  of  those  condemned  to 
death.  The  emperor,  after  inspecting  eacli  register,  with  his 
vermilion  j>encil  mnkes  a  mark  against  three  or  four  names  on 
each  page.  The  renters  are  then  returned  to  the  jirovincial 
governor  and  the  law  takes  its  course  against  the  marked  men. 

Th(»e,  however,  whose  names  have  been  passed  over  do  not  obtain 
a  free  pardon;  but  the  second  and  third  year  go  up  with  names 
of  fresh  offenders  to  be  passed  upon  by  the  eniperor.     Shonld  they 


A  PABRICIDE. 


escape  the  mark  of  the  vermilion  pencil  on  the  third  occasion, 
their  death  sentence  is  then  commuted  to  tranajwrtatinn  for  lite. 

The  mode  of  trials  in  China  is  startling  to  all  who  live  in  lands 
where  the  system  of  giving  a  prisoner  cveiy  opportnnity  to  defend 
and  explain  himaclE  prevails;  for  trials  in  Chinese  courts  of 
law  are  conducted  by  tortui-e.  lint  then  we  who  i)ride  ourselves 
on  our  advance  in  civilization  must  remember  that  only  two  hun- 
dred years  ago  our  aniiestora  were  torturing,  not  only  political 
prisoners,  but  also  women  and  young  girls,  to  obtain  confessions 
of  tlieir  practice  of  witchcraft.  Young  girls  practise  Just  as  much 
witchcraft  to-day,  but  they  arc  not  the  ones  who  are  tortured  on 
account  of  it. 

Chinese  courts  are  open  to  the  genenil  public,  but  their  cruel- 
ties keep  away  all  visitors  except  those  personally  interested  in 
the  case.  A  calendar  of  casg^,ii^J^^ried,  with  the  prisoners' 
names  subjoined,   used  ^0^v»ih(M'<it£^0Sputer  gates  of  the 


298  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

yamun^  but  this  custom  has  lapsed  into  disuse  and  the  list  is  now 
placed  on  a  pillar  in  one  of  the  inner  courts,  where  it  has  no 
chance  of  attracting  public  attention. 

The  judge  sits  behind  a  large  table  covered  with  a  red  cloth, 
and  the  prisoner  is  made  to  kneel  in  front  as  a  mark  of  respect  to 
the  court,  by  whom  he  is  accounted  guilty  until  proved  innocent. 
Secretary  and  turnkeys  stand  on  each  side,  no  one  sitting  but  the 
judge.  The  cliarge  is  read  aloud  and  the  prisoner  called  upon 
to  plead  either  guilty  or  "not  guilty."  As  the  prisoner  rarely 
pleads  guilty,  trials  are  very  numerous. 

The  prisoner  is  asked  a  great  many  leading  questions,  and 
should  his  answers  be  evasive,  torture  is  at  once  applied  to  him  as 
a  means  of  extracting  truth.  The  commonest  form  of  this  torture 
is  a  beating  over  his  neck  and  shoulders  with  a  double  cane 
in  the  hands  of  the  state  turnkey.  Should  he  continue  to  gfive 
evasive  answers,  he  is  likely  to  be  beaten  about  the  jaws  with 
two  thick  pieces  of  leather,  shaped  not  unlike  the  sole  of  a 
slipper. 

Sometimes  this  latter  instrument  is  applied  with  such  force  as 
to  loosen  his  teeth  and  cause  his  mouth  to  swell  to  such  a  degree 
that  for  days  he  is  unable  to  speak  or  masticate.  If  he  still  main- 
tains his  innocence,  he  is  beaten  over  the  ankles  with  pieces  of 
hard  wood,  and  sometimes  as  a  result  of  this  the  ankle  bones  are 
broken.  If  he  still  persists  in  refusing  to  plead  guilty,  a  severer 
torture  is  applied.  The  present  writer  saw  the  following  pun- 
ishment administered  in  Canton  in  1873. 

A  large  trestle  was  placed  perpendicularly,  and  the  prisoner  in 
a  kneeling  posture  was  made  to  lean  against  it.  His  arms  were 
then  pushed  backward  and  stretched  into  the  upper  legs  of  the 
trestle  from  the  ends  of  which  they  were  suspended  by  cords 
fastened  around  the  thumbs  of  each  hand.  The  legs  were  then 
pushed  backwards  and  drawn,  his  knees  resting  on  the  ground, 
toward  the  upper  legs  of  the  trestle  by  cords  around  the  large  toe 
of  each  foot.  • 

When  he  had  thus  been  bound,  the  questions  were  again  put 
to  him,  and  his  answers  being  unsatisfactory  he  was  whipped 
up  and  down  his  thighs  by  a  split  bamboo  cane  till  the  blood 
ran  down   and   the   man  fainted.     Whereupon  he  was   untied, 


800  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

thrown  like  a  log  of  wood  into  a  large  flat  basket,  and  carried  by 
two  men  from  the  Court  of  Justice  into  the  prison  attached  to  it. 
As  soon  as  his  skin  healed  over  suificiently  to  be  flayed  again, 
the  judicial  examination  would  continue. 

Justice  in  China  may  be  rightly  called  a  "Serial  Story  of 
Torture,"  and  there  are  other  forms  of  judicial  investigation  more 
frightful  than  these  described,  which  must  be  left  to  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  reader,  for  the  pen  refuses  to  paint  them.  But 
are  there  no  witnesses?  Yes,  but  as  they  are  also  in  some  cases 
subjected  to  torture  it  is  a  task  of  some  difficulty  to  distinguish 
which  of  the  unfortunate  men  kneeling  before  the  judgment  seat 
is  the  prisoner,  and  which  the  witness ;  for  anyone  suspected  of 
having  a  knowledge  of  another's  guilt,  and  manifesting  any  un- 
willingness to  give  evidence,  would  be  likely  to  receive  a  pre- 
liminary beating  by  way  of  encouragement. 

The  process  in  civil  cases  is  somewhat  different.  If  a  dispute 
arises  between  two  persons  with  regard  to  houses  or  lands,  at  first, 
as  a  rule,  they  have  recourse  to  arbitration,  the  arbitrators  being 
generally  the  principal  elders  of  the  street  or  neighborhood.  But 
if  either  party  is  dissatisfied  with  their  decision,  the  matter  is 
taken  into  the  law  court  and  goes  before  the  county  ruler. 

But  the  person  thus  appealing  has  to  incur  great  expense  in 
bribing  the  miderstrappers  about  the  yamuns  to  bring  his  petition 
to  the  eyes  of  the  judge,  for  in  China  briber}^  is  the  only  avenue 
to  success  in  anything.  By  liberally  paying  these  underlings  he 
is  allowed  to  stand  at  the  folding  doors  of  one  of  the  inner  courts, 
and  when  the  ruler  passes  he  falls  upon  his  knees  in  front  of  the 
sedan  chair  of  the  magistrate  who  calls  upon  one  of  his  chair 
bearers  to  hand  him  the  suj)pliant\s  petition  and,  having  read  it, 
appoints  a  day  for  the  case.  In  these  civil  cases,  also,  it  is  not 
uncommon  for  the  judge  to  inflict  torture. 

If  of  great  importance,  the  case  would  be  appealed  to  higher 
tribunals,  but  not  as  in  criminal  cases  to  the  provincial  chief  jus- 
tice, but  to  the  provincial  treasurer,  and  from  his  court  an  appeal 
lies  to  that  of  the  governor  or  governor-general  of  the  piovince. 
But  the  decision  of  this  viceroy  is  not  final,  for  the  next  appeal 
lies  to  the  governor-general  of  the  adjoining  province,  and  from 
him  to  the  emperor  through  the  Cabinet. 


A   SCHOLASTIC   OLIQABCHY. 


801 


Formerly  civil  suits  were  appealed  from  the  highest  tribunal 
of  t^heir  province  to  the  emperor  in  person,  but  now  another 
wall  of  protection  to  the  sovereign  against  the  annoyance  of  too 
much  litigation  has  been  built  up  by  making  the  governor  of 
the  adjoining  province  an  intermediate  tribunal. 


Another  peculiarity  of  Chinese  government  is  that  registers  are 
kept  in  which  are  recorded  the  merits  and  demerits  of  the  various 
civil  and  military  officials.  This  custom,  which  is  of  great 
antiquity,  was  also  practised  by  other  nations.  The  records  of 
the  Persians  and  the  Greeks  contain  frequent  allusions  to  it. 
Although  Chinese  officials  are,  perhaps,  as  a  class,  the  most  cor- 


302  THE   6T0HY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

rapt  Btate  servants   in  the  world,  there  are  exceptional  men  of 
high  integrity  -who  are  held  in  great  esteem  by  the  people. 

When  Ache-Ong  was  governor  over  the  province  of  Kwang- 
Tung,  at  his  departure  from  Canton  tlie  citizens  gave  him  a 
most  in:pressive  ovation.  An  imposing  procession  which  took 
twenty  minutes  to  pass  a  given  point  escorted  him  to  tlie  place  of 
embarkation,  carrying  silk  umbrellas  and  three  hundred  painted 
boards  of  praise  which  had  been  presented  to  him  by  the  people. 
The  way  was  spanned  at  frequent  intervals  by  arches,  and  on  hang- 
ing banners  were  painted  or 
embroidered  in  large  letters 
Buch  titles  as  "  Friend  of  the 
People,"  "Bright  Star  of 
the  Province,"  "Benefector 
of  the  Age." 

Deputations    of     different 
trade-guilds  awaited  his  ar- 
rival at  various  temples, 
where  he  alighted  from  his 
A  PUBLIC  WHIPPING.  sedan  chair  to  exchange  fare- 

well compliments  and  par- 
take of  refreshments.  But  it  was  cot  the  formal  arrangements 
that  Bpoke  of  his  popularity  so  much  as  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
people;  for  the  silence  generally  keptj'  when  a  Chinese  ruler 
passes,  was  continuously  broken  by  hearty  exclamations  of  "When 
will  your  excellency  come  back  to  us?"  and  at  many  points  the 
crowd  was  so  great  as  to  interrupt  the  line  of  march,  and  almost 
upset  his  chair  of  state. 

Though  the  penal  code  of  China  is  so  extremely  severe, 
especially  in  cases  attacking  the  safety  and  stability  of  the  throne 
or  the  peace  of  the  empire,  it  has  some  verj-  humane  traits. 
Thus,  a  judge  may  grant  a  free  pardon  to  an  only  son  who  has 
been  sentenced  to  transportation.  This  pardon  is,  of  course, 
granted  for  the  sake  of  the  parents,  and  shows  how  the  religion 
of  China  interfuses  with  its  laws. 

Or,  for  another  instance,  when  three  brothers,  the  only  sons  of 
their  parents,  have  committed  a  crime  deserving  of  decapitation 
or  tiaiuiportation,  the  two  youngest  would  be  punished,  and  the  • 


804  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

first  bom  pardoned.  Or,  if  a  father  be  transported,  the  law  per- 
mits his  son  to  accompany  him  into  exile,  and  the  wives  of 
convicts  are  allowed  to  sojourn  with  their  husbands  in  penal 
settlements. 

Imperial  clemency  also  extends  to  all  offenders  who  are  crip- 
pled ;  nor  does  the  law  allow  convicts  to  be  sent  into  banishment 
during  the  first  month  of  the  year,  which  is  regarded  as  a  month 
of  rest  and  indulgence ;  nor  during  the  sixth  month,  as  the  heat 
is  supposed  to  render  travelling  very  uncomfortable. 

Reference  to  the  religion  of  China  having  been  made,  perhaps 
a  little  information  concerning  it  would  not  be  out  of  place. 
According  to  their  fable  of  creation,  in  the  beginning  there  came 
out  of  a  vast  egg  a  Being,  who  has  always  been  known  in  Chinese 
annals  as  Poon-Koo-Wong.  Of  the  upper  part  of  his  cast-off 
shell  he  formed  the  hollow  heavens;  of  the  lower,  the  convex 
earth.  To  dispel  the  darkness,  with  a  wave  of  his  right  hand  he 
made  the  sun,  and  with  his  left,  the  moon,  and,  of  course,  the 
stars  also. 

Then  he  called  into  existence  the  five  elements:  earth, 
water,  fire,  metal,  and  wood;  and  then  in  order  to  people  the 
world,  Poon-Koo-Wong  caused  a  cloud  of  vapor  to  rise  from 
a  piece  of  gold,  and  a  similar  cloud  from  a  piece  of  wood. 
Breathing  on  the  gold  vapor  he  made  the  male  principle ;  and  on 
the  wood  vapor,  the  female.  From  the  union  of  these  two  human- 
shaped  clouds,  or  spirits,  sprang  a  son  and  daughter  —  Ying-Yee 
and  Cha-No-We  —  whose  descendants  over-spread  the  whole 
country. 

In  honor  of  Poon-Koo-Wong  there  are  many  temples  through- 
out China.  The  idol  of  this  hero  of  antiquity  is  an  almost  naked 
figure  made  of  wood  or  clay,  wearing  an  apron  of  leaves.  This 
was  probably  their  original  religion,  for  their  present  one  is  a 
mysterious  mixture  of  several  creeds.  At  one  time  they  appeared 
to  have  worshipped  a  supreme  being  with  attributes  of  omni- 
science, omnipotence,  and  immutability,  whom  they  sj^eak  of  as 
Shang-Te.  They  appear  to  have  some  ideas  of  a  Judgment  Day, 
and  a  picture  of  their  method  of  dividing  the  sheep  from  the  goats 
after  death  may  amuse  the  reader. 

But  this  primitive  monotheism  has  become  associated  with  the 


E  CHIKESB  JUSOKEHT  DAT, 


806  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

worship  of  departed  ancestors  and  of  spirits  supposed  to  preside 
over  the  various  operations  of  nature :  and  with  this  combination 
that  still  holds  its  place  as  a  national  religion,  the  name  of  their 
great  philosopher,  Confucius,  is  associated. 

Dark  as  the  despotism  of  Chinese  government  may  seem  at  a 
first  casual  glance  (which  is  generally  careless  unless  tlie  eye  be 
naturally  full  of  sympathy),  some  stars  of  promise  light  up  its 
present,  and  tempt  believers  in  man  to  expect  for  the  vast  yellow 
race  an  evolution  as  rich  and  fair  to  look  upon  as  is  their  chosen 
imperial  or  national  color,  charming  one's  eye  so  often  with  its 
infinite  varieties  which  no  custom  stales. 

For  nowhere  in  this  gold- adoring  world  is  wealth  less  courted, 
and  caressed,  and  cringed  to.  In  China  power  and  honor  spring 
from  learning.  Hence,  mere  wealth  must  be  always  vulgar,  and, 
if  undistinguished  by  any  other  qualities,  the  mere  possessor  of 
riches  must  rank  as  inferior  to  the  mandarin,  who,  by  his  knowl- 
edge, can  rise  to  the  highest  offices  of  the  state,  next  to  the 
emperor  himself;  and  in  many  cases,  the  learned  man  can  finally 
achieve  a  wealth  also  to  which  "Money-bags,"  who  has  made  his 
fortune  by  buying  and  selling,  huckstering  and  cheating  it  may 
be,  can  never  aspire.  The  unlearned  rich  man  is  not  held  in 
respect;  he  is  valued  infinitely  less  than  the  poorest  scholar  who 
has  taken  a  degree  at  the  great  competitive  examinations. 

There  is  no  hereditary  nobility  in  the  empire,  unless  the 
descendants  of  the  Imperial  family  can  be  considered  such,  thougli 
these  do  not  constitute  the  real  aristocracy  of  the  country,  which 
is  official  and  not  heredita^}^ 

Rank  is  graded  by  literary  examinations.  Every  office  except 
that  of  the  emperor,  is  determined  by  these,  which  are  accordingly 
of  extreme  interest,  especially  since  we  in  this  country  have  lately 
adopted  a  similar  method  of  appointing  the  minor  officers  of  state, 
and  have  thus  been  imitating  the  civil  service  system  of  the 
Chinese,  with  all  its  good  and  bad  points. 

To  obtain  the  first  degree  three  examinations  must  be  under- 
gone ;  the  preliminary  one  taking  place  in  the  chief  town  of  the 
district  where  the  candidate  is  native.  There  are  always  great 
numbers  of  candidates,  and  the  examinations  are  severe.  In  1832, 
out  of  4,000  who  competed  in  the  two  districts  around  Canton, 


A   SCHOLASTIC   OLIQAKCHT. 


SOT 


•only  iTtrenty-seTen  were  successful.     Indeed,  for  fifteen  to  be  suc- 
■oessful  out  of  five  hundred  is  reckoned  rather  remarkable. 

The  next  examination  is  h<  Id  in  tlio  depirlinciital  ( ity,  and  the 
zuimber  of  candidates  who  [ircsr  nl  th<  inselves  arc  of  course  much 


fewer.  At  the  first  examination  the  roa«ls  leading  to  the  district 
towns  are  crowded  with  candidates  on  foot,  on  horseback,  in  carts, 
or  in  palanquins.  After  this  departmental  examination  another 
sifting  occura.  Those  who  liave  [Kissed  liave  their  names  placarded 
aa  having  gained  "a  name  in  the  department,"  just  as  at  the  pre- 
vious examination  they  had  obtained  "a  name  in  the  village." 
The  next  examiuation  is  severer  still,  being  hehl  under  the 


806  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

worship  of  departed  ancestors  and  of  spirits  supposed  to  preside 
over  the  various  operations  of  nature :  and  with  this  combination 
that  still  holds  its  place  as  a  national  religion,  the  name  of  their 
great  philosopher,  Confucius,  is  associated. 

Dark  as  the  despotism  of  Chinese  government  may  seem  at  a 
first  casual  glance  (which  is  generally  careless  unless  tlie  eye  be 
naturally  full  of  sympathy),  some  stars  of  promise  light  up  its 
present,  and  tempt  believers  in  man  to  expect  for  the  vast  yellow 
race  an  evolution  as  rich  and  fair  to  look  upon  as  is  their  chosen 
imperial  or  national  color,  charming  one's  eye  so  often  with  its 
infinite  varieties  which  no  custom  stales. 

For  nowhere  in  this  gold- adoring  world  is  wealth  less  courted, 
and  caressed,  and  cringed  to.  In  China  power  and  honor  spring 
from  learning.  Hence,  mere  wealth  must  be  always  vulgar,  and, 
if  undistinguished  by  any  other  qualities,  the  mere  possessor  of 
riches  must  rank  as  inferior  to  the  mandarin,  who,  by  his  knowl- 
edge, can  rise  to  the  highest  offices  of  the  state,  next  to  the 
emperor  himself;  and  in  many  cases,  the  learned  man  can  finally 
achieve  a  wealth  also  to  which  "Money-bags,"  who  has  made  his 
fortune  by  buying  and  selling,  huckstering  and  cheating  it  may 
be,  can  never  aspire.  The  unlearned  rich  man  is  not  held  in 
respect;  he  is  valued  infinitely  less  than  the  poorest  scholar  who 
has  taken  a  degree  at  the  great  competitive  examinations. 

There  is  no  hereditary  nobility  in  the  empire,  unless  the 
descendants  of  the  Imperial  family  can  be  considered  such,  though 
these  do  not  constitute  the  real  aristocracy  of  the  country,  whicli 
is  official  and  not  hereditarj'. 

Rank  is  gi^aded  by  literary  examinations.  Every  office  except 
that  of  the  emperor,  is  determined  by  these,  which  are  accordingly 
of  extreme  interest,  especially  since  we  in  this  country  have  lately 
adopted  a  similar  method  of  appointing  the  minor  officers  of  state, 
and  have  thus  been  imitating  the  civil  service  system  of  the 
Chinese,  with  all  its  good  and  bad  points. 

To  obtain  the  first  degree  three  examinations  must  be  under- 
gone; the  preliminary  one  taking  place  in  the  chief  town  of  the 
district  where  the  candidate  is  native.  There  are  alwajrs  great 
numbers  of  candidates,  and  the  examinations  are  severe.  In  1832, 
out  of  4,000  who  competed  in  the  two  districts  around  Canton, 


A  SCHOLASTIC   OLIGABCHT.  307 

■only  twenty-fleven  were  successful.     Indeed,  for  fifteen  to  be  auc- 
oessful  out  of  five  hundred  is  reckoned  rather  remarkable. 

The  next  examination  is  held  in  the  departmental  city,  and  the 
aamber  of  candidates  who  present  themselves  are  of  course  much 


fewer.  At  the  first  examination  the  roads  lejuling  to  tlie  district 
towns  are  crawded  with  candidates  on  foot,  on  horseback,  in  carts, 
or  in  palanquins.  After  tliis  departmental  examination  another 
sifting  occurs.  Those  who  Iiave  passed  liave  their  names  placarded 
as  having  gained  "a  name  in  the  department,"  just  as  at  the  pre- 
vious examination  they  had  obtjiined  "a  name  in  the  village." 
The  next  examination  is  severer  still,  being  held  under  the 


808  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

supervision  of  an  imperial  examiner,  who  visits  every  department 
twice  in  three  years.  The  "bachelor  degree,"  if  one  may  use 
this  term,  is  gained  by  this,  and  is  only  given  to  a  certain  num- 
ber of  the  successful  candidates  in  proportion  to  the  population  of 
the  respective  districts.  Most  men  do  not  think  of  going  beyond 
this  degree,  unless  they  intend  to  seek  official  employment.  The 
possession  of  it  confers  many  privileges ;  amongst  others  exemp- 
tion from  corporal  punishment. 

The  next  examination  occurs  every  three  years  at  the  j)rovincial 
capital  in  September,  and  is  sometimes  attended  by  as  many  as 
ten  thousand  bachelors,  anxious  to  compete  for  the  degree  of 
licentiate.  It  is  conducted  by  two  examiners  from  Pekin.  At 
Nankin,  on  one  occasion,  twenty  thousand  men  competed,  and  the 
degree  of  licentiate  was  awarded  to  less  than  two  hundred. 

Out  of  seventy-three  candidates,  who  on  one  occasion  obtained 
this  degree  at  Canton,  five  were  under  twenty-five  years,  eight 
between  twenty  and  twenty-five,  fifteen  between  twenty-five  and 
thirty,  eighteen  between  thirty  and  thirty-five,  nine  between 
thirty-five  and  forty,  twelve  between  forty  and  forty-five,  three 
between  forty-five  and  fifty,  while  three  were  over  fifty. 

Hence  it  appears  that  few  attain  this  degree  till  well  advanced 
in  life.  However,  all  these  are  not  fresh  candidates;  many  are 
unsuccessful  and,  until  rendered  hopeless  by  being  "plucked" 
year  after  year,  will  regularly,  as  the  examinations  come  round, 
make  attempts  to  obtain  the  coveted  distinction. 

On  an  average  from  twelve  hundred  to  seventeen  hundred 
may  annually  obtain  the  degree  in  all  the  eighteen  provinces. 
At  these  examinations  each  student  is  placed  for  several  suc- 
cessive days  in  a  little  cell,  so  uncomfortable  that  it  does  not 
admit  of  the  occupant  lying  down  at  full  length.  Every  candi- 
date must  have  a  cell  to  himself,  and  the  number  of  competitors 
being  so  great,  regard  has  to  be  had  to  economy  of  space, 
especially  as  all  Chinese  cities  are  very  crowded. 

The  third,  or  examination  for  the  doctor's  degree,  is  held  at 
Pekin,  and  thither  all  the  competing  licentiates  must  go.  These 
seldom  exceed  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred.  The  highest 
degree  is  that  of  "Han-lin."  It  is  also  held  at  Pekin,  and  the 
few  who  attain  it  become  members  of  the  Han-lin  College,  and 


A  BCHOLASnO  OLIOABCHT.  oQil 

leoeive  fixed  Balaries.  The  licentiates  are  on  tlie  high  load  for 
preferment  as  vacancies  occnrj  the  doctots  are  ensured  an  imm^ 
diate  and  important  ofiBce,  Trhile  from  the  select  Han-lin  College 
are  chosen  tlie 
emperor's  minis- 
ters. 

The  greatest 
care  is  taken  that 
these  examina- 
tions shall  be 
foirly  conducted. 
Tlie  building  in 
which  they  are 
held  is  specially 
constructed  for 
the  purpose,  with 
double  Avails,  be- 
tween which  sen- 
Iries  are  continu- 
ally pacing.  The 
gates  are  strictly 
watched,  and 
when  the  candL 
dates  enter  the 
examination  hall 
they  are  searched 
for  books  or 
BcntpB  of  paper 
that  might  assist 
them  in  writing 
tlieir  essays,  and  the  most  ticrupulous  precautions  are  taken  to 
prevent  communications  between  the  canditlates. 

Their  food  they  take  with  them,  and  the  government  provides 
a  pitcher  of  water  for  eacli.  Three  sets  of  themes  are  given,  each 
occupying  two  days  and  a  night.  Until  that  time  has  expired  no 
one  is  allowed  to  leave  his  examination  cell. 

When  the  essays  are  written,  they  are  iiist  scrutinized  as  to 
dieix  oonfomuty  with  the  regulations,  for  they  most  not  exceed 


i.  aCHOOLMABTKK  0 


810  THE  8T0BY  OF  OOVERKMENT. 

seven  htmdred  characters,  nor  must  there  be  any  character  written 
over  the  ruled  red  lines  of  the  examination  paper  which  all  have 
to  use ;  nor  is  erasure  or  correction  of  any  kind  allowed.  Nor, 
although  the  theme  might  be  the  same,  can  anyone  repeat  with 
improvements  an  essay  of  a  former  examination. 

Any  obvious  fault  in  composition  observed  by  the  officers  who 
superintend  this  department  would  prevent  the  essay  from  being 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  higher  examiners.  These  latter  then 
select  the  best  essays,  to  the  number  of  two  or  three  hundred,  and 
subject  them  to  the  judgment  of  the  two  chief  examiners,  who 
finally  decide  which  are  best,  and  arrange  them  in  the  order  of 
merit.  In  granting  offices  the  emperor  follows  the  order  of 
names.  In  addition  to  these  precautions  equal  care  is  taken  that 
the  examiners  shall  not  abuse  the  confidence  reposed  in  them  by 
showing  favoritism,  or  having  any  chance  to  gratify  malice  against 
any  candidate. 

The  examiners  are  brought  from  a  distance,  and  surrounded  by 
troops,  as  much  to  keep  them  from  being  tampered  with,  as  to  do 
them  honor  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace.  They  are  not  allowed  to 
see  the  actual  examination  papers,  but  only  copies  made  by  official 
transcribers,  until  they  have  passed  a  paper  as  satisfactory,  when 
the  original  is  brought  to  them  to  compare  with  the  copy,  and 
then,  if  all  be  right,  the  candidate's  name  is  seen  which  up  to  this 
point  is  unknown,  having  been  pasted  between  two  sheets  of 
paper. 

Yet  when  such  great  things  are  staked  upon  these  trials  of 
intellect,  it  can  be  readily  believed  that  the  ingenuity  of  the 
Chinese  literati  manages  sometimes  to  elude  the  most  lynx-eyed 
examiners.  Most  amusing  are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  this  is 
attempted. 

The  American  undergraduate  who  takes  into  the  examination 
hall  a  series  of  notes  on  his  shirt-cuffs,  and  half  a  dozen  problems 
of  Euclid  on  his  capacious  palms,  is  a  bungler  compared  with  his 
Chinese  brother  in  academical  iniquity.  The  trick  of  employing 
a  learned  substitute  —  himself  a  graduate  —  to  enter  under  the 
name  of  a  candidate,  perfoim  the  exercises  and,  on  leaving  the 
building,  substitute  his  essays  for  those  of  the  real  candidate,  is 
a  well-worn  device  in  China. 


A  SCHOLASTIC   OUGABGHY.  811 

Now  and  then  it  happens  that  a  friend  in  the  building  learns 
the  themes  of  the  expected  essays,  writes  them  in  tiny  characters 
on  slips  of  paper,  and  drops  them  enclosed  in  wax  into  the  water 
supplied  to  the  candidate  whom  he  wishes  to  favor.  But  the 
most  daring  plan  which  the  reminiscences  of  the  Chinese  Dons 
can  recall  was  that  of  a  candidate  who  engaged  a  friend  to  tunnel 
under  the  walls  of  the  examination  hall,  and  thus  convey  to  him 
through  the  floor  of  his  cell  the  documents  and  other  information 
needed. 

The  ancestral  worship  of  China,  to  which  allusion  has  been 
made,  is  carried  in  certain  practical  ways  to  an  exti'eme  frightful 
to  contemplate.  A  parent  has  absolute  control  over  the  lives  of 
his  children.  If  he  kills  one  intentionally,  he  is  subject  only 
to  a  year's  imprisonment,  and  the  chastisement  of  the  bamboo; 
if  the  child  struck  him  previously,  there  is  no  punishment 
whatever. 

As  among  the  Hebrews,  the  penalty  of  striking  or  cursing 
parents  is  death,  and  so  tenacious  of  order  are  the  Chinese,  that 
for  one  person  to  strike  another  with  hand  or  foot  is  accounted 
not  only  a  private  but  a  public  offence.  Hence  the  common 
spectacle  of  two  Chinese  quarrelling  with  endless  gesticulations, 
but  without  coming  to  blows,  the  surrounding  crowd  also  taking 
care  to  see  that  the  quarrel  does  not  lead  the  disputants  to  close 
quarters.  This  instinct  has  now  become  hereditary  with  the 
Chinese,  for  even  in  the  foreign  countries  to  which  they  have 
emigrated  they  carry  this  wholesome  habit  of  allowing  the  tongue 
rather  than  the  fist  to  act  as  their  safety-valve. 

Some  of  their  habits  of  life  and  modes  of  thought  are  closely 
interwoven  with  their  governmental  system,  and  are  full  of  inter- 
est. A  Chinese  debtor,  for  instance,  is  allowed  a  reasonable  time, 
fixed  by  law,  to  discharge  his  obligations ;  but  if,  after  the  expira- 
tion of  these  da)rs  of  grace,  he  fails  to  pay,  he  is  liable  to  the 
punishment  of  the  bamboo  stick.  A  creditor  sometimes  quarters 
himself  with  his  family  ujx)n  a  debtor,  and  though  this  is  not 
recognized  by  the  law,  no  one  interferes,  provided  it  be  done  with- 
out tumult  or  violence. 

Death  is  looked  upon  by  a  Chinaman  with  the  utmost  uncon- 
cern, and  suicide  is  adopted  as  a  means  of  freeing  himself  from  the 


812  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

most  trifling  worry.  Yet  death  is  rarely  mentioned  directly  in 
their  ordinaiy  conversation,  but  is  alluded  to  in  a  round-about 
fashion.  Ancestors  are  worshipped,  and  in  every  rich  man's 
house  is  a  chamber  dedicated  to  this  filial  duty.  Here  are  pre- 
served tablets  inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  deceased,  and  at 
stated  seasons,  and  according  to  forms  prescribed  in  that  huge 
etiquette  code  of  China  —  the  "  Book  of  Rites  "  —  prostrations 
and  ceremonies  are  perfonned  before  them. 

When  a  person  dies  it  is  said  that  "he  has  made  his  salutation 
to  the  age,"  or  has  *' ascended  to  the  sky."  "To  be  happy  on 
earth,"  they  say,  "one  must  be  born  in  Soo-chow,  live  in  Canton, 
and  die  in  Lianchan ; "  Soo-chow  being  famous  for  pretty  women, 
Canton  for  luxury,  and  Lianchan  for  furnishing  excellent  wood, 
for  that  last  important  article  which  a  Chinese  sets  so  much  store 
by  —  his  coffin. 

The  Chinese  idea  of  beauty,  or  at  least  of  the  figure  that  suits  a 
person  of  fashion,  is  rather  peculiar.  A  woman  should,  for 
instance,  be  extremely  slender  in  appearance,  while  a  man  should 
be  corpulent,  or  what  we  understand  as  "aldermanic." 

Both  men  and  women  of  rank,  or  at  all  above  the  laboring 
class,  wear  their  finger-nails  long,  as  a  sign  that  they  are  not  com- 
pelled to  stoop  to  manual  labor ;  and  to  such  an  extent  are  these 
nails  allowed  to  grow,  that  cases  of  ivory,  silver,  and  even  of  gold, 
ornamented  with  precious  gems,  are  used  to  preserve  them  from 
being  accidentally  broken.  Even  servants  now  and  then  attempt 
this  bit  of  foppery  and,  to  preserve  them  from  being  broken,  splice 
them  onto  thin  slips  of  bamboo. 

The  small  feet  of  the  Chinese  women  are  caused  by  the  curi- 
ous inverted  ideas  of  beauty  which  Fashion  in  all  nations  some- 
times succeeds  in  inspiring  and  maintaining.  In  China,  this 
monstrosity  must  have  prevailed  for  a  thousand  years,  because 
the  Tailar  women  do  not  favor  it,  and  have  never  adopted  it. 
Hence  the  argument  that  it  antedates  the  Tartar  invasion. 

It  is  produced  in  early  childhood  by  cramping  the  feet  arti- 
ficially by  means  of  bandages ;  and  though  it  renders  those  thus 
mutilated  incapable  of  walking,  except  by  holding  on  to  walls,  or 
by  very  skilfully  tottering  along,  it  is  regarded  as  exceedingly 
"genteel,"    probably   from   the    idea    of    its    being    associated, 


A  SOHOIiASTIC    OUQAROBir. 


818 


like  the  correBponding  case  of  long  nails,  with  exemption  from 
lahor. 

The  Chinese  poets  rave  of  such  deformed  feet  as  "golden 
lilies,"  and  describe  the  rocking  of  the  women  in  attempting  to 
walk  as  the  "waving  of  a  willow."  The  muscles  of  the  leg  from 
not  being  in  use  dwindle  away,  so  that  the  space  from  the  ankle 
to  the  knee  is  not  so  thick  as  the  wrist.  Women  who  have  not 
this  deformity  of  the  feet  will  sometimes  hobble  along  the  street 


FARIIIONABLK   FOOTINO. 


in  a  manner  intended  to  deceive  the  observers  into  believing  thftt 
the  fashionable  foot  is  theint. 

Ridiculous  as  this  custom  is,  the  student  of  strange  methods 
for  "improving"  the  person  gets  habituated  to  otliers  equally 
strange:  and  we  who  have  seen,  in  the  course  of  our  studies  of 
mankind,  jKople  flattening  their  foreheads,  tattooing  their  persons, 
cutting  off  their  lingers,  filing  their  teeth  or  dyeing  them  black, 
painting  their  bodies,  slitting  their  ears,  compressing  the  waist, 
putting  stones,  hones,  or  metal  through  the  lips,  cheeks,  or  ears, 
or  in  a  dozen  other  ways  interfering  with  nature,  have  only  a 
gentle  compassion  instettd  of  profound  contempt  for  such  exhibits 


814  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

of  feminine  vanity  on  the  part  of  Cliinese  ladies,  as  depicted  in 
our  illustration  of  a  belle  resting  her  fashionable  understanding 
on  a  table. 

Never  was  there  a  more  elaborate  code  of  etiquette  than  that  of 
China.  It  is  not  alone  a  court  etiquette,  but  one  regulated  by  the 
State  in  the  elaborate  "Book  of  Rites,"  preserved  through  ages; 
an  etiquette  which  is  never  altered  by  fiishiou  —  for  fashion  never 
changes  —  and  which  controls  the  every-day  action  of  all  the 
Chinese  from  the  emperor  to  the  coolie.  Their  prescribed  cei-e- 
monial  usages  are  three  thousand  in  number.  The  most  abject 
method  of  showing  respect  to  a  superior  is  by  performing  the 
Kow-tow^  and  is  that  by  which  a  vassal  signifies  his  obedience 
to  his  superior. 

When  an  audience  is  about  to  be  obtained  of  the  emperor,  this 
prostration  is  previously  made  before  a  yellow  screen,  and  though 
it  has  been  performed  by  the  ambassadors  of  the  Dutch  —  a  nation 
which  in  the  East  has  submitted  to  any  indignity  which  promised 
to  result  in  profit  —  it  has  been  always  refused  by  the  English 
and  Russian  ambassadors,  and  of  late  years  has  not  been  expected 
from  the  representatives  of  any  nation  except  such  as  owe  vassal- 
age to  China. 

There  are  various  grades  of  the  Kow-tow.  For  instance,  standing 
and  bending  the  head  is  less  submissive  than  kneeling  on  one  or 
both  knees,  and  putting  the  hands  and  forehead  to  the  ground. 
Doing  this  once  is  not  so  humble  an  act  of  acknowledgment  of 
inferiority  as  doing  it  three,  six,  or  nine  times.  Abject  as  it  is, 
such  is  the  innate  filial  obedience  in  China,  that  the  emperor  will 
perform  it  before  his  mother. 

Chinese  ladies  are  taught  to  paint  on  silk,  to  embroider,  and  to 
acquire  some  skill  in  music;  and  though  cases  of  learned  ladies 
are  not  unknown,  yet  they  are  not  as  a  rule  studiously  inclined. 
The  better  class  of  them  are  modest.  To  such  an  extent  is  this 
carried  that  it  is  accounted  indecorous  in  a  lady  to  show  her 
hands,  and  accordingly  they  are  covered  with  long  sleeves. 
When  they  have  been  shown  pictures  of  the  very  dScolletS  dress 
worn  by  fashionable  European  ladies,  they  very  natiually  ex- 
press themselves  much  shocked  at  such  immodest  and  indecent 
costumes. 


■Ililllllllllllllllllllllilllll) 


816  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Polygamy  is  not,  as  frequently  described  in  books,  sanctioned 
by  the  law.  Every  man  is  limited  to  one  wife,  but  "  left-handed  " 
marriage  is  permitted  to  any  extent  that  a  man  may  feel  justifiable 
according  to  his  purse.  But  the  first  wife  is  regarded  as  the 
social  head  of  the  household,  and  the  bickerings  which  naturally 
follow  the  practice  of  polygamy  render  it  less  common  thaii  it 
would  otherwise  be. 

If  the  wife  has  no  family,  then  the  taking  of  a  handmaid  is  con- 
sidered as  natural  —  the  Chinese  looking  upon  the  want  of  a  son 
as  a  terrible  affliction.  These  handmaids  are  generally  bought  for 
a  sum  of  money  from  the  lowest  ranks  of  the  population,  and 
really  enter  the  family  as  domestic  slaves. 

No  man  is  allowed  to  marry  any  woman  with  the  same  surname 
as  himself,  all  people  of  the  same  surname  being  considered  kin, 
and  no  government  official  can  marry  an  actress.  Not  only  is 
such  a  mairiage,  if  contracted,  void,  but  both  parties  are  punish- 
able'with  sixty  blows;  though,  if  the  official  hold  the  degree 
of  licentiate,  this  punishment  must  be  remitted  for  one  of  cor- 
responding severity,  into  which  corporal  punishment  does  not 
enter.  Finally,  though  the  legal  wife  is  small-footed,  the  brevet 
ones  are  not. 

A  man  may  divorce  his  wife  for  seven  different  reasons:  1. 
Barrenness,  though  this  is  generally  never  taken  as  an  excuse,  as 
he  has  his  remedy  in  legal  concubinage.  2.  Adulter}'.  3.  Dis- 
obedience to  the  husband's  parents;  the  mother-in-law  being  more 
kindly  regarded  in  China  than  in  Europe.  4.  Talkativeness, 
5.   Thieving.     6.   Ill-temper.     7.  Inveterate  infirmities. 

Any  of  these,  however,  may  be  set  aside  by  three  circum- 
stances: the  wife  having  mourned  for  her  husband's  parents;  the 
family  having  acquired  wealth  since  the  marriage ;  and  the  wife 
being  without  parents  to  receive  her  back.  It  is  in  all  cases  dis- 
reputable, and  in  some  (as  those  of  a  particular  rank)  illegal,  for 
a  widow  to  marry  again. 

Whenever  a  widow  is  herself  unwilling,  the  law  protects  her; 
and  should  she  act  by  the  compulsion  of  parents  or  other  rela- 
tions, these  are  severely  punishable.  Widows,  indeed,  have  a 
very  powerful  dissuasive  from  second  wedlock,  in  being  absolute 
mistresses  of   themselves   and  children  so   long  as  they  remain 


A  80HOLA8TI0   OUGABOHY.  817 

widows.  Marriage  is  predestined,  the  Chinese  believe,  and  early 
marriages  are  greatly  encouraged.  ^^  There  are  three  great  acts  of 
disobedience  to  parents,  and  to  die  without  progeny  is  the  chiefs'** 
is  a  Chinese  maxim. 

The  amusing  contrariety  of  Chinese  customs  as  compared  with' 
ours  has  been  thus  epitomized  by  a  traveller :  — 

On  inquiring  of  the  boatman  which  way  Macao  lay,  I  was  answered, 
** in  the  west-north";  the  wind,  as  1  was  informed,  being  east-south. 
**  We  do  not  say  so  in  Europe,"  thought  I ;  but  imagine  my  surprise 
when,  in  explaining  the  compass,  the  boatman  added  that  '^  the  needle 
pointed  to  the  south  I  " 

Desirous  to  change  the  subject,  I  remarked  that  I  supposed  he  was 
going  to  some  high  festival,  or  merrymaking,  as  his  dress  was  com- 
pletely white.  He  told  me,  with  a  look  of  much  dejection,  that  his 
only  brother  had  died  the  week  before,  and  that  he  was  in  the  deepest 
mourning  for  him. 

On  my  landing,  the  first  object  that  attracted  my  attention  was  a 
military  mandarin,  who  wore  an  embroidered  petticoat,  with  a  string  of 
beads  round  his  neck,  and  who  besides  carried  a  fan ;  and  it  was  with 
some  dismay  that  I  observed  him  mount  on  the  right  side  of  his  horse. 
Another  strange  sight  was  a  wagon  impelled  partly  by  a  sail.  I  was 
surrounded  by  natives,  all  of  whom  had  the  hair  shaven  from  the  fore 
part  of  the  head,  while  some  of  them  permitted  it  to  grow  on  their  faces. 

On  my  way  to  the  house  prepared  for  my  reception,  I  saw  two 
Chinese  boys  discussing  with  much  earnestness  who  should  be  the  pos- 
sessor of  an  orange.  They  debated  the  point  with  a  vast  variety  of 
gesture,  and,  at  length,  without  venturing  to  fight  about  it,  sat  down 
and  divided  the  orange  equally  between  them.  At  that  moment  my 
attention  was  drawn  to  several  old  Chinese,  some  of  whom  had  gray 
beards,  and  nearly  all  of  them  huge  goggling  spectacles. 

A  few  of  them  were  chirruping  and  chuckling  to  singing  birds,  which 
they  carried  in  bamboo  cages,  or  perched  on  a  stick ;  others  were  catch- 
ing flies  to  feed  the  birds  \  the  remainder  of  the  party  seemed  to  be 
delightedly  employed  in  flying  paper  kites,  while  a  group  of  boys  were 
gravely  looking  on,  and  regarding  these  innocent  occupations  of  their 
seniors  with  the  most  serious  and  gratified  attention.  .  .  . 

Resolute  in  my  determination  to  persevere,  the  next  morning  found 
me  provided  with  a  Chinese  master,  who  happily  understood  English. 
I  was  fcdly  prepared  to  be  told  that  I  was  about  to  study  a  language 
without  an  alphabet,  but  was  somewhat  astonished,  on  his  opening  the 

Public 


818  THE   STORY   OP   GOVBRNMBNT. 

Chinese  volume,  to  find  him  begin  at  what  I  had  all  mj  life  preirioosly 
considered  the  end  of  a  book.  He  read  the  date  of  publication  — 
**  The  fifth  year,  tenth  month,  twenty-third  day."  "  We  arrange  our 
dates  differently,"  I  observed ;  and  begged  that  he  would  speak  of  their 
ceremonials. 

He  commenced  by  saying,  "  When  you  receive  a  distinguished  guest, 
do  not  fail  to  place  him  on  your  left  hand,  for  that  is  the  seat  of 
honor ;  and  be  cautious  not  to  uncover  the  head,  as  it  would  be  an  un- 
becoming act  of  familiarity."  Hardly  prepared  for  this  blow  to  my 
established  notions,  I  requested  he  would  discourse  of  their  philosophy. 

He  reopened  the  volume,  and  read  with  becoming  gravity, "  The 
most  learned  men  are  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  seat  of  the 
human  understanding  is  the  stomach."*  I  seized  the  volume  in  despair, 
and  rushed  from  the  apartment. 

Speaking  of  stomachs,  the  Chines^  gourmands  seem  to  excel  in 
inventing  extraordinary  dishes.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  of 
these  consists  of  young  crabs  thrown  into  a  vessel  of  vinegar  some 
time  before  dinner  is  served.  The  vinegar  corrodes  their  delicate 
shells,  so  that  when  the  lid  of  the  vessel  is  removed,  the  lively 
young  crabs  scramble  out  and  run  all  over  the  table  until  their 
career  is  cut  stort  by  each  guest  snatching  up  what  he  can. 

The  Chinese  population  is  said  to  be  decreasing,  though  whether 
this  is  owing  to  the  terrible  destruction  of  life  caused  by  the 
Taeping  Rebellion,  when,  through  massacre,  and  famine,  and  dis- 
ease whole  provinces  were  decimated,  or  to  an  exhaustion  of 
vitality  in  the  race,  the  lack  of  anything  like  a  regular  census 
renders  all  theories  of  purely  personal  value.  Mr.  Colbome 
Baber,  Chinese  Secretary  of  the  British  Legation  at  Pekin,  tells 
a  story  which  may,  perhaps,  explain  this  deficiency  of  statistics. 

In  very  early  times  the  city  of  Wa-ming-hsien  was  governed  by 
a  prefect  of  more  than  usual  discrimination  and  energy.  Having 
directed  a  census  to  be  taken  by  two  independent  officials  he  was 
not  astonished  to  find  that  the  two  reports  exhibited  such  an  enor- 
mous discrepancy  that  they  had  to  be  cancelled,  and  the  deputies 
reported  to  the  governor  for  punishment.  The  prefect  then 
appointed  two  other  olBcers  to  number  the  people. 

•  This  is  a  mistake  for  they  place  it  in  the  heart.  It  is  an  old  maxim  amon^  good  house- 
wives that  the  way  to  keep  a  man's  heart  lies  through  his  stomach,  but  this,  like  many  a  pro- 
verb, is  a  libel  on  human  nature. 


A   SCHOLASTIC   OLIGARCHY.  819 

But  they,  taking  warning  by  the  fat«  of  their  predecessors,  com- 
pared notes,  and  in  due  time  announced  Wa-ming-hsien  to  contain 
exactly  20,401  souls.  However,  being  unable  to  agree  whether 
the  odd  figure  referred  to  a  male  or  a  female,  they,  in  their  turn, 
were  reported  to  the  governor  for  punishment.  The  prefect  then 
determined  to  t,ike  the  census  himself  and  set  out  for  the  city. 
But,  in  the  meantime,  the  timid  citizens,  alarmed  at  the  perti- 
nacity of  the  prefect,   and  apprehending  that  he  was  coming  to 


levy  some  oppressive  tax,  fled  from  the  town  and  hid  themselves 
in  the  fields. 

The  astonished  satrap,  finding  the  place  deserted,  and  fearing 
to  be  "reported  to  the  governor  for  punishment,"  lianged  himself 
in  the  gate,  and  when  his  body  was  discovered,  there  was  found 
firmly  clenched  in  his  grasp  a  paper  containing  the  following 
words:  "Return  of  census  of  the  city  of  Wa-ming-hsien,  in  the 
department  of  Mu-yu-fu:  men,  none;  women,  none;  children 
under  fourteen  years  of  age,  of  both  sexes,  none  —  grand  total, 
none." 

In  China  now  are  three  great  religions,  if  they  can  be  bo  called, 
Confucianism,  Taouism,  and  Buddhism.  The  first  two  are 
indigenous;  the  last  is  an  importation  from  India.  Koon-foo-tse, 
or,  as  his  name  has  been  latinized  in  the  M'ritings  of  the  early 
miBBionaries,  Confucius,  was  bom  about  551   b.  c,  and  is  now 


320  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

accounted  the  great  sage  and  teacher  of  China.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  statesman,  and  chief  minister  in  his  native  kingdom,  one  of 
the  many  into  which  China  was  then  divided. 

Despising  the  amusements  and  gaieties  common  to  his  age,  he 
devoted  himself  to  study  and  reflection  in  moral  and  political 
science;  but,  unlike  the  Greek  philosopher  Aristotle,  he  investi- 
gated none  of  the  branches  of  natural  science,  nor  did  he  interfere 
with  the  common  superstitions.  His  doctrines,  therefore,  form  a 
code  of  moral  and  political  philosophy  rather  than  a  religious 
system,  and  his  followers  are  really  philosophers  more  than  reli- 
gious sectarians.  He  endeavored  to  correct  the  corruptions  which 
had  crei)t  into  the  state,  and  to  restore  the  maxims  of  the  ancient 
kings,  who  are  celebrated  in  traditional  history. 

Unswayed  by  personal  ambition,  he  promulgated  his  doctrines 
with  a  singleness  of  purpose  that,  even  in  conservative  China, 
gained  him  respect  and  multitudes  of  followers;  and  after  being 
employed'  in  high  offices  of  state  he  retired  in  the  company  of  his 
chosen  disciples  to  compile  those  collections  of  philosophical 
maxims  which  have  now  become  the  sacred  books  of  China. 

Nor  can  it  be  denied  that,  though  erroneous  in  some  respects, 
they  deserve  much  of  the  honor  which  has  been  paid  them. 
"Treat  others  according  to  the  treatment  which  thou  wouldst 
desire  at  their  hands,"  and  "guard  thy  secret  thoujhtSy^^  were 
among  his  favorite  maxims.  Filial  affection  he  taught,  and  even 
enjoined  it  to  such  an  extent,  that  he  ordered  that  the  slayer  of  a 
father  should  be  put  to  death  by  the  son;  that  "he  should  not  live 
under  the  same  heaven,"  were  the  words  in  which  lie  urged  this 
application  of  the  lex  talionis. 

He  was  modest  in  his  demeanor,  though  this  virtue  has  not 
descended  with  his  doctrines  to  his  modern  disciples,  who  are  self- 
sufficient  and  overbearing  to  all  who  do  not  profess  the  state 
religion  of  Cliina,  as  Confucianism  really  is. 

Confucius  began  early  in  life  to  labor  as  a  public  teacher  and 
gathered  around  him  a  large  circle  of  disciples.  He  devoted 
himself  to  reducing  the  traditions  and  reigning  records  of  antique 
Chinese  wisdom,  gathered  l)y  the  emperors  Yaou  and  Chun,  into 
a  more  perfect  form,  and  before  his  death  had  compiled  and  edited 
the  five  canonical  books  of  the  Chinese. 


822  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  first,  the  "Yih  King,"  or  the  "Book  of  Changes,*'  treats  of 
the  beginning  of  things  and  of  morals,  and  may  be  called  a  cos- 
mological  and  ethical  treatise.  The  second,  "Choo  King,**  was  a 
book  of  histories.  The  third,  "Chee-King,**  was  a  book  of  poetry, 
a  collection  of  ballads,  to  which  things  Confucius  attached  great 
value  as  means  of  moulding  the  national  chaittcter. 

The  fourth,  the  "Lee-Ke,"  was  a  "Record  of  Rites,'*  and  is  an 
account  of  the  national  ceremonials  and  religious  usages,  a  knowl- 
edge of  which  is  considei*ed  essential  among  the  Chinese  for  the 
maintenance  of  social  order  and  the  promotion  of  virtue.  The 
fifth,  the  "Chum-To-Ew,"  or  Spring  and  Autumn,  is  a  history  by 
Confucius  of  his  time  and  of  a  few  preceding  reigns.  The  others 
are  compilations,  though  containing  much  original  matter,  but 
the  fifth  is  said  to  be  the  work  of  the  sage  himself. 

The  writings  which  rank  next  to  these  books  in  popular  estima- 
tion are  the  "Four  Shoos,"  which  consists  mainly  of  records  of  his 
early  sayings  gathered  by  his  disciples,  except  the  fourth  which 
contains  the  works  of  Mencius,  a  celebrated  writer  of  the  Con- 
fucian school. 

These  books  of  Confucius  liave  had  a  curious  destiny,  having 
survived  imperial  jealousy;  for  in  the  third  centurj'-  Che-IIwang- 
Te,  who  had  established  the  supremacy  of  tlie  Tsin  Dynasty, 
ordered  the  sacred  books  of  Confucius  to  be  destroyed  because 
they  suggested  unfavorable  comparisons  between  his  own  and 
former  reigns. 

This  order  was  tremblingly  obeyed,  the  first  alone  being 
exempted  from  general  destruction.  As  it  was  then  customary 
for  the  literati  to  memorize  the  writings  Qi  the  various  philoso- 
phei-s,  this  cruel  emperor  tried  to  perfect  his  infamous  scheme  by 
putting  four  hundred  Confucian  pliilosophers  to  death.  But 
under  succeeding  sovereigns,  these  lost  works  of  Confucius  were 
rescued  from  where  they  had  been  hidden  by  the  philosophers  or 
restored  by  those  who  had  been  trained  and  had  trained  others  to 
keep  them  in  memory. 

"The  kings,"  said  Confucius  on  his  death-bed,  "will  not 
hearken  to  my  doctrines;  I  am  no  longer  of  use  on  earth,  and  it 
is  time  for  me  to  go."  But  to-day,  while  tenets  of  other  national 
philosophers  liave  been  superseded,  those  which  came  from  the 


A  BGHOLASTIO   OLIGABCHV.  828 

lips  of  Confucius  are  admired  and  embraced  by  one  third  of  the 
great  human  family. 

Throughout  the  empire  his  works  are  regarded  as  the  standard 
of  moral  and  political  wisdom.  Only  by  a  knowledge  of  them 
can  literary  and  political  distinction  be  won;  and  filial  piety 
which  has  assumed  the  form  of  ancestral  worship  and  which  was 
the  pivotal  point  of  the  system  of  Confucius  may  be  regarded  as 
the  chief  religion  of  the  Chinese;  for  the  doctrines  of  Taouism 
and  of  Buddhism  have  but  a  very  small  percentage  of  followers  in 
comparison  with  those  of  Confucius. 

The  Chinese  li^^rature  is  certainly  the  most  extensive  and  com- 
prehensive in  Asia.  The  printed  catalogue  of  the  emperor's 
library  is  contained  in  122  volumes,  and  it  is  said  that  a  collec- 
tion of  the  Chinese  classics,  with  scholia  and  commentaries,  com- 
prises 180,000  volumes.  In  addition  to  the  "classics,"  such  as 
the  writings  of  Confucius  and  Laoutsze  there  are  the  codes  of  the 
law  of  China,  and  a  rich  series  of  works  on  medicine,  natural 
history,  agriculture,  music,  astronomy,  etc.,  and  numerous  dic- 
tionaries. 

There  are  also  various  encyclopaedias  and  geographical  works, 
as  well  as  a  series  of  the  national  annals  from  the  year  B.  c.  2698 
to  A.  D.  1645,  comprising  3,706  books.  Poetry  and  the  drama 
are  also  cultivated,  and  they  have  now  so  far  thrown  off  their 
national  pride  and  reserve  as  to  have  translated  several  of  the  best 
English  works  on  medicine,  surgery,  etc.,  into  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage. Book-sellers'  shops  are  common  in  every  town,  and  books 
can  be  bought  cheap. 

All  classes  read;  even  the  coolie,  resting  on  his  burden  for  a 
minute  or  two,  will  pull  out  a  book,  it  may  be  a  i-omance  or  a 
volume  of  popular  songs,  and  commence  reading.  Such  is  the 
respect  for  written  or  printed  paper  that  any  waste  material  of 
that  sort  is  burnt  daily  in  front  of  the  door,  or  collected  by  men 
who  go  about  from  house  to  house  in  case  any  of  it  should  be 
profaned. 

A  few  Chinese  proverbs  may  show  the  character  of  the  people 
and  their  way  of  thinking  better  than  any  mere  description:  "A 
wise  man  adapts  himself  to  circumstances,  as  water  shapes  itself 
to  the  vessel  that  contains  it;"   "Misfortunes  issue  out  where 


824  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

disease  enters  in  —  at  the  mouth ; "  "  The  error  of  a  moment 
may  become  the  sorrow  of  a  lifetime ; "  V  Disease  may  be  cured, 
but  not  destiny;"  "A  vacant  mind  is  open  to  all  suggestions,  as 
the  hollow  moimtiiin  rctuins  all  sounds;"  "He  who  pursues  the 
stag  regards  not  hjires ; "  "  If  the  roots  be  left  the  grass  will  grow 
again "  (this  is  the  reason  given  for  exterminating  a  tmitor's 
family);  "Tlie  gem  cannot  be  polished  without  friction,  nor  the 
man  perfected  without  trials ; "  '*  A  wise  man  forgets  ohl 
grudges ; "  "  Riches  come  better  after  poverty  than  poverty  after 
riches;"  "A  bird  can  roost  but  on  one  branch;"  '*A  horse  can 
drink  no  more  than  its  fill  from  a  river  "  (Enough  is  as  good  as  a 
feast);  "When  the  port  is  dry  the  fishes  will  be  seen"  (When 
the  accounts  are  settled,  the  profits  will  appear);  "Who  swallows 
quick  can  chew  but  little"  (applied  to  learning);  "You  cannot 
strip  two  skins  off  of  one  cow;"  "He  who  wishes  to  rise  in  the 
world  should  veil  his  ambition  with  the  forms  of  liumility;" 
"The  gods  cannot  help  a  man  who  loses  opportunities;  "  "Dig  a 
well  before  you  are  thirsty"  (Be  prepared  against  contingencies); 
"The  full  stomach  cannot  comprehend  the  evil  of  hunger;" 
"  Eggs  are  close  things,  but  the  chicks  come  out  at  last "  (Murder 
will  out);  "To  add  feet  to  a  snake"  (Superfluity  in  a  discourse 
when  the  subject  is  altered) ;  "  Who  aims  at  excellence  will  be 
above  mediocrity;  who  aims  at  mediocrity  will  fall  short  of  it;  " 
"To  win  a  cat  and  lose  a  cow"  (consequences  of  litigation);  "I 
will  not  try  my  porcelain  lx)wl  against  his  earthen  dish ; " 
"Though  the  life  of  man  fall  short  of  a  hundi-ed  yeai*s,  lie  gives 
himself  as  much  anxiety  as  though  he  were  to  live  a  thousand." 


N'(i^^ 


VIII. 


Patert;)al 


Socialisn;)^ 


ASYSTEM  of  government  that  reduces  material  misery 
to  a  minimum ;  that  makes  sober  habits  of  industry 
characteristic  of  the  people ;  that  converts  chaos  into 
order  and  wreathes  order  with  beauty,  is  surely 
worthy  of  study,  although  it  lui^  j)erished  from  tlie  face  of  the 
earth  and  lives  to-day  only  in  the  annals  of  the  more  forcible 
civilization  which  is  trying  to  build  upon  its  ruins. 

It  would  seem,  too,  especially  worthy  of  attention  at  this  time 
in  this  country,  because  the  unnecessary  inequalities  between  man 
and  man,  the  vast  and  intricate  problem  that  stret^-hes  between 
the  two  extremes  of  tramp  and  millionnaire,  the  foolish  waste  of 
energy  and  mat^n*ial  which  marks  our  present  industrial  state,  are 
pressing  on  the  minds  of  all  candid  students  and  are  forcing  a 
path  into  our  politics  with  the  tremendous,  too  often  misdirected, 
energy  of  those  whose  thinking  is  rather  a  rude  ])iussionate  feel- 
ing than  an  orderly  outcome  of  ripe  reason. 

Time,  the  best,  though  slowest,  of  teachei's,  brings  about  many 
changes  in  the  meaning  or  value  of  words.  Twenty  years  ago  if 
a  man  in  this  country  called  himself  a  Socialist,  he  would  have 
been  looked  ui)on  Avitli  grave  suspicion  either  as  a  cmnk  or  an 


32' 


B26  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

enemy  to  society.  To-day  a  man  who  has  been  professor  of  inter- 
national law  at  one  of  our  leading  colleges  permits  himself  to  be 
nominated  on  a  Socialist  ticket  in  New  York,  and  actually  receives 
over  thirteen  thousand  votes.  Nor  is  this  an  exceptional  fact. 
In  many  State  legislatures  bilk  are  being  introduced  which  are 
either  openly  or  veiledly  socialistic  in  their  tendencies. 

Socialism  to  many  of  us  comes  with  the  electric  shock  of  a  new 
idea,  and  at  first  some  are  unable  to  decide  whether  the  shock  is  a 
pleasant  one  or  the  reverse.  The  question,  of  course,  at  once 
arises  what  is  it  ?  what  does  it  mean  ?  And  the  answer  is  rather 
difficult,  because  in  modern  days  there  are  a  great  many  varieties. 
The  fundamental  ethics  of  it,  however,  are  not  new.  They  are 
expressed  or  implied  in  every  great  religion,  and  especially  are 
they  marked  with  strength  in  the  teachings  of  the  founder  of 
Christianity  and  in  the  early  development  of  that  belief. 

Probably  the  purest  expression  of  the  ethical  side  of  Socialism  is 
that  implied  by  Christ  in  the  parable  of  the  vineyard.  The  master 
paid  those  who  came  in  to  work  at  the  eleventh  hour  just  the  same 
as  the  workers  who  had  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  and 
rebuked  those  wlio  grumbled  at  the  apparent  unfairness  of  this. 
The  surface  argument  is  that  the  first  had  no  cause  to  complain 
because  they  received  all  they  had  bargained  for,  and  the  employer 
had  an  inherent  right  to  pay  just  lus  much  as  he  wished  to  the 
others  who  worked  less. 

But  a  comparative  study  of  all  Christ's  attitudes  towards  the 
economic  conditions  of  his  time  is  likely  to  draw  a  candid  mind 
to  the  conclusion  that,  under  the  superficial  argument  of  the  em- 
ployer's inherent  right  to  do  as  he  pleased  with  his  own,  lies  the 
intended  suggestion  that  those  men  who  only  had  the  opportunity 
or  ability  to  work  one  hour  were  paid  the  same  by  the  just  and 
tender  taskmaster  on  the  broad  ground  that  their  human  needs 
were  the  same. 

The  modern  phrasing  of  this  doctrine  is  that  society  should 
demand  from  each  a  measure  of  work  in  accordance  with  ability, 
and  should  give  to  each  a  measure  of  comfort  according  to  indi- 
vidual need;  or,  in  other  words,  the  philosophic  Socialist  aims  to 
equalize  men  as  much  as  possible  materially,  being  cognizant,  of 
coui-se,  that  vast  moral  and  mental  inequalities  must  continue  to 


328  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

prevail  for  ages;  must  always,  indeed,  persist  within  certain 
degrees,  else  there  would  be  no  difference  of  character,  but  one 
vast  dead-sea  level  of  monotony. 

Briefly  stated,  the  chief  moral  argument  of  modem  Socialism, 
and  perhaps  the  strongest  plea  that  could  be  put  foi*th  in  its  favoi*, 
is  that,  by  doing  away  with  the  sordid  pressure  of  materijil  in- 
equalities, a  greater  opportunity  will  be  afforded  for  the  develop- 
ment of  finei,  more  original  individualities. 

Men  to-day  in  the  mass  are  becoming  too  much  like  the 
madiines  which  they  tend.  Our  civilization  seems  to  be  reduc- 
ing itself  to  an  absurd  play  of  mere  materialistic  forces,  and  to  be 
bringing  forth,  on  an  average,  as  its  children,  a  mere  concatena- 
tion of  echoes,  —  not  men,  but  sounding  brasses  and  tinkling 
symbols  of  men. 

But  some  individuals  are  inclined  to  recoil,  when  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  ultimate  economic  proposition  of  Socialism, 
namely,  that  every  business  necessary  to  the  general  welfare 
should  be  managed  by  the  people  collectively;  that  is,  that 
every  municipality  should  have  its  public  bakeries,  shoeshops, 
etc.,  and  supply  its  citizens  with  the  necessaries  of  life  at  cost, 
instead  of  allowing  private  citizens  to  make  fortunes  at  the 
expense  of  the  majority  of  workers  by  the  accidents  or  the  chica- 
neries of  trade. 

Socialism,  it  is  true,  already  operates  as  an  active  element  in 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  —  the  post-office  being  a 
shining  example  of  it  on  a  national  scale  and  the  ownership  by 
some  cities  and  towns  of  their  water  supplies,  gas  and  electric 
light,  being  instances  also  of  its  advance  into  popular  favor. 

But  while  all  sensible  men  who  have  ever  given  the  matter 
sufficient  study  agree  as  to  the  advisability  of  socializing  the 
larger  businesses  of  the  country  such  as  railroads,  telegraphs,  tel- 
ephones, expressage,  mines  of  all  kinds,  lighting  and  water  sup- 
plies, and  possibly  meat,  bread,  and  ordinary  clothing,  yet  some 
cautious  thinkers  are  inclined  to  feel  that  Socialism  might 
become  too  much  like  a  monstrous  monotonous  despotism,  if  it 
were  permitted  to  permeate  all  the  avenues  of  human  activity. 

Still  there  would  be  a  vast  difference  in  a  Socialism  like  that 
of  ancient  Peru,  which  emanated  from  an  authority  above,  forcing 


330  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

itself  down  on  a  people,  and  the  Socialism  that  grows  up  from  a 
democratic  community  superseding  the  old  fancy  of  government 
as  a  power  independent  of  the  governed,  and  making  it  mean 
a  simplified  administration  of  the  business  of  the  people  con- 
sidered as  an  organic  whole. 

Many  small  examples  of  democratic  Socialism  have  existed,  and 
in  the  chapter  on  Switzerland  its  political  aspects  are  fully  presen- 
ted. There  are  to-day  certain  communities  in  the  United  States 
which  are  Socialistic  in  character,  though  religious  in  name ;  but 
there  have  been  very  few  examples  in  the  world  of  Socialism  on 
a  national  scale.  The  present  Emperor  of  Germany  is,  indeed, 
giving  spread  to  a  belief  that  he  intends  to  socialize  his  empire  as 
much  as  possible,  but  it  can  liardly  be  called  an  example  of  national 
Socialism,  though  it  presents  many  of  its  features. 

To  find  our  best  illustration,  therefore,  we  are  forced  to  look  in 
the  early  history  of  the  new  world,  for  when  Pizarro,  with  a  mere 
handful  of  greedy  adventurers,  conceived  the  audacious  project  of 
wresting  the  empire  of  Peru  from  the  grasp  of  the  Incas,  he  foimd 
himself  face  to  face  with  a  system  of  government  more  strange  to 
the  European  mind  of  that  epoch  than  any  of  the  physical  marvels 
which  the  Europeans  who  followed  Colimibus  had  gazed  on  in 
Mexico  or  Panama. 

Pizarro,  of  whom  we  present  a  picture  in  one  of  his  most  famous 
attitudes,  was  a  wonderful  man,  although  he  could  neither  read 
nor  write.  Nearly  every  schoolboy  remembers  how  in  his  day  of 
apparent  weakness  and  disaster,  he  diew  a  line  in  the  earth  with 
his  sword,  saying,  "On  this  side  lies  Panama  with  it^  poverty,  on 
that,  Peru  with  its  untold  treasures.  Those  who  will  follow  me, 
step  across  that  line,"  and  a  famous  little  band,  whose  names  the 
Spanish  historian  proudly  records,  crossed  the  line,  after  which 
there  was  no  hint  of  turning  back. 

The  Government  of  Peru  was  an  absolutism,  but  not  in  the  sense 
with  which  we  apply  that  word  to  Russia  or  China,  because  under 
the  beneficent  rule  of  the  Peruvian  kings  the  country  from  the 
Andes  to  the  ocean  had  been  transformed  into  a  garden,  and  the 
government,  apart  from  tlie  necessary  maintenance  of  the  emperor 
and  the  national  religion,  was  essentially  the  Inisiness  of  the  peo- 
ple, wisely  administered  and  witli  very  little  friction. 


PATERNAL    SOCIALISM. 


331 


That  n  vast  coantry  in  which  the  term,  national  wealth,  really 
meant  national  health  —  a  polity  which  had  largely  multiplied  and 
then  fairly  divided  the  sum  of  human  happiness  —  should  have 
succumbed  so  easily  to  so  smiill  a  band  as  Pizarro  led,  might  seem 
to  imply  some  inherent  weakness  in  the  socialistic  scheme  as  a 
hasis  for  permanent  government. 

For  two  hundred  men  to  seize  such  an  empire  —  what  a  miracle  I 
But  Fate  fought  on  the  Spanish  side. 


DltAWINO   TUE   L 


Coming  as  they  did  partly  on  the  lioi-se,  a  new  and  monstrous 
sight  to  Peruviau  eyes,  and  clad  in  shining  armor,  and  having 
strange  and  terrible  weapons  full  of  thunder  and  lightning,  the 
Spanish  invadera  seemed  unnuestionably  tlie  diviiie  cliildi-en  of 
the  Sun,  fresh  from  Heaven,  for  whom  popular  sujMjrstition  had 
long  looked  forwaixl.  Tlicn,  too,  Pizarro,  imitating  Cortez,  seized 
the  Inca's  person,  and  tlie  Inca,  being  High-priest  as  well  jis 
Emperor,  his  subjects  hardly  dared  to  attempt  a  lescue,  lest  his 
sacred  blood  should  be  shed. 


8S2  THE  STOBY  OF  GOYEBNMENT. 

The  Spanish  historians  record  with  grave  amazement  that  they 
had  discovered  a  miraculous,  land  in  which  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  a  poor  or  discontented  man ;  in  which  everybody  worked, 
from  the  emperor  downward,  a  reasonable  length  of  time  at  tasks 
fitted  to  their  strength  and  their  ability;  in  which  the  problem  of 
mere  living,  as  it  confronts  us  modems  in  our  so-called  civilized 
cities,  had  been  satisfactorily  settled;  in  which  the  average  of 
human  happiness  was  large  and  increasing.  The  Spaniard  found 
Peru  a  comparative  paradise  of  paternal  Socialism;  he  made  it 
a  hell  of  brutal  competition. 

This  wonderful  Socialistic  Empire  (which,  partly  because  of 
the  superiority  of  the  Spanish  fire-arms  to  the  Peruvian  weapons, 
and  partly  because  the  superstitious  people  readily  believed  that 
their  invaders,  so  fair  of  countenance,  were  direct  children  of  the 
Sim,  fell  such  an  easy  pi*ey  to  Spanish  cupidity)  was  at  this  period 
of  its  overthrow  spreading  its  power  in  every  direction,  and  some 
of  the  neighboring  nations  which  it  was  trying  to  absorb  were  of 
a  civilization  almost  equal  in  splendor,  if  not  in  some  respects 
superior;  as  for  instance,  the  Chimuans,  whose  architecture,  as 
conjecturally  restored  from  ruins  by  the  modem  scientific  mind, 
must  have  been  something  at  once  delicate  and  massive,  and  far  in 
advance  of  Peruvian  art.  The  contrast  between  clashing  systems 
of  civilization  is  sometimes  clearly  shown  in  their  architecture, 
and  the  two  pictures,  "  A  Castle  in  Spain "  and  "  A  Chimuan 
Palace,*'  with  which  this  chapter  opens,  are  excellently  suggestive 
examples  of  this  fact. 

Tlie  material  realm  of  the  Incas,  when  Pizarro  seized  it  with 
an  audacity  that  has  no  parallel  in  history,  was  of  vast  extent  and 
singular  shape.  It  fronted  the  Pacific  Ocean  from  2^  north  lati- 
tude to  about  37°  south;  or,  in  other  words,  it  consisted  of  the 
western  part  of  tlie  modern  republics  of  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia, 
and  Chili,  with  an  indeterminate  stretch  to  the  east  where  the 
mountiiins  and  barbarous  tribes  made  its  expansion  somewhat  slow, 
although  that  growth  had  been  constant  for  tliree  hundred  years. 

This  comparatively  nan-ow  strip  of  land,  rarely  more  than  sixty 
miles  in  width, ^  was  a  country  apparently  unfavorable  to  agri- 

*  One  of  the  native  historians,  Oarcilasso,  intimates  that  the  empire  at  its  widest  plaoe  did 
not  exceed  four  hundred  miles. 


884  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

culture  or  to  easy  intercomraunication  and  comfortable  living,  for 
along  the  sandy  coast  it  rarely  rained,  and  but  scanty  streams  fed 
the  earth,  and  it  was  hemmed  in  all  along  by  colossal  mountains 
from  three  to  four  miles  high  who^e  solemn  and  forbidding 
grandem*  seemed  to  cast  a  sort  of  deterrent  shadow  over  the 
aspirations  and  attempted  improvements  of  man. 

The  steeps  of  these  sierras  with  their  fro\vning  giant  faces  of 
naked  porphyry  and  granite,  the  frightful  precipices,  furious 
torrents,  and  gorges  of  impenetrable  gloom  that  abound  in  these 
regions,  at  times  struck  terror  or  at  least  dismay  into  the  stout 
hearts  of  the  invading  Europeans.  But  they  found,  as  they 
advanced,  that  the  art  of  man  had  conquered  the  stubborn  heart 
of  nature  in  a  way  that  filled  them  with  wonder;  for  Europe  at 
that  time  presented  no  equal  spectacle  or  even  hint  of  such  superb 
triumphs  of  mind  over  matter  as  the  Government  of  Peru  had 
achieved  for  its  people. 

The  naturally  barren  coast  was  fertilized  by  a  system  of  canals 
and  underground  aqueducts.  Many  of  the  most  imposing  moun- 
tains were  terraced  up  to  their  snowy  plateaus  with  gardens  in 
which  the  fruits  and  vegetables  of  various  zones  were  raised,  and 
amid  these  orchards  and  gardens  at  many  points  towns  and  ham- 
lets were  seen  clinging  to  the  mountain  sides  so  high  above  the 
average  track  of  the  clouds  as  to  delude  at  first,  when  the  da\vn 
disclosed  them  to  the  beauty-loving  eyes  of  the  Spaniard,  with 
the  physical  fancy  that  these  villages  were  suspended  in  mid-air 
and  might  vanish,  like  dreams,  at  the  voice  of  the  breeze  of 
morning. 

Above  these  towns  nestling  so  confidingly  on  the  breasts 
of  the  giant  mountains,  were  snowy  ])lains  that  rose  gradually 
towards  tlie  peaks,  and  over  these  white  desei-ts  of  the  sky  wan- 
dered innumerable  flocks  of  llamas,  the  Peruvian  sheep,  from 
whose  wool  tlie  government  clothed  the  people.  And  across 
chasms,  from  the  like  of  which,  when  they  travei-sed  the  empire's 
borders,  the  Spaniards  had  sluunk  back  almost  with  horror  as  from 
living  pictures  of  the  abysses  of  that  hell  with  which  their  religion 
threatened  them, — across  ravines  whose  dark,  dizzying  depths 
tempted  such  as  gaze  too  long  to  plunge  into  annihilation,  — 
across  wide  gorges  where  tumultuous  torrents  chanted  mad  litanies 


PATERNAL   SOCtAUSH.  885 

of  liberty  or  seemed  like  the  rude  flasliiug  laughters  of  the  Titaa 
mountains,  —  laughters  at  tlie  pygmy,  Man,  who  had  dared 
attempt  to  utilize  their  forces,  — across  these  divisions  of  unco- 
operant  and  defiant  nature  tlie  genius  of  the  Peruvian  hatl  swung 
suspension  bridges,  binding  precipice  lo  steep  aud  hill  to  hill 
with  rope-ro;i(Ls  made  from  tlie  fibres  of  tlie  maguey. 


These  ropes  woe  twisttd  into  t,ables  thi  &iz«  of  a  man's  body, 
and  fitted  into  liohs  in  inimcnM,  pill  ii-s  of  solid  iwk  carved  out 
of  the  opposite  finijof  the  cliffs  Thej  \urc  cross-pieced  with 
wood  and  other  smaller  ropes,  and  the  sides  were  protected  by  a 
sufficiently  high  railing.  Of  cout^ie,  there  wiis  some  elasticity  to 
bridges  made  of  such  material,  and  their  oscillations  under  the  pass- 
age of  troops  were  at  first  frightful  and  sea-sickish  to  the  Spaniards. 

But  these  bridges,  in  their  size,  frequency,  and  stability, 
together  with  tlie  great  smooth  stone  roads  traversing  the  moun- 


886  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

tain  passes  and  connecting  the  capital,  Cuzco,  with  the  remotest 
villages  of  the  empire,  never  ceased  to  excite  the  admira- 
tion of  the  conquerors.  These  roads  have  been  suffered  now  to 
fall  from  disrepair  into  decay,  and  mostly  into  disappearance. 
But  the  fragmentary  stretches  that  remain  attest  their  pristine 
massiveness,  and  the  great  traveller  and  philosopher,  Humboldt, 
always  sparing  in  his  praise,  ranks  them  among  the  most  useful 
and  stupendous  works  ever  executed  by  man.^ 

Let  us  glance  at  the  chief  capital  of  ancient  Peru,  the  city  of 
Cuzco,  ^  the  heart  of  the  empire  in  which  centred  all  the  roads 
like  the  arms  of  the  government.  Peru  was  not  the  name  of  the 
empire,  but  was  given  by  the  Spaniards  in  mistake.  The  natives 
with  pardonable  pride  called  their  country  Tavintinstiyu,  or  the 
Four  Quarters  of  the  World,  and,  as  if  in  token  of  the  truth 
thereof,  from  the  great  city  of  Cuzco  where  hundreds  of  thousands 
lived  happily,  with  no  want,  no  poverty,  and  but  little  disease, 
rayed  forth  four  great  roads  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and 
the  four  provinces  of  the  empire. 

Cuzco,  too,  was  divided  into  four  quarters,  and  the  various 
races  that  gathered  there  lived  each  in  the  quarter  nearest  its  own 
province,  and  each  by  law  wore  the  general  costume  of  the 
province,  modified  of  course  in  some  measure  by  individual  taste, 
but  never  so  much  as  to  hide  the  place  or  the  rank  to  which  they 
belonged. 

The  capital  was  thus  a  miniature  of  the  empire.  Each  of  these 
provinces  was  ruled  by  a  viceroy,  or  royal  deputy,  and  a  council, 
and  these  viceroys  not  only  sent  continual  reports  to  the  sovereign 
or  Inca  residing  in  Cuzco  of  the  condition  of  the  people,  the 
weather,  crops,  etc.,  but  a  certain  part  of  every  year  they  con- 
vened in  Cuzco  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  Inca,  and  listen  to  his 
plans  for  the  improvement  or  extension  of  the  empire,  thus  form- 
ing a  sort  of  Cabinet  to  the  Crown. 

The  decimal  system  invented  by  the  French  and  adopted  by  all 
scientists  was  used  by  the  Incas  of  Peru  in  their  government  with 
remarkable  results.     Such  things  as  the  finding  of  an  unknown 

^Le  grand  chemin  de  Tinea  ^tait  un  des  ouvrages  les  plus  utiles  et  en  meme  temps  des  plus 
gif^antesques  que  les  hommes  aient  ex^nt^.—HumOohlt, 

*  It  was  situated  about  the  middle  of  present  Peru. 


PATERNAL   SOCIALISM.  837 

dead  body,  or  a  mjsterious  disappearance  which  we  so  often  read 
of  in  our  newspapers  was  an  impossibilitj  in  Peru,  for  every  per- 
son was  numbered,  not  in  the  sense  of  having  a  tag,  but  in 
the  sense  of  tiiat  Scriptural  passage  which  informs  us  that  in  the 
eyes  of  a  truly  i»aternal  deity  every  hair  of  our  heads  is  numbered. 
So  in  Peru,  tliere  was  no  one  so  insignificant  as  not  to  receive  the 
attention  of  the  government. 

The  nation  at  large  was  divided  into  decades,  or  tens,  and  eveiy 
tenth  man  was  an  officer,  or  liigh  servant  of   the  rest,  his  duty 


being  to  see  that  they  enjoyed  all  their  rigltta,  to  solicit  aid  for 
them  from  the  government  when  necessary,  and  to  bring  offenders 
to  justice.  Justice,  so  often  a  bitter  jest  with  us,  was  a  reality 
in  Peru,  for  in  case  of  neglect  tbe  judge  had  to  pay  the  penalty  of 
the  guilty,  and  lie  bad  only  live  days  to  decide  civses. 

These  decades  were  grouped  in  fives,  tens,  and  hundreds,  up  to 
ten  thousand,  each  head  of  a  decade  being  under  the  supervision 
of  a  man  representing  five  decades  sometimes,  but  generally  ten; 
or  in  other  words  each  hundred  men  had  nine  special  officers  and 
one  general  captain,  each  thousand  men  the  same,  every  captain 
of  one  grade  being  a  subordinate  of  tlie  next  higher  till  ten  thou- 


888  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

sand  was  reached.  The  whole  empire  was  arranged  in  depart- 
ments of  ten  thousand  with  a  special  governor  appointed  from  the 
Inca  nobility. 

Under  this  system  authority  was  so  subdivided  and  gntduated, 
and  had  so  nianv  mathematical  checks  on  it  that  individual 
oppression  or  domination  was  almast  impossible.  OflBcialism  or 
bureaucmcy  was  prevented  from  l)eing  an  evil  by  making  it 
all-pervasive. 

Not  only  was  every  man  accoimted  for  from  his  birth  to  his 
death,  but  he  felt  that  he  counted  in  the  vast  sum  of  serene  hap- 
piness which  radiated  from  the  sacred  person  of  the  Inca,  who 
was  at  once  the  hereditary  high  priest  of  the  national  religion, 
and  the  loving  manager  of  his  people's  material  affairs,  watch- 
ing over  the  minutest  concerns  of  their  daily  lives.  This  was 
not  felt  to  be,  as  some  administrations  in  France  have  been, 
a  vast  system  of  espionage,  but  a  sympathy  of  the  great  man  with 
his  children  that  was  tireless  and  almost  sleepless. 

The  Peruvian  felt  always  a  line  of  communication  vibrating 
from  himself  to  his  sovereign,  for  although  there  were  no  courts 
of  appeal,  and  the  few  laws  were  very  severe,  the  rights  of  the 
individual  were  safeguarded  by  a  committee  of  visitors  which 
at  certain  periods  perambulated  the  kingdom,  investigating 
the  character  and  conduct  of  the  magistrates,  and  punishing 
ip  a  summary  way  any  judicial  eiTors  or  delinquencies.  Nor  this 
alone,  for  the  lower  courts  had  to  make  monthly  reports  of  all 
cases  t/>  the  higher,  and  these  to  the  viceroy,  so  that  the  Inca 
seated  at  Cuzco  could  review,  reach  out  and  rectify  any  abuses. 

There  being  no  money  in  Peru,  few  laws  were  needed,  and 
crime  was  rather  a  rarity,  and  at  the  time  of  the  invasion  was 
probably  becoming  rarer,  because  death  was  the  penalty  of  the 
most  grave  violations  of  law,  and  criminals  were  thus  prevented 
from  perpetuating  themselves. 

The  crimes  of  theft  and  murder  were  capital,  and  so  was  a 
breach  of  the  marital  vow,  though  it  was  justly  provided  that 
extenuating  circumstances  might  be  taken  into  consideration  by 
the  judges  to  soften  the  sentence.  Blasphemy  against  the  Sun  or 
against  the  Sovereign, —  an  exceedingly  rare  offence, —  and  burn- 
ing a  bridge  were  death. 


PATERNAL   SOCIALISM. 


Removing  landmarkfi,  tumiag  a  water-coui-Mc  from  a  Jieighboi's 
land  to  one's  own,  and  destroying  a  lioiue  were  rigorously  pun- 
ished, as  for   instance,  by  a  public  flogging.     Yet  no  needless 


cruelty  was  displayed.  No  ingeniously  prolonged  torments  such 
as  we  used  to  have  in  the  mediicval  period  of  our  civilization 
were  permitted  among  the  mild  and  polished  Peruvians. 


840  THE   BTOBY  OF   QOVEBNMBNT. 

But  we  must  consider  their  religion  in  order  to  nnderstand 
folly  the  Tastness  of  the  authority  which  a  Peruvian  Inca  must 
Lave  possessed  in  order  to  be  able  to  pn>duc6  such  a  majestic 
fabric  of  government  composed  of  harmonized  minntia  like  a 
huge  temple  built  of  many  little  bricks,  and  furthermore  to  be 
able  to  hand  it  from  sire  to  son  for  centuries  with  improvement 
instead  of  impairment. 

This  religion  was  primarily  a  worship  of  the  sun,  whom  they 
identified  as  the  source  of  all  spirit  and  force  in  the  universe,  just 

as  our  modern 
science  ideutiflea 
that  luminary  as 
the  parent  of  all 
the  celestial  phe- 
nomena of  our 
system.  The 
late  die  turn  of 
Mcience,  that  our 
earth  and  all  its 
potentialities  had 
no  separate  crea- 
tion, but  was  at 
some  unimagin- 
ably distant 
ejwch  shot  forth 
from  the  sun  as  a  flying  spark  or  cooling  cinder  of  fiery  nebulous 
matter,  was  an  old  accepted  belief  with  the  Peruvians. 

The  earth  was  sun-bom,  and  all  its  children  were  of  that  high 
origin,  but  they  had  fallen  from  their  first  estate  according  to 
the  Peruvian,  as  well  as  the  Judfeau  tradition,  and  stood  in  sore 
need  of  redemption  from  their  degraded  habits  of  worshipping 
widely  and  wildly  nearly  eveiything  in  nature,  of  making  war 
their  pastime  and  cannibalism  their  festivity.  Therefore  the 
Sun-God  in  his  pity  sent  two  of  his  direct  children,  Manco  Capac 
and  Mama  Ocllo  Iluaco,  to  gather  the  natives  into  communities 
and  teach  them  the  arts  of  a  softer,  sweeter,  and  serener  life,  —  a 
life  more  worthy  of  their  originally  divine  descent.  Rarely  do 
fables  bear  such  practical  fruit  as  was  the  case  in  Peru. 


842  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

This  celestial  pair,  brother  and  sister,  husband  and  wife  like- 
wise, were  bidden,  so  saj'S  the  fable,  to  advance  along  the  high 
plains  near  Lake  Titicaca,  bearing  with  them  a  great  wedge  of 
gold,  and  where  the  wedge  should  slip  from  their  hantls  and  sink 
into  the  ground,  there  they  were  to  abide  and  found  tlie  Cit}'  of 
the  Sun.  Tliey  had  gone  but  a  short  spat;e  in  the  valley  of  Cuzco 
when  the  mini(jle  occuiTed,  and  proved  itself  completely  by  the 
wedge  sinking  speedily  into  the  earth  and  disappearing  forever. 
Here  was  founded  the  Holy  C'ity,  and  from  the  holy  pair  were 
descended,  so  the  people  believed,  the  Inca  race  wlio  ruled  them. 

High  descent  is  not  such  a  vain  thing,  after  all,  as  it  often 
seems  at  first  blush  to  a  philosopher,  if  those  who  have  it  strive 
to  live  up  to  it.  And  it  appeai-s  to  l)e  admitted  that  the  Inca 
sovereigns  were  as  deeply  conscious  of  what  was  due  from 
them  as  demi-divinities  to  the  j)eople  they  swayed,  as  they  were 
of  what  was  due  to  them  in  the  matter  of  reverence  and  honor. 
The  French  motto  ""^^ Noblesse  obUge^^  was  exemplified  in  the  lives 
of  the  Peruvian  princes  to  a  wonderful  degi-ee* 

Before  considering  the  minute  details  of  the  policy  develoj)ed 
by  these  extraordinary  monarclis,  perha})s  a  brief  2)icture  of  an 
Inca's  personal  pomp  might  be  of  interest  and  value.  The  Inca 
was  placed,  by  his  being  the  head  of  the  Church  as  well  as  of  the 
State,  so  immeasurably  above  all  his  subjects  that  even  the 
haughtiest  of  the  nobles  who  claimed  descent  from  the  same 
divine  luminary  could  not  venture  into  his  presence  except  bare- 
foot, and  bearing  on  the  shoulder  a  slight  burden  in  sign  of  servi- 
tude or  homage. 

As  the  sun  is  the  source  of  all  force,  so  the  Inca  was  the  foun- 
tain of  all  honor,  power,  or  wealth.  He  raised  annies  and 
usually  led  them  in  person,  whenever  an  extension  of  the  empire 
among  the  barbarous  tribes  to  the  East  was  planned.  He  imposed 
taxes,  made  the  laws,  and  appointed  the  judges.  Louis  XIV. 
of  France  was,  according  to  his  own  epigram,  himself,  the 
State,  but  a  Peruvian  Inca  was  more ;  he  was  Church  and  State 
in  one. 

And  the  Inca  never  forgot  the  supreme  seriousness  of  the  part 
assigned  him  by  destiny  in  the  dnima  of  this  earth-life.  He 
assumed   a  pomp  in   his   style    of    living    and  an  exclusiveness 


PATERNAL   &UC1AUSM.  848 

such  as  few  kings  could  conceive  orsusbuii.  Iliu  dress  wus  of 
tlie  finest  wool  dyed  in  divers  colore  and  crusted  profusely  with 
bits  of  gold  and  jewels.  A  many-colored,  many-folded  turban 
crowned  his  head,  blazing  with  jewels,  and  with  a  tasselled 
fringe  of  deep  scarlet,  while  two  feathers  of  a  rare  and  strange 
bird,  called  the  coraquevqiie,^  standin};  nprijjht  in  the  turban  gave 
a  certain  touch  of 
tenal  or  wingfid 
grace  to  the  daz- 
zling splendor  of 
the  1*0}  il  h  e  a  i\ 
dress 

But  though  the 
Tnc  I  was,  or  felt 
himself  to  be,  so 
superior  to  even 
the  liighest  of  his 
subjects,  he  con- 
descended o  c  c  a- 
sionally  to  frater- 
nize with  them, 
and  took  especial 
pains  to  inspect 
the  condition  of 
the  lower  classes 
and  to  provide  for 
their  pleasures.  At  some  of  the  religious  festivals  he  presided  in 
person,  instead  of  by  deputy,  and  even  entertained  at  his  table 
some  of  tlie  great  nobles,  complimenting  them  on  their  manage- 
ment of  his  provinces  or  his  armies,  and  even  drinking  the  health 
of  such  as  he  wiw  most  inclined  to  honor. 

At  intervals  of  several  years  he  made  a  circuit  of  his  vast 
estate,  or  empire,  carried  in  :t  sedan  chair,  stopping  at  the  govern- 
mental inns  along  tlic  iv)ute,  or  at  some  of  his  many  |wilapes  in 
the  great  towns. 

As  he  {)assed  along  the  grand  roads  wliich  the  genius  of  his 


844  THK  STOBY  OF  60TERKHBNT. 

ancestors  had  conceived,  and  which  he  kept  in  perfect  condition, 
the  ghid  populace  crowding  from  adjacent  villages  strewed  flowers 
before  him  and  sang  songs,  as  they  carried  fonvard  hia  haggage 
from  one  village  to  the  next.  Now  and  then  he  made  a  longer 
stop  to  listen  to  grievances,  or  to  settle  points  referred  to  him 
from  legal  tribunals,  and  wherever  he  halted  in  this  way  the 
people  regarded  the  spot  thereafter  as  holy  ground. 

The  palaces  of  the  Inca  were  not  of  imposing  exterior,  being 
low  and  long  with  rather  small  apartments  not  communicating  with 
each  other,  but  opening  into  a  common  square  or  courtyard.     The 


A   OOVERHUENTAL   HOTEL. 

sides  were  of  massive  stone,  and  the  roofs  were  of  wood  or  in 
some  places  only  a  tliatcli  of  I'ushes, 

But,  inside,  the  wealth  of  the  empire  flooded  floor  and  wall 
with  aplondor,  and  claitzled  the  souses  with  a  barbaric  drunken- 
ness of  magnificence.  Gold  and  silver  wn)ught  into  strangely 
»hai>en  vessels,  images  of  animals  and  plants  made  of  the  same 
costly  stuff,  and  tajiestries  of  gorgeously  coloit^d  wool  as  delicate 
in  textiu-e^a-s  it  was  rich  in  hue  would  have  tired  the  vision  by 
their  profiLsion,  had  it  not  been  relieved  by  the  niurvellous  variety 
in  8ha£)c  and  arriingemcnt. 

The  favorite  retreat  of  the  Incaa  from  cares  of  state  was  at 
Yucay,  about  twelve  miles  from  Cuzco.  Here,  amid  groves  and 
gardens  they  loved  to  linger  with  their  favorite  wives,  for  though 
the  m-.'i  of  the  people  were  monogamous  the  Incaa  as  a  rule  were 


FATBBNAL   SOCIALISM.  S46 

not.  The  queen  wife,  aa  among  the  Egyptians,  waa  generally  a 
aister,  this  being  a  part  of  their  religioua  duty  as  descend- 
anta  from  the  fiist  Inca  pair  vho  were  brother  and  sister. 

Here  they  had  baths  that  put  to  shame  those  of  the  Roman 
emperors;  huge  tanks  of  gold  into  which  crystalline  waters  deli- 
cately perfumed  were  conducted  through  subterranean  pipes  of 
silver,  while  flowers  of  rarest  hue  and  richest  odor  grew  crowding 
over  the  margins ;  and  side  by  side  with  the  natuial  flowers  and 
graceful  shrubs  that  sprang  up  without  coaxing  in  this  temperate 
region  of  the  tropics  were  planted  parterres  of  a  kind  never  seen 


in  Europe,  mjnriad  forma  of  floral  and  vegetable  life  skilfully 
imitated  in  gold  and  silver. 

Among  these  what  most  astonished  the  Spanianls  were  repro- 
ductions of  Indian  corn  —  that  most  beautiful  growth  among 
American  gmina  —  where  the  workmanaliip  waa  so  exquisite  that 
an  ear  of  gold  was  half  displayed  nestling  among  broad  leaves  of 
silver  with  a  light  feathery  tassel  of  the  same  metal  dangling 
gracefully  from  its  top. 

Should  such  a  sketch  of  Peruvian  opulence  stagger  the  reader's 
faith,  let  him  reflect  tliat  the  Andes  teemed  and  still  teem  with 


846  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

gold  and  silver,  and  that  none  of  the  ore  taken  from  the  mines 
was  converted  into  use  as  money  but  all  belonged  to  the  Inca  to 
be  converted  into  beauty.  But  the  display  of  kingly  wealth  such 
as  the  Spanish  historians  attest  may  fairly  cause  surprise  when 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  in  this  respect  an  Inca  owed  nothing  to 
inheritance. 

His  tremendous  treasures  were  of  his  own  amassing,  for  at 
death  all  his  palaces  but  one,  with  all  their  contents  just  as  he 
had  left  them,  were  closed  up  forever.  The  reason  for  this  was 
the  belief  tliat  the  soul  of  the  departed  might  or  would  return  to 
earth  sometime,  and  they  wished  him  to  find  everything  just  as 
he  left  it  before  he  took  his  journey  among  the  stars. 

When  an  Inca  died,  or  in  his  own  language  "  was  called  home 
to  the  palaces  of  his  father  the  Sun,"  his  funeral  was  even  more 
solemn  and  gorgeous  than  his  life.  His  bowels  were  removed  and 
buried  in  the  temple  of  Tampu,  fifteen  miles  from  Cuzco,  and  with 
them  were  buried  some  of  his  gold  and  jewels,  and  some  of  his 
servants  and  favorite  wives. 

As  in  India,  where  a  similar  custom  prevailed  even  into  this 
century  till  abolished  by  the  British,  many  of  the  immolations 
on  the  part  of  the  women  were  volimtary;  and  it  is  of  record 
that  sometimes  the  women  when  denied  this  doom  of  conjugal  de- 
votion took  the  religious  rite  into  their  own  hands  and  killed 
themselves  over  the  grave. 

This  curious  ceremony  was  followed  by  a  year  of  general  mourn- 
ing, the  people  grieving  in  processionals  and  the  poets  singing  the 
virtues  and  glories  of  the  departed  as  if  to  stimulate  his  successor 
to  still  higher  achievement.  The  Peruvians  were  more  skilful 
than  the  Egyptians  in  the  wretched  device  of  prolonging  the 
integrity  of  the  body  beyond  the  limit  set  to  it  by  nature,  and 
this  skill  produced  a  spectacle  that  filled  the  Spaniards  with  an 
awesomeness  which  even  for  yeai-s  continued  to  affect  them. 

On  entering  the  Temple  of  the  Sim  at  Cuzco  one  might  see, 
ranged  face  to  face,  the  men  on  the  right,  and  the  women  on  the 
left,  the  embalmed  bodies  of  all  the  kings  and  queens  of  the  Inca 
race;  while  on  the  walls  of  the  temple  shone  many  a  dazzling  re* 
production  in  gold  of  the  sacred,  all-beholding  sun. 

These  bodies,  dressed  precisely  as  in  life,  sat  on  golden  chairs, 


OUABDIHO  A  OBAUt  FlBUh 


848  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

with  their  heads  bent  slightly  forward  and  their  hands  crossed 
over  their  bosoms.  It  seemed  like  an  assembly  of  priests  at  some 
mysterious  devotion,  and  was  so  startlingly  like  life  that  the 
Spaniards  at  first  found  difficulty  in  believing  that  it  was  merely 
a  museum  of  mummies.^ 

A  very  strange  custom  prevailed  in  regard  to  these  "dead,  but 
sceptred  sovereigns  who  still  ruled  men's  spirits  "  from  their 
temple  and  their  tomb.  On  certain  festivals  each  was  brought 
out  with  great  ceremony  into  the  public  square  of  the  capital 
and  a  banquet  was  served  before  this  kingly  "death's  head  at 
a  feast,*'  the  guests  partaking  in  the  presence  of  the  royal  phantom 
with  the  same  forms  of  courtly  etiquette  as  though  he  were 
a  living  king. 

Note  has  been  made  of  the  legislative  functions  of  the  empire, 
showing  how  they  began  and  ended  in  the  Inca,  like  the  curve  of 
a  circle  returning  on  itself.  The  fiscal  regulations  and  the  laws 
respecting  property  were  equally  curious. 

The  whole  ten-itoiy  was  divided  into  three  parts ;  one  for  the 
sun,  that  is,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  national  religion,  another 
for  the  Inca,  and  the  last  for  the  working-classes.  These  propor- 
•  tions  varied  in  different  provinces  according  to  the  amount  of  pop- 
ulation, and  the  greater  or  less  quantity  of  land  needed  by  the 
people. 

The  lands  were  divided,  per  capita^  in  equal  shares,  and  as  it 
was  provided  by  law  that  every  Peruvian  should  marry  on  attain- 
ing a  certain  age,  when  this  happened  the  commune  in  which  he 
lived  furnished  a  dwelling  and  a  lot  of  land,  an  additional  portion 
being  gitinted  for  every  child,  the  amount  for  a  son  double  that 
for  a  daughter. 

This  division  of  the  soil  among  the  workers  was  renewed  every 
year,  and  the  possessions  of  a  tenant  increased  or  diminished  ac- 
cording to  his  family.  Such  a  provision  might  be  fancied  fatal 
to  any  feeling  of  attachment  to  the  soil,  or  to  that  desire  for  im- 
proving it  which  generally  results  from  permanent  ownership. 

1  After  the  conquest  the  Peruvians  hid  these  royal  effigies  lest  the  Spaniards  shoold  pro- 
fane them ;  but  five  of  them  were  discovered  years  after,  and  the  historian  Garcilasso  saw 
them  in  1560,  **  perfect  as  life,*'  he  says,  *'  without  so  much  as  a  liair  or  an  eyebrow  wanting." 
As  they  were  borne  through  the  streets  of  conquered  Cuzco,  the  populace  knelt  down  with 
tears  and  groans,  and  were  deeply  touched  when  they  beheld  some  of  the  Spaniards  dofflng 
their  caps  in  sign  of  respect  to  departed  greatness. 


PATERNAL  SOCIALI8H.  S49 

Bat  it  is  probable  that  the  law  in  its  practical  operation  con- 
finned  the  firat  occupant  in  possession  year  after  year,  making 
him  a  tenant  for  life,  even  though  his  offspring  might  die,  unless, 
of  couise,  part  of  his  land  were  actually  needed  for  other  mem< 
hers  of  the  community. 

The  cultivation  of  the  entire  territory  was  done  wholly  by 
the  people,  who  first  planted  and  tilled  the  lands   belonging  to 


tlie  church,  iif  xt  the  lands  of  the  old,  the  sick,  the  widow,  the 
orphan,  and  of  soldiers  who  were  away  in  actual  service,  and 
these  duties  of  religion  and  of  morals  having  been  performed, 
the  people  were  then  allowed  to  till  their  own  grounds,  each  for 
himself,  but  with  the  understanding  that  he  must  assist  hia 
neighbor  whenever  sickness  or  the  burden   of  a  young  family 


860  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

might  demand.     Finally  came  the  cultivation  of  the  lands  espe- 
cially  appropriated  to  the  crown  or  the  Inca. 

It  speaks  well  for  the  government  that  in  this  agricultural 
arrangement  the  lands  of  the  Inca  were  ranked  last,  and  this 
cultivation  of  the  king's  lands  was  turned  into  a  sort  of  holi- 
day performance,  for  the  men,  women,  and  children,  summoned 
by  musical  instruments  from  the  central  tower  of  each  neighbor- 
hood, came  clad  in  their  gayest  apparel,  and  went  through  their 
labors  singing  the  popular  songs  which  were  so  soft  and  pleas- 
ing in  character  that  after  the  conquest  many  of  them  were  set 
to  music  by  the  conquerors. 

A  like  system  prevailed  as  to  manufactures.  The  llamas,  or 
Peruvian  sheep,  belonged  exclusively  to  the  Church  and  to  the 
Inca.  A  large  nimiber  were  sent  every  year,  from  the  colder 
regions  where  they  fed,  to  the  capital  for  the  consumption  of  the 
court,  and  for  the  religious  sacrifices,  but  these  were  only  the 
males,  and  their  flesh  was  not  eaten  by  the  common  people. 

At  the  season  of  shearing  all  the  wool  was  put  in  public  store- 
houses and  then  dealt  out  to  each  family  as  it  was  needed.  In  the 
lower  or  warmer  pait  of  the  empire  cotton  was  furnished  by  the 
Crown  in  the  same  way  to  the  people  for  their  garments.  After 
the  workers  had  made  their  year's  supply  of  clothing,  they  were 
required  to  make  the  clothes  of  the  Inca  and  the  court  officers. 

While  engaged  in  both  these  tasks,  committees  of  inspection 
visited  them  to  make  sure  that  each  household  employed  the 
materials  furnished  for  its  use  in  the  manner  intended,  and  also 
to  see  that  everybody  in  each  household,  from  the  child  of  five  to 
the  old  granny  able  to  hold  a  distaff,  did  their  share  in  this 
cooperative  work. 

No  one,  except  the  very  old,  or  the  sick,  could  eat  the  bread  of 
idleness  in  that  empire  of  order,  for  law  had  made  impossible  the 
parasitic  forms  that  hang  on  our  civilization  and  may  some  day 
drag  it  down  to  chaos  and  a  just  oblivion.  Idleness,  indeed, 
was  a  crime  in  Peru,  and  industry  was  made  a  matter  of  public 
honor  and  rewarded  with  special  prizes. 

A  similar  course  was  pursued  in  regard  to  all  other  manufac- 
tures, special  skill  in  any  craft  having  a  tendency,  of  course,  to 
make  that  cnift  hereditary  in  certain  families,  and  the  government 


A  OHJHUAIf  PBUfCBaB. 


862  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

wisely  directing  that  those  who  were  employed  in  more  arduous 
or  dangerous  labors  should  have  shorter  hours ;  as,  for  instance, 
those  who  worked  in  mines  or  quarries. 

The  object  of  this  mild  semi-religious  despotism  was  not  to 
get  as  much  work  as  possible  out  of  a  man  and  use  him  up  in  a 
few  years,  but  to  make  him  work  just  enough  to  keep  him  in  good 
health  and  keep  the  general  government  in  a  like  condition. 

Fortified  against  the  pressure  of  penury  on  one  side,  and  saved 
from  the  degrading  passion  of  avarice  on  the  other,  by  there  being 
no  such  mysterious,  inanimate  mischief  as  money  breeding  discord 
among  them,  the  Peruvians  had  a  fair  chance  to  cultivate  the  real 
graces  and  dignities  of  life,  which  are  few  in  number,  and  do  not 
need  far-seeking. 

But  it  was  a  despotism,  and  though  all  fared  well  and  were 
happier  on  an  average  than  any  race  to-day,  some  fared  better  than 
others,  possessed  a  larger  share  of  authority,  had  finer  houses,  and 
walked  more  proudly  in  each  other's  eyes.  For  there  were  two 
orders  of  nobility  in  this  empire ;  the  first  and  most  important  of 
which  was  that  of  the  Inca  race  who  boasted  a  common  descent 
with  their  sovereign,  and  basked  in  the  reflected  splendor  of  his 
celestial  origin. 

These  nobles  of  the  blood  royal  were  utilized  as  officers  all  over 
the  kingdom.  They  wore  a  peculiar  dress  just  as  Chinese  man- 
darins do  to-day,  and  like  Chinese  mandarins  are  said  to  have 
spoken  a  special  language,  not  entirely  intelligible  to  the  com- 
mon people. 

They  alone  were  admissible  to  the  offices  of  the  priesthood,  and 
the  choicest  part  of  the  public  domain  was  assigned  for  their 
support.  For  a  long  time  the  laws  made  exception  in  their  favor 
and  just  as  an  early  English  noble  could  plead  his  rank  in  bar  of 
certain  accusations,  so  an  Inca  nobleman  was  held  incapable  of 
crime  except  against  one  of  his  order. 

The  other  nobility  was  that  of  the  curacas  who  were  the  caciques 
or  chiefs  of  recently  conquered  nations  or  their  descendants. 
It  was  the  policy  of  the  Peruvian  government,  when  it  added  by 
conquest  a  new  tribe  to  its  empire,  to  retain  the  ruler  of  such 
tribe  in  his  office,  and  to  take  his  son  to  the  Peruvian  capital  to 
be  educated. 


.  BOCIALISH. 


868 


These  bods  were  thus  hostages  for  the  fidelity  of  the  father  and, 
bjr  teceivitig  a  governmental  education  at  Cuzco  on  terms  of 
perfect  eqoalily  with  the  sons  of  the  native  nobility,  they  were 
converted  into  contented  and  valuable  officers  when  it  came  time 
to  appoint  them  to  positions  of  trust  and  importance. 

The/  generally  succeeded  their  father  in  the  office  of  curaos, 
though  it  appears  that  in  some  provinces  the  Inca  permitted  the 
people  to  elect  their  own  rulers  —  a  strange  geim  of  demootiK^  cr 


A  PKBWIJktf  TICXBOT  RKCEIVnrs  REPOBTS  BY  QinPTB. 


home  rule  to  find  in  a  despotism  dead  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago ! 

So  well  regulated  ^vaa  the  Peruvian  government  that  our 
cumbrous,  costly,  and  extremely  uncertain  system  of  taking  the 
census  would  have  filled  them  v^ith  amazement  or  amusement. 
Their  census  was  being  taken  all  the  time  and  verified  itself 
from  month  to  month. 

The  nature  of  all  service  required  and  the  amount  of  all  com- 
modities needed  in  the  government  of  the  smallest  village  were 
reported  month  by  month  to  the  Inca  in  his  state  palace  at  Cuzco, 
and  a  register  was  kept  of  all  the  births  and  deaths  t^uxiughout 


864  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  country,  so  that  exact  returns  of  the  population  were  made 
every  year ;  and  at  certain  intervals  resurveys  of  the  country  were 
taken  so  that,  furnished  with  complete  statistical  details,  it  was 
easy  for  the  government,  after  determining  the  quantities  and 
qualities  of  work  required,  to  distribute  it  among  the  respective 
provinces  best  fitted  to  perform  it.  For  the  different  provinces 
of  the  country  furnished  persons  peculiarly  suited  to  different 
employments;  one  district  supplying  the  most  skilled  miners, 
another  the  most  skilled  workers  in  metals  or  in  wood. 

The  artisan  was  provided  by  the  government  with  the  mate- 
rials, and  was  only  required  t©  give  a  certain  portion  of  his  time 
to  the  public  service.  He  was  then  succeeded  by  another  for  an 
equal  term,  and  all  engaged  in  government  work  were  main- 
tained for  the  time  at  the  public  expense. 

By  this  constant  rotation  of  labor,  and  by  tliis  study  of  the 
special  aptitude  of  each  individual,  it  was  intended  that  no  one 
should  be  over-burdened,  but  each  hiive  time  to  provide  for  his 
own  household.  And  in  the  judgment  of  a  Spanish  historian 
who  was  corregidor  of  Cuzco  directly  after  the  conquest,  there 
was  no  flaw  discoverable  in  this  system  of  governmental  distribu- 
tion, so  perfectly  was  it  adjusted  to  the  needs  and  abilities  of 
the  artisan. 

The  Peruvians  had  no  written  language,  although  they  had  a 
literature  which  the  Spaniards  found  full  of  beauty  and  sublimity, 
and  their  poets,  or  haravecs^  as  they  were  called,  were  numerous. 
Their  means  of  transmitting  their  histories  and  of  communicating 
with  one  another  were  twofold. 

Like  the  early  Greek  rhapsodists  who  from  father  to  son,  by  oral 
teaching,  tmusmitted  the  poems  of  Homer  till  a  later  age  gathered 
them  into  books,  the  Peruvian  literature  was  always  from  mouth 
to  mouth,  a  living  literature  that  recited  itself  constantly  to  the 
people,  each  historian  before  he  died  training  a  younger  one  in 
all  his  knowledge. 

In  addition  to  this  method  of  preserving  thought  they  had  what 
is  called  the  quipu,  which  was  a  cord  about  two  feet  long  made 
of  different  colored  tlireads  tightly  intertwisted^  with  a  quantity 
of  smaller  threads  suspended  in  the  fashion  of  a  fringe.  These 
threads  were  of  different  colors  and  were  tied  in  knots. 


PATBBNAL  SOCIALISM. 


856 


The  colors  denoted  objects ;  white  stood  for  silver,  yellow  for 
gold.  They  sometimes,  too,  represented  abstract  ideas;  white 
signifying  peace,  red  war,  etc.,  but  though  they  were  used  as 
means  of  communicating  ideas,  they  were  chiefly  valuable  for 
arithmetical  purposes;  the  knots  serving  for  ciphers  and  being 


THE  QUIPU. 

combined  in  such  ways  as  to  represent  numbers  to  any  amount. 

All  the  statistics  of  the  empire  were  forwarded  from  the  dif- 
ferent provinces  in  this  fashion,  and  these  skeins  of  many  colored 
threads,  collected  and  carefully  preserved,  constituted  the  national 
archives.  The  Spaniards  bear  witness  to  the  rapidity  of  their 
calculations  by  these  means,  and  at  the  same  time  their  accuracy. 

Clever  as  were  the  Peruvians  in  manipulating  their  curious 
language  of  knots  and  colore,  they  were  quick  to  perceive  the 
superiority  of  an  alphabet  and  of  written  signs  to  convey  or  con- 
serve ideas,  when  this  new  method  was  made  known  to  them  by 
their  conquerors. 

This  point  is  illustrated  in  a  very  striking  anecdote  told  by 
Grarcilasso,  a  descendant  of  the  Incas  who  wrote  in  Spanish  a 
little  after  the  conquest.     It  is  given  by  him  as  an  additional 


866  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

cause  for  Pizarro's  barbarity  to  the  captive  Inca,  Atahualpa,  who 
after  a  long  imprisonment  was  sentenced  to  be  burnt  at  the  stake. 

As  the  faggots  were  being  kindled,  a  priest  besought  the  Inca 
to  embrace  Christianity  and  be  baptized,  promising  that  if  he  did 
his  burning  should  be  commuted  to  the  milder  punishment  of 
death  by  strangulation.  The  Inca  yielded,  was  Christianized  and 
garroted.     Garcilasso's  story  is  this. 

While  in  prison  Atahualpa,  having  noticed  Spaniards  reading, 
asked  a  Spanish  soldier  to  write  the  name  of  God  on  his  thumb 
nail.  This  done,  the  captive  monarch  held  up  his  thumb  to 
several  of  his  guai-ds,  and  as  they  read  it  and  each  pronounced 
the  same  word,  the  penetititive  mind  of  the  monarch  was  pleased 
with  a  new  science  of  which  his  own  civilization  presented  no 
likeness. 

But  when  he  displayed  the  inscription  to  his  chief  captor, 
Pizarro,  that  chief  said  nothing,  and  the  Inca,  inferring  instantly 
that  he  could  not  read,  as  was  the  fact,  conceived  a  contempt  for 
a  leader  less  educated  than  the  men  he  led. 

Tliis  contempt  the  luckless  barbarian  was  not  sufficiently  politic 
to  conceal,  and  Pizarro,  learning  it,  thus  received  the  additional 
sting  of  a  wound  to  his  vanity  as  a  stinmlus  to  his  natural 
cruelty. 

Hence  one  the  darkest  pages  in  Spanish  history  —  a  page 
almost  as  dark  as  that  in  which  the  honest  historian  has  to  tell 
how  the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  of  New  England  i-oasted  a  whole 
town  of  Indian  women,  children,  and  old  men,  firing  on  all  sides 
at  those  who  sought  escape  from  the  conflagration,  which  is  humor- 
ously called  "  An  Indian  Barbecue  "  by  the  Puritan  author  who 
wrote  an  account  of  it. 


Tlieoci-iitie   govern  in  tint,   if   it  i3 
to  be  understood  according  to  &e 
etjmology   of    the    worfLs    is   the    only 
rii/  poshibio    legitimate   government.      God 

" -^  only  hath  doraiiiion  absolute  and  universal. 
All  existences  distinguishable  from  Him  are 
His.  He  is  their  creator  and  ruler.  God  is  Hovereiga 
in  His  own  right;  all  owe  Him  unconditional  obedience; 
no  one  can  niuke  any  inquiry  into  the  intrinsic  nature 
of  His  commands  before  oljeyiiig;  inquiry  can  only  l>e  made  into 
what  is  commanded  and  whether  it  is  really  God  who  conunands. 
Briefly  put,  this  in  the  basis  in  principle  ui»on  which  every 
tlieocmtic  or  priestly  government  has  l)een  cstablislied  from  the 
beginning.  Tlie  early  human  sovereign  combined  in  his  per- 
sonality both  the  spiritual  and  temporal  authority.  In  the  start 
it  should  be  remembered  these  powers  were  not  detached  the  one 
from  the  other,  but  were  both  united  in  the  person  of  the  ijatri- 
arcb,  or  pater-famUiaa,  the  patrician  of  early  Roman  history  wlio 
was  both  priest  and  king  for  his  own  family,  household,  otgena. 
In  tbis  order  of  government  originally  the  two  jiowers  were  tuuted. 


358  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

but  according  to  Biblical  history  in  the  time  and  person  of 
Nimrod  the  temporal  separated  itself  from  the  priestly  sovereignty 
and  erected  its  own  authority. 

Nimrod  proposed  to  found  a  mighty  empire  of  which  he  alone 
would  reign  as  absolute  lord  and  master.  Amon^  the  Gentiles, 
that  is  to  say,  the  people  who  broke  away  from  the  patriarchal 
order  and  religion,  it  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  the  separation 
took  place  at  a  much  earlier  period,  probably  by  violence,  wliich 
evidently  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  case  respecting  the 
Jewish  people. 

These  Gentile  nations  to  the  superficial  observer  may  appear  to 
have  become  more  vigorous  as  the  priesthood  became  corrupt,  as 
its  influence  declined,  and  as  the  secular  power  became  more  and 
more  predominant;  but  it  is  in  appeamnce  only;  it  is  the  hectic 
flush  of  the  internal  disorder  which  presages  death.  In  the  heroic 
ages  of  Greece  and  Rome  religious  ideas  were  a  living  reality 
among  the  people  and  exerted  their  most  potent  influence.  When 
these  nations  were  most  assiduous  in  the  woi-ship  of  their  gods, 
they  were  at  the  zenith  of  their  real  power. 

But  wlien  the  philosoplier?*  came  and  undermined  the  belief  in 
the  popular  religion,  and  ridiculed  the  popular  woi-ship,  Greece 
became  cornipt,  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  invader,  lost  her  inde- 
pendence, and  retrogressed  almost  into  barbaric  darkness.  Rome, 
wliich  was  founded  by  a  colony  not  yet  idolaters,  became  gradually 
vile;  the  power  and  influence  of  her  priesthood  declined,  the 
piety  of  her  people  so  renowned  during  her  ages  of  progress  dis- 
appeared, and  the  jNIistress  of  the  World  entered  upon  her  long 
agony  under  the  Ca?sai*s,  those  tyrants  Avho  assumed  the  title, 
when  alive,  of  Pontifex  Maximus  or  High  Priest  and  claimed 
worship  as  divinities  when  dead. 

The  pagan  temples  were  the  oldest  centres  of  learning,  the 
oldest  repositories  of  books,  and  the  pagan  priests  tlie  most 
cultured  class  and  tlie  iirst  librarians.  Such  was  certainly  the 
case  in  Egypt  from  the  earliest  period,  and  it  was  largely  so  in 
the  Grecian  and  Roman  States.  Culture  and  books  were  deemed 
something  sacred  that  should  find  their  home  near  the  sanctuaries 
of  the  gods  and  under  the  watchful  guardianship  of  the  priest- 
hood.. -.The  temple  of  Minerva  at  Athens,  of  Serapis  in  Egypt, 


THEOCRACY  OR  PRIESTLY  GOVERNMENT.  868 

nnd  that  of  Jupiter  Palatine  at  Rome,  not  to  mention  many  others 
of  less  note,  were  all  renowned  centres  of  learning,  and  contained 
extensive  libraries.  The  idea  in  which  this  practice  originated, 
—  that  of  making  literature  tributary  to  religion,  —  was  both 
l)eautiful  and  sublime. 

The  Temple  of  A[)()llo  at  Delphi,  at  tlie  foot  of  Mt.  Parnassus, 
was  the  most  remarkable  on  account  of  the  celebrated  Amphic- 
tyonic  League,  comprising  rei)resentatives  of  all  the  Gitjcian 
states  formed  for  the  purpose  oi  avenging  the  pilgrims  to  the 
shrine  of  the  Sun-god,  the  inhiibitunts  of  Cirrlia,  a  neighboring 
town,  having  treated  the  j)ilgrim8  unjustly.  This  temple  con- 
tained the  famous  oracle  of  which  we  give  the  most  perfect  illus- 
tration which  modern  art,  by  restoring  ancient  fragments,  has 
been  able  to  evolve. 

A  singular  fact  connects  this  marvellous  home  of  miracles  with 
early  Christianity,  namely,  that  the  emperor  Nero,wiio  so  o[)pressed 
and  tortured  the  early  Christians,  plundered  this  lyeautiful  pagan 
tem[)le  of  its  wonderful  treiusures  and  its  m:igniticent  works  of  art, 
and  silenced  the  oracle.  Constantine,  afterwards  conveited  to 
Christianity,  did  likewise,  but  the  oracle  regained  its  voice,  and 
continued  to  flourish  till  the  i*eign  of  Theodosius,  having  lasted, 
with  a  few  brief  breaks,  for  nearlv  a  thousand  years. 

The  adytum  of  the  temple  where  the  oracles  were  delivered  and 
which  our  illustration  depicts,  was  underground.  Within  it,  over 
a  deep,  dark  chasm,  stood  the  trij)od  on  whic;h  the  pythoness  or 
priestess  sat.  From  the  chasm  rose  a  warm  va])or  with  a  strong, 
strange  odor,  acrid  and  aromatic.  Chewing  the  leaves  of  the 
laurel,  a  tree  sacred  to  Apollo,  the  Sun-god,  the  ])riestess  after 
awhile,  very  likely  l^eing  affected  by  the  vapor,  fell  into  convul- 
sions in  which  she  poured  forth  voluminous,  though  not  very 
luminous,  savincrs. 

These  fragmentary  sentences  Avere  instantly  jotted  down  by  the 
attendant  priests  wlio  turned  them  into  hexametei-s  or  hexameter 
and  pentameter  couplets,  the  ])opular  verse  of  the  time,  and  gave 
them  forth  as  the  revelations  of  Apollo,  Ijord  of  Life  and  Light 
and  Poesy.  Li  the  earliest  days  the  Pythoness  Avas  a  yoimg  girl, 
but  later  only  women  over  fifty  were  chosen  for  this  important 
office.     Pythonesses  had  to  be  natives  of  Delphi,  and  old  maids  of 


864  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

most  unblemished  reputation.  The  snakes  represented  in  the 
picture  were  temple  pets,  their  fangs  having  been  drawn,  and  the 
name  of  the  priestess,  Pythia,  or  Pythoness,  was  derived  from 
the  Greek  word,  Tri/^eti/,  to  rot;  because,  according  to  the  tradi- 
tion, on  the  spot  where  the  temple  was  founded,  the  Sun-god  had 
slain  a  huge  serpent  whose  body  rotting  into  the  soil  gave  a 
magical  fertility  to  the  charming  valley. 

The  Hebrew  nation  presents  to  us  the  most  complete  fonn  of 
theocratic  government  which  the  world  has  ever  seen.  Under  the 
patriarchs  perfect  freedom  was  enjoyed.  Each  family  was  a  little 
state  of  wliich  the  father  Avas  king  and  priest.  The  faith  wa.s 
handed  down  by  tradition  from  father  to  son,  and  great  care 
taken  to  preserve  the  memory  of  important  occurrences  by  the 
erection  of  pillars,  altars,  and  other  monuments.  Abraliam  built 
altars  in  many  places  where  he  said  Jehovah  appeared  to  liim. 

When  the  patriarchal  rule  of  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  their  suc- 
cessors had  become  absorbed  into  and  ovei'shadowed  by  that  of  the 
inspired  law-giver,  Moses,  the  crystallization  of  the  Hebrew  nation 
had  begun.  The  basis  of  the  national  unity  rested  on  the  unity 
of  faith  in  Jehovah.  The  latter  was  tlic  Lonl  (rod  of  Israel,  the 
omnipotent  and  omnipresent  ruler  of  his  cliosen  people.  He 
directed  Moses  to  lend  tlieni  out  of  oppression  in  the  land  of  Egypt; 
smote  the  Egyptians  with  plagues  and  with  the  death  of  every 
fii*st-born,  and  overwhelmed  Pharaoh  and  his  armies  in  the  watei"s 
of  tlie  Red  Sea.  Ilis  presence  on  their  toilsome  miircli  through 
the  desert  wjis  made  manifest  to  their  corporeal  senses,  for  the 
Scriptures  say,  "The  Lord  went  before  tliem  to  sliow  the  way  by 
day  in  a  i)illar  of  cloud  and  l)y  niglit  in  a  pillar  of  lire;  that 
He  might  be  the  guide  of  their  journey  at  both  times." 

And  when  they  grew  hungry  in  the  wilderness  and  murmured  for 
the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  He  fed  them  on  manna  for  forty  years,  until 
they  reached  the  borders  of  the  land  of  Canaan.  Then  on  Mount 
Sinai  He  declared  His  solenni  covenant:  "If  therefore  you  will 
hear  ^ly  voice  and  keep  My  covenant,  you  shall  be  My  peculiar 
lX)ssession  above  all  people,  for  all  the  earth  is  Mine.  And  you 
shall  be  to  Me  a  priestly  kingdom  and  a  holy  nation." 

And  the  Scriptures  say,  "All  the  people  answered  together: 
All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken,  we  will  do."     Tlius  was  the  cove- 


THEOCBACY  OR  PRIESTLY  OOVSBKMENT.  866 

nant  agreed  upon ;  and  three  days  later  when,  as  the  Scriptures 
say,  ^All  Mount  Sinai  was  smoking,  because  the  Lord  was 
come  down  upon  it  in  fire,"  He  delivered  to  His  chosen  people 
amid  the  thunders  and  lightnings  those  commandments,  laws,  and 
precepts  which  constitute  the  most  sublime  moral  code  the  world 
has  ever  bowed  down  before.  Whereupon  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel  by  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  at  an  altiir  surrounded  by 
twelve  pillars,  offered  whole  burnt  offerings  to  the  Lord,  promis- 
ing to  keep  all  the  laws  and  ordinances  which  they  liad  I'eceived. 
And  Moses  sprinkled  the  blood  of  the  victims  upon  the  people 
sa)'ing,  "This  is  the  blood  of  the  covenant  which  the  Lord  hath 
made  with  you  concerning  all  these  words."  Thus  tlie  covenant 
was  solemnlv  ratified,  and  the  Hebrew  nation  establislied  as  a 
theocracy. 

Some  of  these  Mosaic  laws  look  singular  if  tliey  are  viewed 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  modern  political  economist.  For 
instance,  the  Lord  said,  "  Observe  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath  to  the 
Lord.  Six  years  thou  shalt  sow  thy  field  and  six  years  thou  shalt 
prune  thy  vineyard  and  shalt  gather  the  fruits  thereof;  but  in  the 
seventh  year  there  shall  be  a  Sabbath  to  the  land  of  the  resting  of 
the  Lord;  thou  shalt  not  sow  thy  field  nor  prune  thy  vineyai-d '* 
(Lev.  XXV.  2,  3,  4). 

If  such  a  law  Avere  proposed  to-day  nearly  all  our  economists 
and  statisticians  would  quickly  demonstrate  that  to  carry  it  into 
effect  would  lead  to  wholesale  Avant  and  stiirvation  among  the 
masses  of  the  people,  and  that  the  proposal  could  only  emanate 
from  some  one  bereft  of  sense.  Yet  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
Israelites  suffered  want  at  any  time  from  a  strict  oliservance  of 
either  the  Sabbath  day  or  of  the  Sabbath  year.  Possibly  this 
observance  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  solve  the  question  of  over- 
production of  food  crops  which  is  such  a  stumbling-block  to  our 
economists  ;  or  ])robably  syndicates,  trusts,  usur}'-  and  land-specu-* 
lation  not  being  known  in  Israel  proved  a  blessing. 

Again  the  Mosaic  ordinance  runs,  "And  thou  shalt  sanctify  the 
fiftieth  year  and  shalt  proclaim  remission  (reinstating  each  man  in 
his  former  position)  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land ;  for  it  is 
the  year  of  jubilee.  Every  man  shall  return  to  his  possession  and 
every  one  shall  go  back  to  his  former  family,  because  it  is  the 


866  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

jubilee  and  the  fiftieth  year.  You  shall  not  sow  nor  reap  the 
things  that  grow  in  the  field  of  their  own  accord,  neither  shall 
you  gather  the  first  finiits  of  the  vines;  because  of  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  jubilee,  but  as  they  gi-ow  you  shall  presently  eat  them. 
In  the  year  of  the  jubilee  all  sliall  return  to  their  possessions. 
The  land  also  shall  not  be  sold  forever;  becauc  it  is  mine,  and 
you  are  strangei"s  and  sojourners  with  me.  If  thy  brother  be 
impoveri.shed  and  weak  of  hand  and  thou  receive  him  iis  a  stranger 
and  sojourner,  and  he  live  Avith  thee,  take  not  usury  of  him  nor 
more  than  thou  gavest;  fear  thy  God,  tliat  thy  brother  may  live 
with  thee.  Thou  shalt  not  give  him  thy  money  upon  usury  nor 
exact  of  him  any  increase  of  fruits"  (Lev.  xxv.  10,  11,  12,  13, 
23,  35,  30,  37). 

These  laws  meant  a  periodical  plenary  remission  of  debt,  an 
unconditional  return  of  the  land  to  the  original  owner  or  his  heii-s 
in  the  year  of  jubilee,  and  a  most  positive  prohibition  of  usury. ^ 
Not  in  the  diluted  modern  sense  Avhich  means  a  very  high  rate  of 
interest,  but  any  interest  at  all,  and  it  is  AvoHhy  of  note  the  pi-o- 
hibitory  injunction  is  repeated  in  the  sacred  text.  A  curious 
thought  arises  from  the  reading  of  tliese  statutes:  IIow  the  land 
monopolists  and  money  changers  of  the  nineteenth  century  would 
rage  if  an  atteni[)t  were  made  to  put  these  precepts  of  Jehovah 
into  actual  operation.  IIow  conclusively  the  former  would  show 
that  the  feudal  teiuu'e  under  which  they  l)uy  and  sell  and  hold 
title  is  much  superior  to  that  indicated  by  the  Lord,  and  tlie 
latter  class  would  no  doubt  forcibly  insist  that  Moses  knew  notli- 
inu  of  l)rokei"s'  boards  with  its  ^'bulls  and  beai-s/'  and  that  if  he 
lived  in  our  civilized  day  he  would  woi*ship  vritli  them  the  golden 
calf  set  U})  at  tlie  foot  of  Sinai  by  his  brother  Aaron.  And  many 
of  our  political  economists  would  endoi*se  these  conclusions  and 
claim,  as  Alplionso  of  Castile  respecting  the  Ptolemaic  system  of 
astronomy,  tliat  thev  could  liave  eriven  the  Lord  many  valuable 
suggestions,  had  they  been  present  when  He  declared  the  land  wa,s 
His,  not  to  be  sold  forever,  and  denounced  the  exaction  of  interest 


^A  <li^tinjrui^ho(l  Jewish  Rabbi  of  Boston  iMjlieves  that  the  spirit  (»f  these  laws  among  his 
ancient  jn'ople  was  not  respcctecl,  but  was  circumvented  in  various  ways,  but  this  eeems 
rather  a  lilK?l  on  the  race,  for  it  is  more  likely  that  the  Jews  were  not  always  so  keenly  com- 
mercial a  i>eo]ile  as  centuries  of  forced  liabitation  amonj;;  nations  who  denied  them  social  and 
l>oIitical  riglits  or  outlets  for  intellectual  energy  liave  naturally  tended  to  make  them. 


868  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

from  an  impoverished  brother  or  the  taking  back  more  than  was 
given  him. 

The  Mosaic  statutes  and  ordinances  along  with  the  others 
delivered  by  his  successors  from  time  to  time  formed  the  whole 
code  of  public  laws  of  the  Jews  for  a  period  of  fifteen  hundred 
years,  or  up  to  the  time  of  Christ,  and  they  are  practically  bind- 
ing on  the  world  of  Judaism  at  the  present  time,  save  in  those 
matters  which  relate  to  the  national  organism  wliich  long  ago 
ceased  to  exist.  Joshua  was  chosen  successor  to  Moses  immedi- 
ately preceding  the  death  of  the  latter.  Afterwards  judges  ruled 
in  Israel  and  special  leaders  were  raised  up  by  God  to  deliver  His 
people  from  the  oppression  of  neighboring  nations  which,  we  are 
told  in  Holy  Writ,  invariably  resulted  from  their  grievous  sins, 
chief  among  which  was  the  sin  of  idolatrj-.  Again  and  again  they 
fell ;  but  always  on  repenting,  Jehovah,  remembering  the  covenant 
which  He  had  made  with  their  fathers,  called  upon  the  required 
leader  to  arise  and  deliver  his  people.  Othoniel,  Aod,  Samgar, 
Barac,  Deborah  the  prophetess,  Gideon,  and  others  were  thus 
called. 

The  command  of  the  annies  belonged  to  those  whom  the  people 
chose  or  God  i-aised  up  in  an  extraordinary  manner ;  but  none  were 
subject  to  them  but  the  country  or  tribes  that  chose  them  or  to 
whom  God  gave  them  for  deliverei's.  The  rest  of  the  jxjople,  dis- 
orderly and  in  confusion  abusing  their  liberty,  often  exposed 
themselves  to  the  insults  of  their  enemies  wliicli  made  tliem  ask 
for  a  king.  In  their  vain  imaginings  the  novelty  of  kingl}-  rule 
possessed  a  ftuscination  for  them.  When  Gideon  delivered  them 
from  the  Midianites  they  wanted  him  to  be  king,  saying:  "Rule 
tliou  over  us  and  thy  son  and  thy  son's  son."  But  lie  answered  : 
"  I  will  not  rule  over  you,  neither  sliall  my  son  rule  over  you, 
but  the  Lord  shall  rule  over  you."  But  again  they  clamored  to 
Samuel  for  a  king,  who  rebuked  them,  reminding  them  of  the  cove- 
nant of  Sinai  and  warning  them  of  the  tributes  which  a  king 
would  exact  to  support  a  standing  army,  an  institution  yet 
unknown  in  Israel,  and  of  the  tithes  wliicli  they  must  furnish  to 
support  the  royal  state,  but  they  would  not  hear  them  but  still 
persisted  in  calling  for  a  king.  And  Saul  was  anointed  and  set 
over  them  by  Samuel,  who  was  succeeded  by  David,  Solomon,  and 


THEOOAACY  OR   PRIESTLY  GOVERNMENT.  869 

a  long  line  of  monarchs,  the  salient  points  of  whose  reigns  are  to 
be  found  in  the  Biblical  record  down  to  the  time  of  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity. 

The  wisdom  of  Solomon  is  much  doubted  by  modem  optimists, 
who  do  not  believe  that  life  is  to  be  summed  up  in  his  saying 
"All  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit,"  but  the  practical  sense 
of  the  great  King,  of  which  an  example  is  given  in  the  illustra- 
tion, had  spread  his  fame  everywhere.  BaiTenness  among  the 
Jews  was  accounted  a  stigma,  and  two  women  laid  claim  to  the 
same  baby.  Whereupon,  to  discover  who  was  the  real  mother, 
Solomon  calmly  ordered  the  child  to  be  divided  Ixjtween  them. 
The  real  mother  protested  against  the  killing,  exclaiming,  "No, 
no!  he  is  not  mine."  "But  he  is,"  said  the  wise  King,  "for  the 
other  woman  kept  silence  and  you  spake." 

The  large  picture  near  the  end  of  this  chapter  i-epresents 
a  marriage  festival  among  the  Jews  in  the  days  of  Solomon  and 
is  indicative  of  the  high  sanctity  the  Jews  attached  to  marriage 
even  at  a  period  when  polygamy  prevailed  among  the  rich  and 
aristocratic  classes. 

Shortly  after  tlie  reign  of  Solomon  the  Hebrew  nation  began  to 
decline.  The  division  among  the  people  into  the  two  kingdoms 
of  Israel  and  Judah  augmented  the  evil.  Among  the  ten  tribes 
who  bore  the  name  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  corruption  and 
wickedness  prevailed,  while  Judah,  consisting  of  the  two  tribes 
of  Benjamin  and  Levi,  the  latter  embracing  the  whole  priesthood, 
preserved  the  tradition  of  the  primitive  faith,  and  a  more  strict 
observance  of  the  law. 

After  the  return  of  the  exiled  nation  to  Jerusalem  from  the 
seventy  years'  captivity  in  Babylon,  they  selected  for  their  gov- 
ernment a  council  of  seventy-two  elders,  called  the  Sanhedrim, 
presided  over  by  the  high  priest,  which  form  of  government  lasted 
until  the  dispersion.  Tliey  rebuilt  their  temple  and  city.  They 
were  never  so  faithful  to  God  as  after  their  return  from  Babvlon. 
They  had  experienced  the  fulfilment  of  all  the  prophecies  regard- 
ing their  exile,  and  henceforth  not  a  symptom  of  idolatry  can  be 
discovered  amongst  them. 

The  pure  theocracy  which  they  had  again  adopted  was  to  con- 
tinue until  the  work  of  the  coming  Messiah  had  been  accomplished. 


THE   8T0KY   OF   GOVKilNMKNT. 


Tlif  liigli  iirifstlionil 
(leseeiitieil  liy  iiilu'iit- 
a.ueo  to  tlii^  eldeiit  in 
the  line  cf  the  fiimily 
of  \'iroii  until  the 
tmu  if  Jutlis  Mii- 
( abtiLs  w  I  II  It  J)  issetl 
lilt')  iii-4  timilj  us 
losejihus  (let-lues. 
"Iht,  JpMish  jnitst- 
hicd  \\ab  coiihnt^il  t«i 
the  famil)    (f    \tron 


THEOGBACY  OB  PBIESTLY  GOVERNMENT.  871 

of  the  tribe  of  I^evi  exclusively.  They  first  attended  to  the 
tabernacle  and  afterwards  to  die  temple.  Although  the  whole 
tribe  of  Levi  were  Levites  and  connected  with  the  temple,  only 
the  Aaronic  failiily  were  permitted  to  offer  sacrifice  or  do  any- 
thing alx)ut  the  altar.  The  other  tribes  paid  tithes  to  the  Levites, 
who  paid  one  tenth  of  that  wliich  tliey  received  to  the  priests. 
The  latter  Avere  also  entitled  to  the  fii-st  fruits  and  a  large 
lx)rtion  of  the  offerings  made  in  the  temple.  The  duties 
assigned  to  the  Levites  were  first  defined  by  Moses  and  after- 
wards by  David.  The  latter  appointed  some  to  guard  the 
temple's  gates,  others  to  sing  psalms,  while  others  were  to  guard 
the  treasures. 

Maimonides  lays  down  the  conditions  under  Avhich  the  func- 
tions  of  the  Levite  could  be  exercised.  He  could  not  be  admitted 
as  a  novice  until  he  was  at  least  twenty-five  yeai-s  of  age,  and  his 
novitiate  continued  for  five  yeai-s  so  that  he  must  Ix?  at  leiist  thirty 
years  before  his  final  consecration  to  the  Lord's  service.  These 
Levites  who  Avere  thirty  yeai-s  of  age  numl)ered  in  Solomon's  time 
thirty-eight  thoiusand,  of  which  twenty-four  thousand  were  to  set 
forward  the  work  of  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  six  thousand  were 
oflScers  and  judges.  Four  thousand  were  portei-s,  and  four  thou- 
sand praised  the  Lord  with  instruments,  all  of  which  is  related  in 
the  twenty-third  chapter,  fii-st  book  of  Chronicles.  Maimonides 
atates  that  in  the  temple  there  was  a  geneiiil  oflicer  or  master  of 
ceremonies,  with  fifteen  assistants  whosc^  duty  it  was  to  announce 
the  time  for  the  solemnities,  the  time  of  sacrifice,  and  to  assign 
the  guard.  They  also  had  charge  of  the  music,  the  instruments, 
and  the  schedule  in  which  every  one's  ofiice  was  marked  down, 
the  libations,  the  seals,  the  watei"s,  the  shew-bread,  the  incense, 
oils,  sacerdotivl  robes,  and  vestments.  The  priests  Avere  divided 
into  twentj^-four  classes,  each  class  having  at  its  head  one  who 
was  called  the  fii-st,  or  the  prince  of  priests.  Eveiy  week  one  of 
these  classes  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  officiate,  and  on  Sablxith 
days  they  succeeded  one  another  until  they  had  all  served,  but  on 
solemn  feast-days  all  officiated  together. 

The  prince  of  each  class  of  priests  assigned  an  entire  family 
each  day  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  at  the  close  of  the  week  they  all 
joined  together  in  sacrificing.     As  there  were  a  number  of  fami- 


872  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

lies  in  each  class,  and  as  each  family  contained  a  number  of 
priests,  they  drew  lots  for  the  performance  of  the  different  offices. 
This  last  explains  the  meaning  of  the  first  chapter  of  St.  Luke 
which,  speaking  of  Zachary,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  says : 
''According  to  the  custom  of  the  priestly  office  it  was  his  lot  to 
offer  incense  going  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord." 

There  were  several  defects  which  would  exclude  from  ordina- 
tion in  the  Jewish  priesthood  very  much  like  some  of  those  which 
prove  a  bar  in  the  Catholic  priesthood  at  the  present  day.  Among 
the  physical  defects  which  excluded  were  fifty  common  to  men 
and  animals,  and  ninety  peculiar  to  men  alone.  Those  who  had 
no  bar  sinist'Cr  of  birth,  but  possessed  some  prohibitory  defect  of 
body,  were  allowed  to  live  in  the  department  where  the  wood  fen- 
the  sacrificial  fuel  was  kept  which  they  were  obliged  to  prepare  for 
the  service  of  the  altar,  being  careful  to  reject  all  rotten  and 
worm-eaten  wood  which  it  was  unlawful  to  use.  The  priests 
while  officiating  were  forbidden  the  use  of  wine,  conversation  with 
their  wives,  and  had  no  other  food  than  the  temple  shew-bread 
and  the  flesh  of  the  sacrifice.  All  the  rites  were  performed  stand- 
ing and  barefoot  with  feet  washed  and  head  uncovered.  Their 
chief  duties  were  to  keep  up  the  fire  on  the  altar  of  the  burnt 
offerings  that  it  might  never  be  extinguished;  to  offer  sacrifices, 
guard  the  sacred  vessels,  wash  the  victims,  make  the  aspei-sions  or 
sprinklings  whether  of  blood  or  water  upon  the  pei-sons  offering 
the  victims,  or  upon  the  book  of  the  law,  to  burn  the  incense 
upon  the  altar,  to  attend  to  the  lamps,  to  put  new  shew-bread  on 
the  table,  and  to  remove  the  old.  It  Avas  also  a  part  of  their  duty 
to  catcall  the  blood  of  the  victims  and  sprinkle  it  upon  the  altar. 

All  the  duties  just  stated  were  common  to  all  the  priests,  but 
the  high-priest  alone  was  entitled  to  enter  the  holy  of  holies  once 
a  year  on  the  day  of  expiation,  and  he  alone  could  offer  up  the 
sacrifice  which  was  prescrilxjd  for  that  day  both  for  his  own  sins 
and  those  of  all  the  people.  Several  minor  ecclesiastical  officials 
were  connected  with  the  synagogues.  One  read  prayei"s  and 
preached,  and  others  collected  alms  and  looked  after  the  poor  and 
helpless.  The  synagogues  Avere  also  used  as  schools  where  the 
teachei-s,  who  were  called  sages,  sat  on  benches  with  their  pupils 
at  their  feet,  — hence  Saint  Paul's  declaration  that  he  learned  the 


THEOCRACY  OR   PRIESTLY   GOVERNMENT.  378 

law  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel.  Others  outside  the  j^riesthood 
throughout  the  many  vicissitudes  of  the  Hebrew  nation  were 
distinguishes!  for  holiness  and  j^iety,  and  for  being  in  close 
communion  with  the  Ahniglity  from  whom  they  received  extraor- 
dinary marks  of  the  divine  favor.  Among  these  were  the 
prophets  who  w(*re  called  from  among  all  the  tribes,  the  Recha- 
bites  an  ascetic;  and  coiiteniplativc  society  of  persons,  and  the 
Kazarenes. 

To  tliis  people  of  the  covenant,  with  their  priesthood  still 
wielding  theocratic  power  in  the  Jewish  province  of  the  Roman 
(/{esai*s,  tlie  fuhicss  of  time  liad  arrived  and  the  Word  made  flesh, 
which  had  been  promised  to  their  patriarchs  and  foretold  by  their 
prophets.  The  ^Messiah  was  in  their  midst,  and  they  knew  him 
not.  '"He  was  in  the  world  and  the  world  was  made  by  him; 
and  the  worhl  knew  liini  not;  lie  came  unto  his  own  and  his  own 
received  him  not." 

Caiaplias  was  the  high-priest,  the  head  of  the  theocracy  under 
which  the  Jewish  hiw  was  administered,  subject  to  revision  only 
in  very  important  matters  by  tlie  imperial  authority.  Tlie  Man  of 
Sorrows  was  brou<^lit  before  him  to  answer  for  his  teachinsr  and 
doctrine.  And  when  lie  answered.  Holy  Writ  says,  "The  high 
priest  rending  his  garments  saith:  What  need  we  any  further 
witnesses?  "  And  they  led  Jesus  to  Pilate,  the  representative  of 
Rome,  accusing  him.  Pilate  said  to  them:  '"Take  him  you  and 
judge  him  according  to  your  law."  But  they  refused,  insisting 
that  Pilate  should  condemn  him  according  to  Roman  law,  which 
with  much  niiso-ivinof  he  did.  .Vnd  Jesus  was  crucified  between 
two  thieves. 

Thirty-seven  yeai*s  later  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  were  battered 
down  by  Titus,  tlu;  peo})le  wlio  had  surviv^^'d  the  terrible  siege 
Avere  put  to  the  sword  or  carried  into  slavery,  the  walls  of  the 
temple  were  levelled  to  the  ground,  the  holy  of  holies  profaned, 
and  tlie  ground  was  sown  with  salt.  About  a  million  of  Jews 
jHjrished  in  the  rebellion,  and  the  living  were  dispei*sed  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  world  where  at  the  present  hour  they  present 
the  singular  anomaly  of  a  small  remnant  of  people  unassimilated 
to  any  great  extent  by  the  nations  into  Avhich  they  have  entered, 
although  eighteen  centuries  have  elapsed  since  their  dispersion. 


874  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  sceptre  has  long  passed  away  from  the  Hebrew  theoci-acy^ 
but  the  ignominious  cross  of  Calvary  in  the  hands  of  its  legiti- 
mate successor  became  the  insignia  of  a  more  potential  and  far- 
reaching  power  than  the  patriarchs  or  the  prophets  foresaw,  —  the 
symbol  of  an  institution  Avliicli  Avas  designed  to  bear  throughout 
the  whole  world  the  light  of  truth,  —  to  confound  the  wisdom  of 
the  pagan  jJiilosopliei-s,  and  to  sit  in  the  judgment  seat  till  the 
end  of  time. 

The  men  Avhom  Jesus  tii-st  selected  and  organized  to  forward  His 
work,  His  helpers,  and  teachers,  were  mostly  ignorant  and  obscui*e 
fishennen,  uncouth  in  ap])earance,  and  entirely  unacquainted  with 
the  learning  of  the  scliools.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  design  in 
this  selection  was  to  confound  the  onlinary  prudence  of  mankind  in 
conducting  worldly  aflfaii*s  which  assuredly  would  liave  rejected  such 
ignorant  and  unpromising  instruments  to  teach  and  preach  on  any 
subject,  and  to  show  to  the  workl  that  what  Saint  Paul  calls  the 
folly  of  the  cross  was  the  way  of  Christianity,  the  wisdom  of  God. 

After  the  crucifixion  the  apostles  and  the  multitudes  whom 
thev  had  converted  in  Judea  were  of  one  lieai-t  and  mind;  they 
formed  practically  but  oiu*  family,  and  held  everything  in  com- 
mon. There  W(mc  no  poor  among  them  l)ecause  they  who  had 
lands  or  lumses  sold  them  and  brought  the  price  to  the  a])Ostles 
for  distribution  amon<r  the  indiiifent.  About  tlie  vear  40  the 
apostles  se[)arated  in  ol)edience  to  tlie  injunction  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  ?U  nations,  but  l>efore  doing  so  they  met  together  and 
com])osed  a  sul)stantial  abridgment  of  the  Christian  doctrine, 
which  is  known  as  the  Apostle's  (^reed,  and  the  chief  object  of 
which  was  to  dcline  and  secure  the  unity  of  faith  which  they 
deemed  essential.  A  few  yeai-s  later  the  tii-st  council  of  the 
church  was  assembled  in  Jerusalem. 

A  short  time  aftenvards  occurred  the  dmniatic  scene  of  Saint 
Paul  standing  l)efor(^  the  Sanhedrim,  which  was  presided  over  by 
Ananias,  the  Jewisii  high  priest,  w^lio  charged  the  jn-isoner  with 
being  a  contennier  of  the  law  and  a  profaner  of  the  temple.  The 
head  of  the  Jewish  theocrac^y  and  the  great  missionaiy  of  the  new 
faith  stood  face  to  face.  The  high  priest,  who  wjis  a  verj^  bitter 
enemy  of  the  Christians,  had  the  sentence  of  deatli  prepared,  when 
Paul  reminded  the  Pharisees  present  that  he  had  Ixjcome  an  object 


t 


\ 


376  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  hatred  to  the  Sadducees  for  having  maintained  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection.  This  statement  kindled  the  fire  of  party  spirit 
among  the  members  of  the  Sanhedrim,  the  Pharisees  declaring 
with  great  vehemence  that  they  could  find  nothing  whatever  In 
the  accused  which  was  worthy  of  chastisement.  Lysias,  the 
Roman  tribune,  led  Paul  away  from  the  waning  factions,  and 
brought  him  before  the  Roman  tribunal  presided  over  by  Felix, 
the  governor,  from  whom  he  appealed  to  Caesar,  and  therefore,  to 
l)rosecute  his  appeal,  made  his  voyage  to  Rome  to  which,  according 
to  the  best  authorities,  Peter  had  preceded  him.  Nero  was  Emperor 
of  Rome  just  then,  and  was  Pontifex  ^laximus  of  the  Pagan  priest- 
hood. A  brief  examination  of  tlie  condition  of  the  world  at  this 
period  can  be  made  here  with  some  profit  to  enable  us  to  judge  of 
the  contest  on  which  the  Galilean  fishermen  had  entered. 

The  Roman  Empire  was  mistress  of  the  world.  For  half  a  cen- 
tury she  had  pi^ctically  lorded  it  over  all  the  civilized,  semi-civil- 
ized, and  many  of  the  barbarous  nations  of  the  earth.  She  was  most 
strongly  established  at  the  birth  of  Christianity.  The  zenith  of 
her  power  and  prosperity  was  reached  at  about  the  time  when  Jesus 
the  Christ  Wiis  laid  in  the  manger  of  the  little  Judean  village  of 
Betlilehem,  one  of  its  outlying  conquered  proA^inces.  The  time 
which  has  been  termed  the  golden  age  of  Augustus  had  opened 
and  the  gates  of  the  temple  of  Janus  were  closed  to  signify 
peace.  But  society  presented  a  most  repugnant  aspect  underneath 
the  surface.  It  furnished  a  picture  of  most  revolting  corruption 
slightl}'  veiled  by  wealth  and  ostentation.  Mannei-s  were  with- 
out modesty,  morals  without  reality,  passion  without  restraint, 
laws  Avithout  authority,  save  against  the  poor  who  were  unable 
to  purchase  imnuuiity,  and  religion  had  become  a  farce.  What- 
ever pristine  strength  idolatry  once  had  was  exhausted  by  time 
and  by  the  evil  use  to  wliic^h  it  had  been  made  subservient  by 
the  basest  passions.  The  philosophei-s  and  satirical  poets  had 
dethroned  the  gods,  and  little  was  left  to  atti-act  and  satisfy  the 
highest  ideals  of  man's  spiritual  nature.  "Eat,  drink,  and  be 
merry,  for  to-morrow  we  die,"  pervaded  the  empire. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  note  at  this  veiy  time  that  while  the 
greater  part  of  the  human  i-ace  groaned  in  the  most  abject  slavery, 
successful  generals  and  soldiers,  and  even  the  most  degraded  and 


378  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

abominable  monsters  which  have  disgraced  liumanity,  were  aix)theo- 
sized  or  elevated  to  the  i-ank  of  gods.  The  l)estial  and  depraved 
when  dead  were  deified  by  the  living.  The  heart  of  society  was 
coiTupt;  moral  principles  had  lost  their  force. 

The  zeal  and  intrepidity  of  Peter  and  Paul  in  the  imperial 
city  itself  made  many  converts  at  an  early  date,  some  even  within 
the  precincts  of  Nero's  palace.  Paul  in  his  epistle  from  Rome 
to  the  Philippians  mentions  the  fact  in  his  greeting,  saying,  "  All 
the  saints  salute  you,  especially  they  who  are  of  Cfesar's  house." 

But  Nero  proposed  to  sweep  these  contemnei's  of  the  gods,  tlie 
despicable  Christians,  from  the  city  of  Rome,  not  'exactly  because 
he  feared  or  hated  them,  they  were  too  insignificant  as  yet,  but 
to  gratify  a  cruel  caprice  and  impelled  probably  by  a  sub-conscious 
antipathy  to  teachings  of  wliich  he  must  have  heard  from  the 
coiutiers.     The  pretext  of  the  monster  was  worthy  of  him. 

He  ordered  the  city  to  l)e  set  on  fire  in  many  places,  as  the 
simplicity  of  the  ancient  houses  disj^leased  him,  and  he  wished 
to  have  them  replaced  by  more  ornate  edifices,  and  also  to  give 
the  pojnilace  wlio  were  hungering  for  excitement  a  spectacle 
wliich  would  outrival  the  takinof  of  Trov.  Ten  of  tlie  fourteen 
divisions  of  the  city  were  destroyed,  and  it  is  alleged  that  the 
tyrant  played  ii  fiddle  while  watching  the  blazing  scene  from 
a  balcony  of  the  palace.  To  exculpate  himself  from  the  infamous 
crime,  he  charged  the  Cliristians  with  having  caiLsed  the  confla- 
irration.  Thev  were  arrested  l)v  his  ordei*s,  and  condemned  to  die 
by  the  most  fiendish  torture  which  his  perverted  ingenuity  could 
diivise. 

A  favorite  im})erial  and  popular  amusement  was  to  fc^ed  wild 
lx?ast^  in  the  amphitheatre  with  Cln-istians  or  men  suspected  of 
Christianitv.  Some  were  sewed  into  the  skins  of  wild  beasts 
and  hunted  through  the  streets  by  savage  dogs  which  worried 
and  devoured  tliem;  (thei's  were  crucified.  Some  were  swathed 
in  garments  and  bands  soaked  in  pitch  and  other  inflammable 
material,  and  tied  to  posts  along  the  streets  and  in  the  gardens 
of  the  i)alace,  where  they  were  set  on  fire,  when  night  came  on,  to 
furnish  light  for  the  locality.  Witliina  year  afterwards,  June  29, 
A.  1).  1)7,  Saint  Peter  and  Saint  Paul  were  i)ut  to  death  by  Nero's 
orders,  the  fonner   on    Mount   Janiculum,  being  crucified  head 


THEOCRACY   OE   PRIESTLY   GOVERNMENT, 


379 


downwards  at  IiU  exjH'eiw  request  as  unwortliy  tlie  hoiini'  of  liis 
Master's  position  oil  tlic!  t-ross,  and  the  latter  near  tlie  Fulviaii 
waters,  Ixsing  iielieiuled,  iw  thts  law  pmviiled,  liecuase  lie  was  a 
Koinau  citizen. 

Thus  the  issue  wius  joiiiL-d  between  the  two  forces  whieli  ^vei'o 
to  contend  through  niiinj  centuries  for  the  control  of  tlic  civilized 
world.  The  vanguiinl  of  the  ('ruciiied  One  hiiil  encountered  the 
master  of  many  legions  and  tv  the  eye  of  the  world  siift'ei-e<l  igno- 
uiiniouH  defeat.  And  thus  the  contest  raged  for  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years;  all  the  [Xiwer  of  Pagan  Rome,  its  annv,  courtiers, 
spies,  and  j^wcudo-philoKojihers  being  wielded 
to  stamp  out  the  cliurcli  from  the  earth.  What 
terrible  odda  there  were  in  the  desperate  con- 


flict! Piission,  jirejudicc.  jiower.  culture,  and  the  sword  on  mie 
aide, —  on  tlie  other  the  folly  of  the  cross,  purity,  humility, 
weakness,  and  fortitiidc.  \cvcr  l)efiire  had  cnrth  witnessed  such 
scenes,  and  proliahly  never  again  will  sucli  occur. 

Again  and  again  in  tlu'  imperial  city  the  infant  ihnrch  ^^ils 
driven  to  the  undeigi'ound  lefugcs  wliicli  it  hail  excavated,  tlie 
labyrinthine  catacomlis  in  wJiich  the  wniains  of  the  dead  con- 
fessors were  deposited,  and  where  the  hunted  survivors  crouuhed 
in  the  darkness,  cold  and  trembling. 


880  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Such  were  the  times  and  conditions  under  which  the  Christian 
theocracy  was  assuming  shape  and  form.  The  process  of  crystal- 
lization was  slowly  but  efficiently  at  work.  It  had  a  doctrine, 
a  hierarcliy,  a  discipline,  and  a  worehip,  all  regularly  but  simply 
constituted,  as  befitted  the  church  in  its  infancy. 

The  nature  of  its  membership  is  succinctly  given  by  one  of  its 
early  apologists,  Athenagoras,  of  Athens,  who  says:  *' Among  us 
will  be  found  the  ignorant,  the  poor,  laborers,  and  old  women 
who  cannot,  perliaps,  define  by  reasoning  the  truth  of  our  doctrine. 
They  do  not  enter  into  discussion,  but  they  do  good  works.  The 
most  aged  we  honor  as  our  fathers  and  mothers.  The  hope  of 
another  life  makes  us  despise  the  present,  even  in  the  midst  of 
lawful  pleasures.  Marriage  with  us  is  a  holy  vocation  which 
imparts  the  gi-ace  necessary  to  bring  up  our  children  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord.  We  have  renounced  your  bloody  spectacles,^  being 
persuaded  that  there  is  very  little  difference  between  looking  on 
murder  and  committing  it." 

The  martyrology  of  tlie  church  grew  apace,  while  at  the  same 
time  her  membership  increased  in  a  marvellous  manner  in  every 
place  among  all  ranks  and  classes  of  society.  Over  thirty  popes, 
successors  of  Saint  Peter,  won  the  laurel  crown  of  martyrdom  in 
Rome  within  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  which  elapsed  from 
the  time  of  Nero  to  CoiLstantine.  The  robust  figures  of  Saint 
Gregory  of  Nyassa,  Saint  Basil,  Saint  Justin,  Saint  Cyprian, 
Saint  Polycarp,  Origen,  TertuUian,  and  a  host  of  others  entered 
the  arena  and  did  valiant  service  during  this  supreme  trial  in 
combatting  error  and  explaining  the  gospel.  Beneath  the  sword 
of  the  executionei-s  the  gospel  was  extended.  Saint  Justin  says: 
"At  the  commencement  of  the  second  century  tliere  is  no  nation 
among  whom  we  do  not  find  believers  in  Christ."  The  end  of 
the  first  great  struggle  had  arrived.  Tlie  cross,  which,  according 
to  the  story  of  the  time,  appeared  in  the  midday  heavens  before 
the  astonished  eyes  of  Pagan  Constantine  and  his  whole  army 
with  its  letters  of  fire,  In  hoe  ^hjno  vincei^^^  was  about  to  change 
the  face  of  the  world. 

Tliis  instrument  and  sign  of  ignominy  was  now  adopted  as  the 


»  Meaning  the  gladiatorial  ttght»  which  delighted  the  jxipulace. 
»'•  By  this  sign  thou  shalt  cxmquer." 


382  THE   STORY   OF    GOVKKNMENT. 

imperial  standard,  heucefortli  to  l)e  carried  side  b>'  side  with  the 
ancient  eagles.  Constantine  signalized  his  accession  to  the  sover- 
eign power  in  Rome  by  an  edict  in  favor  of  tlie  Cluistians.  He 
granted  tliem  libeity.  For  tlie  first  time  during  three  centuries 
an  emperor  <lared  openly  to  proclaim  his  sympathy  for  tlie  faith  of 
Jesus  Clirist.  He  bestowed  on  the  (christian  priests  all  the 
privileges  accorded  to  the  Pagan  priests.  The  popes  hencefor- 
ward l>ecame  i)ei'S(ms  of  considcmtion,  enjoying  the  confidence  of 
the  emperor.  Tims  was  practically  closed  a  combat  of  nearl}' 
three  centuries  between  t\w  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
and  idolatrous  Home.  The  imjjerial  decret?  was  dated  at  Milan, 
A.  D.  313,  and  was  sent  to  all  the  consuls  and  governoi's  throughout 
the  empire.  From  this  time  there  were  two  sovereignties  recog- 
nized and  proclaimed  in  the  world;  that  of  the  Pope,  and  that  of 
emperor. 

Shortly  after  Constantine  issued  his  decree  of  toleration,  the 
Donatistii,  bish()i)s  of  the  African  sect  which  followed  Donatus, 
earnestl}'  reijuested  him  to  convene  a  council  of  the  bishops  of 
(ifiul  to  judge  of  their  differences  with  the  Christians  who  opposed 
them.  Constantine  replied  saying:  *'You  ask  judges  of  me,  you 
bishops,  of  mc  who  am  in  worldly  life,  and  who  myself  await  the 
judgment  of  Jesus  Christ."  He  forwarded  their  memorials  and 
])apers  to  ^lelchiades,  the  Poi)e,  who  called  a  council  of  the  bishops 
of  Italy  and  (iaul  in  the  Lateran  palace  to  settle  the  troubles  of 
the  Church  of  Caithage.  The  government  of  the  church,  founded 
on  the  principle  of  unity  in  the  high  ])riesthood  or  supremacy  of 
the  Roman  bisho})s,  and  perpetuated  by  an  always  living  hierarchy, 
was  thus  recognized  in  one  of  his  fii-st  acts  by  the  fii-st  Christian 
Cicsar,  Constantine. 

The  heresy  of  Arius  of  Alexandria  arose  at  this  time,  which  in 
effect  was  substantially  a  denial  of  the  Codhead  in  the  person  of 
Christ.  Arius  and  his  teaching  were  condemned  at  a  convocation 
of  the  bisho})s  of  Egyi)t  and  IJbya,  but  he  refused  to  submit,  and 
was  exconmiunictated  A.  D.  820.  Very  great  dissension  prevailing 
throughout  the  cast  on  this  account,  Constiintine,  the  emperor, 
Avas  requested  to  assemble  a  council  representative  of  the  whole 
church,  or  ecumenical  council,  as  it  is  expressed  in  the  Greek 
language.      In  concert  with  the  Poj)e,  Saint  Sylvester,  he  there- 


384  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

fore  summoned  a  general   council  of  all  the  bishops  in  the  world 
to  fneet  at  Nice   in  Bithynia  in  the  month  of  June,  A.  D.  325. 

From  every  quarter  of  the  known  glol>e  they  assembled  to  the 
number  of  three  hundred  and  eighteen  bishops,  exclusive  of  priests, 
deacons^  and  acolytes.  The  travelling  expenses  of  all  who 
attended  were  paid  out  of  the  public  trejusury.  This  was  really 
the  first  great  council  of  the  universal  church,  the  Council  of 
Jenisalem,  presided  over  by  Saint  Peter,  consisting  of  but  a 
few  members,  many  of  whom  had  seen  the  Saviour  face  to  face. 
The  Pope  was  represented  at  the  council  by  his  legate  Osius, 
of  Cordova,  in  Spain.  Constantine  was  also  present  seated 
upon  a  throne.  Arius  and  the  bishops  who  suj)poiled  him 
were  heard  in  defence  of  their  views,  which  were  embodied 
in  a  profession  of  faith  drawn  up  by  themselves  and  laid 
before  the  assembled  fathers.  On  a  vote  it  was  rejected  by  an 
overwhelming  majority.  The  belief  of  the  great  majority  was 
then  expressed  and  formulated  by  the  jmpal  legate,  at  whose 
dictation  Hermogenes  wrot<3  it. 

This  profession  of  faith,  known  as  the  Nicene  Creed,  has  become 
the  received  expression  of  Christian  faith.  It  hius  stood  the  test 
of  ages,  and  every  generation  of  Christians  have  used  as  a  solenni 
act  of  faith  that  fonnula  which  Osius  the  legate  read  aloud  in  the 
Greek  tongue  to  the  fathers  of  the  Nicene  Council.  The  creed 
was  signed  by  all  the  bishops  present  save  two.  The  council 
accordingly  condemned  them  along  with  Arius,  and  anathematized 
the  hitter's  writings.  Constantine  confirmed  these  decrees  by 
his  authority  which  gave  them  the  force  of  law  throughout  the 
empire.  This  council  also  drew  up  several  canons  or  rules  of 
discipline  which  were  termed  the  Apostolic  Canons.  They 
embody  the  whole  canonical  jurisprudence  of  the  fourth  century. 
They  may  be  briefly  summarized  thus:  1.  The  primacy  of  the 
Roman  Church.  2.  Hierarchical  authority  of  Patriarchs  and 
Metropolitans.  3.  Election  and  consecration  of  bishops.  4. 
Celibacy  of  clerics.  5.  Rules  for  public  penance  in  reconciling 
heretics.     6.   ^Ecclesiastical  discipline  relative  to  marriage. 

Respecting  the  Church  of  Rome  the  canon  of  the  council  says : 
"The  primacy  has  always  resided  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  Let 
the    ancient   custom  then  be    vigorously  maintained   in    Egypt, 


THEOOHAUV   OB   PKIESTLY   OOVEHNMENT. 


,  ete." 
,iith.iiit\- 


of   the   Patriarclis    is    etate'l   and 


Libya,  and  Pentapolia  sn  tliat  all  pay  tlie  homage  of  »iibniiHsion  to 
the  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  for  so  the  Roman  Pontiff  orders.  Let 
the  same  lie  observed  in  res|jeet  to  tlie  Bisliop  of  Aiitiocli,  and  bo 
in  all  other  province 

The  hieran'liieal 
defined  in  the 
thirty' -ninth  of 
the  Apostolic 
eanoiis.  It  is 
entitled  "Of  the 
Nidicitude  and 
}»ower  of  the 
J'iitiiiircli  over 
the  bishi»]>s  and 
aivlil.islK-iw  of 
his  pati'iaivliate, 
anil  theprimaey 
of  the  hishop  oi 
Home  over  iiU."' 
and  it  pi-oceeds 
to  lay  down  the 
rul(!  of  govern- 
ment upon  the 
lines  indicated 
in  the  title.  The 
rules  for  the 
ordination  of 
bishops; 
l)riests,  the  ob- 
servam-o  of  cler- 
ieal  celibaey, 
the  reeoneilia- 
tion  of  heretii's, 

and  the  prohibition  of  niiirvia^s  within  certiiin  degrees  of  kindred, 
and  in  other  respects,  were  set  foi-tliwith  considenible  iniiiiiteness, 
all  of  which  are  easy  of  iwcess  to  the  student  who  desires  to  study 
them  in  their  entirety. 

From  the  Council  of   \iee,   therefore,  the  <:hun:li  came  forth 


s  cxiuvEitsiojj. 


386  THE   STORY   OF   GOVKKNMENT. 

consciou',  of  its  power  and  mission,  fully  organized  and  equipped 
for  the  warfare  of  time  on  the  earth.  The  Christian  theoci-acy 
beeame  visible  hencefonvard  to  all  men.  Thirtv-seven  years  later 
Julian,  who  has  been  termed  tJie  Apostate,  was  emi)eror.  His 
whole  family  had  been  murdered  l)y  his  predecessor  Constantius. 
He  endeavored  to  restore  the  woi-ship  of  the  Pagan  gods  and  over- 
turn Christianity,  and  precipitated  a  bitter  conflict  with  the  Gali- 
leans, as  he  derisively  called  the  Christians.  His  proclamations 
were  disregarded  by  tlie  latter  when  conflicting  with  their  faith, 
and  they  were  prosecuted  with  the  utmost  rigor. 

Julian  even  undertook  to  falsify  the  proi)hecy  of  Christ 
relative  to  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  that  one  stone  should 
not  be  left  upon  another,  by  rebuilding  the  temi)le.  But 
Ammianus  Marcellinus,  a  Pagan  historian,  relates  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  that  Julian's  workmen  were  driven  from  the  ruins 
by  Imlls  of  fii-e  which  issued  from  the  earth,  making  it 
impossible  to  carry  on  the  work.  Finally,  to  make  himself 
greatest  of  all  the  Ciesars,  he  proposed  to  conquer  Persia,  and 
annex  it  to  his  gi*eat  empire.  On  June  26,  A.  D.  'U)3,  his  army 
was  attacked  by  the  Persians.  Julian  rode  rapidly  into  the  tight 
without  putting  on  his  armor,  when  a  javelin  from  an  unknoAMi 
hand  pierced  him  through  the  body.  Theodoret  says  that  he  flumn' 
a  handful  of  the  blood  issuing  from  his  wound  towards  \\w 
heavens  crying  out,  "Cialilean,  thou  hast  conquered."  His  death 
soon  followed  and  his  anti-Christian  edicts  were  immediate Iv 
re])ealed  by  his  successor. 

The  decline  of  tlie  Roman  Empire  as  a  political  entity  dat<\s 
from  this  period,  that  is,  from  the  close  of  the  fourtli  centurv. 
The  Goths  had  some  time  previoiLsly  swept  down  the  nortliern 
forests,  crossed  the  Dainibe,  defeated  a  lariifc  Roman  annv  under 
the  walls  of  Adrianople,  and  lield  possession  of  a  great  })art  of  the 
northern  poi-tion  of  what  is  now  known  as  Turkey  in  Europe. 
Tlie  Huns  and  Alani,  p(M)})les  unknown  to  the  first  Ca'sai-s,  came 
rolling  along  like  great  tidal  waves  from  tlie  great  plain  of  Tar- 
taiy  driving  the  Goths  l)efore  them.  The  country  bonlering  on 
the  Rhine  and  Da:inl)e  was  attacked  by  the  Germanic  tribes,  the 
Alemanni,  tlie  Franks,  and  Suevi ;  the  Pei-sians  and  Nemenians 
were  attacking  the  Roman  posts  along  the   Euphrates  and   the 


THEOCRACY   OB   PEIESTLY   GOVERNMENT. 


887 


Tigris.     Saint  Jerome  writing  at  this  time  says:   "  The  Roman 
Empire  is  falling  to  jiieces." 

In  451  Attila,  the  fierce  king  of  the  Huns,  ^vho  claimed  the 


official  title  of  "The  Sfnuiirp  ^^  God,"  swept  over  Europe,  bnisli- 
ing  the  other  trilios  wli'i  liad  gone  before  from  his  way  and 
capturing  the   chief  cities  of  Gaul  which  he  gave  u[i  to  pillage 


388  THE   STORY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

and  to  the  violence  of  his  semi-savage  soldiery.  The  two  emperors 
who  claimed  sovereignty  over  the  empire,  Valentinian  and  Theo- 
dosius  II.,  tried  to  negotiate  with  him  by  offering  him  the  title 
of  General  of  the  Empire  with  a  large  tribute  which  they  would 
pay  him  annually.  The  reply  which  he  told  his  ambassadors  to 
give  the  emperors  was,  "  Attila,  our  master  and  yours,  orders  you 
to  prepare  him  a  palace." 

This  answer  meant  an  invasion.  The  semi-barbarous  invaders 
who  preceded  him  by  lialf  a  century  had  been  partially  converted 
to  Christianity  and,  although  independent  of  imperial  authority, 
8ome  of  them  now  made  common  cause  with  the  imperial  forces 
against  this  awful  scourge,  who  said  of  himself,  "The  star  falls, 
the  earth  trembles ;  I  am  the  hammer  of  the  universe ;  the  grass 
never  grows  where  Attila's  horse  has  once  trod."  The  combined 
armies  of  the  Roman  general  jEtius  and  Theodoric,  king  of  the 
Visigoths,  met  the  hosts  of  Attila  on*  the  plain  of  Chalons,  in 
France,  just  outside  of  Orleans,  in  June.  The  two  armies  num- 
l)ered  about  one  million  of  men.  It  was  probably  the  bloodiest 
battle  ever  fought  on  earth.  From  sunrise  until  sunset  the  battle 
raged  at  close  quarters  with  battle-axe,  sword  and  spear.  Three 
hundred  thousand  men  lay  dead,  when  the  fight  wa^i  ended  by  the 
retreat  of  Attila.  Theodoric,  the  Visigoth  king,  fell  in  the  conflict 
which  his  valor  and  skill  had  contributed  to  win  for  the  allies. 

But  the  next  year,  452,  Attila  appeared  on  the  borders  of  Italy 
with  a  larger  army  than  that  of  the  i)receding  year,  laying  waste 
the  cities  and  towns  on  his  march  with  fire  and  sword.  He 
destroyed  the  large  and  ancient  cities  of  Padua,  Vicenza,  Verona, 
Bresscia,  Bergamo,  Aquileia,  Milan,  and  Pavia.  He  pushed  on 
amid  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  conquered  cities  direct  for  Rome, 
but  halted  near  Mantua,  whose  inhabitants  fled  in  dismay  to  the 
marshes  where  Venice  now  stands. 

The  last  hour  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  west  seemed  to  have 
struck.  The  Pontiff,  Saint  Leo  I.,  appeared  in  the  camp  of  the 
barbarians.  He  was  conducted  to  the  tent  of  Attila,  where  he 
came  as  the  representative  of  the  God  of  Peace.  The  two  stood 
face  to  face,  one  armed  with  the  sword,  the  other  with  a  crozier. 
Attila  w\as  awed  by  the  bearing  and  words  of  the  great  Pontiff,  of 
whose  fame  he  had  already  heard.     He  heard  with  favor  the  propo- 


THEOCRACY   OR   PRIESTLY  GOVERNMENT.  889 

sition  of  Saint  Leo,  and  retraced  his  steps  with  his  army  across 
the  Danube,  where  he  died  suddenly  the  following  year  while 
preparing  for  further  devastation.  Saint  Leo  on  his  return  was 
hailed  as  the  savior  of  Rome,  and  the  enthusiastic  people  bestowed 
upon  him  the  title  of  Great.  A  few  years  later  and  the  Roman 
Empire  of  the  west  was  utterly  extinguished.  The  various  prov- 
inces were  parcelled  out  by  barbarians  whose  very  name  was  a 
terror  to  the  Roman  i-ace,  which  was  now  everywhere  oppressed 
by  the  rude,  uncouth  and  unlettered. conquerons.  Tlie  Church 
alone  stood  between  the  victor  and  the  vfinquished  to  affoi-d  pro- 
tection, mercy  and  peace.  It  was  the  only  institution  of  the 
empire  which  liad  neither  shared  the  overthrow  nor  been  crushed 
by  its  fall.  The  conquerora  saw  this;  they  were  awed  and 
attracted  by  the  pomp  of  its  celebrations  and  ritual.  The  Chris- 
tian religion,  which  these  tril^es  and  nations  embraced  in  the 
course  of  time,  gmdually  tamed  their  native  fieixjeness,  but 
tliis  result  of  their  converaion  was  slow  and  it  required  several 
generations  to  develop.  Clovis,  the  king  of  the  Franks,  one  day 
after  his  conversion,  listening  to  the  Bishop  of  Rheims  reading  to 
him  of  the  trial  of  Christ  before  Pilate  and  of  his  cinicifixion, 
leaped  to  his  feet  and  cried  out  with  honest  indignation :  "  Oh, 
that  I  had  been  there  with  my  Franks  I  " 

With  the  greater  part  of  the  new  converts  it  was  the  reluctant 
work  of  years  to  give  up  their  old  habits,  their  violent  and  irrita- 
ble temper,  a  passionate  love  of  hunting  and  fighting,  and  a  rude 
contempt  for  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  concjuered  Romans  whom 
they  now  held  as  serfs,  and  over  whom  tliey  claimed  the  right  of 
life  and  death.  It  wjis  necessary  to  humanize  them  first  and 
Christianize  them  afterwards.  The  Church,  therefore,  labored  to 
do  this  work,  and  during  the  period  embracing  from  the  fifth  to 
the  tenth  centurj^  she  saw  nation  after  nation  bow  down  reluc- 
tantly to  her  authority;  in  far-off  England  St  Austin  converted 
the  Saxon  king  Ethelbert  in  596,  but  the  majority  of  the  Hun- 
garians were  not  converted  until  as  late  as  the  year  1000. 

To  protect  the  oppressed  and  to  shield  the  peraecuted  in  those 
days  of  turbulence  and  mncor,  the  privilege  of  church  asylum  was 
established,  which  was,  in  effect,  that  the  fugitive  who  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  precincts  of  the  altar  should  not  be  attacked,  but 


388  THE   STORY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

and  to  the  violence  of  his  semi-savage  soldiery.  The  two  emperors 
who  claimed  sovereignty  over  the  empire,  Valentinian  and  Theo- 
dosius  II.,  tried  to  negotiate  with  him  by  offering  him  the  title 
of  General  of  the  Empire  with  a  large  tribute  wliich  they  would 
pay  him  annually.  The  reply  which  he  told  his  ambassadors  to 
give  the  emperors  was,  "  Attila,  our  master  and  yours,  orders  you 
to  prepare  him  a  palace." 

This  answer  meant  an  invasion.  The  semi -barbarous  invaders 
who  preceded  him  by  half  a  century  had  been  partially  converted 
to  Christianity  and,  although  independent  of  imperial  authority, 
some  of  them  now  made  common  cause  with  the  imperial  forces 
against  this  awful  scourge,  who  said  of  himself,  "  The  star  falls, 
the  earth  trembles ;  I  am  the  hammer  of  the  universe ;  the  grass 
never  grows  where  Attila*s  horse  has  once  trod."  The  combined 
armies  of  the  Roman  general  ^tius  and  Theodoric,  king  of  the 
Visigoths,  met  the  hosts  of  Attila  on"  the  plain  of  Clialons,  in 
France,  just  outside  of  Orleans,  in  June.  The  two  armies  num- 
l)ered  about  one  million  of  men.  It  was  probably  the  bloodiest 
battle  ever  fought  on  earth.  From  sunrise  until  sunset  tlie  battle 
raged  at  close  quarters  with  battle-axe,  sword  and  spear.  Three 
hundred  thousand  men  lay  dead,  when  the  fight  wa^  ended  by  the 
retreat  of  Attila.  Theodoric,  the  Visigoth  king,  fell  in  the  conflict 
which  his  valor  and  skill  had  contributed  to  win  for  the  allies. 

But  the  next  year,  452,  Attila  appeared  on  the  borders  of  Italy 
with  a  larger  army  than  that  of  the  preceding  year,  laying  waste 
the  cities  and  towns  on  his  march  with  fire  and  sword.  He 
destroyed  the  large  and  ancient  cities  of  Padua,  Vicenza,  Verona, 
Bresscia,  Bergamo,  Aquileia,  Milan,  and  Pavia.  He  pushed  on 
amid  the  smoking  ruins  of  the  conquered  cities  direct  for  Rome, 
but  halted  near  Mantua,  whose  inhabitant's  fled  in  dismay  to  the 
marshes  where  Venice  now  stands. 

The  last  hour  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  west  seemed  to  have 
struck.  The  Pontiff,  Saint  Leo  I.,  appeared  in  the  camp  of  the 
barbarians.  He  was  conducted  to  the  tent  of  Attila,  where  he 
came  as  the  representative  of  tlie  God  of  Peace.  The  two  stood 
face  to  face,  one  armed  with  the  sword,  the  other  with  a  crozier. 
Attila  was  awed  by  the  bearing  and  words  of  the  great  Pontiff,  of 
whoi^iuil^^JlAiyitrii.^l''^'^*    ^®  heard  with  favor  the  propo- 


THEOCRACY   OR   PRIESTLY  00\^ERNM£NT.  889 

sition  of  Saint  Leo,  and  retraced  his  steps  with  his  army  across 
the  Danube,  where  he  died  suddenly  the  following  year  while 
preparing  for  further  devastation.  Saint  Leo  on  his  return 'was 
hailed  as  the  savior  of  Rome,  and  the  enthusiastic  people  bestowed 
upon  him  the  title  of  Great.  A  few  years  later  and  the  Roman 
Empire  of  the  west  was  utterly  extinguished.  The  various  prov- 
inces were  parcelled  out  by  barbarians  whose  very  name  was  a 
terror  to  the  Roman  race,  which  was  now  everywhere  oppressed 
by  the  rude,  uncouth  and  unlettered. conqueroi-s.  The  Church 
alone  stood  between  the  victor  and  the  vanquished  to  affoixl  pro- 
tection, mercy  and  peace.  It  was  the  only  institution  of  the 
empire  which  had  neither  shared  tlie  overthrow  nor  been  crushed 
by  its  fall.  The  conqueroi-s  saw  this;  they  were  awed  and 
attracted  by  the  pomp  of  its  celebrations  and  ritual.  The  Chris- 
tian religion,  which  these  tribes  and  nations  embraced  in  the 
course  of  time,  gmdually  tamed  their  native  fierceness,  but 
this  result  of  their  conversion  was  slow  and  it  required  several 
generations  to  develop.  Clovis,  the  king  of  the  Franks,  one  day 
after  his  conversion,  listening  to  the  Bisliop  of  Rheims  reading  to 
him  of  the  trial  of  Christ  before  Pilate  and  of  his  crucifixion, 
leaped  to  his  feet  and  cried  out  with  honest  indignation:  "Oh, 
that  I  had  been  there  with  my  Franks  I  " 

With  the  greater  part  of  the  new  converts  it  was  the  reluctant 
work  of  years  to  give  up  tlieir  old  habits,  their  violent  and  irrita- 
ble temper,  a  passionate  love  of  hunting  and  fighting,  and  a  rude 
contempt  for  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  conquered  Romans  whom 
they  now  held  as  serfs,  and  over  whom  they  claimed  the  right  of 
life  and  death.  It  was  necessary  to  humanize  them  first  and 
Christianize  them  afterwards.  The  Church,  therefore,  laliored  to 
do  this  work,  and  during  the  period  enibmcing  from  the  fifth  to 
the  tenth  centiuT  she  s«aw  nation  after  nation  lx)w  down  i-eluc- 
tantly  to  her  authority;  in  far-off  England  St  Austin  conveiled 
the  Saxon  king  Ethelbert  in  596,  but  the  majority  of  the  Hun- 
garians were  not  converted  until  as  late  as  the  year  1000. 

To  protect  the  oppressed  and  to  shield  the  jiersecuted  in  those 
days  of  turbulence  and  rancor,  the  privilege  of  church  asylum  was 
established,  which  was,  in  effect,  that  the  fugitive  who  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  precincts  of  the  altar  should  not  be  attacked,  but 


390  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  judicial  inquiry  be  made  in  the  case,  and  the  violation  of  this 
decree  was  enforced  by  the  penalty  of  excommunication,  which 
was  a  punishment  of  dire  significance  in  those  days. 

Council  after  council  of  tlie  Church  framed  laws  to  abridge  and 
curb  the  power  of  the  feudal  lord  over  liis  serf.  In  a  word  the 
Church  was  tlie  only  authority  that  was  generally  reverenced 
during  that  age  of  iron. 

*  Christianity,  or  rather  reverence  for  the  C'hurcli,  was  the  most 
powerfully  formative  element  of  modern  civilization.  The  ruler 
learned  from  it  some  rude  justice;  tlie  ruled  lejirned  faith  and 
obedience.  Within  the  Benedictine  monasteries  learning  found 
a  home,  when  the  only  books  in  use  were  written  by  the  hands 
of  the  monks  on  the  skins  of  beiists. 

On  the  dismemberment  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  west, 
Odeacer,  the  first  barbarian  king  of  Italy,  claimed  the  right  to 
nominate  the  Pontiff,  but  the  claim  was  not  allowed.  His  suc- 
cessor, Tlieodoric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths,  put  forward  a  similar 
claim  with  a  like  result.  Other  rulei-s  from  time  to  time 
claimed  this  right,  and  when  the  German  emperoi's  l>ecame  masters 
of  Rome  they  followed  tlie  same  policy  and  sought  the  right,  if 
not  to  a})point  the  Pope,  to  confirm  his  election.  The  latter  claim 
was  acquiesced  in  for  a  considerable  time  in  the  person  of  the 
German  emperor.  Meanwhile  the  popes  had  Ijecome  temporal 
sovereigns  in  their  own  right.  The  country  which  they  thus 
ruled  over  was  the  city  of  Rome  and  some  of  the  adjacent 
territory.  Many  of  the  princes  in  those  days  invoked  the  aid  of 
the  Pontiff  to  settle  differences  between  them  precisely  as  Leo 
XIII.,  the  present  Pope,  a  few  years  ago  was  called  on  by  Germany 
and  Spain  to  adjust  a  dispute  about  the  Caroline  Islands. 

Many  of  these  princes  took  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Pope  and 
became  his  feudal  sul)jects  as  a  prudential  measure,  because  as 
such  they  had  a  riglit  to  expect  from  him  protection  against  for- 
eign invasion  or  usurpation  of  their  throne.  They  paid  to  him  as 
their  suzerain  a  small  annual  offering,  in  retinn  for  which  their 
territory  was  declared  under  the  protection  of  Saint  Peter,  after 
which,  if  anyone  recklessly  invaded  it  upon  being  admonished 
by  the  Pope,  he  was  formally  excommunicated. 

This  state  of  things  may  appear  strange  in  the  nineteenth  cei>- 


392  THE   STOUV   OK   (JOVERXMENT. 

tury,  but  it  would  be  very  unsafe  to  measure  the  situation  of 
Europe  in  the  ninth  century  with  the  standard  of  the  present  day. 
The  two  chief  disturbing  elements  in  the  government  of  the 
Church,  up  to  the  eleventh  centurj^  were  the  exercise  by  some  of 
the  temporal  rulers  of  the  investiture  of  bishops,  and  their  efforts 
by  violence,  intrigue  and  coiTuption  to  fill  the  papal  chair  with 
creatures  devoted  to  their  interests.  Tlie  meaning  of  investiture 
claimed  chiefly  by  the  emperoi-s  of  Germany  was  this :  the  emperor, 
haWng  richly  endowed  the  bishoprics  and  abbeys,  claimed  tlie 
right  of  naming  the  bishop  or  abl)ot,  and  investing  him  witli  the 
insignia  of  office. 

Most  of  these  offices,  even  if  considered  only  from  the  worldly 
standpoint,  were  of  great  importiince,  as  the  glel)e  lands,  the  serfs, 
and  the  tithes  were  annexed  to  the  office.  The  new  incumbent, 
on  being  invested  by  the  emperor  with  the  episcopal  ring  and 
crozier,  took  the  oath  of  fealty  which  required,  among  other  things, 
that  he  should  join  the  standard  of  his  liege  lord  with  all  his 
anned  retainers  whenever  called  on  to  do  so.  In  many  instances 
of  appointments,  therefore,  more  regard  was  given  to  the  bishop's 
military  qualifications,  or  to  the  amount  of  money  which  he  would 
pay  for  the  office,  than  for  his  knowledge  of  canon  law  or  his  good 
morals.  Men  of  most  dissolute  character  among  the  clergy  and 
laymen,  and  even  minors  of  wealthy  fanuly,  were  often  mach^ 
bishops  in  this  way.  Under  a  ruler  of  dcj)rave(l  character  it  may 
l)e  reasonably  inferred  that  all  these  api)ointments  were  given  to 
the  highest  bidder  or  greatest  favorite,  and  that  the  inferior 
clergy  under  such  superioi*s  Avere  sunk  in  immorality  and  wicked- 
ness. The  popes  claimed  that  appointing  bishops  in  this  way 
was  in  direct  opposition  to  the  ancient  canon  law  and  custom  of 
the  Church,  which  provided  tliat  the  bishops  of  a  province,  or  at 
lea^st  three  of  them,  with  the  consent  and  approval  of  the  Pontiff 
should  elect,  thus  securing  to  the  Chinch  the  right  of  choosing  her 
own  ministers  iis  well  as  perfect  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  that 
right.  The  popes  continually  protested  against  the  right  of  the 
sovereigns  to  thus  introduce  the  feudal  law  within  the  domain 
of  the  Church,  but  the  latter  pei-sisted  in  these  attempts  until 
the  monk  Ilihlebmnd,  Gregory  VII.,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
confronted  the  German  emperor  from  the  papal  chair. 


THEOCRACY  OR  PRDfiSTLY  OOVRRKMBNT.  898 

The  other  disturbing  element  to  which  reference  has  been  made, 
the  intmsion  of  popes  or  anti-popes  by  the  secular  power  through 
violence,  intrigue,  or  corruption,  was  equally  as  bad  as  the 
simoniacal  intrusion  of  bishops,  and  it  led  to  scenes  and  scandals 
in  Rome  which  were  a  disgrace  to  Christendom.  A  few  instances 
of  this  secular  interference  will  serve  as  illustrations.  The 
Count  of  Tusculum,  whose  tyranny  had  excited  frequent  otlt- 
breaks  in  Italy,  and  whose  territory  was  about  twelve  miles  from 
Rome,  secured  the  election  of  his  own  son  as  Pope  Benedict  VIII., 
on  July  20,  1012.  He  made  a  fairly  good  Pope,  however,  not- 
withstanding the  suspicious  circumstances  attending  his  elec- 
tion. Immediately  after  his  death  his  brother  was  elected  as 
Pope  John  XX.,  on  July  9,  1024. 

Some  of  the  chronicles  say  he  was  a  layman  when  elected, 
and   that  some    who   voted   for   him   were    paid   for  doing   so. 
No   serious   char^^e  has  been  made  against  himself  personally. 
On   the    death   of   John    XX.    his   brother    Alberic,    Count    of 
Tusculum,  who  had   a   son    ten   or   twelve   years  of  age,  con- 
ceived  the   idea    of  placing   this   boy    in    the    chair    of    Saint 
Peter.     In  spite  of  the  canons  of  the  Church,  which  were  express 
in  the  matter,  and  notwithstanding  the  sacrilegious  nature  of  the 
act,  he  bought  the  accomplishment  of  his  criminal  design  with 
money,  and  the  lx)y  was  elected  Pope  under  the  name  of  Benedict 
IX.,  on  December  9,  1033.     It  was  hoped  by  the  upright  and 
zealous    bishops   and   the    faithful    generally    that    Conrad    II., 
Emperor  of  Germany,  would  exercise  in  this  case  the  right  of 
non- confirmation  for  which  he  and  his  predecessors  had  so  strongly 
contended  with  preceding  popes.     But  he  would  not  interfere,  for 
he  was  engaged  himself  in  selling  bishoprics  to  the  highest  bidder, 
young  or  old,  lay  or  cleric. 

This  boy  Pope  grew  up  a  depraved  wretch,  a  miserable,  wicked 
and  brazen  sinner;  but  his  authority  as  Pope  was  acknowledged 
and  respected  by  all  Christendom,  even  by  those  who  most  loudly 
denounced  his  pei-sonal  conduct.  Saint  Peter  Damian,  who  was  a 
contemporary,  called  him  "the  poisonous  viper  of  the  Church.'* 
Darras,  a  Roman  Catholic  writer,  apologizing  for  this  blot  on 
the  papacy,  says:  "It  is  doubtless  a  part  of  the  divine  scheme 
which  gpiides  the  destinies  of  the  world  that  the  Church  should 


m 

894  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

more  clearly  prove  the  divinity  of  its  foundation  and  preservation 
through  all  ages  by  meeting  at  times  the  deadliest  shocks,  by 
resisting  even  the  unworthiness  of  its  head." 

The  extent  to  which  simony  was  carried  on  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  when  Leo  IX.  became  Pope,  about  a  year  after 
the  retirement  of  the  wretched  Benedict  IX.,  he  aimounced  that 
he  would  suspend  from  ecclesiastical  functions  all  whom  he  found 
tainted  with  the  sin,  but  the  declaration  drew  protests  from,  all 
the  Italian  bishops  who  assured  him  that  if  he  carried  his  threat 
into  execution  the  pastoral  ministry  must  by  the  very  fact  cease 
in  most  churches.  He  contented  himself,  therefore,  with  permit- 
ting them  to  continue  in  the  ministry  after  j^)erforming  public 
penance.  This  Pontiff  appears  to  have  been  an  exemplary  man, 
and  indefatigable  in  trying  to  reform  the  clergy  and  enforce 
salutary  discipline  as  laid  down  by  the  law  of  the  Church.  Nine- 
teen years  after  the  death  of  Leo  IX.  the  pontifical  chair  was 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Nicholas  II.  A  cardinal  was  despatched 
to  the  German  court  to  consult  the  young  prince,  Henry  IV., 
who  was  then  a  minor  in  the  hands  of  a  faction,  in  reference  to  the 
election  of  a  pope ;  but  the  courtiers  would  not  permit  Cardinal 
Etienne  to  have  access  to  tlie  prince.  On  Cardinal  Etienne's 
return  the  archdeacon  Hildebrand  assembled  the  electors,  who 
immediately  elected  Alexander  II. 

As  this  election  substantially  opened  the  great  struggle  between 
Henry  IV.  of  Germany  and  Hildebrand,  afterwards  Pope  Gregory 
VII.,  a  few  words  are  necessary  by  way  of  preface  to  a  brief  state- 
ment of  the  facts  of  their  contest.  Many  writers  ^  in  discussing 
the  quarrel  between  this  emperor  and  pope  have  condemned 
Hildebrand  lus  an  ambitious  monk  who  attempted  to  rule  Chris- 
tendom in  tlie  temporal  as  well  as  in  the  spiritual  sphere,  while 
many  other  writers,  including,  of  coui-se,  all  who  accept  the  faith 
of  the  papacy,  laud  the  Pontiff  in  highly  eulogistic  terms  and 
denounce  his  imperial  antagonist. 

Pope  Alexander  II.  was  elected  without  the  concurrence  of  the 


1  Tlie  fact8  {^iven  in  these  pages  are  taken  from  a  very  exhaustive  and  apparently  impar- 
tial work  in  two  volumes  by  ProfeftHor  J.  Voigt,  of  the  University  of  Halle,  Germany,  en- 
titled, "  History  of  Pope  Grcijory  VII.  ami  of  his  age,  from  original  documents.*'  Professor 
Voigt  is  a  Protestant,  but  is  evidently  unbiassed,  and  he  quotes  directly  from  original  manu- 
j»cripts  which  he  has  carefully  examined. 


\ 


388  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

and  to  the  violence  of  his  semi-savage  soldiery.  The  two  emperors 
who  claimed  sovereignty  over  the  empire,  Valentinian  and  Theo- 
dosius  II.,  tried  to  negotiate  with  him  by  offering  him  the  title 
of  General  of  the  Empire  with  a  large  tribute  Avhich  they  wouhl 
pay  him  annually.  The  reply  which  he  told  liis  ambassadors  to 
give  the  emperors  was,  *' Attila,  our  master  and  yours,  orders  you 
to  prepare  him  a  palace." 

This  answer  meant  an  invasion.  The  semi-l)arbiirous  invaders 
who  preceded  him  by  half  a  century  had  been  partially  converted 
to  Christianity  and,  although  independent  of  imperial  authority, 
8ome  of  them  now  made  common  cause  with  the  imperial  forces 
against  this  awful  scourge,  who  said  of  himself,  "The  star  falls, 
the  earth  trembles ;  I  am  the  hammer  of  the  imivei-se ;  the  grass 
never  grows  where  Attila's  horse  has  once  trod."  The  combined 
armies  of  the  Roman  general  ^Etius  and  Theodoric,  king  of  the 
Visigoths,  met  the  hosts  of  Attila  on*  the  plain  of  Chalons,  in 
France,  just  outside  of  Orleans,  in  June.  Tlie  two  armies  num- 
bered about  one  million  of  men.  It  was  prolmbly  the  bloodiest 
battle  ever  fought  on  earth.  From  sunrise  until  sunset  the  Imttle 
raged  at  close  quarters  with  battle-axe,  sword  and  spear.  Three 
hundred  thousand  men  lay  dead,  when  the  fight  was  ended  by  the 
retreat  of  Attila.  Theodoric,  the  Visigoth  king,  fell  in  the  conflict 
which  his  valor  and  skill  had  contributed  to  win  for  the  allies. 

But  the  next  year,  452,  Attila  appeared  on  tlie  bordei-s  of  Italy 
with  a  larger  army  than  that  of  the  i)receding  year,  laying  wasto 
the  cities  and  towns  on  his  march  with  fire  and  sword.  He 
destroyed  the  large  and  ancient  cities  of  Padua,  Vicenza,  Verona, 
Bresscia,  Bergamo,  Aquileia,  Milan,  and  Pavia.  He  puslied  on 
amid  the  smoking  ruins  of  tlie  conquered  cities  direct  for  Home, 
but  halted  near  Mantua,  whose  inhabitants  fled  in  dismay  to  the 
marshes  where  Venice  now  stands. 

The  last  hour  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  west  seemed  to  have 
struck.  The  Pontiff,  Saint  Leo  I.,  appeared  in  the  camp  of  the 
barbarians.  He  was  conducted  to  the  tent  of  Attila,  where  he 
came  as  the  representative  of  the  God  of  Peace.  The  two  stood 
face  to  face,  one  armed  with  the  sword,  the  other  with  a  crozier. 
Attila  was  awed  by  the  bearing  and  words  of  the  great  Pontiff,  of 
whose  fame  he  had  already  heard.     He  heard  with  favor  the  propo- 


THEOCRACY   OR   PRIESTLY  OOVERKMENT.  889 

sition  of  Saint  Leo,  and  retraced  his  steps  with  his  aimy  across 
the  Danube,  where  he  died  suddenly  the  following  year  while 
preparing  for  further  devastation.  Saint  Leo  on  his  retum'was 
hailed  as  the  savior  of  Rome,  and  the  enthusiastic  people  bestowed 
upon  him  the  title  of  Great.  A  few  years  later  and  the  Roman 
Empire  of  the  west  was  utterly  extinguished.  The  various  prov- 
inces were  parcelled  out  by  barbarians  whose  very  name  was  a 
terror  to  the  Roman  race,  which  was  now  everywhere  oppressed 
by  the  rude,  uncouth  and  unlettered  .conqueroi's.  Tlie  Church 
alone  stood  between  the  victor  and  the  vanquished  to  afford  pi*o- 
tection,  mercy  and  peace.  It  was  the  only  institution  of  the 
empire  which  had  neither  shared  the  overthrow  nor  lieen  crushed 
by  its  fall.  The  conqueroi's  saw  this ;  they  were  awed  and 
attnutted  by  the  pomp  of  its  celebrations  and  ritual.  The  Chris- 
tian religion,  which  these  tribes  and  nations  embraced  in  the 
course  of  time,  gi-adually  tamed  their  native  fierceness,  but 
this  result  of  their  conversion  was  slow  and  it  required  several 
generations  to  develop.  Clovis,  the  king  of  the  Franks,  one  day 
after  his  conversion,  listening  to  the  Bishop  of  Rheims  reading  to 
him  of  the  trial  of  Christ  before  Pilate  and  of  his  crucifixion, 
leaped  to  his  feet  and  cried  out  with  honest  indignation:  "Oh, 
that  I  had  been  there  with  my  Franks  I  " 

With  the  greater  part  of  the  new  converts  it  was  the  reluctant 
work  of  years  to  give  up  their  old  habits,  their  violent  and  irrita- 
ble temper,  a  passionate  love  of  hunting  and  fighting,  and  a  rude 
contempt  for  the  arts  and  sciences  of  the  conquered  Romans  whom 
they  now  held  as  serfs,  and  over  whom  they  claimed  the  right  of 
life  and  death.  It  wfis  necessary  to  humanize  them  firet  and 
Christianize  them  afterwards.  The  Church,  therefore,  labored  to 
do  this  work,  and  during  the  period  embmcing  from  the  fifth  to 
the  tenth  centur}'  she  saw  nation  after  nation  lx)w  down  reluc- 
tantly to  her  authority;  in  far-off  England  St  Austin  converted 
the  Saxon  king  Ethelbeit  in  596,  but  the  majority  of  the  Hun- 
garians were  not  converted  until  Jis  late  as  the  year  1000. 

To  protect  the  oppressed  and  to  shield  the  persecuted  in  those 
days  of  turbulence  and  luncor,  the  privilege  of  church  asylum  was 
established,  which  was,  in  effect,  that  the  fugitive  who  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  precincts  of  the  altar  should  not  be  attacked,  but 


390  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  judicial  inquiry  be  made  in  the  case,  and  the  violation  of  this 
decree  was  enforced  by  the  penalty  of  excommunication,  which 
was  a  punishment  of  dire  significance  in  those  days. 

Council  after  council  of  the  Church  framed  laws  to  abridge  and 
curb  the  power  of  the  feudal  lord  over  his  serf.  In  a  word  the 
Church  WiOs  the  only  authority  tliat  was  generally  reverenced 
during  that  age  of  iron. 

*  Christianity,  or  rather  reverence  for  tlie  Church,  was  the  most 
powerfully  formative  element  of  modern  civilization.  The  ruler 
learned  from  it  some  rude  justice;  the  ruled  learned  faith  and 
obedience.  Within  the  Benedictine  monasteries  learning  found 
a  home,  when  the  only  books  in  use  were  written  by  the  hands 
of  the  monks  on  the  skins  of  bciusts. 

On  the  dismemberment  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  w^st, 
Odeacer,  the  first  barbarian  king  of  Italy,  claimed  the  right  to 
nominate  the  Pontiff,  but  the  claim  was  not  allowed.  His  suc- 
cessor, Tlieodoric,  king  of  the  Ostrogoths,  put  forward  a  similar 
claim  with  a  like  result.  Other  rulei-s  from  time  to  time 
claimed  this  right,  and  when  the  German  em})er()i's  l)ecame  masters 
of  Rome  they  followed  the  same  policy  and  sought  the  riglit,  if 
not  to  ai)point  the  Pope,  to  confirm  liis  election.  The  latter  claim 
was  acquiesced  in  for  a  considerable  time  in  tlie  person  of  the 
German  emperor.  Meanwhile  the  popes  had  bei'ome  temporal 
sovereigns  in  their  own  right.  The  country  which  they  thus 
ruled  over  was  the  city  of  Rome  and  some  of  the  adjacent 
territory.  Many  of  the  princes  in  those  days  invoked  the  aid  of 
the  Pontiff  to  settle  differences  between  them  precisely  as  Leo 
XI II.,  the  present  Pope,  a  few  years  ago  was  called  on  by  Germany 
and  Spain  to  adjust  a  dispute  about  the  ('aroline  Islands. 

Many  of  these  princes  took  the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Pope  and 
became  his  ftnidal  sul)jects  as  a  prudential  measure,  because  as 
such  they  had  a  right  to  expect  from  him  protection  against  for- 
eign invasion  or  usurpation  of  their  throne.  They  paid  to  him  as 
their  suzerain  a  small  annual  offering,  in  return  for  which  their 
territory  \vas  declared  under  the  protection  of  Saint  Peter,  after 
which,  if  anyone  recklessly  invaded  it  upon  being  admonished 
by  the  Pope,  he  was  formally  excommunicated. 

This  state  of  things  may  appear  strange  in  the  nineteenth  cei>- 


CUKISTI  ANITA'.  301 


392  THE    STOUY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

tury,  but  it  would  be  veiy  unsafe  to  measure  the  situation  of 
Eurojie  in  the  ninth  century  with  the  standard  of  the  present  day. 
The  two  chief  disturbing  elements  in  tlie  government  of  the 
Church,  up  to  the  eleventh  centurj',  wei*e  the  exercise  by  some  of 
the  temporal  rulers  of  the  investiture  of  bishops,  and  their  eflfoi-ts 
by  violence,  intrigue  and  coiTuption  to  fill  the  papal  cliair  witli 
creatures  devoted  to  their  interests.  The  meaning  of  investiture 
claimed  chiefly  by  the  emperoi-s  of  Germany  was  this :  the  em[)en)r, 
having  richly  endowed  the  bislioprics  and  abbeys,  claimed  tlie 
right  of  Ucaming  the  bishop  or  abbot,  and  investing  him  witli  the 
insignia  of  office. 

Most  of  these  offices,  even  if  considered  only  from  the  worldlv 
standpoint,  were  of  great  importance,  as  the  glelx3  lands,  the  serfs, 
and  the  tithes  were  annexed  to  the  office.  The  new  incumbent, 
on  being  invested  by  the  emperor  with  the  episcopal  ring  .and 
crozier,  took  the  oath  of  fealty  which  required,  among  other  things, 
that  he  should  join  the  standard  of  his  liege  lord  with  all  his 
anued  retainei"s  whenever  called  on  to  do  so.  In  many  instances 
of  appointments,  therefore,  more  regaixl  was  given  to  the  bishop's 
military  qualifications,  or  to  the  amount  of  money  which  he  would 
pay  for  the  office,  than  for  his  knowledge  of  canon  law  or  his  good 
morals.  Men  of  most  dissolute  character  among  the  clergy  and 
laymen,  and  even  minors  of  wealthy  fiiniily,  were  often  niadt^ 
bishops  in  this  way.  Under  a  ruler  of  dcj)nived  chanicter  it  may 
l>e  reasonabh'  inferred  that  all  these  appointments  were  given  to 
tlie  highest  bidder  or  greatest  favorite,  and  that  the  inferior 
clergy  under  such  superioi-s  Avere  sunk  in  immorality  and  wicked- 
ness. The  popes  claimed  that  appointing  bisliops  in  this  way 
was  in  direct  opposition  to  the  ancient  canon  law  and  custom  of 
the  Church,  which  provided  tliat  the  bishops  of  a  province,  or  at 
least  three  of  them,  with  the  consent  and  ap[)roval  of  the  Pontiff 
should  elect,  thus  securing  to  the  Church  the  right  of  choosing  her 
own  ministei*s  Jis  well  as  perfect  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  that 
right.  The  popes  continually  protested  against  the  right  of  the 
sovereimis  to  thus  introduce  the  feudal  law  Avithin  the  domain 
of  the  Church,  but  the  latter  pei-sisted  in  these  attempts  until 
the  monk  Ilildebrand,  Gregory  VII.,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
confronted  the  German  emperor  from  the  papal  chair. 


THBOORACY  OB  PREBSTLT  GOVEftlTMBNT.  898 

The  other  disturbing  element  to  which  reference  has  been  made, 
the  intrusion  of  popes  or  anti-popes  by  the  secular  power  through 
violence,  intrigue,  or  corruption,  was  equally  as  bad  as  the 
simoniacal  intrusion  of  bishops,  and  it  led  to  scenes  and  scandals 
in  Rome  which  were  a  disgrace  to  Christendom.  A  few  instances 
of  this  secular  interference  will  serve  as  illustrations.  The 
Count  of  Tusculum,  whose  tyranny  had  excited  frequent  oilt- 
breaks  in  Italy,  and  whose  territory  was  about  twelve  miles  from 
Rome,  secured  the  election  of  his  own  son  as  Pope  Benedict  VIII., 
on  July  20,  1012.  He  made  a  fairly  good  Pope,  however,  not- 
withstanding the  suspicious  circumstances  attending  his  elec- 
tion. Immediately  after  his  death  his  brother  was  elected  as 
Pope  John  XX.,  on  July  9,  1024. 

Some  of  the  chronicles  say  he  was  a  layman  when  elected, 
and  that  some  who  voted  for  him  were  paid  for  doing  so. 
No  serious  charge  has  been  made  against  Iiimself  personally. 
On  the  death  of  John  XX.  his  brother  Allieric,  Count  of 
Tusculum,  who  had  a  son  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  placing  this  boy  in  the  chair  of  Saint 
Peter.  In  spite  of  the  canons  of  the  Church,  which  were  express 
in  the  matter,  and  notwithstanding  the  sacrilegious  nature  of  the 
act,  he  bought  the  accomplishment  of  his  criminal  design  with 
money,  and  the  boy  was  elected  Pope  under  the  name  of  Benedict 
IX.,  on  December  9,  1033.  It  was  hoped  by  the  upright  and 
zealous  bishops  and  the  faithful  generally  that  Conrad  II., 
Emperor  of  Germany,  would  exercise  in  this  case  the  right  of 
non- confirmation  for  which  he  and  his  predecessors  had  so  strongly 
contended  with  preceding  popes.  But  he  would  not  interfere,  for 
he  was  engaged  himself  in  selling  bishoprics  to  the  highest  bidder, 
yoimg  or  old,  lay  or  cleric. 

This  boy  Pope  grew  up  a  depraved  wretch,  a  miserable,  wicked 
and  brazen  sinner;  but  his  authority  as  Pope  was  acknowledged 
and  respected  by  all  Christendom,  even  by  those  who  most  loudly 
denounced  his  pei'sonal  conduct.  Saint  Peter  Damian,  who  was  a 
contemporary,  called  him  "the  poisonous  viper  of  the  Church.'* 
Darras,  a  Roman  Catholic  writer,  apologizing  for  this  blot  on 
the  papacy,  says:  "It  is  doubtless  a  part  of  the  divine  scheme 
which  gpiides  the  destinies  of  the  world  that  the  Church  should 


894  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

more  clearly  prove  the  divinity  of  its  foundation  and  preservation 
through  all  ages  by  meeting  at  times  the  deadliest  shocks,  by 
resisting  even  the  unworthiness  of  its  head." 

The  extent  to  which  simony  was  carried  on  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  tliat  when  Leo  IX.  became  Pope,  about  a  year  after 
the  retirement  of  the  wretched  Benedict  IX.,  he  announced  that 
he  would  suspend  from  ecclesiastical  functions  all  whom  he  found 
tainted  with  the  sin,  but  the  declaration  drew  protests  from,  all 
the  Italian  bishops  who  assured  him  that  if  he  carried  his  threat 
into  execution  the  pastoral  ministry  must  by  the  very  fact  cease 
in  most  churches.  He  contented  himself,  therefore,  with  permit- 
ting them  to  continue  in  the  ministry  after  j^)erforming  public 
penance.  This  Pontiff  appears  to  have  been  an  exemplary  man, 
and  indefatigable  in  trying  to  reform  the  clergy  and  enforce 
salutary  discipline  as  laid  do^vn  by  the  law  of  the  Church.  Nine- 
teen years  after  the  death  of  Leo  IX.  the  pontifical  chair  was 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Nicholas  II.  A  cardinal  was  despatched 
to  the  German  court  to  consult  the  young  prince,  Henry  IV., 
who  was  then  a  minor  in  the  hands  of  a  faction,  in  reference  to  the 
election  of  a  pope ;  but  the  courtiers  would  not  permit  Cardinal 
Etienne  to  have  access  to  the  prince.  On  Cardinal  Etienne's 
return  the  archdeacon  Hildebrand  assembled  the  electors,  who 
immediately  elected  Alexander  II. 

As  this  election  substantially  opened  the  great  struggle  between 
Henry  IV.  of  Germany  and  Hildebrand,  afterwards  Pope  Gregory 
VII.,  a  few  words  are  necessary  by  way  of  preface  to  a  brief  state- 
ment of  the  facts  of  their  contest.  Many  writers  ^  in  discussing 
the  quarrel  between  this  emperor  and  pope  have  condemned 
Hildebrand  as  an  ambitious  monk  who  attempted  to  rule  Chris- 
tendom in  tlie  temporal  as  well  as  in  the  spiritual  sphere,  while 
many  other  writers,  including,  of  course,  all  who  accept  the  faith 
of  the  papacy,  laud  the  Pontiff  in  highly  eulogistic  terms  and 
denounce  his  imperial  antagonist. 

Pope  Alexander  II.  was  elected  without  the  concurrence  of  the 


1  Tlie  factH  given  in  these  pages  are  taken  from  a  very  exhaustive  and  apparently  impar- 
tial work  in  two  volumes  by  Professor  J.  Voigt,  of  the  University  of  Halle,  Germany,  en- 
titled, "History  of  Pope  (iregory  VII.  and  of  his  age,  from  original  documents."  Professor 
Voigt  is  a  Protestant,  but  is  evidently  unbiassed,  and  he  quotes  directly  from  original  manu- 
floripts  which  he  lias  carefully  examined. 


^rk  Fiibl^ 


© 


'^). 


^    ST.  A6M£S  BSAHCH.  *^ 


'  THEOCRACY  OB  PBIB8TLY  GOVEBNMBNT.  899 

empeior,  a.  d.  1061.  The  latter,  indeed,  was  only  a  boy  about 
ten  years  of  age,  but  a  certain  faction  of  his  court  governed  in  ' 
his  name.  His  chancellor,  Guibert  of  Parma,  sold  abbacies  and 
bishoprics  whenever  a  vacancy  occurred,  and  grew  rich  through 
these  sales.  When  the  news  of  the  Pope's  election  reached 
Henry  he  formally  declared  it  null  and  void,  and  nominated  a 
bishop  of  Parma,  notorious  for  his  simoniacal  irregularities,  as  an 
anti-Pope  under  the  name  of  Honorius  II.  The  latter,  backed  up 
by  an  army,  marched  on  Rome  to  assert  his  claim,  but  was 
repulsed  by  the  citizens,  aided  by  Godfrey,  Duke  of  Tuscany. 
After  making  some  further  trouble  the  anti-Pope  died.  Some 
years  later  when  Henry  IV.  was  but  eighteen  years  of  agfe  he 
showed  a  most  flagi-ant  wickedness.  He  was  already  a  heartless 
debauchee  who  hesitated  at  nothing,  not  even  assassination,  to 
accomplish  his  foul  purposes.  He  was  married  to  the  Italian 
Princess  Bertha  when  she  was  fifteen  years  old,  but  he  put  her 
away  in  a  year  after  their  man-iage. 

This  public  act  aroused  deep  indignation  in  Italy  and  in 
Germany  also.  On  the  request  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz, 
Germany,  the  Pope,  Alexander  II.,  was  asked  to  investigate 
the  matter,  which  he  did  by  sending  Saint  Peter  Damian  to 
Henry's  court.  After  Damian  made  a  judicial  examination 
into  the  matter,  he  told  Henry  that  his  conduct  was  un- 
worthy not  only  of  a  prince  but  of  a  Christian.  "If  you 
despise  the  authority  of  the  holy  canons,  have  some  regard,  at 
least,  for  your  reputation,"  said  the  papal  legate,  and  to  Heniy*s 
half-apologetic  and  sullenly  given  explanations  he  finally  replied: 
"If  you  resist  this  advice  dictated  by  reason  and  faith,  the  sover- 
eign Pontiff  will  find  himself  compelled  to  use  the  thunders  of 
the  Church  against  you,  and  \vill  never  consent  to  crown  you 
emperor." 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  German  emperors  up  to  this 
time  had  been  crowned  by  the  Pope.  Henry  had  not  been 
crowned,  hence  he  was  simply  king  and  emperor-elect.  The 
young  monarch  quailed  at  Damian's  threat  and  promised  to 
reform;  still  his  general  conduct  and  morality  were  in  no  way 
improved,  but  quite  to  the  contrary.  As  fast  as  a  vacancy 
occurred  among  the  prelates  of  the  empire,  he  filled  it  with  one 


400  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  his  creatures,  in  many  instances  with  notoriously  immoial 
men.  Pope  Alexander  II.  died  on  April  21,  1073,  and  Hilde- 
hrand  was  elected  on  the  following  day,  taking  as  his  official 
name  Gregory  VII.  The  latter  was  the  son  of  a  Roman  carpen- 
ter, became  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Cluny,  and  was  the 
preceptor  in  early  boyhood  of  Henry  IV.  It  was  a  singular  coin- 
cidence in  the  lives  of  these  two  men  that  they  should  first  meet 
as  master  and  pupil,  and  after^vards  as  antagonists  in  the  bitterest 
struggle  which  ever  took  place  between  the  Pope  and  any  tem- 
poral sovereign. 

Hildebrand's  election  was  enthusiastically  received  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Rome,  who  knew  him  well,  and  it  was  applauded  by  all 
that  was  sound  in  the  Christian  hierarchy  throughout  the  world. 
Immediately  after  his  election,  which  it  is  alleged  was  forced 
upon  him,  he,  designating  himself  as  Pope-elect,  despatched  a 
delegation  to  Henry  IV., requesting  him  to  refuse  his  sanction  to  the 
election.  In  a  letter  which  he  sent  by  the  delegates  to  the  emperor 
the  following  passage  was  written :  "  Should  you  approve  the  choice 
made  in  my  person,  I  must  warn  you  that  I  shall  not  pass  over  the 
scandalous  disorders  of  which  all  good  men  accuse  you." 

The  German  bishops  advised  Henry  to  refuse  consent,  which 
he  was  quite  willing  to  withhold,  but  he  was  afniid  to  arouse 
the  hostility  of  all  that  was  pure  and  true  in  the  Christian 
world,  to  whom  the  fame  of  Hildebrand,  the  monk,  was  not 
unknown.  He,  therefore,  reluctantly  confirmed  the  choice  of  the 
electors.  The  first  act  of  the  new  Pontiff  was  dii-ected  against 
the  scandals  of  the  priesthood.  A  decree  was  issued  against  all 
priests  who  had  bought  their  offices  or  who  ])rofaned  them  by 
looseness  of  conduct. 

Priests  were  to  be  immediately  deposed  who  i*efused  to  reform 
their  lives,  and  the  people  were  commanded  to  refuse  to  assist  at 
the  masses  or  other  services  of  the  rebel  priests  or  to  receive  the 
sacraments  from  them.  A  stonn  of  protestations  from  all  sides 
was  heard  in  response  to  the  dcHTee.  The  bishops  of  Germany, 
France,  Italy,  and  other  countries  alleged  that  a  great  many 
churches  must  be  closed  if  it  was  enforced,  tliat  it  was  dangerous 
to  forbid  the  laity  to  receive  sacraments  from  loosely  living 
priests,  as  it  would  make  laymen  judges  in  ecclesiastical  mattera. 


400  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  his  creatures,  in  many  instances  with  notoriously  immoral 
men.  Pope  Alexander  II.  died  on  April  21,  1073,  and  Hilde- 
brand  was  elected  on  the  following  day,  taking  as  his  official 
name  Gregory  VII.  The  latter  was  the  son  of  a  Roman  carpen- 
ter, became  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Cluny,  and  was  the 
preceptor  in  early  boyhood  of  Henry  IV.  It  was  a  singular  coin- 
cidence in  the  lives  of  these  two  men  that  they  should  first  meet 
as  master  and  pupil,  and  aftersvards  as  antagonists  in  the  bitterest 
struggle  which  ever  took  place  between  the  Pope  and  any  tem- 
poral sovereign. 

Hildebrand's  election  was  enthusiastically  received  by  the  citi- 
zens of  Rome,  who  knew  him  well,  and  it  was  applauded  by  all 
that  was  sound  in  the  Christian  hierarchy  throughout  the  world. 
Immediately  after  his  election,  which  it  is  alleged  was  forced 
upon  him,  he,  designating  himself  as  Pope-elect,  despatched  a 
delegation  to  Henry  IV., requesting  him  to  refuse  his  sanction  to  the 
election.  In  a  letter  which  he  sent  by  the  delegates  to  the  emperor 
the  following  passage  was  written :  "  Should  you  approve  the  choice 
made  in  my  person,  I  must  warn  you  that  I  shall  not  pass  over  the 
scandalous  disorders  of  which  all  good  men  accuse  you." 

The  German  bishops  advised  Henry  to  refuse  consent,  which 
he  was  quite  willing  to  withhold,  but  he  was  afraid  to  arouse 
the  hostility  of  all  that  was  pure  and  true  in  the  Christian 
world,  to  whom  the  fame  of  Hildebrand,  the  monk,  was  not 
unknown.  He,  therefore,  reluctantly  confirmed  the  choice  of  the 
electors.  The  first  act  of  the  new  Pontiff  was  directed  against 
the  scandals  of  the  priesthood.  A  decree  was  issued  against  all 
priests  who  had  bought  their  offices  or  who  profaned  them  by 
looseness  of  conduct. 

Priests  were  to  be  immediately  deposed  who  refused  to  reform 
their  lives,  and  the  people  were  commanded  to  refuse  to  assist  at 
the  masses  or  other  services  of  the  rebel  priests  or  to  receive  the 
sacraments  from  tliein.  A  storm  of  protestations  from  all  sides 
was  heard  in  response  to  the  decree.  The  bishops  of  Germany, 
France,  Italy,  and  other  coiintries  alleged  that  a  great  many 
churches  must  be  closed  if  it  was  enforced,  tliat  it  was  dangerous 
to  forbid  the  laity  to  receive  sacraments  from  loosely  living 
priests,  as  it  would  make  laymen  judges  in  ecclesiastical  matters. 


402  THE   STOKY   OF   GO\^RNMENT. 

and  it  seemed  to  imply  that  the  efficiency  of  tlie  sacrament  was  in 
measure  dependent  on  the  worthiness  of  the  priest.  Others  pro- 
tested upon  less  plausible  and  more  unworthy  grounds,  showing 
the  depth  of  demoralization  and  depravity  to  which  the  ministry 
had  fallen. 

But  the  iron  will  of  Gregory  intensified  as  the  opposition 
increased.  He  sent  copies  of  the  decree  to  all  the  sovereigns, 
urging  them  to  carry  it  into  effect.  A  few  complied,  the 
many  refused.  The  bishops  of  France  and  Germany  rejected 
the  decree  altogether,  and  refused  to  obey  it.  Gregory  called 
a  coimcil  in  Rome  (A.  D.  1075)  when  he  issued  a  second  decree: 
"Forbidding  any  layman  of  whatsoever  rank,  whether  emperor, 
marquis,  prince,  or  king  to  confer  the  investiture;  and  any  cleric, 
priest,  or  bishop  to  receive  it  for  benefices,  abbacies,  bishoprics, 
and  ecclesiastical  dignities  of  whatsoever  nature.  No  one  may 
keep  the  government  of  a  church  bought  for  money  by  a  simoni- 
acal  traflBc.  Incontinent  clerics  are  suspended  from  the  exercise 
of  all  ecclesiastical  functions.  No  priest  shall  contract  a  matri- 
monial alliance.  He  who  already  has  a  wife  shall  put  her  away 
under  pain  of  deposition.  No  one  can  be  raised  to  the  priesthood, 
unless  he  first  promise  to  observe  perpetual  continence.  The 
faithful  should  not  assist  at  the  offices  celebrated  by  a  cleric 
whom  they  see  trampling  upon  the  apostolic  decrees." 

The  new  decree  aroused  the  wrath  of  princes  and  prelates  in 
many  countries.  Henry  IV.  and  the  bishops  of  Germany  publicly 
denounced  it  and  its  author.  Its  promulgation  in  many  German 
cities  led  to  riotous  mobs  headed  by  disgraceful  clergymen.  The 
Pope,  writing  after  its  issuance  to  one  of  his  brother  monks, 
Hugh  of  Cluny,  says:  "Whether  I  turn  to  the  west,  to  the  south, 
or  to  the  north,  I  see  scarce  a  single  bishop  who  has  reached  the 
episcopate  by  canonical  means,  and  who  governs  his  flock  in  a 
spirit  of  charity.  As  for  the  secular  rulers,  I  know  not  one  who 
prefers  the  glory  of  God  to  his  own,  or  who  sets  justice  above 
interest.  The  Lombards  and  Normans  among  whom  I  dwell  I 
often  reproach  with  being  woi-se  than  Jews  or  heathen.  Had  I  no 
hope  of  a  better  life  hereafter,  or  no  prospect  of  serving  the  Church 
here,  God  is  my  witness  that  I  would  not  dwell  another  hour  in 
Rome,  where  I  have  been  chained  for  the  last  twenty  years.     TIius 


:    ST.  AGHtS  UK(\W,  t\\ 


404  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

divided  between  a  grief  which  is  daily  renewed  and  a  hope,  alas  I 
too  distant,  I  am  beaten  by  a  thousand  fierce  storms,  and  my  life 
is  but  one  lengthened  agony/' 

In  the  meantime  a  formidable  insurrection  had  broken  out  in 
Saxony  because  of  the  enormous  taxes  levied  upon  the  people  by 
the  emperor.  After  a  number  of  bloody  battles  the  insurgents 
were  defeated  and  large  numbers  were  put  to  death  for  engaging 
in  it.  At  its  close  it  is  alleged  that  Henry  instigated  Guibert, 
his  chancellor,  who  was  the  simoniacal  archbishop  of  Ravenna,  to 
seize  the  pontiff,  imprison  him,  and  procure  the  election  of 
another  in  his  place  who  would  pay  deference  to  the  emperor's 
wishes.  The  attempt  to  carry  out  this  scheme  was  partially  suc- 
cessful. One  of  the  Cenci,  son  of  a  former  prefect  of  Rome,  with 
a  band  of  armed  men  burst  into  the  Church  of  Saint  Mary-Major 
on  Christmas  night  (A.  D.  1075),  and  dragged  the  Pope  from  the 
altar  where  he  was  celebrating  the  midnight  mass,  and  amid  the 
groans  and  shrieks  of  the  horror-stricken  worshippers  carried  him 
off  to  a  stronghold  of  the  Cenci.  They  hoped  to  remove  him  from 
the  city  before  daylight  and  bring  him  a  prisoner  to  Germany, 
but  the  manhood  of  Rome  had  the  tower  of  the  Cenci  suirounded 
within  a  few  hours  after  the  seizure.  They  threatened  to 
storm  the  place  and  put  to  death  Cenci  and  every  member  of 
his  band. 

The  captor  begged  his  prisoner  to  save  his  life  from  the  maddened 
multitude,  who  were  getting  the  scaling  ladders  in  readiness  to 
begin  the  assault.  The  Pope  secured  the  lives  of  his  captors, 
and  was  then  borne  to  the  Church  from  which  he  had  been  carried, 
where  he  continued  the  celebration  which  had  been  so  rudely 
interrupted.  Gregory  on  the  very  next  day,  December  26,  wrote 
to  Henry,  saying,  "We  are  astonished  at  the  unfriendly  bearing 
of  your  acts  and  decrees  toward  the  Apostolic  See.  You  have 
continued' in  contempt  of  our  rescripts  to  bestow  investitures  for 
vacant  bishoprics.  We  would  remind  you  in  true  fatherly  affec- 
tion to  acknowledge  the  empire  of  Christ,  to  think  of  the  danger 
of  preferring  your  own  honor  to  II is." 

Henry  made  answer  by  calling  a  council  of  the  German  bishops 
at   Worms.     A  formal    accusation   against   the    Pope    was    laid 
re  this  council  in  whicli  he  was  charged  witli  many  infamous 


THEOO&AOY  OB  PBIE6TLY  GOVERNMENT.  406 

crimes,  one  of  which  was  that  he  had  hired  assassins  to  kill  Heniy 
IV.  He  was  denounced  as  ^^a  heretic,  an  adulterer,  a  ferocious 
and  blood-thirsty  beast."  The  council  at  the  close  of  a  three  days 
session  deposed  the  Pope,  which  sentence  was  signed  by  the  king 
and  all  the  bishops  in  attendance.  A  messenger  was  sent  from 
the  emperor  to  Rome  with  two  letters,  one  for  presentation  to  the 
Pope,  and  the  other  for  the  Roman  people.  The  letter  to  the 
Pope  ran  thus :  — 

"  Henry,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King,  to  Hildebrand.  Whereas  I 
expected  from  you  the  treatment  of  a  father,  I  liave  learned  that  you 
act  as  my  worst  enemy.  You  have  robbed  me  of  the  highest  marks  of 
respect  due  from  your  See ;  you  have  tried  to  estrange  the  hearts  of 
my  Italian  subjects.  To  check  this  boldness,  not  by  words  but  by 
deeds,  I  liave  called  together  the  lords  and  bishops  of  my  states.  The 
council  has  received  ample  proofs,  as  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed  aots^ 
that  you  are  utterly  unworthy  any  longer  to  occupy  the  Holy  See.  J 
have  agreed  to  this  sentence.  I  cease  to  look  upon  you  as  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  and  in  virtue  of  my  rank  of  Roman  patrician  I  command  you 
to  quit  the  See  forthwith." 

The  two  letters  were  read  by  the  imperial  messenger  before  an 
assembly  of  tlie  Roman  clergy  and  nobility  over  which  the  Pojx? 
presided.  The  assembly  desired  to  proceed  at  once  to  depose  the 
emperor  in  the  presence  of  his  messenger,  but  Gregory  suggested 
tliat  they  adjourn  until  the  next  day.  Before  adjourning,  address- 
ing the  bishops  specially,  he  said :  "  We  must  display  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  dove  as  well  as  the  prudence  of  the  serpent." 

On  the  following  day  he  addressed  the  assembly,,  reciting 
endeavors  wliich  he  had  made  to  induce  Henry  to  obey  the  laws 
of  the  Church,  and  referred  with  powerful  eloquence  to  the 
demoralized  condition  of  the  world,  owing  chiefly  to  the  bad  men 
who  had  been  introduced  into  the  Episcopal  seats  by  temporal 
sovereigns  against  the  continued  protests  of  the  pontiffs. 

The  bishops  of  the  assembly  arose  and  unanimously  requested  that 
Henry  be  excommimicated  for  malfeasance, misfeasance,  and  nonfea- 
sance, as  a  public  and  notorious  corrupter  of  morals,  and  contemner 
and  violator  of  the  Ib.\vs  of  the  Christian  Church  which  he  had  sworn 
to  obey.     The  decisive  battle  of  spiritual  service  reform  in  Chris- 


THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 


tendom  had  begun. 
Gregory  VII.  then  arose 
and  pronounced  the  fa- 
mous sentence  of  excom- 
munication and  de[>03i- 
tion  as  follows:  — 

"  St.  Peter,  prince  of  the 
Apostles,  hear  thy  servant. 
I  caU  thee  to  witness,  thou 
and  the  most  holy  mother 
of  God,  with  St.  Paul,  thy 
brother  and  all  the  saints, 
that  the  Chnrch  of  Rome 
compelled  me  in  spite  of 
myself  to  rule.  In  the 
name  of  Almighty  God, 
Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  and  by  thy  author- 
ity, I  forbid  Henry  to 
govern  the  German  realm 
and  Italy.  I  release  all 
Christians  from  the  oath 
by  which  they  have  bound 
themselves  to  him,  and  I 
forbid  anyone  to  serve  bim 
aa  King,  Sioce  he  has 
refused  to  obey  as  a  Chris- 
tian, rejecting  the  counsels 
given  him  for  his  salvation, 
and  withdrawing  from  the 
Church  which  he  seeks  to 
rend  I  hereby  declare  him 
anathema  that  all  nations 
may  know  even  by  experi- 
ence that  thou  art  Peter, 
and  that  upon  this  rock 
the  Son  of  the  Living 
God  has  built  his  Chorch 
against  which  the  gsteg  of 


ricEU  OF  THB  TAi'Ai.  uuusKiioLD.         hell  shall  never  prevail." 


THEOCRACY  OR  PRIESTLY   GOVERNMENT.  407 

A  pontifical  bull  notified  the  Christian  world  of  the  sentence 
passed  u{K)n  Heniy,  the  news  of  which  created  a  tremendous 
sensation.  Germany  was  divided  into  two  hostile  camps,  one 
papal,  the  other  anti-papal.  An  assembly  of  the  German  bishops 
and  nobles  met  near  Mentz  to  consider  the  situation.  Gregory 
was  represented  by  two  legates.  It  was  determined,  in  a  session 
that  lasted  seven  days,  to  elect  a  new  ruler  instead  of  Henry, 
and  that  unless  *' within  the  space  of  a  year  he  had  obtained 
absolution  from  the  sentence  of  excommunication  and  deposition 
weighing  upon  him,  he  should  Ik?  considered  finally  deposed  from 
the  throne."  And  he  must  disband  his  army  and  cease  exercising 
sovereign  authority  until  he  had  obtained  absolution  from  the 
Pope.  Henry  consented  to  the  terms  and  hastened  to  meet  the 
Pope  at  the  castle  of  Canossa  in  northern  Italy.  lie  put  oflf  every 
insignia  of  royalty  from  his  person  and  dressed  as  a  penitent, 
barefooted  and  bareheaded,  awaited  for  the  space  of  three  days,  from 
the  17th  to  the  20th  of  January,  the  Pope's  judgment.  Prostrate 
at  the  Pope's  feet  he  cried  out,  "  Forgive,  most  Holy  Father,  in 
your  mercy  forgive  me."  Gregory  pronounced  him  absolved,  and 
reinstated  as  ruler  of  the  German  Empire,  and  in  a  bull  announced 
to  the  Christian  world  that  Henry  was  released  from  his  censures. 

But  Henry  was  evidently  acting  the  part  of  a  hypocrite.  In 
a  few  weeks  later  he  sent  a  force  of  men-at-arms  into  Lombardy 
to  capture  the  Pope,  which  failed  through  the  project  leaking 
out.  Determined  not  to  l)e  foiled,  and  gathering  around  him 
all  the  simoniacal  bishops  and  their  retainers,  and  the  nobles 
who  disregarded  church  authority,  he  proposed  to  dictate  terms  to 
all  his  opponents.  The  German  nobles  who  refused  to  follow 
him  met  and  elected  Rudolph,  Duke  of  Suabia,  as  "  the  lawful 
king  of  Germany,  and  defender  of  the  empire  of  the  Franks."  In 
the  civil  war  which  followed  Henry  was  victorious. 

Agiiin  he  was  excommunicated  and  deposed  by  Gregory',  to  which 
sentence  he  i-eplied  by  calling  a  convocation  of  the  simoniacal 
bishops  whom  he  had  appointed.  These  bishops  said :  "  In  a  council 
of  twenty-nire  bishops  we  have  resolved  to  depose,  expel,  and —  if 
he  refuse  to  obey  our  injiuiction  —  to  devote  to  eternal  perdition 
Hildebrand,  the  corrupt  man  who  counsels  the  plunder  of  churches 
and  assassination,  who  defends  perjury  and  murder;  Hildebrand, 


THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 


AK  OVFKBa  OF  TUE  PAPAL  IIOUHKUOIJ). 


tendom  li  n  d  begun. 
Gregory  VII.  then  arose 
and  pronounced  the  fa- 
nions  sentence  of  excom- 
munication and  deposi- 
tion as  follows :  — 

"St.  Peter, prince  of  the 
Apostles,  hear  thy  servant. 
I  call  thee  to  witness,  thou 
and  the  most  holy  mother 
of  God,  with  St.  Pan],  thy 
brother  and  all  the  saints, 
that  the  Chnrch  of  Itomc 
compelled  me  in  spite  of 
myself  to  rule.  Id  the 
name  of  Almighty  God, 
Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  and  by  thy  author- 
ity, I  forbid  Henry  to 
govern  the  German  realm 
and  Italy.  I  release  all 
Christiana  from  the  oath 
by  which  they  have  bound 
themselves  to  Mm,  and  I 
forbid  anyone  to  serve  iiira 
as  King.  Since  he  has 
refused  to  obey  as  a  Chris- 
tian, rejecting  the  counsels 
gi\  en  him  for  his  salvation, 
and  withdrawing  from  the 
Church  which  he  seeks  to 
rend,  I  hereby  declare  him 
anathema  that  all  nations 
may  know  even  by  experi- 
ence that  thou  art  Peter, 
and  that  upon  thia  rock 
the  Son  of  the  Living 
God  has  built  his  Chnrch 
against  which  the  gatea  of 
hell  shall  never  prevail." 


THEOCRACY  OR  PRIESTLY   GOVERNMENT.  407 

A  pontifical  bull  notified  the  Christian  world  of  the  sentence 
passed  ui)on  Henry,  the  news  of  which  created  a  tremendous 
sensation.  Germany  was  divided  into  two  hostile  camps,  one 
papal,  the  other  anti-pa])al.  An  assembly  of  the  German  bishops 
and  nobles  met  near  Mentz  to  consider  the  situation.  Gregory 
was  represented  by  two  legates.  It  was  determined,  in  a  session 
that  lasted  seven  days,  to  elect  a  new  ruler  instead  of  Henry, 
and  that  unless  "within  the  space  of  a  year  he  had  obtained 
absolution  from  the  sentence  of  excommunication  and  deposition 
weighing  upon  him,  he  should  Ije  considered  finally  deposed  from 
the  throne."  And  he  must  disband  his  army  and  cease  exercising 
sovereign  authority  until  he  luul  obtained  alwolution  from  the 
Pope.  Heiu-y  consented  to  the  terms  and  hastened  to  meet  the 
Pope  at  the  castle  of  Canossa  in  northern  Italy.  He  put  off  every 
insignia  of  royalty  from  his  person  and  dressed  as  a  penitent, 
barefooted  and  bareheaded,  awaited  for  the  sj^ace  of  three  days,  from 
the  17th  to  the  20th  of  January,  the  Pope's  judgment.  Prostrate 
at  the  Pope's  feet  he  cried  out,  "Forgive,  most  Holy  Father,  in 
your  mercy  forgive  me."  Gregory  pronounced  him  absolved,  and 
reinstated  as  ruler  of  the  German  Empire,  and  in  a  bull  announced 
to  the  Christian  world  that  Henrj'  was  released  from  his  censures. 

But  Henry  was  evidently  acting  the  part  of  a  hj^^ocrite.  In 
a  few  weeks  later  he  sent  a  force  of  men-at-arms  into  Lombardy 
to  capture  the  Pope,  which  failed  through  the  project  leaking 
out.  Determined  not  to  1x3  foiled,  and  gathering  around  liim 
all  the  simoniacal  bishops  and  their  retainers,  and  the  nobles 
who  disregarded  church  authority,  he  proposed  to  dictate  terms  to 
all  his  opponents.  The  German  nobles  who  refused  to  follow 
him  met  and  elected  Rudolph,  Duke  of  Suabia,  as  "the  lawful 
king  of  Germany,  and  defender  of  the  empire  of  the  Franks."  In 
the  civil  war  which  followed  Ilenrj'  was  victorious. 

Again  he  was  excommunicated  and  deposed  by  Gregoiy,  to  which 
sentence  he  replied  by  calling  a  convocation  of  the  simoniacal 
bishops  whom  he  had  appointed.  These  bishops  said :  "  In  a  council 
of  twenty-nire  bishoj)s  we  have  resolved  to  depose,  expel,  and  —  if 
he  refuse  to  obey  our  injunction  —  to  devote  to  eternal  perdition 
Hildebrand,  the  corrupt  man  who  counsels  the  plunder  of  churches 
and  assassination,  who  defends  perjury  and  murder;  Hildebrand, 


-sori*  ''I'blo^ 


o 


'«. 


^THEOCRACY  OB  PBIESTLY  GOVEBNMBNT.  899 

emperor,  a.  d.  1061.  The  latter,  indeed,  was  only  a  boy  about 
ten  years  of  age,  but  a  certain  faction  of  his  court  governed  in  ' 
his  name.  His  chancellor,  Guibert  of  Panna,  sold  abbacies  and 
bishoprics  whenever  a  vacancy  occurred,  and  grew  rich  through 
these  sales.  When  the  news  of  the  Pope's  election  reached 
Henry  he  formally  declared  it  null  and  void,  and  nominated  a 
bishop  of  Parma,  notorious  for  his  simoniacal  irregularities,  as  an 
anti-Pope  under  the  name  of  Honorius  II.  The  latter,  backed  up 
by  an  army,  marched  on  Rome  to  assert  his  claim,  but  was 
repulsed  by  the  citizens,  aided  by  Godfrey,  Duke  of  Tuscany. 
After  making  some  further  trouble  the  anti-Pope  died.  Some 
years  later  when  Henry  IV.  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
showed  a  most  flagrant  wickedness.  He  was  already  a  heartless 
debauchee  who  hesitated  at  nothing,  not  even  assassination,  to 
accomplish  his  foul  purposes.  He  was  married  to  the  Italian 
Princess  Bertha  when  she  was  fifteen  years  old,  but  he  put  her 
away  in  a  year  after  their  marriage. 

This  public  act  aroused  deep  indignation  in  Italy  and  in 
Germany  also.  On  the  request  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz, 
Germany,  the  Pope,  Alexander  II.,  was  asked  to  investigate 
the  matter,  which  he  did  by  sending  Saint  Peter  Damian  to 
Henry's  court.  After  Damian  made  a  judicial  examination 
into  the  matter,  he  told  Henry  that  his  conduct  was  un- 
worthy not  only  of  a  prince  but  of  a  Christian.  "If  you 
despise  the  authority  of  the  holy  canons,  have  some  regard,  at 
least,  for  your  reputation,**  said  the  papal  legate,  and  to  Heniy's 
half-apologetic  and  sullenly  given  explanations  he  finally  replied: 
*'  If  you  resist  this  advice  dictated  by  reason  and  faith,  the  sover- 
eign Pontiff  will  find  himself  compelled  to  use  the  thunders  of 
the  Church  against  you,  and  will  never  consent  to  crown  you 
emperor.'* 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  German  emperors  up  to  this 
time  had  been  crowned  by  the  Pope.  Henry  had  not  been 
crowned,  hence  he  was  simply  king  and  emperor-elect.  The 
young  monarch  quailed  at  Damian's  threat  and  promised  to 
reform;  still  his  general  conduct  and  morality  were  in  no  way 
impi-oved,  but  quite  to  the  contrary.  As  fast  as  a  vacancy 
occurred  among  the  prelates  of  the  empire,  he  filled  it  with  one 


392  THE    STOUY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

tury,  but  it  would  be  veiy  uusafe  to  niecosure  the  situation  of 
Europe  in  the  ninth  century  with  the  stiintlard  of  the  present  day. 
The  two  chief  disturbing  elements  in  the  government  of  the 
Church,  up  to  the  eleventh  eenturj^  were  the  exercise  by  some  of 
the  temporal  rulers  of  the  investiture  of  bishops,  and  their  efforts 
by  violence,  intrigue  and  coiTuption  to  fill  the  papal  diair  witli 
creatures  devoted  to  their  interests.  The  meaning  of  investiture 
claimed  chiefly  by  the  emperoi's  of  Germany  was  this :  the  emperf)r, 
having  richly  endowed  the  bishoprics  and  abbeys,  claimed  tlie 
right  of  naming  the  bishop  (u-  abl>ot,  and  investing  him  witli  tlie 
insignia  of  office. 

Most  of  these  offices,  even  if  considered  onlv  from  the  worldlv 
standpoint,  were  of  great  importance,  as  the  glelx3  lands,  the  serfs, 
and  the  tithes  were  annexed  to  the  office.  Tlie  new  incumbent, 
on  being  invested  by  the  emperor  with  tlie  episctopal  ring  and 
crozier,  took  the  oath  of  fealty  which  required,  among  f)ther  things, 
that  he  should  join  the  standard  of  his  liege  hnd  with  all  his 
armed  retainei-s  whenever  called  on  to  do  so.  In  manv  instances 
of  appointments,  therefore,  more  regard  was  given  to  the  bishop's 
militaiy  qualifications,  or  to  the  amount  of  money  which  he  would 
2)ay  for  the  office,  than  for  his  knowledge  of  canon  law  or  his  good 
morals.  Men  of  most  dissolute  (diameter  anioncr  the  clcriifv  and 
laymen,  and  even  minors  of  wealthy  family,  were  often  madt^ 
bishoi)8  in  this  wtiy.  Under  a  ruler  of  de])ravcd  character  it  may 
be  reasonably  inferred  that  all  these  appointments  were  given  to 
the  highest  bidder  or  greatest  favorite,  and  that  the  inferior 
clergy  under  such  superioi-s  were  sunk  in  immorality  and  wicked- 
ness. The  i)opes  claimed  that  ai)pointing  bishops  in  this  way 
was  in  direct  opposition  to  the  ancient  canon  law  and  custom  of 
the  Church,  which  provided  that  the  bishops  of  a  province,  or  at 
least  three  of  them,  with  the  consent  and  approval  of  the  Pontiff 
should  elect,  thus  securing  to  the  Church  the  right  of  choosing  her 
own  ministers  iis  well  as  perfect  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  that 
right.  The  popes  continually  protested  against  the  right  of  the 
sovereijrns  to  thus  introduce  the  feudal  law  within  the  domain 
of  the  Church,  but  the  latter  pei-sisted  in  these  attempts  until 
the  monk  Hildebrand,  Gregory  VIT.,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
confronted  the  Gennan  enq^eror  from  the  papal  chair. 


THEOORAOY  OB  PBIB8TLT  OOVBBKMBNT.  898 

Tbe  other  disturbing  element  to  which  reference  has  been  made, 
the  intmsion  of  popes  or  anti-popes  by  the  secular  power  through 
violence,  intrigue,  or  corruption,  was  equally  as  bad  as  the 
simoniacal  intrusion  of  bishops,  and  it  led  to  scenes  and  scandals 
in  Rome  which  were  a  disgrace  to  Christendom.  A  few  instances 
of  this  secular  interference  will  serve  as  illustrations.  Hie 
Count  of  Tusculum,  whose  tyranny  liad  excited  frequent  oitt- 
breaks  in  Italy,  and  whose  territory  was  about  twelve  miles  from 
Rome,  secured  the  election  of  his  own  son  as  Pope  Benedict  VIII., 
on  July  20,  1012.  He  made  a  fairly  good  Pope,  however,  not- 
withstanding the  suspicious  circumstances  attending  his  elec- 
tion. Immediately  after  his  death  his  brother  was  elected  aa 
Pope  John  XX.,  on  July  9,  1024. 

Some  of  the  chronicles  say  he  was  a  layman  when  elected, 
and  that  some  who  voted  for  him  were  paid  for  doing  so. 
No  serious  char^'C  has  been  made  against  himself  personally. 
On  the  death  of  John  XX.  his  brother  Alberic,  Count  of 
Tusculum,  who  had  a  son  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age,  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  placing  this  boy  in  the  chair  of  Saint 
Peter.  In  sj^ite  of  the  canons  of  the  Church,  wliich  were  express 
in  the  matter,  and  notwithstanding  the  sticrilegious  nature  of  the 
act,  he  bought  the  accomplishment  of  his  criminal  design  with 
money,  and  the  boy  was  elected  Pope  under  the  name  of  Benedict 
IX.,  on  December  9,  1033.  It  was  hoped  by  the  upright  and 
zealous  bishops  and  the  faithful  generally  that  Conrad  II., 
Emperor  of  Germany,  w^ould  exercise  in  this  case  the  right  of 
non- confirmation  for  which  he  and  his  predecessors  had  so  strongly- 
contended  with  preceding  popes.  But  he  would  not  interfere,  for 
he  was  engaged  himself  in  selling  bishoprics  to  the  highest  bidder, 
young  or  old,  lay  or  cleric. 

This  boy  Pope  grew  up  a  depmved  wretch,  a  miserable,  wicked 
and  brazen  sinner;  but  his  authority  as  Pope  was  acknowledged 
and  respected  by  all  Christendom,  even  by  those  who  most  loudly 
denounced  his  peisonal  conduct.  Saint  Peter  Damian,  who  was  a 
contemporary,  called  him  "the  poisonous  viper  of  the  Church.** 
Darras,  a  Roman  Catholic  writer,  apologizing  for  this  blot  on 
the  papacy,  says:  "It  is  doubtless  a  part  of  the  divine  scheme 
which  guides  the  destinies  of  the  world  that  the  Church  should 


} 


894  THE  8T0BY  OF   GOVEENMENT. 

more  clearly  prove  the  divinity  of  its  foundation  and  preservation 
through  all  ages  by  meeting  at  times  the  deadliest  shocks,  by 
resisting  even  the  un worthiness  of  its  head." 

The  extent  to  which  simony  was  carried  on  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  when  Leo  IX.  became  Pope,  about  a  year  after 
the  retirement  of  the  wretched  Benedict  IX.,  he  announced  that 
he  would  suspend  from  ecclesiastical  functions  all  whom  he  found 
tainted  with  the  sin,  but  the  declaration  drew  protests  from,  all 
the  Italian  bishops  who  assured  him  that  if  he  carried  his  threat 
into  execution  the  pastoral  ministry  must  by  the  very  fact  cease 
in  most  churches.  He  contented  himself,  therefore,  with  permit- 
ting them  to  continue  in  the  ministry  after  i^erforming  public 
penance.  This  Pontiff  appears  to  have  been  an  exemplary  man, 
and  indefatigable  in  trying  to  reform  the  clergj*^  and  enforce 
salutary  discipline  as  laid  dovm  by  the  law  of  the  Church.  Nine- 
teen years  after  the  death  of  Leo  IX.  the  pontifical  chair  wa« 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Nicholas  II.  A  cardinal  was  despatched 
to  the  German  court  to  consult  the  young  prince,  Henry  IV., 
who  was  then  a  minor  in  the  hands  of  a  faction,  in  reference  to  the 
election  of  a  pope;  but  the  courtiers  would  not  i^ennit  Cardinal 
Etiemie  to  have  access  to  the  prince.  On  Cardinal  Etienne's 
return  the  archdeacon  Hildebrand  assembled  the  electors,  who 
immediately  elected  Alexander  II. 

As  this  election  substantially  opened  the  great  struggle  between 
Henry  IV.  of  Gennany  and  Hildebrand,  afterwards  Pope  Gregory 
VII.,  a  few  words  are  necessary  by  way  of  i)reface  to  a  brief  state- 
ment of  the  facts  of  their  contest.  Many  writere  ^  in  discussing 
the  quarrel  between  this  emperor  and  pope  have  condemned 
Hildebrand  as  an  ambitious  monk  who  attempted  to  rule  Chris- 
tendom in  the  temporal  as  well  as  in  the  spiritual  sphere,  while 
many  other  writers,  including,  of  course,  all  who  accept  the  faith 
of  the  i)apacy,  laud  the  Pontiff  in  liighly  eulogistic  terms  and 
denounce  his  imperial  antagonist. 

Pope  Alexander  II.  was  elected  without  the  concurrence  of  the 


>  Tlie  facts  given  iii  these  pages  are  taken  from  a  very  exhaustive  and  apparently  impar- 
tial work  in  two  volumes  by  Professor  J.  Voigt,  of  the  University  of  Halle,  Germany,  en- 
titled, ••  History  of  Pope  Gregory  VII.  and  of  his  age,  from  original  documents.**  Professor 
Voigt  is  a  Protestant,  but  is  evidently  unbiassed,  and  he  quotes  directly  from  original  manu- 
scripts which  he  has  carefully  examined. 


^  THEOCRACY  OB  PBIESTLY  GOVEBKMBNT.  899 

emperor,  a.  d.  1061.  The  latter,  indeed,  was  only  a  boy  about 
ten  years  of  age,  but  a  certain  faction  of  his  court  governed  in 
his  name.  His  chancellor,  Guibert  of  Parma,  sold  abbacies  and 
bishoprics  whenever  a  vacancy  occurred,  and  grew  rich  through 
these  sales.  When  the  news  of  the  Pope's  election  reached 
Henry  he  formally  declared  it  null  and  void,  and  nominated  a 
bishop  of  Parma,  notorious  for  his  simoniacal  irregularities,  as  an 
anti-Pope  under  the  name  of  Honorius  II.  The  latter,  backed  up 
by  an  army,  marched  on  Rome  to  assert  his  claim,  but  was 
repulsed  by  the  citizens,  aided  by  Godfrey,  Duke  of  Tuscany. 
After  making  some  further  trouble  the  anti-Pope  died.  Some 
years  later  when  Henry  IV.  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
showed  a  most  flagi-ant  wickedness.  He  was  already  a  heartless 
debauchee  who  hesitated  at  nothing,  not  even  assassination,  to 
accomplish  his  foul  purposes.  He  was  married  to  the  Italian 
Princess  Bertha  when  she  was  fifteen  years  old,  but  he  put  her 
away  in  a  year  after  their  marriage. 

This  public  act  aroused  deep  indignation  in  Italy  and  in 
(Germany  also.  On  the  request  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz, 
Germany,  the  Pope,  Alexander  II.,  was  asked  to  investigate 
the  matter,  which  he  did  by  sending  Saint  Peter  Damian  to 
Henry's  court.  After  Damian  made  a  judicial  examination 
into  the  matter,  he  told  Henry  that  his  conduct  was  un- 
worthy not  only  of  a  prince  but  of  a  Christian.  "If  you 
despise  the  authority  of  the  holy  canons,  have  some  regard,  at 
least,  for  youi-  reputation,'*  said  the  pa^ml  legate,  and  to  Heniy's 
half-apologetic  and  sullenly  given  explanations  he  finally  replied: 
**If  you  resist  this  advice  dictated  by  reason  and  faith,  the  sover- 
eign Pontiff  will  find  himself  compelled  to  use  the  thunders  of 
the  Church  against  you,  and  will  never  consent  to  crown  you 
emperor." 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  German  emperors  up  to  this 
time  had  been  crowned  by  the  Pope.  Henry  had  not  been 
crowned,  hence  he  was  simply  king  and  emperor-elect.  The 
yoimg  monarch  quailed  at  Damian's  threat  and  promised  to 
reform;  still  his  general  conduct  and  morality  were  in  no  way 
improved,  but  quite  to  the  contrary.  As  fast  as  a  vacancy 
occurred  among  the  prelates  of  the  empire,  he  filled  it  with  one 


400  THH   iSZORT  or   'i*f^rWK53nST. 

of  hi^  creacmes^  in  DUknT-  iasaosts  wzxsl  natorionsly  immoral 
men.  Pope  Alexander  II.  iic^i  m.  Ard  21,  1073,  and  Hilde- 
brand  was^  eiei'ce*.!  .»n  die  :<iLl«>Tr:n^  iaLj.  tskking  as  his  official 
mune  Grinron-  VIL  The  lacr^r  -vrui  ine  ioc  <rf  a  Roman  caipen- 
cer,  becacne  ^  oxunk  »t  "liie  m^'Cdiscenr  ot  ChmT,  and  was  the 
precepciur  in  eiuriy  x^riW  jt  Henrr  IV*  I:  was  a  singular  coin- 
oidenc«  in  :Iie  l:v^«>  ic  :iie?e  rr^*  !neit  tfafi  dfcfv  should  iBrst  meet 
js  master  Ami  papil.  ina  lire!^rani:^  js  nocie^wscs  in  the  bitterest 
^Q^x^^e  woLcIi  ever  :u«ok  ^I^ic^?   oecweea  tie  Pope  and  any  tem- 

HiIJebnnti*>  eLevticu  was  -rfuchu^^asdinillr  rev-eived  by  the  citi- 
zens o£  Rt^me^  who  kaew  him  welL  And  it  wj^i  applauded  by  all 
tfaiu  was  ^'cmoL  in  :ae  Chnscian  hiecanrhr  duoo^^faout  the  world. 
rmmeiEaceiT  af^^r  biji^  eLev'cioiu  which  u  is  alle<yed  was  forced 
iipi^n  hinu  be*  desi;c^a::aL^  biauself  i?^  Pc»c^^-eleot,  despatched  a 
dele^doa  to  He:2.ry  I  V.^rexjaestia^  hiaoL  u>  refuse  his  sanction  to  the 
election.  H  ji  it?c:er  w  hivb  be  :jeac  by  the  delegates  to  the  emperor 
the  :.>l>winir  jHissaf^  was  wrtcsea:  "^Slh^ald  tvmi  appix)ve  the  choice 
null  V  :n  rriy  j>en50£u  1  r::^usr  wani  yott  that  I  shall  not  i>ass  over  the 
M  ;i::iLl1x  f'j>  vlis<^n.l^r^i  o:  whi.a  ill  ^CN^"^^  — '^^'^  Jkvuse  vou/' 

Tl:e  Gerr.Uk::  V:>::oi^  Jkl>:><'*-1  Hciirv  :o  rvfiise  consent^  which 
he  \v:is  <7ii::o  \v:il:r.c  t.^  \%.:h:.ol.u  be:  :.e  ^^as  ;\fraid  to  arouse 
rhe  hi-^tiiitv  ,^:  aii  :•  ,*:  %\as  i>ure  aikI  rrue  in  the  Cliristian 
\v."»rM,  :o  w:;,^:ii  :;u*  :a:::^'  o:  H:lvWl>ca::vl*  the  monk,  was  not 
unknown.  He,  :ht  r\  tv^rw  r\:*IucranrlY  vvndrme^l  the  iboice  of  the 
f*!ect4-)rs.  T:ie  r.rs:  aot  of  :he  new  Pv^r.iiff  was  diret»ted  against 
rhe  .-5.  antUI>  '^t  tiie  priest IavvL  A  vKvree  w;4S  issnetl  against  all 
pri»*st8  who  hd«l  Unicht  ;heir  v^tKves  or  who  prxifcmed  them  by 
Ir>rj(«^ftnesc^  of   eonduot. 

f'riests  were  to  Iv  imuuHiiately  de[x\?evl  who  refused  to  reform 
t'h^-jr  iivr>,  an«l  the  jxvpie  werx^  eonnuAnded  to  rt»fiise  to  assist  at 
thf;  maas^r:4  or  other  services  of  the  relvl  priests  or  to  receive  the 
<H/:rHrn(:uu  from  tht-ni.  A  stonn  of  pn'^tostations  from  all  sides 
vH.^  hf'^r]  in  res{Min>e  lo  the  ilci  rtv.  The  bishops  of  Germany, 
VtriUCA'^  Itiily,  and  other  countries  aUei^ed  that  a  great  many 
f)iUTt'}if'^  mast  }>e  closed  if  it  Wiis  enforced,  that  it  was  dangerous 
Uf  forbid  th^^  laity  to  receive  sacraments  fn>m  hxisely  living 
]mm\H,  fw  it  would  make  laymen  judcfes  in  ecclesiastical  matters. 


M-- 


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Tllr-'T          T' 

:ixr  TT  r*-. '  •-  i— f  .  r  -: 

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in 


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•-  •"'   .      c     Tr?rrrT^    zrefOBiiB^L    ui    "He    ijopoKCioii 

)i*»Tn  :;rr-     r     zzc»     -ifetrr.       A    :?"r    tixnpiied*    rfie 


k* 


(rfesEorr  cmUed 


;•:'•'        T  .7.  t;**      .-   ...   1"   ."    T-^.c£L  J^   j*s»ic*L  l -rt^.-nntl  iieeiee : 


TT  'UlCi*  ■**'^nH^     r 


f/*.fj    ritT^r-.      r-ii-'rir.rit-.ir  -t^rri-j*   ire  -HisTHriiui-i  rn>ni  rht!  exerciae 

Tr,/;,.-.  ,;, .  ,  -if  itiVjis.T.iiii.  y '  i»:e  '-.iii  V  :::ui^L  To  rhe  nrieschooil. 
p. \ww  .!<»  i'r't  :r  Tn:>e  '.'  nsi^rvr^  ~*»-i"?«fri;tl  -mdneaee.  The 
.'^'i'.f  1     -jj'r.M  •!   .if.r    tfsi>r,    in   "iie     irSi*-^    -rlci^nicif^i  bv  a  cleric 

a* 

T;»<*   n»^-r  -!»•.'■  ••-;-    ir-iisfi    "lit-   vr:irii   'C    \T:aL'es  .iml  pmrLites  in 

-'•  '/I ri  f'  -• . .' ; :i r !•  »•  ^ .      [- f  - :i r '  T ' ' .   i rj i.  "iirr  *  L>iii ' rs   ■  c  <j*t niiiiny  pabliely 

\*-u<r..v  »v\  \r.  .u\x\  >s  .i:;:!j  r.      I'^  3r:ci:il^irii>a  :a  niiiny  German 

,i!*y  .,  i\  \-,  /ii,rr,»is  ir.t.'/s  ..K;i.It^:  '-.v   Ll?:r^^:eii'i-  oler,rvmeQ.     The 

\'^*y\    r, '.:,.-,;/  ;%rr»-r  \r.A    l.-^-^i:"' >r   no     ce    --t  hiit  bD>ther  monks, 

if  r/r,  •',f  (  ,'\u--.  ^;i.'»:    **  U'r.r:!>r  I  ctitTx  Ii?  ii-«r  'vesu  co  the  south, 

or  V,  jj-.r.  r,«')rrr,-   f  -t»v  -Aoyiroe  a  rjiri-^'lr  'li-iuriD  wh«^  has  reat'hed  the 

*  '^f\'f/ f*y.\\t'    Ly  r;ir.r,r.!'vi!   meari.-*,   ar:«l   ^'i.«.»   ij^'Virrns  his  flock  in  a 

••ffMjf.  of  /  JiHirit.y.      A-^  for  thr  ^i-:ir.;ir  rTiIer>,  I  know  not  one  who 

fT^f'-r.'*  \)it'  jflory  of  ^>''>^i   to  hi.-i  own,  nr  who  sets  justice  above 

irif/'r/-*f .     'Jh/!    f/OTnl»tjr^I.H  arid  Normans  amoni:  whom  I  dwell  I 

ofJ/'fi  r*|»ro,i/'l»  'A-if  h  \it'\]\'y  ivf^r.se  than  Jews  or  heathen.     Had  I  no 

\\ii\it\  of  (i:  \fi'\\pr  I  iff!  h*rn'aft.<rr,  or  no  prrisiK.'ot  of  serving  the  Church 

li/'f/',  (io/|  in  my  viWxu-HH  that  I  wouhl  not  <lwell  another  hour  in 

Morn/',  whrn-  f  havw^  \HM:n  chiuuvA  fr»r  the  hist  twenty  years.      TIius 


404  THE   STOBY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

divided  between  a  grief  whicli  is  daily  renewed  and  a  hope,  alas  I 
too  distant,  I  am  beaten  by  a  thousand  fierce  storms,  and  my  life 
is  but  one  lengthened  agony.** 

In  the  meantime  a  formidable  insurrection  had  broken  out  in 
Saxony  because  of  the  enormous  taxes  levied  upon  the  people  by 
the  emperor.  After  a  number  of  bloody  battles  the  insurgents 
were  defeated  and  large  numbers  were  put  to  death  for  engaging 
in  it.  At  its  close  it  is  alleged  that  Henry  instigated  Guibert, 
his  chancellor,  who  was  the  simoniacal  archbishop  of  Ravenna,  to 
seize  the  pontiff,  imprison  him,  and  procure  the  election  of 
another  in  his  place  who  would  pay  deference  to  the  emperor's 
wishes.  The  attempt  to  carry  out  this  scheme  was  partially  suc- 
cessful. One  of  the  Cenci,  son  of  a  former  prefect  of  Rome,  with 
a  band  of  armed  men  burst  into  the  Church  of  Saint  Mar}'^-Major 
on  Christmas  night  (A.  D.  1075),  and  dragged  the  Pope  from  the 
altar  where  he  was  celebrating  the  midnight  mass,  and  amid  the 
groans  and  shrieks  of  the  horror-stricken  worshippers  carried  him 
off  to  a  stronghold  of  the  Cenci.  They  hoped  to  remove  him  from 
the  city  before  daylight  and  bring  him  a  prisoner  to  Germany, 
but  the  manhood  of  Rome  had  tlie  tower  of  the  Cenci  surrounded 
within  a  few  hours  after  the  seizure.  They  threatened  to 
storm  the  place  and  put  to  deatli  Cenci  and  ever}'  member  of 
his  band. 

The  captor  begged  his  prisoner  to  save  his  life  from  the  maddened 
multitude,  who  were  getting  the  scaling  ladders  in  readiness  to 
begin  the  assault.  The  Pope  secured  the  lives  of  his  captors, 
and  was  then  borne  to  the  Church  from  which  he  had  been  carried, 
where  he  continued  the  celebration  which  had  been  so  rudely 
interrupted.  Gregory  on  the  very  next  day,  December  26,  wrote 
to  Henry,  saying,  "  We  are  astonished  at  the  unfriendly  bearing 
of  your  acts  and  decrees  toward  the  Apostolic  See.  You  have 
continued* in  contempt  of  our  rescripts  to  l)estow  investitures  for 
vacant  bishoprics.  We  would  remind  you  in  true  fatherly  affec- 
tion to  acknowledge  the  empire  of  Christ,  to  think  of  the  danger 
of  prefen-ing  your  own  honor  to  His." 

Henry  made  answer  by  calling  a  council  of  the  German  bishops 
at  Worms.  A  formal  accusation  against  the  Pope  was  laid 
l)efore  this  council  in  which  he  was  charged  with  many  infamous 


THEOCBAGT  OB  PRIESTLY  GOVERNMENT.  405 

crimes,  one  of  which  was  that  he  had  hired  assassins  to  kill  Heniy 
IV.  He  was  denounced  as  ^^a  heretic,  an  adulterer,  a  ferocious 
and  blood-thirsty  beast."  The  council  at  the  close  of  a  three  days 
session  deposed  the  Pope,  which  sentence  was  signed  by  the  king 
and  all  the  bisliops  in  attendance.  A  messenger  was  sent  from 
the  emperor  to  Rome  with  two  letters,  one  for  presentation  to  the 
Pope,  and  the  other  for  the  Roman  people.  Tlie  letter  to  the 
Pope  ran  thus :  — 

**  Henry,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King,  to  Hildebrand.  Whereas  I 
expected  from  you  the  treatment  of  a  father,  I  have  learned  that  yon 
act  as  my  worst  enemy.  You  have  robbed  mo  of  the  highest  marks  of 
respect  due  from  your  Sec ;  you  have  tried  to  estrange  the  hearts  of 
my  Italian  subjects.  To  check  this  boldness,  not  by  words  but  by 
deeds,  I  have  called  together  the  lords  and  bishops  of  my  states.  The 
council  has  received  ample  proofs,  as  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed  aots^ 
that  you  are  utterly  unworthy  any  longer  to  occupy  the  Holy  See.  I 
have  agreed  to  this  sentence.  I  cease  to  look  upon  you  as  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  and  in  virtue  of  my  rank  of  Roman  patrician  I  conmiaDd  you 
to  quit  the  See  forthwith." 

The  two  letters  were  read  by  the  imperial  messenger  before  an 
assembly  of  the  Roman  clergy  and  nobility  over  which  the  Pope 
presided.  The  assembly  desired  to  proceed  at  once  to  depose  the 
emperor  in  the  presence  of  his  messenger,  but  Gregory  suggested 
that  they  adjourn  until  the  next  day.  Before  adjourning,  address- 
ing the  bishops  specially,  he  said :  "  We  must  display  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  dove  as  well  as  the  prudence  of  the  serjient." 

On  the  following  day  he  addressed  the  assembly,,  reciting 
endeavors  which  he  had  made  to  induce  Henry  to  obey  the  laws 
of  the  Church,  and  refened  with  powerful  eloquence  to  the 
demoralized  condition  of  the  world,  owing  chiefly  to  the  bad  men 
who  had  Ik^cu  introduced  into  the  Episcopal  seats  by  temporal 
sovereigns  against  the  continued  protests  of  the  pontiffs. 

The  bishops  of  the  assemblyarose  and  unanimously  requested  that 
Henry  be  excoramimicated  for  malfeasance,misfeasance,  and  nonfea- 
sance, as  a  public  and  notorious  corrupter  of  morals,  and  contemner 
and  violator  of  the  laws  of  the  Christian  Church  which  he  had  sworn 
to  obey.     The  decisive  battle  of  si)iritual  service  reform  in  Chris- 


THE   8T0BY   OP  GOVEBSSIENT, 


tt^ndom  li  a  (1  begun. 
Gregory  VII.  then  arose 
and  pronounced  the  fa- 
mous sentence  of  excom- 
munication and  deposi- 
tion as  follows :  — 

"  St.  Peter,  prince  ot  the 
Apostles,  hear  thy  servant. 
I  call  thee  to  witness,  thou 
and  the  most  holy  mother 
of  God,  w-ith  St.  Paul,  thy 
brother  and  all  the  sainta, 
that  the  Church  of  Rome 
compelled  me  in  epite  of 
myself  to  rule.  In  the 
name  of  Almighty  God, 
Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  and  by  thy  author- 
ity, I  forbid  Henry  to 
govern  the  German  roalm 
and  Italy.  I  release  all 
Cliristians  from  the  oath 
by  which  they  have  bound 
themselves  to  him,  and  I 
forbid  anyone  to  serve  liim 
as  King,  Since  he  has 
refused  to  obey  as  a  Chris- 
tian, rejecting  the  counsels 
gnen  him  for  his  salvation, 
■jnd  withdrawing  from  the 
Chui  ch  which  he  seeks  to 
rend  I  hereby  declare  him 
anathema  that  all  nations 
may  know  even  by  experi- 
ence that  thou  art  Peter, 
and  that  upon  this  rock 
the  Son  of  the  Living 
God  has  built  his  Chnrch 
against  which  the  gates  of 


PAi-Ai.  uuusaaoLD.         hell  shall  never  prevail." 


THEOCRACY  OR  PRIESTLY   GOVERNMENT.  407 

A  pontifical  bull  notified  the  Christian  world  of  the  sentence 
passed  ujk)!!  Henry,  the  news  of  which  created  a  tremendous 
sensation.  Germany  was  divided  into  two  hostile  camps,  one 
papal,  the  other  anti-papal.  An  assembly  of  the  German  bishops 
and  nobles  met  near  Mentz  to  consider  the  situation.  Gregory 
wius  represented  by  two  legates.  It  was  determined,  in  a  session 
that  lasted  seven  days,  to  elect  a  new  ruler  instead  of  Heniy, 
and  tliat  unless  '^within  the  space  of  a  year  he  had  obtained 
absolution  from  the  sentence  of  excommunication  and  deposition 
weighing  upon  him,  lie  should  l)e  considered  finally  deposed  from 
the  throne."  And  lie  must  dislyand  his  army  and  cease  exercising 
sovereign  authority  until  he  had  obtained  absolution  from  the 
Pope.  Henry  consented  to  the  terms  and  hastened  to  meet  the 
Pope  at  the  castle  of  Canossa  in  northern  Italy.  He  put  off  every 
insignia  of  royalty  from  his  person  and  dressed  as  a  penitent, 
barefooted  and  bareheaded,  awaited  for  the  space  of  three  days,  from 
the  17th  to  the  20th  of  January,  the  Pope's  judgment.  Prostrate 
at  the  Pope's  feet  he  cried  out,  "Forgive,  most  Holy  Father,  in 
your  mercy  forgive  me."  Gregory  pronounced  him  absolved,  and 
reinstated  as  ruler  of  the  German  Empire,  and  in  a  bull  announced 
to  the  Christian  world  that  Henry  was  released  from  his  censures. 

But  Henry  was  evidently  acting  tlie  part  of  a  hyj^ocrite.  In 
a  few  weeks  later  he  sent  a  force  of  men-at-arms  into  Lombardy 
to  capture  the  Pope,  which  failed  through  the  project  leaking 
out.  Determined  not  to  l)e  foiled,  and  gathering  around  him 
all  the  simoniacal  bishops  and  their  retainers,  and  the  nobles 
who  disregarded  church  authority,  he  proposed  to  dictate  terms  to 
all  his  opponents.  The  German  nobles  who  refused  to  follow 
him  met  and  elected  Rudolph,  Duke  of  Suabia,  as  "  the  lawful 
king  of  Germany,  and  defender  of  the  empire  of  the  Franks."  In 
the  civil  war  which  followed  Henry  was  victorious. 

Again  he  was  excommunicated  and  depased  by  Gi*egory,  to  which 
sentence  he  replied  by  calling  a  convocation  of  the  simoniacal 
bishops  whom  he  had  appointed.  These  bishops  said :  "  In  a  council 
of  twenty-nire  bishops  we  have  resolved  to  depose,  expel,  and  —  if 
he  refuse  to  obey  our  injunction  —  to  devote  to  eternal  perdition 
Hildebrand,  the  corrupt  man  who  counsels  the  plunder  of  churches 
and  assaBsination,  who  defends  perjury  and  murder;  Hildebrand, 


408  THE   STORY   OF   GOVEBNMENT. 

that  monk  possessed  of  the  spirit  of  hell,  the  vile  apostate  from 
the  faith  of  our  fathers." 

They  also  unanimously  elected  the  imperial  chancellor,  Guibert 
of  Ravenna,  as  Pope  Clement  III.,  who  instantly  set  out  for 
Rome  with  an  army  to  take  possession'  of  the  pontifical  office. 
All  the  disorderly  clerics,  all  the  riotous,  both  lay  and  cleric, 
flocked  to  the  standard  of  the  anti-pope  who  claimed  that  the 
emperor  should  exercise  the  chief  authority  in  the  choice  of  popes 
and  bishops;  that  no  pope  or  bishop  could  be  la^vfully  elected 
unless  chosen  by  the  emperor  or  king  of  Gennany,  and  that  no 
account  was  to  be  made  of  a  sentence  of  excommunication  pro- 
nounced against  a  temporal  sovereign. 

Professor  Voigt  says :  "  The  pen  of  historj'^  refuses  to  record  all 
the  woes  that  followed  in  the  train  of  this  schism."  Gregoiy 
stood  almost  alone ;  the  mighty  of  earth  and  many  of  the  unworthy 
were  arrayed  against  him.  The  emperor's  pope,  Guibert,  with 
the  emperor  and  a  large  army,  laid  siege  to  Rome  in  the  spring 
of  1082.  The  Romans  successfully  defended  their  city  and 
pontiflF  for  two  years,  but,  wearied  out  at  length  by  the  rigors  of 
the  protracted  siege,  they  sent  a  deimtation  of  citizens  to  offer 
Henry  the  keys  of  the  city. 

Tlie  latter  and  his  pope  made  their  entry  Mai*ch  21,  1084. 
Guibert  was  formally  installed  as  Pope,  and  he  then  crowned 
Henry  as  Emperor  of  Gennany  in  the  church  of  Saint  Peter, 
the  latter  having  borne  only  the  titles  of  king  and  emperor- 
elect  previously.  Gregory  VII.  withdrew  from  l^)me  to  Salerno 
where  he  died  May  25,  1085.  Around  the  couch  on  which 
he  lay  dying  stood  his  cardinals,  the  fiiithful  ones  who 
repudiated  the  intruded  Pope  of  the  empeior.  To  these  he 
bequeathed  as  his  only  legacy  the  preservation  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  church.  He  adjured  them  in  his  last  moments, 
sa3'ing,  "In  the  name  of  Almighty  God,  in  virtue  of  the  authority 
of  the  holy  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul,  I  command  you  to  acknowl- 
edge as  lawful  Pope  no  one  who  is  not  elected  and  consecrated 
according  to  the  canonical  laws  of  the  Church.'* 

He  then  grew  rapidly  weaker  and  for  a  time  was  unable  to 
speak,  but  rallying  for  a  moment  the  ebbing  life-forces  he  uttered 
the  words  which  will  go  down  to  all  the  unborn  generations  of 


THEOCRACY  OB   PBIESTLT  GOVERNMENT.  409 

men  of  eveiy  creed  and  country:  ^I  have  loved  justice  and  hated 
iniquity,  therefore  do  I  die  in  exile.'*  The  last  words  had  been 
spoken.  The  son  of  the  Roman  carpenter,  the  monk  Hildefarand, 
the  Supreme  Pontiff,  was  dead.  The  struggle  between  Gregory 
and  Henry  was  ended. 

The  student  of  history  will  perceive  a  certain  similarity 
between  the  actors  in  this  conflict  and  that  which  took  place 
between  Henry  VIII.  of  England  and  Fisher,  the  Bishop  of 
Rochester.  Hildebrand  was  a  preceptor  of  the  German  emperor 
in  early  boyhood ;  Fisher  was  a  preceptor  of  the  English  monarch. 
Hildebrand,  for  maintaining  the  papal  supremacy,  was  driven  into 
exile  by  his  pupil,  while  Fisher  was  beheaded  for  the  same 
offence  by  his  pupil. 

Professor  Voigt  closes  his  History  of  Gregory  VII.  in  these 
words:  — 

^  It  is  difficult  to  bestow  on  him  exaggerated  eulogy,  for  he  has  laid 
everywhere  the  foundation  of  a  solid  glory.  But  every  one  should 
wish  to  render  justice  to  whom  justice  is  due ;  let  no  man  cast  a  stone 
at  one  who  is  innocent ;  let  every  one  respect  and  honor  a  man  who 
has  labored  for  his  age  with  views  so  grand  and  so  generous.  Let  him 
who  is  conscious  of  having  calumniated  him,  re-enter  into  his  own 
conscience." 

Apparently  the  German  emperor  was  ti-iumphant;  but  the 
triumph  was  in  appearance  only.  The  right  of  temporal  princes 
to  exercise  the  investiture  of  bishops  was  doomed.  Pope  Victor 
III.,  who  followed  Gregory  VII.,  took  up  the  work  which  the 
exile  of  Salerno  bequeathed  to  his  successors,  and  his  successors 
in  turn  prosecuted  it  until  this  claim  was  altogether  relinquished 
by  Henry  V.,  emperor  of  Germany,  thirty-seven  years  after  the 
death  of  Gregory  VII. 

In  1196  the  papacy  and  a  French  monarch,  Philip  Augustus, 
came  into  collision  on  the  marriage  question.  The  king,  on  a 
false  pretext  of  kindred,  convened  some  bishops  who  declared  his 
marriage  void  with  the  queen,  a  daughter  of  the  king  of  Denmark. 
The  latter,  when  cited  before  the  assembly  to  answer  interrogato- 
ries and  defend  herself  against  her  husband's  charges,  could  not 
speak  the  language  of  her  judges.     When  an  interpreter  trans- 


410 


THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 


lated  for  her  the  sentence  of  her  repudiatioa,  she  could  only  cry 
out  in  an  appeal  of  anguish  and  indignation :  "  Rome,  Rome !  " 
She  refused  to  leave  France  and  return  to  her  father,  whereupoa 
the  king  confined  her  in  a  convent  and  married  another  woman. 
Innocent  III ,  a  man  of  extraordinary  ability,  was  Pope.  Some 
writers  charge  him  with  a  boundless  ambition.  However  that 
may  be,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  repudiated  queen  and  sum-  ' 
moned  a  council  tt  Dijon  before  which  Philip  Augustus  was 
cited  to  appear  to  answer 
for  his  conduct.  The  king 
refused  to  appear,  bidding 
detiance  to  Pope  and  comi- 
uil.     The  legate  presiding 


over  the  council  in  the  Pope's  name,  and  acting  under  his  in- 
struction, laid  the  French  kingdom  under  an  interdict  until 
proper  reparation  should  be  made.  The  king  persecuted  the 
faithful  clergy  with  great  cruelty  and  civil  war  was  provoked, 
many  of  the  feudal  nobles  drawing  the  sword  to  protect  the  clergy 
within  their  fiefs. 

Growing  weary  of  the  struggle,  Philip  made  a  last  appeal  to 
an  assembly  of  all  the  nobles  and  prelates  of  his  realm  which  he 
convoked.     "What  mustldo?"  asked  Philip.     "Obeythe  Pope, 


TUBOtRAUY   OK    I'lIIEHTI.V   (loVHIl.VMKNT, 


1 


pat  away  Agnes,  and  take  back  your  queen,"  they  answered. 
The  king  waa  forced  to  yield  and  t^  queen  was  restored  to  her 
rightful  station. 

In  regard  to  the  state  of  educatioD  conaidetable  impioyement 
had  been  made  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries.  It  will, 
of  cooise,  be  understood  that  printing,  as  we  have  it  to>day,  was 
unknown ;  that  every  book  was  produced  by  the  slow  and  labori- 
oos  work  of  writing  out  every  word  by  hand. 

The  third  general  council  of  the  Church,  held  at  Rome  by  Pope 
Alexander  III.  in  1179,  ordained  that  "since  the  Church  of  God, 
like  a  tender  mother,  ia  bound  to  provide  for  the  poor  both  in 
those  things  which  appertain  to  the  aid  of  the  body  and  in  those 
which  bfilong  to  the  advancement  of  the  soul,  lest  the  opportunity 
for  such  improyement  should  be  wanting  to  those  poor  persons 
wlio  cannot  bt  aided  by  the  wealth  of  their  parents,  let  a  compe- 
tent benefice  lie  i^ssigned  :n  each  cathedral  church  to  a  teacher  whose 
duty  it  ahuU  W:  to  teach  the  clerks  and  poor  scholars  of  the  same 
church  griituitoiisly ;  by  which  means  the  necessity  of  the  teacher 
maylxi  relieved,  and  the  way  to  instruction  be  opened  to  learners. 
Let  this  pnicticc  be  also  restored  in  other  churches  and  monasteries, 
if  in  times  past  anything  was  set  apart  in  them  for  this  purpose. 
But  let  no  out!  wxact  a  price  for  granting  permission  to  teach." 

Pope  Innocent  III.,  who  has  already  been  refen-ed  to,  renewed 
this  decree  in  1215,  and  extended  the  law  to  all  parochial 
churches.  Universities  arose  throughout  Europe  to  light  the  course 
of  tlie  centuries.  Oxford  was  founded  in  886,  Cambridge  in  915. 
Charlemagne  founded  the  University  of  Paris  almut  800,  and  a 
large  number  of  Italian  universities,  including  that  of  Padua, 
Pisa,  Pavia,  Bologna,  and  Rome  were  well-known  centres  of 
learning  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century,  each  counting  its  students 
by  thousands.  Padua  alone,  the  alma  mater  of  Columbus  and 
Vespuciua,  had  at  one  time  18,000  students.  Anthony  Wood, 
the  chronicler  of  Oxford,  says  that  that  institution  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  had  not  less  than  30,000  students. 

The  notorious  politico-ecclesiastical  tribunal  known  as  the 
Spanish  Inquisitioa  was  established  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
toward  the  clos^  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Prior  to  this  time  the 
Inqnisition  prevailed  throughout  Christendom  as  a  species  of 


I 


liTr 


o: 


*.    It 


of 


_^rin^ 

until 


«*^    *•—--.     i*- 


-A'k . 


,• 


-^T-^f  tfcl* 


'X'^ 


"l^     «■ 


THEOGRACT  Olt   PRIESTLY   OOTEBNMENT. 


418 


election  of  a  pope  in  Rome  in  April,  1878,  when  Urban  VI. 
was  unanimously  declared  elected  by  tbe  cardinals,  but  afterwards 
the  French  cardinals  protested  against  the  legality  of  che  election 
and  proceeded  to  elect  a  pope  under  the  name  of  Clement  VII. 
The  latter  transferred  himself  to  Avignon,  in  France,  from  which 
be  ruled  a  small  portion  of  the  Christian  world,  chiefiy  France, 


while  the  pontiff  in  Rome  was  recognized  as  the  lawful  Pope  by 
the  greater  part  of  Christendom. 

Tlie  rival  popes  —  and  sometimes  there  were  three  claimants  — 
excommunicated  one  another,  and  when  they  died  their  successor 
who  were  elected  by  the  resjiective  factions  did  likewise,  and  on 
one  occasion  a  dead  pope  was  actually  tried  by  his  successor.  The 
Christian  world  was  in  deep  distress,  and  sadly  puzzled  at  this 
apparent  sacrifice  of  the  unity  under  one  head,  which  was  the 
time-honored  boast  of  the  jmpaey.  Persons  of  highest  reputation, 
reverenced  for  the  holiness  of  their  lives,  were  to  be  found  on 
opposite  sides.  The  unity  of  faith  and  worahip  was  not  dis- 
turbed; the  only  question  at  issue  being  who  was  the  true  Pope. 
The  schism  lasted  until  1417,  when  it  was  ended  by  all  tlie  elec- 
tors unanimously  voting  for  Pope  Martin  V. 


.-^'^ 


414  THE   STORY   OF  OOVERN>1ENT. 

It  would  seem  that  the  ambition  of  the  French  king  fanning 
the  ambition  of  certain  French  cardinals  was  the  cause  of  this 
schism.  The  papacy  in  the  beginning  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  its 
efforts  to  humanize  Europe,  was  obliged  to  come  into  close  con- 
tact, and  in  many  instances  into  conflict  —  a  few  examples  of 
which  have  been  cited  —  with  the  temporal  rulers,  and  thus  it 
was  drawn  into  the  arena  of  politics  where  it  was  consequently 
subject  to  all  its  vicissitudes  and  dangera. 

Many  monasteries  became  a  scandal  and  reproach  to  Christen- 
dom at  this  time.  Yet  a  large  number  of  the  purest  and  holiest 
men  and  women,  whose  names  adorn  the  page  of  Christi- 
anity, lived  at  this  epoch,  who  kept  their  faces  firmly  set  against 
the  evils  of  the  time,  working  in  patience,  silence  and  humility 
to  resist  the  loud-voiced  wrong  whicli  walked  abroad  at  noonday. 
Luther  at  this  time  entered  upon  the  stage,  and  the  Reformation 
of  the  sixteenth  centurj'  was  under  way.  The  monk  of  Witten- 
berg found  all  the  material  necessary  for  a  great  upheaval  at 
hand;  he  touched  the  train  and  the  explosion  followed.  He 
cried  out  reform  on  the  Alpine  heights  and  an  avalanche  was  set 
in  motion.  He  appealed  from  the  authority  of  the  Pope  to  the 
Bible  interpreted  by  everj'  Christian  for  himself  as  the  only  rule 
of  faith. 

A  great  number  of  sects  sprang  into  existence  immediately,  some 
of  which  upheld  very  fantastic  doctrines.  When  Luther  reproved 
them  and  insisted  upon  the  soundness  of  his  own  views  they  told 
him  that  he  taught  the  sole  authority  of  the  Bible  ui>on  whicli 
they  based  their  belief.  One  of  the  most  numerous  of  these  sects, 
the  Anabaptists,  protested  against  the  payment  of  tithes  and 
other  dues,  and  maintained  the  right  of  every  parish  to  choose 
and  remove  at  will  the  preachei's  who  oecui)ied  the  pulpits. 
They  supported  these  professions  by  force  of  arms  under  their 
leader  Miinzer,  who  called  himself  ''Gideon  sent  of  God  to  re- 
establish with  the  sword  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,"  and  the 
Peasants'  War  ensued,  in  which  the  unfortunate  Anabaptists  were 
beaten  and  Miinzer  killed.  Luther  had  endeavored  to  restrain 
them,  but  finding  expostulation  useless,  he  advised  the  Gennan 
princes  by  letter  to  "hunt  these  rebellions  peasants  like  wild  l)easts ; 
kill  them  like  mad  dogs:  they  are  sold  body  and  soul  to  Satan." 


w 


THEOCRACY   OB   PRIESTLY   OOVBKNMENT.  416 

The  Reformation  spread  quickly  to  countries  outside  of  Ger- 
many. Henry  VIII.  refonned  the  Church  in  England  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  by  making  himself,  by  act  of  Parliament, 
thtJ  liead  of  it.  The  cause  of  the  Reformation  in  England  was 
that  Pope  Clement  VII.  refused  to  grant  Heurj'  a  divorce  from 
his  wife  Catherine,  to  whom  he  had  been  married  eighteen  years. 
Henry  wished  for  young  Anne  Bolej-n,  and  he  advanced  the  iisual 
pretext  of  other  royal  lilxirtines  that  his  conscience  troubled  him 
for  living  with  hh  queen  because  of  a  certain  too  close  kinship 
which  they  bore  to  each  other  before  marriage. 

The  Pontiff,  on  being  appealed  to  for  the  necessary  dispeosa- 
tiion,  said  he  would  examine  carefully  into  the  matter,  but 
could  not  sacrifice  his  conscience  and  trample  on  the  laws 
o£  God.  After  the  matter  was  protracted  for  some  yeara, 
daring  which  he  tried  every  possible  means  to  dissuade 
Henry  from  his  purpose,  a  decision  was  rendered,  deciding 
definitely  against  the  divorce  on  which  Henry  had  already 
resolved.  The  king  was  indignant  and  made  himself  pope  of 
the  English  Chui-ch.  He  then  ordered  Rowland  Lee,  one  of  his 
chaplains,  to  marry  him  immediately  to  Anne  Boleyn,  who  was 
soon  to  become  a  mother,  and  the  thing  was  done. 

The  history  of  this  royal  monster,  his  many  inariiages,  his 
treatment  of  his  wives  and  subjects,  are  too  well  known  to  require 
reference  at  any  great  length  here.  He  reformed  the  Church  in 
accordance  with  his  views.  While  doing  so  he  executed  two 
queens,  one  cardinal,  two  arehbishops,  eighteen  bishops,  thirteen 
abbots,  five  hundred  priors  and  monks,  thirty-eight  doctors, 
twelve  dukes  and  counts,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  noblemen  of 
various  ranks,  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  private  citizens,  and 
one  hundred  and  ten  women.  These  executions  were  all  for 
offences  committed  against  his  royal  personality  —  against  his 
majesty.  Among  these  was  his  early  preceptor,  the  venerable 
Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  who  was  eighty  years  of  age.  When 
Pope  Paul  nominated  Fisher  as  cardinal  Henry  said,  *  Paul  may 
send  him  the  bat,  but  I  will  take  care  that  he  shall  have  never 
a  head  to  wear  it  on." 

Pope  Paul  HI.  called  a  general  council  of  the  Church  at 
Trent  which  assembled  on  December  13,  1545.     The  council 


416  THE   STOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

pronounced    definitely    on    the    teachings    of    Luther,    Calvin, 
Zwinglius,  and  other  reformers,  condemning  them  as  heretical. 

At  this  period  of  strife  and  world-wide  religious  contention, 
the  organization  arose  which  was  founded  hy  Ignatius  of  Loyola, 
and  known  as  the  "Society  of  Jesus."  This  order  of  priests  was 
especially  designed  to  counteract  the  influence  of  Protestantism. 
It  has  always  appeared  an  object  of  the  greatest  terror  to  many 
Protestant  minds.  The  society  has  been  denounced  with  the 
greatest  bitterness  as  a  monster  of  iniquity  since  it  first  appeared 
in  the  arena  of  conflict,  and  its  members  from  time  to  time  have 
been  expelled  from  states  raled  by  kings  as  well  as  from  states 
under  republican  government.  Even  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church  itself  have  assailed  it.  Its  brethren  have  been  accused 
of  pandering  to  the  absolutism  of  princes,  and  arousing  feelings 
of  revolt  among  the  masses  at  one  and  the  same  time.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  accurate  summary  of  the  constitution  of  this  notable 
society :  — 

A.  M.  D.  G.  QAd  majorem  Dei  gloriam)  is  its  motto.  The  end 
of  this  society  is  the  greater  glory  of  God.  Its  members  are  to 
labor  for  the  salvation  of  their  neighbor  as  for  their  own.  Their 
duty  toward  their  neighbor  they  discharge  by  means  of  preaching, 
missions,  catechetical  instructions,  conferences  with  heretics, 
the  confessional,  and  especially  by  the  education  of  youtli;  their 
own  perfection  they  seek  by  means  of  mental  prayer,  examination 
of  conscience,  the  reading  of  ascetical  works,  and  frequent  com- 
munion. 

Candidates  for  admission  into  the  society  are  tried  by  a  novi- 
tiate of  two  years,  during  which  time  all  studies  are  laid  aside,  and 
the  novices  devote  their  time  chiefly  to  spiritual  exercises.  At 
the  end  of  the  novitiate  the  novice  may  be  admitted  to  the  first 
vows,  chastity,  poverty  and  obedience,  which  are  like  those  of 
other  orders.  The  poverty  of  the  membei-s  consists  in  their 
incapacity  to  j^ossess  either  individually  or  collectively  any 
income  or  property.  They  are  to  remain  satisfied  with  what  is 
given  them  to  supply  their  wants. 

Their  colleges,  however,  are  endowed  in  order  that  neither  stu- 
dents nor  teachers  may  be  taken  from  their  duties  to  provide  for 
their  own  subsistence.     After  the  novitiate  they  begin  the  course 


418  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  studies  —  languages,  belleS'lettres^  rhetoric,  philosophy,  theol- 
ogy, church  history,  and  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  While  pursuing 
these  studies  they  are  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  piety  in  their  hearts 
by  means  of  frequent  examination  of  conscience,  by  approaching 
the  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  at  least  every 
eighth  day,  and  by  renewing  their  vows  twice  a  year.  When 
they  go  out  of  the  house  they  should  generally  have  a  companion. 

After  the  completion  of  his  studies,  the  Jesuit  performs  a 
second  novitiate,  lasting  one  year,  during  which  he  is  employed 
in  spiritual  duties  and  lives  in  retirement,  perfecting  himself  in 
the  knowledge  of  the  constitutions  of  his  order.  The  members  of 
the  order  are  divided  into  three  classes,  according  to  their  degree 
of  learning  and  virtue :  — 

1st.  The  professed,  who  beside  the  three  monastic  vows,  chas- 
tity, poverty  and  obedience,  make  a  fourth  vow  of  absolute 
obedience  to  the  Pope  in  regard  to  missions.  There  are  compara- 
tively few  professed  Jesuits  or  Jesuits  of  the  four  vows.  From 
this  class  are  chosen  the  general  of  the  order  and  the  other  prin- 
cipal superiors.  Their  establishments  are :  the  professed  houses, 
directed  by  a  praepositus;  the  colleges,  containing  at  least  thirteen 
members  under  a  rector,  and  the  residences  in  charge  of  a 
superior. 

2d.  The  spiritual  coadjutors,  who  are  in  greater  number  than 
the  professed  according  to  their  talents  and  the  constitutions  of 
the  order,  and  the  professed  in  their  ministry. 

3d.  The  temporal  coadjutors,  or  lay  brothers  who  are  received 
for  domestic  employments. 

Each  province  of  the  order,  as  the  United  States  for  example, 
is  governed  by  a  provincial.  At  the  head  of  the  whole  order  is  a 
general,  who  resides  at  Rome  and  enjoys  full  power  within  the 
limits  of  the  constitution.  Modifications  can  be  introduced  only 
by  the  general  congregations.  The  general  appoints  nearly  all 
the  officers  of  the  order  to  prevent  whatever  dissensions  and 
intrigues  might  arise  from  elections  by  suffrage ;  these  appointments 
are  made  after  consulting  the  provincial  and  the  proper  con- 
suiters.  The  superiors  of  the  various  houses  at  stated  times  send 
reports  to  the  general  of  the  capacity  and  conduct  of  their 
subjects. 


420  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  general  has  six  assistants  whose  advice  he  is  bound  to 
seek;  they  are  to  be  tried  and  able  men  belonging  to  different 
nations,  by  the  names  of  which  they  are  respectively  known. 
They  are  elected  by  the  general  congregation  and  form  the 
council  of  the  general,  but  without  authority  except  that  of  calling 
a  general  congregation  in  extraordinary  cases.  The  general  con- 
gregation also  elects  the  general's  admonitor  who  must  admonish 
him  whenever  he  deems  it  necessary.  The  constitution  main- 
tains the  strictest  unity  in  the  system,  and  in  the  matter  of 
teaching  it  aims  at  repressing,  with  the  most  vigorous  eneigy, 
whatever  is  at  variance  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  leaving, 
as  it  is  claimed,  at  the  same  time  in  matters  of  mere  opinion,  a 
freedom  which  favors  the  aspirations  of  genius. 

The  object  of  setting  forth  at  such  length  the  rules  of  this 
order,  which  has  been  called  "the  right  arm  of  the  Church,"  is 
because  the  average  American  knows  as  little  about  them  as  he 
does  about  the  laws  of  the  Pharoahs,  and  aside  from  their  novelty 
it  is  assuredly  not  a  matter  for  self-gratulation  to  be  ignorant  of 
the  methods  and  aims  of  a  society  of  priests  which  already  wields 
such  a  powerful  influence  throughout  our  country.  And  they  are 
by  no  means  strangers  or  newcomers  in  this  land.  Bancroft, 
speaking  of  their  work,  says:  "The  history  of  their  labors  ic  con- 
nected with  the  origin  of  eveiy  celebrated  town  in  the  annals  of 
French  America ;  not  a  cape  was  turned,  nor  a  river  entered  but 
a  Jesuit  led  the  way.  .  .  .  Thus  did  the  religious  zeal  of  the 
French  l)ear  the  cross  to  the  banks  of  tlie  Saint  Mary  and  the 
confines  of  Lake  Superior,  and  look  wistfully  towards  the  homes 
of  the  Sioux,  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  five  years  before  the 
New  England  Elliot  had  addressed  the  tribe  of  Indians  that  dwelt 
within  six  miles  of  Boston  Harbor."  The  student  who  desires  to 
study  the  laboi-s  of  tlie  Jesuits  in  North  America  can  do  so  with 
profit  in  Parkman's  works. 

The  society  wiis  suppressed  Ijy  the  governments  of  the  Catholic 
countries  of  Europe*,  not  only  in  Europe,  but  in  all  their  foreign 
possessions  between  1758  and  1707 .  The  charges  which  were  made 
the  pretext  for  its  expulsion  are  undeserving  serious  notice.  The 
chief  charge  was  that  a  member  of  the  order  in  Martinique  signed 
a  bill  of  exchange  on  another  in  Paris  which  was  protested. 


X  JESUIT  MISSION  A  It  Y. 


422  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERl^fBNT. 

most  vindictive  hatred  of  its  members,  and  as  she  was  the 
greatest  power  in  the  kingdom,  governing  Louis,  the  so-called 
Parliament,  and  the  Minister  Choiseul,  the  decree  of  banishment 
in  France  was  readily  obtained.  A  few  years  later  Pope  Clement 
XIV.,  under  pressure  of  the  Catholic  governments,  and  much 
against  his  will,  issued  a  bull  dissolving  the  society.  Then  a 
most  singular  episode  occurred.  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia, 
and  Catherine  I.,  Empress  of  Russia,  wrote  to  the  Pope  informing 
him  that,  knowing  no  better  teachers  of  youth  than  the  Jesuits, 
they  meant  to  keep  them  in  their  dominions. 

The  situation  was  a  unique  and  delicate  one.  By  the  bull  of 
suppression  the  Jesuits  were  forbidden  to  continue  living  in  com- 
munities, to  receive  novices,  and  consequently  to  perpetuate  their 
order.  Their  General  Ricci  had  solemnly  sworn  to  the  Pope  to 
renounce  all  power  and  jurisdiction  as  superior.  The  other 
Jesuits,  obedient  to  the  papal  bull  although  it  was  their  death- 
warrant,  refused  the  offers  of  Frederick  and  Catherine  as  long  as 
the  Pope  did  not  authorize  their  acceptance.  The  latter  was 
afraid  of  arousing  the  hostility  of  the  Catholic  powers  by  inde- 
pendent action  in  the  premises ;  so  he  laid  the  proposition  before 
them  for  consideration.  He  wiis  informed  that  he  might  follow 
his  wishes  in  the  matter,  provided  he  did  so  quietly  and  without 
great  formal  publicity.  Thus  the  Jesuits  opened  their  educa- 
tional institutions,  established  their  novitiates,  and  maintained 
their  order  in  two  non-Catholic  countries,  wliile  they  were  pro- 
hibited in  the  Catholic  stiites.  This  fact  is  almost  as  singular  as 
the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  Ignatius  of  Loyola  and  his  first 
companions  by  the  Spanish  Inquisition. 

During  the  last  century  the  conflict  between  the  papacy  and 
the  temporal  rulers  continued  in  one  form  or  another,  the  first 
claiming  that  tha  spiritual  domain  was  infringed  upon  by  the  latter 
and  vice  versa.  In  Fnince  the  opposition  proceeded  chiefly  from 
the  Parliaments  strongly  imbued  with  the  principles  of  Gallican- 
ism  or  national  churchism.  In  Spain  the  decrees  of  the  Church 
were  always  promulgated  with  the  accompanying  restriction 
''without  prejudice  to  the  royal  prerogative." 

Tlie  opposition  in  France  was  chiefly  directcnl  against  the 
decrees  relating  to  fines  and  imi)risonment,  in  spiritual  matters  to 


THBOCBACY  OB  PBIB8TLY  OOVEBNHENT.  428 

be  left  to  the  ecclesiastical  power,  against  those  forbidding  duels, 
concubinage,  and  divorce,  those  reserving  the  judgment  of  bishops 
to  the  Pope  alone,  and  those  relating  to  the  consent  of  parents 
deemed  necessary  in  France  for  legal  marriage,  and  not  required 
by  the  law  of  the  Church. 

Joseph  II.  of  Germany,  towards  the  close  of  the  century,  assumed 
and  exercised  the  right  of  settling  all  ecclesiastical  questions 
within  his  empire ;  he  deprived  bishops  of  their  revenues,  expelled 
them  or  abolished  their  dioceses.  By  an  imperial  manifesto  he 
declared  all  pontifical  bulls  subject  to  his  ratification.  Bishops 
were  forbidden  to  ordain  priests  without  the  previous  consent  of 
the  emperor;  he  suppressed  a  large  number  of  the  religious  com- 
munities, and  went  so  far  as  to  fix  the*  number  of  priests  for  each 
church.  The  Pope  protested  vigorously.  The  emperor  and  the 
bishops  who  supported  him  carried  out  their  views  of  church  govern- 
ment for  a  time,  threatening  a  schism  when  the  tidal  wave  of  revo- 
lution which  swept  over  Europe  from  Paris  gave  the  emperor 
and  his  brother  monarchs  other  matters  to  occupy  their  atten- 
tion than  things  of  theocratic  discipline. 

The  French  Directory  had  Pope  Pius  VI.  arrested  on  Feb.  12, 
1798,  and  brought  to  France  as  a  prisoner,  where  he  died  in 
confinement  August  29,  1799,  because  he  refused  to  govern 
the  Church  in  accordance  with  the  notions  of  the  gentlemen 
in  Paris,  who  proposed  to  relieve  the  world  of  all  kinds  of 
rule  save  that  of  "the  Republic  One  and  Indivisible."  Ranke,  in 
his  **  History  of  the  Popes, "  speaking  of  the  death  of  Pius  VI.,  says : 
**In  truth,  it  seemed  as  if  the  papal  power  was  forever  at  an  end." 

The  emperor.  Napoleon  I.,  a  few  years  later  established  amicable 
relations  with  Pope  Pius  VII.,  who  crowned  the  emperor  at  his 
request  in  Paris.  Afterwards,  in  1805,  he  appealed  to  the  Pope 
to  annul  the  marriage  which  his  brother  Joseph,  when  a  minor,  had 
contracted  in  Baltimore,  in  this  country,  with  Miss  Patterson,  on 
the  ground  that  the  lady  was  a  Protestant  and  her  husband  was  a 
minor.  Whatever  opinion  one  may  entertain  of  the  papacy  in  its 
religious  aspect,  the  reply  of  the  aged  Pontiff  to  this  monstrous 
demand  made  by  the  dictator  of  Europe  is  worthy  of  the  highest 
commendation.  Pius  VII.  in  his  reply  says:  "Your  Majesty  will 
understand  that,  upon  the  information  thus  far  received  by  us,  it 


424  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

is  not  in  our  power  to  pronounce  a  sentence  of  nullity.  We  can- 
not utter  a  judgment  in  opposition  to  the  rules  of  the  Church,  and 
we  could  not,  without  laying  aside  those  rules,  decree  the  in- 
validity of  a  union  which,  according  to  the  Word  of  God,  no 
human  power  can  sunder." 

But  the  emperor  was  not  to  be  stopped  by  this  refusal.  At  his 
instigation  the  state  tribunals  annulled  the  marriage,  and  Joseph 
married  a  princess  of  Wurtemberg.  Afterwards,  on  the  6th  of 
July,  1809,  the  emperor  arrested  the  Pope  and  all  the  cardinals' 
whom  he  was  able  to  lay  hands  on,  and  brought  them  all  as 
prisoners  to  Paris,  so  that  in  case  the  Pontiff  died  he  would  be 
able  to  determine  who  should  be  elected  in  his  stead.  But  Pius 
VII.  did  not  die  in  Paris,  although  he  remained  a  prisoner  in  the 
emperor's  custody  until  May,  1814,  when  he  was  liberated  by  the 
allied  sovereigns  at  the  downfall  of  Napoleon. 

Pius  VII.,  on  his  return  to  Rome,  issued  a  bull  which  re-estab- 
lished the  order  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  throughout  the  world. 
This  Pontiff,  who  is  with  some  truth  called  one  of  the  greatest  of 
modem  times,  governed  the  Catholic  Church  for  a  long  time,  and 
died  on  the  20th  of  September,  1823.  Since  his  pontificate  the 
conflicts  between  the  papacy  and  tenipoml  rulers  have  not  been  so 
fierce  nor  so  numerous  as  in  the  past  centuries.  Indeed,  the  only 
great  subject  matter  of  strife  lias  been  the  temporal  jurisdiction 
which  the  popes  exercised  over  the  small  tenitory  known  as  the 
States  of  the  Church,  or  as  it  is  generally  termed  by  Catholics, 
**the  patrimony  of  Saint  Peter." 

Victor  Emanuel,  the  King  of  Italy,  invaded  the  states  of  the 
Church  during  the  pontificate  of  Pius  IX.,  the  predecessor  of  the 
present  Pope,  and  annexed  them  to  his  kingdom,  making  the  city 
of  Rome  his  capital.  Most  Catholics  throughout  the  world  have 
protested,  and  still  protest,  against  this  act,  calling  it  a  flagrant 
violation  of  right,  and  a  sacrilege  in  a  spiritual  sense.  They 
claim  that  the  popes  since  the  days  of  Pepin  and  Charlemagne 
have  administered  the  temporalities  within  the  Papal  states  as 
executors  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  tliat  it  is  impossible  for  the 
Pope  to  be  absolutely  free  as  the  head  of  the  Church  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  flag  but  his  own,  liowever  small  the  territory 
that  flag  may  cover. 


426  THE   STORY  OF   GOVBBKMENT. 

A  brief  explanation  of  the  administration  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
its  powers  and  how  exercised,  may  be  of  interest  to  the  average 
American  reader.  The  priesthood  and  governing  body  of  the 
Catholic  Church  is  the  hierarchy  comprising  the  Pope,  the  Bishop, 
and  the  Clergy.  The  Pope  is  the  executive  and  supreme  judicial 
authority.  The  popes  were  formerly  elected  by  the  cardinal 
bishops  with  the  consent  of  the  other  cardinals  and  the  clergy 
and  people  of  Rome,  saving  also  the  honor  due  to  Henry  III., 
Emperor  of  Germany  and  king  of  the  Romans  in  1059,  and  to 
any  of  his  successors  in  whose  favor  the  Holy  See  should  make 
the  same  reservation.  But  this  recognition  of  the  imperial  right 
to  interfere  in  the  election  proved  to  be  fertile  in  anti-popes  and 
great  confusion,  hence  it  was  decreed  by  the  Pope  and  general 
Coimcil  of  Lateran  in  1179,  that  elections  should  henceforth  rest 
with  the  cardinals  alone,  and  tliat  in  order  to  be  canonical  it 
must  be  supported  by  the  votes  of  two  thirds  of  their  number. 
This  method  of  election  was  confirmed  and  developed  at  a 
subsequent  council  in  1274,  and  is  practically  the  rule  at  the 
present  time. 

When  a  pope  dies  the  cardinals  who  are  absent  are  immediately 
to  be  summoned  to  the  conclave  by  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the 
sacred  college ;  the  election  is  to  begin  on  the  tenth  day  after  the 
death.  In  whatever  city  the  Pope  dies,  there  the  election  must 
be  held.  Within  the  ten  days  the  conclave  must  be  constructed 
in  the  papal  palace,  or  in  some  other  suitable  edifice.  The  large 
lialls  of  the  palace  are  so  divided  by  wooden  partitions  as  to 
furnish  a  number  of  sets  of  small  apartments  all  opening  upon  a 
corridor.  Here  the  cardinals  must  remain  until  they  have  elected 
a  pope. 

On  the  tenth  day  a  solemn  mass  is  said  in  the  Vatican  Church, 
and  after  it  the  cardinals  form  a  procession  and  proceed  to  the 
conclave,  taking  uj)  their  respective  apartments  as  the  lot  haa  dis- 
tributed them.  All  the  entrances  to  the  building  but  one  are 
closed,  and  tliat  is  in  the  charge  of  officials  who  are  partly  pre- 
lates, partly  officials  of  the  municipality  whose  business  it  is  to 
see  that  no  unauthorized  person  shall  enter,  and  to  exercise  a  sur- 
veillance over  the  food  brought  for  the  cardinals  lest  any  written 
communication  should  be  conveyed  to  them  by  this  channel. 


THEOCBAGY  OR  PRIESTLY  QOVBRHMBNT.  427 

Morning  and  evening  the  cardinals  meet  in  the  chapel  and  a 
secret  scratiny  by  means  of  voting  papers  is  usually  instituted  in 
order  to  ascertain  whether  any  cardinal  has  the  required  majority 
of  the  two  thiitls.  A  cardinal  coming  from  a  distance  can  enter 
the  conclave  after  the  closure,  but  only  if  he  claim  the  right  of 
doing  so  within  three  days  of  his  arrival  in  the  city.  Papal 
elections  have  usually  been  made  with  reasonable  despatch,  yet 
in  times  of  disturbance  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  two 
thirds  majority  has  been  known  to  protract  the  proceedings 
for  a  long  time,  as  in  the  celebrated  conclave  of  1799,  which 
lasted  for  six  months. 

The  cardinals  are  not  elected ;  they  are  appointed  by  the  Pope. 
They  have  for  many  centuries  been  taken  in  pait  from  all  the 
great  Christian  nations,  though  those  of  Italian  birth  have  pre- 
dominated. The  duties  of  cardinals  are  of  two  kinds:  those 
which  devolve  on  them  while  the  Pope  is  living,  and  those  which 
ihey  have  to  discharge  when  the  papal  chair  is  vacant.  Their 
first  duty  consists  in  taking  an  active  part  in  the  government  of 
the  Church,  for  although  the  Pope  is  in  no  way  bound  to  defer  to 
the  opinions  of  the  sacred  college,  as  the  cardinals  are  termed  in 
practice,  he  seldom,  if  ever,  takes  an  important  step  without  their 
counsel  and  concurrence. 

The  cardinals  now  take  precedence  of  archbishops  and  bishops, 
although  it  was  not  so  formerly.  At  the  death  of  the  Pope  they 
alone  elect  his  successor.  Archbishops  exercise  a  limited  species 
of  jurisdiction  over  the  bishops  of  their  archdiocese.  An  arch- 
bishop can  receive  appeals  from  the  bishops  in  his  jurisdiction  in 
some  cases.  The  right  also  devolves  upon  him  of  apix)inting  a 
vicar  capitular  on  the  death  of  a  suffragan  bishop  if  the  chapter 
of  the  diocese  fails  to  appoint  within  eight  days. 

A  bishop  is  superior  to  simple  priests,  and  the  council  of  Trent 
defined  that  this  superiority  is  of  divine  origin.  The  words  of  the 
council  are, "  If  anyone  affirm  that  bishops  are  not  superior  to  presby- 
ters, or  that  they  have  not  the  power  of  confirming  and  ordaining, 
or  that  the  power  which  they  have  is  common  to  presbyters  also, 
let  him  be  anathema." 

In  his  own  diocese  it  is  a  bishop's  duty  to  teach.  He  is  required 
to  preach  the  word  of  God  unless  he  be  lawfully  hindered,  nor 


428  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

can  anyone,  secular  or  regular,  preach  in  the  diocese  without  his 
leave.  He  must  watch  over  purity  of  doctrine,  especially  in 
schools  public  and  private.  No  book  treating  on  religion  can  be 
published  till  it  has  been  examined  and  has  received  his  imprimatur. 
He  must  administer  the  sacrament  of  confirmation,  ordain  priests, 
and  consecrate  the  holy  oils,  churches,  altars,  chalices,  etc.  He 
must  also  approve  priests,  and  give  them  their  ''  faculties  "  to  hear 
confessions,  administer  other  sacraments,  etc. 

He  may  make  laws  for  his  diocese,  not,  however,  such  as  are 
contrary  to  the  law  of  the  Church.  He  decides  in  the  first 
instance  all  ecclesiastical  causes.  He  can  inflict  penalties,  sus- 
pension, excommunication  and  the  like.  Bishops  are  usually 
selected  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  chief  priests  of  a  diocese,  and 
confirmed  by  the  Pope,  although  the  practice  varies  in  different 
countries.  The  bishop-elect  must  be  thirty  years  of  age,  a  priest, 
of  Catholic  parentage,  of  good  fame,  able  to  produce  the  public 
testimony  of  some  univeraity  or  academy  to  his  learning.  Bishops 
are  consecrated  by  the  Pope  or  by  a  bishop  specially  commissioned 
by  the  Pope  for  the  pur[)ose. 

Next  in  order  after  the  l)isliops  arc  the  i)ricst«,  deacons,  sub- 
deacons,  acolytes,  exorcists,  readei-s,  ostiarii,  or  doorkeepers. 
The  firet  three  are  as  old,  it  is  alleged,  i\s  the  time  of  the 
apostles.  In  addition  to  these  are  various  ecclesiastical  orders  of 
missionary  clergymen,  monks,  nuns,  and  lay  confraternities,  all 
engaged  in  the  work  of  the  Church. 

We  conclude  tliis  brief  survey  of  theocratic  government,  as 
illustrated  by  the  Jewish  theocracy  and  the  Catholic  Church,  with 
a  few  oliservations  respecting  the  latter.  Whatever  views  may  be 
entertained  of  her  doctrines  and  pretensions  to  infallibility,  the 
Catholic  (^^hurch  cannot  be  ignored  by  the  learned  OH  ignorant,  by 
the  inilers  or  persons  ruled.  She  touches  civilization  everywhere 
at  all  points  in  various  ways.  She  has  a  direct  or  at  least  a  most 
powerful  indirect  influence  on  civil  governments.  She  is  a 
world-wide,  stupendous  fact  well  worthy  the  profound  attention 
of  the  philosopher,  the  statesman,  and  the  ordinary  student  of 
history. 

In  these  days  of  more  dispassionate  historical  investigation 
than  could  reasonably  be  expected  at  a  period  closer  to  the  great 


480  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century,  wlien  men's  minds  were 
unbalanced  by  bitter  party  strife,  jitstice  can  be  rendered  to  her 
merits  as  well  as  to  her  demerits.  The  student  of  history  will 
find  among  her  grievous  shortcomings  that  she  has  always  pro- 
claimed and  maintained  one  great  fundamental  truth  which  is  the 
bedrock  of  true  civilization:  that  to  her  "there  is  neither  Gen- 
tile nor  Jew,  barbarian  nor  Scythian ;  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in 
all."  The  prince  and  the  beggar,  the  princess  and  poorest 
peasant  girl,  the  master  and  the  servant,  kneel  side  by  side  in  her 
most  stately  temples,  on  terms  of  perfect  equality,  — all  reduced 
to  the  same  level  of  humble  suppliants  for  mercy  l)efore  the  altar 
of  the  Crucified  One. 

The  student  will  also  find  that  her  form  of  government  is  an 
elective  monarchy  combined  with  an  aristocracy  that  should 
possess  considerable  merit,  and  a  democracy  at  the  present  day  at 
least  without  bitter  party  factions.  Every  Chiistian  man  of  every 
class,  no  matter  how  lowly,  is  eligible  to  the  highest  offices  in  the 
Church.  Many  of  the  Popes  have  l)een  chosen  from  the  lowest 
walks  of  life.  The  few  men  of  bad  reputation  who  have  occupied 
the  pontifical  chair  serve  to  show  by  way  of  contrast  the  long  line 
of  au<rust  men  who  have  adorned  it  bv  their  virtues  and  fortitude 
in  trying  times.  Macaulay,  who  was  mucli  opposed  to  the 
Clmrch,  in  reviewing  Ranke's  history  of  tlie  papacy,  concludes  by 
saying:  '^  There  is  not  and  there  never  was  on  this  earth  a  work 
so  well  deserving  of  examination  as  tlie  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
The  history  of  that  Church  joins  together  the  two  great  ages  of 
human  civilization. 

*'No  other  institution  is  left  standing  which  carries  the  mind  back 
to  the  times  when  the  smoke  of  sacrifice  rose  from  the  Pantlieon, 
and  when  the  cameleopards  and  tigers  bounded  in  the  Flavina 
amphitheatre.  The  proudest  royal  houses  are  but  of  yesterday, 
when  compared  with  the  line  of  the  Roman  pontiffs. 

'^  This  line  we  ti-ace  back  in  an  unbroken  series  from  the  Pope 
who  crowned  Napoleon  in  the  nineteenth  century  to  the  Pope  who 
crowned  Pepin  in  the  eighth,  and  far  beyond  the  time  of  Pepin  the 
august  dynasty  extends  until  its  origin  is  lost  in  the  twilight  of  fable. 

"  The  republic  of  Venice  came  next  in  antiquity.  But  the 
republic  of  Venice  was  modern  when  compared  with  the  papacy ; 


THEOCRACY   OR   PKIE8TLY   GOVERNMENT. 


4S1 


and  republic  of  Venice  is  gone  and  the  papacy  remains.  The 
papacy  remain»,  not  in  decay,  nor  a  mere  antique,  but  full  of  life 
and  youthful  vigor. 

"  The  Catholic  Church  is  still  sending  forth  to  tlie  furthest  ends 
of  the  world  missionaries  as  zealous  as  those  wlio  landed  in  Kent 


with  Austin,  and  still  confroiitiiig  hostile  kings  with  the  same 
^ipirit  witli  which  she  confronted  Attila.  The  numljer  oE  her 
children  is  gi-eater  than  in  any  former  age.  Her  acquisitions  in 
the  new  world  have  more  than  compensated  her  for  what  she  has 
lost  in  the  old.  Her  spiritual  a.s(^endency  extends  over  the  ^"asb 
countries  which  lie  between  thu  plains  of  the  Missouri  and  Cape 
Horn,  countries  which  a  century  hence  may  not  improbably  con- 
tain a  population  as  large  as  that  which  now  inhabits  Europe.  .  .  . 


482  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

"  Nor  do  we  see  any  sign  which  indicates  that  the  term  of  her 
long  dominion  is  approaching.  She  saw  the  commencement  of  all 
the  governments  and  of  all  the  ecclesiastical  establishments  that 
now  exist  in  the  world,  and  we  feel  no  assurance  that  she  is  not 
destined  to  see  the  end  of  them  all. 

"  She  was  great  and  respected  before  the  Saxon  set  foot  on 
Britain  —  before  the  Frank  had  passed  the  Rhine  —  when  Grecian 
eloquence  still  flourished  at  Antioch  —  when  idols  were  still  wor- 
shipped in  the  Temple  of  Mecca. 

"And  she  may  still  exist  in  undiminished  vigor  when  some 
traveller  from  New  Zealand  shall,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  solitude, 
take  his  stand  on  a  broken  arch  of  London  Bridge  to  sketch  the 
ruins  of  St.  Paul's." 

This  striking  tribute  by  a  Protestant  historian,  this  confession 
of  a  profound  and  brilliant  scholar,  that  the  Catholic  Church 
appears  to  bear  promise  of  permanence,  tempts  a  scientific  student 
of  human  affairs  to  look  beneath  the  jewelled  crust  of  her  cere- 
monial and  traditional  assumption,  to  discover,  if  possible,  a  prac- 
tical human  explanation  of  her  long,  and  strong,and  still  unwaning 
success. 

Catholicism,  apart  from  its  celestial  claims,  is  a  vast  historic 
fact.  Surviving  the  persecutions  of  its  enemies,  and  the  still  more 
dangerous  persecutions  that  some  of  its  benighted  professors  have 
inflicted  on  others,  it  shows  to-ilay,  in  the  new  world  especially, 
a  fresh  force  in  the  sphere  of  tangible  action. 

Is  this  power  the  offspring  of  a  new  or  simply  the  continuance 
of  an  old  policy,  not  so  vigorously  asserted,  perhaps,  as  in  days  of 
yore,  but  possibly  all  the  more  potent  because  veiled  in  some 
degree  and  quiet  in  its  movements?  It  seems  to  us  nothing  new, 
but  simply  the  ancient  policy  of  restmining  the  high  and  raising 
the  low,  the  same  old  policy  pursued  by  her  popes  towards  so 
many  cruel  kings  and  barbaric  barons  in  the  Middle  Ages,  which 
the  Church  is  now  trying  to  apply  to  the  monstrosities  which  our 
present  industrial  system  has  spawned. 

For  what  greater  monstrosities  can  there  be  than  sucli  absolutely 
irresponsible  money-kings  as  Andrew  Carnegie  who,  in  a  nomi- 
nally free  nation,  can  hire  with  impunity  a  band  of  bravos  to 
commit  treason  against  tlie  government  by  invading  a  sovereign 


434  THE    STOKY    OF    GOVERNMKNT. 

State,  and  provoking  a  conflict  with  workmen  ground  down  by 
the  very  capitalist  whose  foitune  they  built  up  ? 

Now  the  Catholic  Church  in  London,  through  the  i>erson  of  its 
cardinal,  Henry  Edward  Manning,  not  long  ago  brought  about  a 
peace  between  the  striking  dockmen  and  tlieir  capitalistic  oppres- 
sors. This  Prince  of  the  Church,  since  gone  to  his  well-earned 
rest,  never  rested  during  liis  life  in  liis  efforts  to  better  the  condi- 
tion of  the  poor. 

He  stood  for  the  masses  against  the  classes;  and  in  tliis  country 
the  princes  of  the  Church,  such  as  Cardinal  Gibbons,  whose  like- 
ness adorns  this  book,  have  always  been  firm  in  upliolding  the 
rights  of  the  people  against  the  anarchistic  money-men  who  are  so 
near  to  wrecking  this  republic  on  the  grinning  reefs  of  their 
selfishness  and  their  greed. 

The  great  thinkers  of  the  Catholic  C'hurcli  liave  always  been  of 
the  people  and  for  them,  maintaining  the  divine  doctrine  of  the 
Crucified  One,  that  the  right  of  a  human  being  to  live  and  to  live 
properly  outweighs  any  riglits  of  property ;  in  brief,  that  a  human 
soul  is  of  more  importance  than  all  the  gold,  or  silver,  or  brass  of 
a  Carnegie  or  a  Gould. 

Nor  is  it  alone  in  their  private  capacities  that  the  chiefs  of  tho 
Churcli  have  shown  themselves  the  champions  of  the  masses.  The^ 
present  Pope,  much  to  the  disgust  of  certain  Protestant  sovereigns 
and  of  some  American  ti-ade-kings,  several  years  ago  refused  to 
condemn  the  order  of  the  Knights  of  Labor. 

Is  it,  then,  a  wild  guess,  a  rash  prophecy,  or  a  fair  calculation, 
that  in  the  irrepressible  conflict  soon  to  come,  the  weight  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  of  all  other  churches  with  life  in  them,  will 
be  thrown  into  the  scale  on  the  side  of  humanity  against  the  real 
Devil,  the  truly  dangerous,  debasing  power  that  springs  from  vast 
accumulations  of  private  property  ? 


I 


The  stoiy  of  ihf  Swiss  Kepublic,  its  i 
,1,'in  and  development,  is  a  political  i 
of  intense  interest. 

Switzti-land  has  been  for  centuries  and  itt 
at  this  moment  a  more  perfect  dcnioci-acy  than  any  otlier  country 
on  earth.  The  average  American  citizen,  liowever,  know-s  much 
more  aiwut  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  and  the  Act  of  Settlement  and 
the  Peasant's  AVar  than  he  does  of  the  fact  that  the  jjcople  of  thu 
three  Forest  Cantons,  Tri,  Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden,  drew  up  si 
written  constitution  nearly  five  hundred  years  hefoi-e  the  lii'st 
Continental  Congress  a-ssemhled  in  Philadelphia,  and  snecessfully 
defended  tlieir  ancient  lilx'rtics  agaiiwt  the  powerfiil  and  rajm- 
cious  countries  which  environed  tliem. 

Tliis  lack  of  knowledge  sliould  not  exist.  The  story  of  Swit- 
zerland to  the  Amerieau  should  possess  a  peculiar  fascination,  for 
it  is  tlie  history  of  a  sister  repnhlic  ancient  in  yeara,  yi;t  youthful 
in  democnitic  vigor.  Americans,  therefoie,  will  naturally  read 
with  sympathy  a  brief  sketch  of  this  intci-esting  countrj'.  Hub 
very  few  works  in  the  Englifjh  language  treat  on  the  subject,  — 
a  fact  which  undoubtedly  aecountB  for  the  almost  tobil  lack  of 
any  material  infonnation  among  tlie  English-s|)caking  peoplo 
regarding  Swiss  institutions,  their  rise  and  growtli. 


486  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  the  people  who  inhabited  the  upper 
valleys  among  the  Alps  acknowledged  allegiance,  Jis  was  the 
custom  under  the  feudal  l:uv,  to  some  paramount  lord, — the 
emperor  of  the  Roman  Empire,  —  or  some  nobleman,  or  monas- 
tery. The  l)ailiffs  or  agents  whom  these  lords  emi)loyed,  becom- 
ing obnoxious  to  the  people  for  attempting  to  exact  more  taxes 
than  the  ancient  customs  allowed,  the  people  offered  resistance, 
many  tumults  arose,  and  at  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Rudolph  of 
Hapsburg,  in  July,  1291,  a  brief  teim  of  anarchy  ensued. 

At  this  juncture  the  people  of  the  communities  of  Fri,  Schwyz, 
and  UnterwaldiMi  came  together  to  consult  and  devise  ways  and 
means  to  prot(»ct  their  common  interests,  and  the}'  framed  the 
famous  Treaty  or  Pact,  the  original  of  whicli  is  preserved  in  tlie 
archives  of  the  Canton  of  Schwyz,  and  wliich  may  properly  ])e 
describt.»d  as  the  iii-st  fedend  constitution  of  Switzerland.  The 
following  is  a  correct  translation  of  this  venerable  document:  — 

The  First  Federal  Constitution  of  Switzerland. 

Verpetiial  League  of  the  Forest  Cantons,  12^1. 

In  the  name  of  God,     Amen, 

1.  Honor  and  public  welfare  are  enhanced  when  agreements  are 
entered  into  for  the  proper  establishment  of  quiet  and  peace.  Therefore, 
know  ail  meUy  that  the  people  of  the  valley  of  Uri,  the  democracy  of  the 
valley  ofSwit{,  and  the  community  of  mountaineers  of  the  lower  valley, ' 
in  view  of  the  evil  of  the  time,  in  order  that  they  may  better  defend 
themselves  and  their  own,  have  promised  in  good  faith  to  assist  each 
other,  with  aid,  counsel,  and  every  favor,  with  person  and  goods^ 
within  the  valleys  and  without,  with  all  power  and  endeavor  against 
all  and  every,  who  may  injlict  upon  any  one  of  them  any  violence, 
molestation,  or  injury ,  or  may  plot  evil  to  t/jeir  person  or  goods, 

2,  And  in  every  event,  each  people  has  promised  to  hasten  to  the  aid 
of  the  other  whenever  necessary,  and  at  their  own  expense,  so  far  as 
needed,  in  order  to  resist  attacks  of  evil-doers,  and  to  avenge  injuries. 
To  which  end  they  have  taken  oath  in  person  to  do  this  without  deceit, 
and  to  renew  by  means  of  the  present  {agreement)  the  ancient  oatb^ 
confirmed  confederation,- 


*Xi(lwalden.    Obwalden,  the  other  part  of  l.'nterwalden,  entered  the  confederation  later. 

■Ui>on  this  clause  iH  bsised  the  hypothesis  that  a  confederation  existed  previous  to  this 
time,  i»erhap?*  as  early  as  12ri0.  No  earlier  document,  however,  had  l>een  preserved,  hence  the 
charter  of  1201  is  called  th«  First  Peri>etual  League  {iJcr  ewifjc  Bund), 


*  • 


aniFLB   RSFtTBLICANISH. 


48T 


}.  Yet  in  sucb  a  manner  that  every  man,  according  to  bis  rank, 
stall  continw  to  yield  proper  obedience  to  bis  overlord. 

4.  By  common  agreement  and  by  itnanimous  consent,  we  promise, 
enact,  and  ordain  tbat  in  tbe  (foresaid  valleys  we  will  in  nowise  receive 
or  accept  any  Judge  wbo  has  obtained  bis  office  for  a  price,  or  for  mcmty 
in  any  way  -wbatever,  nor  one 

vAo  is  not  a  native  or  resident 
witb  us. 

5.  If  dissension  shall  arise 
between  any  of  tbe  confeder- 
ates, prudent  men  of  tbe  con- 
federation shall  come  together 
to  settle  tbe  dispute  between 
tbe  parties  as  shall  seem  right 
to  them,  and  tbe  party  which 
rejects  their  judgrtent  shall 
be  an  enemy  to  t^  other  con- 
federates. 

6.  Furthermore,  it  is  es- 
tablished between  ibem  that 
whoever  maliciously  kills 
another  without  provocation 
shall,  if  captured,  lose  bis  life, 
as  bis  nefarious  crime  de- 
mands, unless  be  can  show 
bis  own  innocence  in  tbe 
affair ;  and  if  be  escapes  he 
stall  never  return.  Conceal-' 
ers  and  defenders  of  the  afore- 
said malefactors  shall  be  ban- 
ished from  tbe  valleys,  until 
tbey  are  expressly  called  back 
hy  tbe  confederates. 

7.  ^  any  one  of  the  con- 
federates, by  day,  or  in  tbe 
silence  of  tbe  night,  maliciously  attempts  to  injure  another  by  fire,  be 
shall  never  be  owned  as  a  compatriot, 

8.  If  any  one  protects  or  d^ends  tbe  aforesaid  evil  doer,  be  shall 
render  satisfaction  to  tbe  person  injured, 

9.  Further,  if  any  one  of  the  confederates  robs  another  of  bis  goods, 
or  injures  him  in  anyway,  the  goods  of  the  evil-doer,  if  found  within 


A  SWITZKB  or  ANUIKNT  SAYS. 


438  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  valleys,  shall  be  seized  in  order  that  satisfaction  may  be  given  to 
the  party  damaged,  according  to  justice, 

JO.  Furthermore,  no  one  shall  sei{e  another's  goods  for  debt,  unless 
he  be  manifestly  his  debtor  or  surety,  and  this  shall  only  take  place 
with  the  special  permission  of  his  judge.  Moreover,  every  man  shall 
obey  his  judge, — and  if  necessary,  himself  ought  to  indicate  the  judge 
within  (the  valley)  before  whom  he  ought  properly  to  appear, 

1 1 .  And  if  any  one  rebels  against  a  verdict,  and  if,  in  consequence 
of  this  pertinacity y  any  one  of  the  confederates  is  injured,  the  whole  body 
of  confederates  are  bound  to  compel  the  contumacious  party  to  give 
satisfaction, 

12,  If  war  or  discord  shall  arise  among  any  of  the  confederates,  and 
one  contending  party  refuses  to  accept  proffered  justice  or  satisfaction, 
the  confederates  are  bound  to  assist  the  other  party. 

I  ^,  The  regulations  above  written,  established  for  the  common  wel- 
fare and  utility  y  shall,  the  Lord  willing,  endure  forever ,  In  testimony 
of  which,  at  the  request  of  the  aforesaid  parties,  the  present  instrument 
has  been  made  and  confirmed  with  the  seals  of  the  three  democracies  and 
valleys  aforesaid.  Done  in  the  year  of  the  Lord  MCCLXXXX  primo, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  August, 

This  declaration  of  the  forest  cantons  beai*s  a  powerful  analogy 
to  the  declaration  of  the  American  Continental  Conijress  of  1774. 
They  did  not  throw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  eni[)(»ror  of  Ger- 
many, but  asserted  that  they  would  defend  their  rights  by  whom- 
soever assailed.  Their  nominal  allegiance  remained  until  it  was 
formally  alxjlished  b\'  treaty  at  West[)halia  in  1648. 

A  secret  meeting  was  afterwards  held  on  the  field  of  Griitli,  by 
the  borders  of  the  lake  of  Luzerne,  on  the  night  of  Novemter  17, 
1307,  to  make  arrangements  for  opposing  by  force  of  arms  any 
power  which  would  attempt  to  abridge  their  ancient  rights. 
Walter  Fiii-st,  with  ten  othei"s  of  his  canton,  represented  Uri ; 
Werner,  Stauffacher,  and  ten  others  represented  Schwyz,  and 
Arnold  of  Unterwalden,  with  ten  compatriots,  represented  his 
canton.  Before  they  separated  they  swore  to  defend  their  homes 
and  one  another  against  every  oppressor,  and  to  l)e  ^'ejich  for  all 
and  all  for  each.'' 

After  some  yeai*s  the  emperor  proposed  to  compel  the  stubborn 
Swiss  to  obey  such  laws  and  accept  such  bailiffs  or  governors  as 
he  chose  to  send  them.     For  this  purpose  he  despatched    Duke 


438  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  valleys,  shall  be  seized  in  order  that  satisfaction  may  be  given  to 
the  party  damaged,  according  to  justice. 

JO.  Furtbermorey  no  one  shall  sei{e  another's  goods  for  debt,  unless 
be  be  manifestly  bis  debtor  or  surety,  and  this  shall  only  take  place 
with  the  special  permission  of  his  judge.  Moreover,  every  man  shall 
obey  bis  judge, — and  if  necessary,  himself  ought  to  indicate  the  judge 
within  (the  valley)  before  whom  he  ought  properly  to  appear. 

1 1 .  And  if  any  one  rebels  against  a  verdict,  and  if,  in  consequence 
of  this  pertinacity,  any  one  of  the  confederates  is  injured,  the  whole  body 
of  confederates  are  bound  to  compel  the  contumacious  party  to  give 
satisfaction. 

12.  If  war  or  discord  shall  arise  among  any  of  the  confederates,  and 
one  contending  party  refuses  to  accept  proffered  justice  or  satisfaction, 
the  confederates  are  bound  to  assist  the  other  party, 

I  ^.  The  regulations  above  written,  established  for  the  common  wel- 
fare and  utility,  shall,  the  Lord  willing,  endure  forever.  In  testimony 
of  which,  at  the  request  of  the  aforesaid  parties,  the  present  instrument 
has  been  made  and  confirtned  with  the  seals  of  the  three  democracies  and 
valleys  aforesaid.  Done  in  the  year  of  the  Lord  MCCLXXXX  primo. 
at  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  August. 

This  declaration  of  the  forest  cantons  bears  a  [)0\verful  analogy 
to  the  (lechiration  of  the  American  Continental  Congfress  of  1774. 
They  did  not  throw  off  their  allegiance  to  the  ein[)eror  of  (jer- 
nianv,  but  asserted  that  thev  would  defend  their  rigflits  bv  whom- 
soever  jissailed.  Tlieir  nominal  allegfiance  remained  until  it  wa« 
formally  alxjlished  l)y  treaty  at  West[)ljalia  in  1648. 

.V  secret  meeting  was  afterwards  held  on  the  field  of  Griitli,  by 
the  lx)rdei*s  of  the  lake  of  Luzerne,  on  the  night  of  November  17, 
1307,  to  make  arrangements  for  op[)osing  by  force  of  arms  any 
power  which  would  attempt  to  abridge  their  ancient  rights. 
Walter  FUi*st,  with  ten  othei"s  of  his  canton,  represented  Uri ; 
Werner,  Stauffacher,  and  ten  otliei-s  represented  Scliwyz,  aud 
Arnold  of  Unterwalden,  with  ten  compatriots,  represented  his 
canton.  Before  they  separated  they  swore  to  defend  their  homes 
and  one  another  against  every  oppressor,  and  to  be  ^''each  for  all 
and  all  for  each.'' 

After  some  years  the  emi)eror  proposed  to  compel  the  stubborn 
Swiss  to  ol)ey  such  laws  and  accept  such  bailiffs  or  governors  as 
he  chose  to  send  them.     For  this  purpose  he  despatched    Duke 


440  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

At  the  narrowest  part  of  the  defile,  a  terrific  storm  of  all  sorts  of 
missiles  preceded  the  headlong  onslaught  of  tlie  peasant  soldiei*s 
who  grappled  in  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  the  invaders  of  their 
homes. 

The  horns  of  the  bulls  of  Uri  sounded  the  charge  of  the  con- 
federates. The  conflict  was  but  slioit.  The  Austrian  cavalrj'and 
infantry  becoming  inextricably  mixed  up  impeded  each  other's 
movements,  and  thus  were  helpless  before  the  athletic  moun- 
taineers, wielding  spears  and  huge  two-lianded  swords.  Leo[K)ld 
was  completely  routed,  leaving  over  lialf  his  army  dead  and 
wounded  in  the  defile  of  Moigarten. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  gixjat  victor}-  on  the  9tli  of  T)ecenil)er, 
the  representatives  of  the  three  cantons  met  at  Brunnen  and  C'on- 
cluded  a  new  treaty  which  re-aflimied  the  old  and  added  some 
new  features,  one  of  which  was  that  any  canton  which  had  a 
lord-paramount  should  obey  him  in  all  proper  things,  but  sliould 
never  obey  him  in  any  way  against  the  three  confederates.  It 
was  also  agreed  in  the  new  treaty  that  neither  one  of  the 
confederates  should  bind  itself  to  a  lord  witliout  the  assent  of  tlie 
othera;  that  all  disputes  between  tliemselves  sliould  be  setth^l 
peaceably,  and  that  tliey  would  aid  each  other  in  case  of  any 
interference  in  their  affairs  by  any  outsidei*s. 

The  growth  of  the  national  germ  can  be  readily  perceived  in 
these  latest  stipulations,  while  at  tlie  same  time  they  acknowl- 
edged the  suzerainty  of  the  Geiman  empire.  In  the  year  13>i2 
the  city  of  Luzenie  with  its  adjjwient  territoiy  joined  the  con- 
federation, making  the  fourth  state  of  the  Union.  The  city  of 
Zurich  joined  in  1351,  and  during  the  following  3-ear  Glauriui 
and  Zug  sent  their  Austrian  bailiffs  away  and  cast  in  their  lot 
with  the  original  confederates.  In  the  succeeding  3'ear,  1353, 
Berne  joined  hands  with  the  sisterhood,  thus  making  the  eighth 
in  the  galaxy  of  states. 

In  138fj,  the  emperor  made  another  great  effort  to  bring  the 
confederates  under  subjection.  A  very  large  army  under  the 
command  of  another  Leopold  of  Austria,  a  nephew  of  the  Duke 
Leopold  who  was  defeated  at  Moi-garten,  marched  into  the  terri- 
tory of  the  canton  of  Lir/crne,  where  it  was  met  in  the  open  field 
by  the  confederates  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  July  in  a  long  and 


SIMPLE  BEPUBLICAKISM.  441 

fiercely  coDtested  battle,  and  finally  routed  after  great  slaughter 
on  both  sides. 

This  engagement  is  known  in  history  as  the  battle  of  Sempach. 
The  chronicles  assert  that  the  carnage  was  awful.  The  Austrian 
commander,  Leopold,  wth  the  flower  of  the  imperial  chivalrj-, 
was  left  dead  on  the  field.  This  is  the  battle  in  which  we  are 
told  by  Swiss  ti-adition  that  Arnold  of  Winkelried,  having  per- 
ceived that  tlie  repeated  attacks  of  his  countrymen  upon  the 
Austrian  square  of  levelled  lances  liad  proved  ineffectual,  con- 
ceived and  canued  out  the  sublime  project  of  securing  an 
entrance  into  the  enemy's  midst  at  the  expense  of  his  own  life. 
Calling  upon  his  battalion  to  follow  him^.  on  reaching  the 
Austrian  line  he  extended  liis  arms,  and  seizing  as  many  of  their 
lance  points  as  he  could  reach,  gathered  them  against  his  breast 
holding  them  firmly,  as  he  cried  out,  "  Make  way  for  Liberty  to 
enter." 

Through  the  gap  thus  made  the  Swiss  entered,  and  falling  upon 
the  heavily  armored  foemen  in  the  rear,  who  now  proved  as  help- 
less as  they  liad  hitherto  been  invincible,  the  desperate  contest 
was  soon  decided  by  the  wholesale  slaughter  and  complete  over- 
throw of  the  imi)erial  forces.  Two  years  later,  in  1388,  the 
Austrians  advanced  a  force  into  the  canton  of  Glaurus,  but  were 
defeated  by  the  combined  levies  of  Glaurus  and  Schwyz  on  the 
9th  of  April,  1888.  This  was  practically  the  last  attempt  of 
Austria  to  enforce  her  rule  on  the  confederates. 

Tliey  had  now  for  more  than  half  a  century  no  trouble  with  the 
outside  world,  their  troubles  and  dissensions  springing  altogether 
from  within.  The  form  of  their  institutions  and  the  right  of 
suffrage  were  not  alike  in  the  several  cantons.  In  the  three  forest 
cantons,  Uri,  Schwyz,  and  Unterwalden,  all  the  citizens  were 
free  and  equal  politically.  The  whole  people  of  each  canton 
met  in  general  assembly  to  decide  every  imix)rtant  matter. 
In  the  municipal  cantons  or  sovereign  cities,  like  Berne, 
Ziirich,  and  Luzerne,  on  the  other  hand,  none  but  the  burghers 
could  vote,  so  that  the  opinions  of  the  country  people  in  the  terri- 
tories of  these  cities  were  never  consulted. 

Other  troublesome  questions  arose  from  time  to  time.  The 
municipal  canton  of  Ziirich  made  an  alliance  with  Austria  upon 


442  THE  STOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

which  the  canton  was  invaded  by  the  troops  of  the  confederates, 
and  peace  was  only  restored  after  a  number  of  serious  engage- 
ments in  1450.  Tiie  federal  bond  seemed  to  be  weak  in  peaceful 
times,  but  when  the  national  existence  Avas  threatened,  the  people 
of  the  cantons  rose  as  one  man  to  defend  it.  In  1474,  Charles 
the  Bold,  of  Burgundy,  captured  the  town  of  Grandson  on  the 
lake  of  Neuchatel  by  treacherj^,  and  put  the  Swiss  garrison  to 
death.  He  was  attacked  immediately  after  by  tlie  confederates 
and  signally  defeated.  Again  at  Morat  they  swept  his  army  from 
the  field  in  utter  confusion,  and  finally  l)efore  the  walls  of  Xancy, 
on  Januarj'  5,  1477,  his  livst  army  was  crushed  and  Charles  him- 
self was  killed. 

On  the  return  of  peace  internal  troubles  broke  out  again  which 
threatened  to  become  quite  serious,  but  fortunately  at  a  diet  of 
the  cantons  held  in  Stiinz,  a  new  *' covenant"^  or  convention  was 
signed  on  the  22d  of  Decemlx?r,  1481,  which  was  fairly  satis- 
factory- to  all  concerned.  At  tliis  diet  two  other  nmnicipal  can- 
tons, Frieburg  and  Solothur,  were  admitted  into  tlie  confederation, 
making  the  ninth  and  tentli  states,  and  the  federal  sovereignty 
was  much  strengthened  l)v  tliis  convention.  Separate  alliances 
l)etween  tlie  cantons  were  prohibited,  the  division  of  Ixmty  cap- 
tured in  war  was  regulated,  and  other  provisions  made  to  definitely 
settle  disputed  questions  which  had  arisen  from  time  to  time. 

This  Treatv  of    Stanz  was   the    third   solemn    covenant  made 
l)etweeu  the  confederates  since  the  a(lo[)tion  of  the  original  charter 
in  12in.      In  point  of  time  they  occurred  as  follows:  — 
Charter  of  the  Forest  Cantons  (1291). 
The  Priest's  Charter  (^1370). 
The  Convention  of  Sempach  (^1398). 
The  Convention  of  Stanz  (14X1). 

The  cities  of  Basel  and  Schaffhausen  were  admitted  as  the 
eleventh  and  twelfth  states  of  the  eonfedemtion  in  1501,  and 
A[»penzell  entered  the  I'liion  in  lol8.  These  thirteen  cantons 
or  states  which  now  constituted  the  confederation  i^mained  with- 
out anv  substantial  chan<re  or  nioditication  until  the  close  of  the 
last  centurv,  at  which  time  the  French  directorv  established  in 
Switzerlancl  what  it  was  [»leased  to  designate  "The  Helvetic  Re- 
public." 


8[MI'I,K   ItEPUBLICANISM. 


443 


The  French  fonn  of  Uttpuhlican  goveniiiient  wliich  the  Swiss 
were  forced  to  receive  at  the  point  of  French  iMiyoiietJj  in  179S 
waa  almost  a  coitipletc  i-evereal  of  the  old  oi-der  of  a  iinmlwr  of 
ilomiiiioii     I    1 1 


444  THE  8TOKY  OF  GOVEKXME3rr. 

ujxiri  tliirin^  and  the  count n-  wa^j  divided  into  two  bitter  factions. 
I'he  ytiiy  active  minority,  cornjK>sed  of  tLe  jiartLsans  of  a  strong  cen- 
tral authoritv,  M'ai>  found  chieflv  in  tlie  citieci,  while  the  vast  mar 
jority  of  the  Federalists  who  l^'lieved  in  returning  to  their  own 
nieth^xk  of  government  were  found  in  the  rural  cantons.  Uri, 
Schwyz,  L'nterwalden,  and  the  other  old  canton^s  preferred  to  elect 
their  go venior  than  to  liave  him  selected  for  them.  Bonajiarte,  after 
a  long  CTinHultation  with  the  representatives  of  lx)th  of  the  Swiss 
]>olitiral  pailies,  drew  up  a  new  constitution  called  the  Act  of 
Mediation,  which  went  into  effect  on  the  2d  of  February,  1803. 

Wy  the  new  constitution,  six  new  cantons  were  added  to  the 
republic,  viz.,  Grisfnis,  St.  Gallen,  Aargau,  Thurgau,  Vaud,  and 
Ticino,  this  making  nineteen  cantons  in  all.  A  diet  was  pro- 
vided for,  consisting  of  one  deputy  for  each  canton,  but  as  every 
deputy  who  represented  a  canton  containing  more  than  one  hun- 
dred thousand  people  had  the  right  to  give  two  votes  on  the  same 
subj(M;t,  the  nineteen  deputies  iiad  l>etween  them  an  aggregate  ot 
twenty-five  votes, 

Tlie  (li(*t  met  once  a  vear  in  June,  when  its  members  voted  on 
all  (juestions  as  they  were  instruct(Ml  by  their  respective  cantons, 
for  they  could  not  vote  otlujiwise.  This  constitution  lasted  until 
the;  fall  of  the  EinjMTor  Na[>olcon  in  1815.  Valais,  Neuchatel, 
and  (ieneva  were  adniittttd  into  the  confederation  in  1814,  which 
now  consisted  of  tw(»ntv-two  cantons.  .Vfter  the  fall  of  Napo- 
Kmhi,  a  f(Mleral  declaration  was  drawn  up  at  Ziiric^h  in  1815  by 
the  diet  at  the  instructions  of  their  constituents,  which  was 
accepted  by  tlie  Con^n'css  of  the  great  European  powers  assembled 
at  Vitrnna,  and  whicli  took  the  place  of  tin*  A(;t  of  Mediation  and 
remained  in  force  till  IS-IS. 

Tlie  new  agreement  restored  nearly  all  the  old  sovereign  power 
oT  tlie  cantons,  and  was  received  with  general  favor.  No  mate- 
rial cliant^e  was  made  in  it  mitil  religious  dissensions  arose 
hetween  the  Catholics  and  Proti*stants,  culminating  in  a  short 
campaign  against  some  of  the  Catholic  cantons  organized  in  the 
Sonderhund  in  1S4T.  These  dissensions  and  the  very  natural 
desire  of  the  lartrer  cantons  to  have  a  i^^reator  voice  in  federal 
iilTairs  than  those  of  much  smaller  populations,  afforded  an 
excellent   jiretext  to  ask  for  a  change  in  the  fiMleral  compact. 


I 


446  THE   STOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

On  the  17tli  of  Februaiy,  1848,  the  work  of  preparing  a  new 
constitution  was  assigned  to  a  committee  of  fourteen,  who  com- 
pleted the  work  by  the  8th  of  April.  This  was  tlien  submitte<l 
to  a  vote  of  the  cantons,  all  of  which  endorsed  it  by  a  majority 
vote,  and  it  was  officially  promulgated  on  the  12th  of  Septemljer, 
1848,  as  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land.  The  new  constitution 
provided  for  the  first  time  in  the  liistory  of  Switzerland  for  the 
creation  of  two  legislative  chambers;  one  designated  as  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  States,  corresp(mding  to  our  American  Senate,  towliich 
each  canton,  large  or  small,  sends  two  membei*s  and  no  more, 
while  the  other,  styled  the  National  Council,  corresponding  to 
our  House  of  Representatives,  is  composed  of  deputies  elected  on 
the  basis  of  popuhition. 

These  two  cliambers  constitute  the  Federal  Assembly  which 
elects  the  executive  power  or,  as  it  is  called,  the  Federal 
Council.  The  Swiss  Presidency,  therefore,  is  a  collective  institu- 
tion consisting  of  seven  members,  elected  by  the  Federal  Assem- 
l)ly  in  joint  session. 

This  really  fii-st  Federal  Constitution  of  Switzerland  was 
revised  in  certain  directions  Avith  the  assent  of  the  required 
munber  of  cantons,  and  tlie  recjuisite  i)opular  vote  on  the  29th  of 
May,  1874,  so  that  it  is  now  designated  as  the  '' Fedeml  Con- 
stitution of  the  Swiss  Confederation"  (of  May  29,  1ST4). 

The  following  are  the  constitutional  provisions  relative  to  the 
Federal  Assemblv,  National  Council  of  States,  and  Federal 
Council :  — 

Art.  7/.  IVith  the  reservation  of  the  rights  of  the  people  and  of  the 
cantons  (Articles  8q  and  121),  the  supreme  authority  of  the  confedera- 
tion is  exercised  by  the  Federal  Assembly,  ichich  consists  of  tu\)  sec- 
tions or  councils,  to  wit : 

(A)  The  National  Council. 

(B)  The  Couficil  of  States. 

Art.  J2.  The  National  Council  is  composed  of  representatives  of 
the  Swiss  people,  chosen  in  the  ratio  of  one  member  for  each  2o,(XX) 
persons  of  the  total  population.  Fractions  of  upwards  of  10,000  per- 
sons  are  reckoned  as  20,000. 

Every  canton,  and  in  the  divided  cantons  every  half-canton^  chooses 
at  least  one  representative. 


SIMPLE  liEPUBLICANISM.  447 

Art.  7^.  The  elections  for  the  National  Couticil  are  direct.  Tbey 
are  held  in  federal  electoral  districts,  which  in  no  case  shall  he  formed 
out  of  parts  of  different  cantons. 

Art.  J4.  Every  Swiss  who  has  completed  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
who  in  addition  is  not  excluded  from  the  rights  of  a  voter  by  the  legis-^ 
lation  of  the  canton  in  which  he  is  domiciled,  has  the  right  to  vote  in 
elections  and  popular  votes. 

Nevertheless,  the  confederation  by  law  may  establish  uniform  regula- 
tions for  the  exercise  of  such  right. 

Art,  y).  Every  lay  Swiss  citi:(en  who  has  the  right  to  vote  is  eligible 
for  membership  in  the  National  Council. 

Art.  76.  The  National  Council  is  chosen  for  three  years,  and 
entirely  renewed  at  each  general  election. 

Art.  TJ.  Representatives  to  the  Council  of  States,  members  of  the 
Federal  Council,  and  officials  appointed  by  that  Cowicil,  shall  not  at 
the  same  time  be  members  of  the  National  Council. 

Art.  78.  The  National  Council  chooses  out  of  its  own  number,  for 
each  regular  or  extraordinary  session,  a  president  and  a  vice-president. 

A  member  who  has  held  the  office  of  president  during  a  regular 
session  is  ineligible  either  as  a  president  or  as  vice-president  at  the 
next  regular  session. 

The  same  member  may  not  be  vice-president  during  two  consecutive 
regular  sessions. 

fVhen  the  votes  are  equally  divided  the  president  has  a  casting  vote  ; 
in  elections  he  votes  in  the  same  manner  as  other  members. 

Art.  79.  Tl)e  members  of  the  National  Council  receive  a  compensa- 
tion out  of  the  federal  treasury. 

Art.  80.  The  Council  of  States  consists  of  forty-four  representa- 
tives of  the  cantons.  Each  canton  appoints  two  representatives ;  in  the 
divided  cantons^  each  half  state  chooses  one. 

Art.  81.  The  members  of  the  National  Council  and  those  of  the 
Federal  Council  may  not  be  representatives  in  the  Council  of  States. 

Art.  82.  The  Council  of  States  chooses  out  of  its  own  number  for 
each  regular  or  extraordinary  session  a  president  and  a  vice-president. 

Neither  the  president  nor  the  vice-president  can  be  chosen  from 
among  the  representatives  of  the  canton  from  which  the  president  has 
been  chosen  for  the  regular  session  next  preceding. 

Representatives  of  the  same  canton  cannot  occupy  the  position  of 
vice-president  during  two  consecutive  regular  sessions* 

IVhen  the  votes  are  equally  divided  the  president  has  the  casting 
vote;  in  elections  he  votes  in  the  same  manner  as  the  other  members. 


44» 


f^r^    *  rt*»  -w  - 


.4rT  iz, 

.4rT,  >^.  77^  :3pmK  JMsreczzcm  sml txacsanse  jmumn i:v  ^f  rbe  cot^ 
federitwm  :%  exgmiAi  rwxrhjMra  il^mmcd^smaasBi.  r  .gaa  :membars^ 

.-frf.  7i>.  77:^  ^neamerr 't:x  rt-JdriL  Z:mmcd  jt  jpsejf  'or  ttrm 
ymr^  '^  :Ap  •.-^■■scis  :»  -jua  assam  ''mm .:aKnir  :si  :ix  ixrss  .zrizms 
Hhi^t^  *'^  '^^  yi^tutwoL  JLH«m"  Jfltf  flor  vrT  'jjsr  nv  nemuer  of 
the  r^Jeril  Zjumcd  iMCf  !tp  :30sa:  "^n»  ."rr  .  Janr  .  ssicn. 

7'>  -^as^rji   ILnaci   s    roior  .laes  -:irir  .  jcr  zuczzan  t  .'Ae  Ato- 

y^.iKc:^  :2Kcb  icatr  :m  rbe  .smm  :r  'it  *rrar  rarr  .irr  Sled  Jt 
the  ir-j  itrstuM^  :£S5mok  >r  :bt  .^^zcrst  .^soHerr  ~i7r  ~^  'rmamJer  of 
the  :erm  yf  -^^ici. 

.-frt.  tr.  77«  immters  jf  ."fe  .^oersi  ^'bbcs  /au/  *»r.  during 
:be:r  :erm  yf  yfei.  JC^^so?^  -^^  ->rfw  '^^»  :«J«r  a  rce  :smce  >r  ,"^ 
yynteaerjtinn  w  :n  s  jjmrom,  jr  'bdlomMtr  Mberparsmt.  }r  .xercise 

.-^rr.  rf,  TTv  Fsderai  fZJancd  :s  presutd  jter  'y  :te  president  of 
the  confederjtioH,     TTxre  :s  -i  Tzce-pnsuenr- 

T^e  pref;uent  if  :te  sonnderaiion  jnd  rbg  Ticc^TrrsLient  if  rf)e  F&^ 
r^il  Zynnal  ir-7  :!yn<£n  yr  me  rar  '*r  'te  .^\z£rsi  Aisemtir  'rom 
jmnrr^  :'ye  memten  n  :f:e  sounczL 

.-frr.  I'Zf.  T?e  Ttemrerr.  ^r  :/v  rrJ^ru  Ijitnczl  .'ucr/  '•?€  ■'ii:ht  to 
;i)eaJi  jut  larzo  r.Vt'  :jt  dzilxr  x)iisi  n  r::e  r-\zcr:i  .4ijvnir::\  in  J  jisa 
t'je  rifbr  :a  make  moiions  m  :!:e  iucic,:  -diuitr  :sn<:^£ru:o?t. 

TV    ■nnsrir.irlon  >  -'^r^  '.oniZ-   vmniiuiiiir   u>*nir  dt^v  -jer  .'eac. 

v-*r*  -r^e^-iiii*  m  riiiniis  roiu*iiinji  tIu*  -iiiv't^ivic^r*  u  mt-  mucous 
vhii*h  ir  it't* Liii'Pi*  mu  ex^^r-ist^  ill  ri^r'-ic?  ind  r^owei?*  ::iiic  riiev 
liave  not  •^xoressL"  -iele-jT-rrMi  ri)  riie  rVfiLtrn*.  pi^^'-r  )y  rae  -.'onijci- 
:'iri«-.n.  The  fetieraL  .mrlnrirr  ■rniiraiitetjs  :iie  riixtitii  xnd  \:h^rtT 
'-if  ^j»  *he  r»*^t>r.lt*,  ami  alme  liiu*  the  ri;iiiL  r.^  nuike  rreucit.^s  widi 

TVi'T^  i:<  no  .^Lir*«linor  umiT  in  'r^iizerLui'L  on::  wiiea  die  '.'icizea 
'<oi''li»='r^  ap»*  requirerl  f.-r  'inr.v  riiev  miircli  tULiier  die  'Ji-^cLuP-h  <."»£  the 
ff-f\^r^\  miiiur.-  •  Irriartmeiir.  Tlitr  er^cire  sirtn-jtii  o£  die  volun- 
t/^y-r  >»rrri7  in  '20J.47'.*  meri.  Xo  Ciinnoa  hiis  over  three  hiinilred 
f^^'rrfiiir^f^.ut  .^^'lidii^rs  within  ir.^  t«^mtory  except  by  the  ex^^tfrs^  per- 
roi^HJ^n  of  th*^  ffrfkral  exerrutive. 


r    SWITZERLAND. 


W'lTZERLAMD. 


SIMPLE  REPUBLICANISM.  458 

The  people,  represented  by  the  Federal  Government,  own  and 
manage  the  entire  postal,  telegraphic,  and  telephonic  systems  of 
the  country.  The  manufacture  and  sale  of  war-powder  and  of 
spirituous  liquors  is  carried  on  by  the  government,  and  the  receipts 
are  paid  into  the  federal  treiisur}-.  This  governmental  manufac- 
ture of  liquoi-s  insures  absolute  purity  in  such  things  to  start 
with,  however  much  they  may  deteriorate  in  passing  tlirough 
private  hands  afterwards. 

All  things  relating  to  the  revenue,  internal  and  external, 
coinage,  Aveightii,  and  measure,  copyright,  bankruptcy,  patents, 
and  other  like  matters  are  fedend  concerns  exclusively.  The 
Federal  Council,  or  Executive  of  Switzerland,  as  provided  in  the 
constitution,  is  elected  by  the  two  national  legislative  bodies  who 
met  in  joint  session  for  tliat  puipose  at  the  capital  city,  Berne. 
This  session  is  held  in  the  month  of  December  in  the  chamber 
of  the  National  Council  or  popular  branch,  the  meml)ers  of  which 
liave  been  elected  two  months  previously  in  October  for  a  period 
of  three  years.  These  newly  elected  membei-s  with  the  deputies 
of  the  upper  House,  or  Council  of  the  States,  elect  by  ballot  the 
seven  members  'of  the  Federal  Council  who  are  to  serve  for  a  term 
of  three  veai-s.  Two  citizens  of  the  same  canton  cannot  be 
memlxirs  of  tlie  Federal  Council  at  the  same  time. 

The  chairman  and  vice-chairman  of  the  Fedeml  Council  are 
selected  for  one  year  from  among  the  seven  members  by  the 
Federal  Assemblv.  The  cliainnan  tlius  selected  b^ars  for  one 
year  the  title  of  President  of  the  Swiss  Confedemtion.  At  the 
expiration  of  liis  one  year*s  term  of  office  he  cannot  be  re-elected 
president  nor  even  serve  as  vice-chainnan  for  the  ensuing  year, 
but  mast  take  his  place  as  one  of  tlie  ordinary  membera,  from 
which  it  appeal's  tliat  our  fashion  of  permitting  a  president  to  be 
his  own  successor,  if  he  ('an  so  pull  the  strings  of  politics,  is  not 
in  the  least  degree  favored  by  the  democracy  of  Switzerland. 

The  vice-chairman  of  one  year  may  be  selected  by  tlie  Federal 
Assembly  as  president  the  following  year,  but  the  same  member 
cannot  he  vice-chairman  for  two  years  current.  The  members 
of  the  Federal  Council  take  charge  one  at  the  head  of  each  of 
the  seven  great  departments  of  state  which  are  designated  as 
follows :  — 


454  THE   STORY  OF   GOVEKNMKNT. 

1.  Foreign  aflfaii-s. 

2.  Interior. 

3.  Justice  and  police. 

4.  Military. 

o.  Finance  and  customs. 

6.  Industry  and  agriculture. 

7 .  Posts  and  railways. 

The  council  meets  twice  a  week  to  discuss  and  determine  all 
matters  of  importance  wliich  come  Avithin  its  province.  No 
decision  wliich  it  may  make  is  legal  except  not  less  than  a 
majorit}',  or  four  membei's,  is  present.  Any  one  of  the  members 
can  submit  to  either  of  the  chamhei-s,  bills  of  his  own  initiative 
having  relation  to  his  own  department.  The  council  as  a  whole 
can  also  submit  to  the  legislature  drafts  of  such  measures  of 
public  legislation  as  it  deems  wise. 

All  of  the  membei-s  of  the  executive  have  the  right  to  appear  on 
the  floor  of  either  chamber,  and  to  speak  for  or  against  any 
measure,  but  they  are  not  allowed  to  vote  in  either  house. 
This  privilege  of  addressing  the  ljiw-m€ikei"s  in  session  enables 
the  executive  to  explain  fully,  publicly,  and  without  reserve, 
their  purposes  and  policy,  and  the  membei's  repeatedly  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity.  Is  there  not  a  hint  here  that  our 
nation  might  take  with  i)rotit  —  namely,  to  make  the  Cabinet 
oilicei'S  cfnirte»y  members  of  Congress,  with  a  voice  to  explain 
all  matte i*s,  but  not  a  vote? 

A  very  singular  spectacle,  however,  —  at  least  it  Avould  appeal* 
so  to  tlie  average  American, — presents  itself  occasionally  in 
connection  Avith  tlie  membei's  of  the  executive  fiddressing  the 
chambei-s.  It  has  sometimes  occurred  that  they  held  contrary 
opinions  on  the  sul)ject  matter  of  the  legislation  under  discussion, 
and  the  unique  siglit  has  been  Avitnessed  not  unfrequently  of  one 
member  of  the  executive  speaking  strongly  in  favor  of  a  measure 
who  Avas  immediately  followed  by  one  of  his  executive  colleagues 
in  opposition. 

There  is  really  nothing  stmnge  in  this,  when  one  comprehends 
the  deiiKH'i'atic  characler  of  the  executive,  Avliich  is  practically  a 
board  of  manage i-s  acting  Avithin  the  constitution  under  the  chair- 
manshi])  of  tlie  president.     But  it  should  be  undei'stood  that  their 


SIMPLF   RErUBLICANISM. 


455 


election  is  not  a  purtily  iiitrty  victory.  They  are  usually  selected 
to  represent,  as  far  as  jn-aeticabl*',  all  the  shades  cjf  party  opinion 
in  the  National  Council. 

There  is  a  wlioleaome  deniocnitic  feeling,  the  growth  of  cen- 
turies, among  the  majority  in  the  Swiss  Chamheix,  whieh  is  ready 
to  concede  that  the  executive  sliouM  represent  ijartie-s,  so  that 
the  true  democratic  spirit  may  prevail. 


The  iircsidi-iii  roct-ivt-s  alKiut  *2,700,  and  eai-li  of  the  other 
iiicnibei-s  <>(  thf  I'miiu'il  alHnit  S'2,4ftO  a  yi-ar  for  the  services 
tliey  render.  The  f'uiuu-il  of  Slates,  nv  snialler  House  <if  the 
Federal  AsseiiiMy,  consists  of  fnity-four  members.  Each  can- 
ton, large  oi-  small,  is  equally  I'cpresented  in  this  chamWr  by 
two  members.  In  some  cantons  these  members  are  elected  by 
the  legislatures,  as  are  the  senatoi-s  of  the  TJnited  States,  while 
in  others   they  aie  elected  by  the  whole   body  of   the  voters  by 


454  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

1.  Foreign  aflfaii-s. 

2.  Interior. 

3.  Justice  and  police. 

4.  Militaiy. 

o.  Finance  and  customs. 

6.  Industry  and  agriculture. 

7.  Posts  and  railways. 

The  council  meets  twice  a  week  to  discuss  and  determine  all 
mattei's  of  importance  which  come  Avithin  its  province.  No 
decision  which  it  may  make  is  legal  except  not  less  than  a 
majoi'ity,  or  four  membei's,  is  present.  Anj^  one  of  the  members 
can  submit  to  either  of  the  chambei-s,  bills  of  his  own  initiative 
having  relation  to  his  own  department.  The  council  as  a  whole 
can  also  submit  to  the  legislature  drafts  of  such  measures  of 
public  legislation  as  it  deems  wise. 

All  of  the  meml)ei"s  of  the  executive  have  the  right  to  appear  on 
the  Hoor  of  either  chamlxjr,  and  to  speak  for  or  against  any 
measure,  but  they  are  not  allowed  to  vote  in  eitlier  house. 
This  privilege  of  addressing  the  law-makei*s  in  session  enables 
the  executive  to  explain  fully,  imblicly,  and  without  reserve, 
their  purposes  and  policy,  and  the  memlK^i-s  repeatedly  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity.  Is  there  not  a  hint  here  that  our 
nation  might  take  with  proHt  —  njiiuely,  to  make  the  Ca])inet 
offi(*ei*s  eonrteay  members  of  Congress,  willi  a  voice  to  explain 
all  matte i*s,  but  not  a  vote? 

A  very  singular  spectacle,  however,  —  at  leiist  it  would  appear 
so  to  the  average  American, — presents  itself  occasionally  in 
connection  with  tlie  members  of  the  exei*utive  addressing  the 
chambei-s.  It  has  sometimes  occurred  that  thev  held  contrarv 
opinions  on  the  subject  matter  of  the  legislation  under  discussion, 
and  the  uni([ue  sight  has  been  witnessed  not  unfrequently  of  one 
meml)er  of  the  ex(*eutive  speaking  strongly  in  favor  of  a  meiisure 
Avho  was  immediately  followed  by  one  of  his  executive  colleagues 
in  oj)position. 

There  is  really  nothing  strange  in  this,  when  one  comprehends 
the  democratic  character  of  the  executive,  which  is  practically  a 
board  of  manage i*s  acting  within  the  constitution  under  the  chair- 
manshi])  of  the  i)resident.     But  it  should  l^e  undei-stood  that  thoir 


SlMFLir   RKl'UBLICANISM. 


455 


election  is  not  a  purely  lutrty  victory.  They  ai-e  usually  selected 
to  represent,  as  fai'  as  jmicticablf,  itl!  tlie  sluides  of  jxirty  opinion 
in  the  Miitioiiiil  Council. 

There  is  a  wlioleaome  deniocnitie  feeling,  the  growth  of  cen- 
turies, among  the  majority  in  the  Swiss  Cliaiiibei's,  which  is  ready 
to  eouoede  that  the  executive  should  itpresent  parties,  so  that 
the  true  democi"atic  spirit  may  prevail. 


-^2-^^^:^^^^ 


Tlie  pu-si.U'Mt  rL-u(>ivfs  alM.ut  *2,7y0,  and  each  of  the  other 
iiifinlK'rH  i>f  till-  ronm-il  almut  -'^2,400  a  year  for  tlie  services 
they  render.  Tlu'  Cnuncil  <if  States,  or  smaller  House  of  the 
Feilei'al  Assenihly,  i-oiisiKts  of  fui'ty-fonr  luemhers.  Each  can- 
ton, large  or  small,  is  e(|ually  represented  In  this  chamlx?r  by 
two  menibeiK.  In  some  cantons  these  niemhei's  are  elected  by 
the  legi.ilatui-es,  as  are  the  senators  of  tlie  United  States,  while 
in  othere  they  an-  elected  by  the  whcde   bodj'  of   the  voters  by 


456  THE   STORY    OF   OOVEBNMENT. 

• 

ballot  or  by  the  ancient  democratic  assembly  of  the  people  called 
the  LanAsgeineinden. 

The  duration  of  their  teiin  of  office  is  left  entirely  to  the  can- 
tons, so  that  some  cantoiLs  elect  for  one  year,  and  othei"S  for  three 
yeai-s.  The  Council  of  Stiites  selects  a  president  and  vice- 
president  from  among  their  number  in  a  manner  similar  to  tin* 
National  Council,  but  neither  of  tliese  officials  can  l)e  chosen  from 
the  deputies  of  any  canton,  a  deputy  of  which  was  president  in 
the  ordinary  session  immediately  preceding.  Neither  can  depu- 
ties of  the  same  canton  serve  as  vice-president  tor  two  current 
ordinary  sessions.  The  membei's  of  this  house  are  paid  bj'  their 
respective  cantons,  save  that  Avhen  any  are  engaged  on  committee 
work  during  recess  they  are  paid  from  the  national  treasury. 

The  National  Council  or  popular  branch  of  the  Federal  Assem- 
bly (or  Congress)  consists  of  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  membera 
returned  by  forty-nine  electoral  districts.  Each  member  is  elected 
by  twenty  thousand  of  the  whole  population,  but  fractions  of 
population  above  ten  thousand  are  competent,  according  to  the 
constitution,  to  elect  a  member.  The  electoral  districts  are  laid 
out  within  the  cantonal  boundaries  like  the  congressional  electoral 
districts  in  the  United  States,  but  while  in  the  latter  they  are 
determined  by  the  legislatures  of  each  state,  the  Swiss  Federal 
Assembly  attends  to  that  business  which  is  denied  to  the  cantons. 

The  basis  of  representation  to  the  National  Council  is  the 
Federal  census  which  is  taken  every  ten  veal's.  The  number  of 
membei's  to  which  a  canton  is  entitled  mnges  from  one  returned 
by  Uri  from  its  one  electoral  district  to  twenty -seven  returned  by 
Berne  from  its  six  districts.  Eveiy  male  Swiss  of  twenty -one 
yeai-s  of  age  is  entitle<l  to  cast  as  many  votes  as  there  are  memlxim 
for  his  electonil  district.  The  method  of  voting  is  entirely  within 
the  control  of  the  cantons,  and  it  diffei-s  very  much  as  it  does 
among  the  states  of  the  Union.  In  some  places  the  ballots  are 
sent  to  th(»  house  of  the  voter  to  bt*  marked,  while  in  others  he 
must  present  himself  at  the  polling  j)lace  to  secure  a  ballot. 
How  manv  valuable  citizens  there  are  in  this  land  of  business 
and  money-getting  who  would  like  to  have  ballots  sent  round  to 
their  houses,  and  be  saved  the  trouble  of  going  to  the  i)ollsI 

Tlie  candidates  to  the  National  Council  must  l^e  elected  at 


HIMPI.K    IlKITIlI-ICAKiaM. 


tlie  tii'st  or  .sccoiiil  killot  by  an  absolute  majority  of  all  the  votes 
cast,  Init  if  a  tiiinl  Imllot  is  retjuii-eil  a  plurality  of  votes  will  be 


sufficient.     Tlie  general    election   is  lieM   triennially  mi  the 
Sunday  of  (Ictolwr. 


458  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  National  Council  meets  in  Berne  in  oi-dinaiy  session  on 
the  first  Monday  of  June,  and  when  it  assembles  again  on  the  first 
Monday  of  December  for  the  second  portion  of  the  session,  a 
president  and  vice-president  of  the  National  Council  are  chosen. 
A  special  session  can  be  held  at  any  time  when  the  occasion 
demands  it.  Its  members  are  paid  a  sum  equal  to  about  $i  per 
day  for  every  day  they  are  actuivUy  present  during  the  session. 
But  if  anyone  fails  to  answer  to  his  name  Avhen  the  roll  is  called 
that  day's  jmy  is  lost  to  him  except  he  can  give  a  good  excuse 
satisfactory  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Chamber.  Every  member 
receives  travelling  expenses  at  the  rate  of  about  five  cents  a  mile 
for  every  mile  travelled  on  sessional  business. 

The  two  chambers  together  form  the  Fedeml  Assembly.  They 
elect  the  members  of  the  Federal  Council,  or  executive,  tlie 
Federal  Tribunarl,  or  judiciary,  and  the  general -in-chief  in  time 
of  war.  Their  scope  of  power  when  sitting  includes  the  making 
of  general  or  special  laws  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the 
constitution. 

Neither  chamber  of  the  assembly  can  do  any  valid  business, 
unless  there  is  an  absolute  majority  of  all  the  members  of  that 
chamber  present.  Any  member  of  either  chamber  can  introduce 
such  proposals  for  the  enactment  of  new  laws  iis  he  deems  right, 
and  they  must  be  acted  upon  as  a  matter  of  coui^e.  Any  single 
voter  or  body  of  voters  in  a  canton  can  do  likewise.  This  is  the 
right  of  initiative,  as  it  is  called. 

A  member  of  either  chaml)er  can  move  in  his  own  body  that 
certain  legislation  is  desirable.  If  his  general  proposal  is  favor- 
ably received  it  will  be  referreil  to  the  Fedeml  Council  for  the 
purpose  of  having  a  proper  bill  drawn  upon  it  which  will  come 
l>efore  the  avssembly  for  discussion.  Or  the  Federal  Council  may 
endoi-se  the  project  itself,  proceeding  on  it«  own  initiative;  or 
a  canton  can  exercise  the  right  of  initiative  by  correspondence; 
or  a  certain  lx)dy  of  citizens  can  exercise  the  right.  It  should 
be  remembered,  however,  that  every  bill,  arising  through  the 
right  of  initiative,  must  pass  through  the  liands  of  the  Federal 
Council  Avho  make  such  recommendations  in  reference  to  it  as 
they  deem  proper  before  placing  it  before  the  assembly. 

When   a  bill   is   laid    before    either  chamber  by  the    Federal 


SIMPLE   REPUBLICANISM.  459 

Ooonoilf  ft  special  oommtttee  is  selected  to  consider  Hnd  raport 
upon  it.  When  the  committee  report,  and  the  bill  has  been 
debated,  the  vote  in  takc^n.  I£  passed,  it  is  then  sent  to  tlie  other 
chamber  where,  if  the  decifiion  is  also  favorable,  it  Ix'comeB  hiw 
npoa  its  promulgation  by  the  Federal  Coum^il  in  the  oth<!ial 
gazette. 

But  it  is  now  subject  to  the  refei-enduju.  If  thirty  ihnnsand 
citizens  whose  mimes  are  on  the  voting  1it<t«,  or  eight  cantons 
acting  in  their  sovereign  character,  make  a  demand  within  two 
months  after  the  passage  of  any  general  law  not  declared  urgent 
at  thD  time  of  its  introduction,  it  must  be  submitted  in  a  short 
time  to  the  popular  vote.  If  a  majtirity  of  the  people  vot«  No, 
the  measui'e  is  killed ;  if  Yes,  it  becomes  law.  This  is  the  famouit 
Swiss  referendum  to  v/hich  pure  advanced  democi-acy  there  is 
something  analogous  in  a  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  England, 
and  an  appeal  to  the  country  when  a  ministry  is  defeated  by  a 
few  votes  on  any  measure,  but  in  our  government  there  is  nothing 
of  this  kind  t/et. 

The  popular  initiative  and  referendum  are  the  i>eculiar  and 
genuine  offspring  of  that  glorious  democracy  wliose  ancestots 
l>enned  the  great  charter  of  their  ancient  liberties  in  1291,  and 
defended  it  in  hloody  conflict  only  a  few  years  after  the  bbhops 
and  barons  wrung  tlie  reluctant,  trembling  signature  from  King 
John  at  Unnnymede.  The  referendum  means  the  submission  of 
every  general  law  passe<l  by  representatives  to  the  people  them- 
selves for  their  direct  action  thereon.  It  is  pure  democracy. 
It  places  the  veto  jiower  where  in  eveiy  democracy  it  should 
properly  belong  —  in  the  people  —  not  in  a  governor  or  president. 
It  is  the  democratic  metho<I  of  the  New  England  town  meeting 
applied  to  the  State  and  nation. 

The  principle  of  the  referendum  was  adopted  centuries  ago  by 
the  diet  of  the  thirteen  cantons,  the  membera  of  which  had  to 
refer  (ad  audiendum  et  referendum)  to  their  respective  cantons  all 
their  proceedings  for  endorsement  or  rejection.  The  evolutionary 
development  of  this  principle  secures  to  Switzerland  to-day,  as 
has  been  stated  at  the  opening  of  this  sketch,  the  best  form  of 
democratic  government  on  earth. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  the  referendum  in  Switzerland:  the  one 


460  THE    STORY   OF    GOVKUNMENT. 

compulsory  and  the  other  optional.  The  compulsory  form 
originally  had  but  reference  to  one  point;  an  amendment  to  the 
constitution  wliich  had  to  l)e  submitted  to  the  popular  vote  some- 
what similar  as  a  constitutional  amendment  would  be  voted  upon 
by  the  States  of  the  American  Union.  The  optional  referendum 
in  federal  matte i-s  has  already  been  touched  upon.  The  refer- 
endum now  prevails  throughout  Switzerland  except  in. a  few  of 
the  old  cantons  of  small  population  where  the  landsgemeinden 
or  open  air  popular  assemblages  of  all  the  voters  make  it  passible 
to  take  the  popular  vote  at  once. 

Sir  Francis  O.  Adams,  the  late  British  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  Switzerland,  speaking  of  tlic  referendum  says:  "Ithius  given 
luick  to  the  people  of  Switzerland  rights  originally  possessed  by 
tliem  in  most  of  tlie  old  cantons  but  partly  or  wholly  lost  in 
the  course  6f  time.  As  to  the  moral  effect  which  the  exercise  of 
this  institution  has  had  upon  the  people  we  are  assured  that  it  is 
admitted  to  be  salutary  even  by  advei"saries  of  democratic  goveni- 
jnent." 

The  Swiss  people  do  not  dread  much  the  wiles  of  the  lobby,  the 
seductive  intlucncL*  of  the  coiporation  attorneys,  or  even  the  direct 
work  of  tht*  coi'rn[)ter,  foi*  thcv  have  an  ellicient  and  never  failing 
corrective  at  hand  which  tliev  can  administer  innnc(Uatelv  throuirh 
the  referendum.  If  the  initiative  and  n^V-rendum  systems  pre- 
vailed ill  the  States  of  the  American  rnion,  is  it  not  likely  that 
many  bad  laws  would  lu*  soon  wiped  fi-oni  our  statutes  and  a  few 
additional  <rood  ones  enacted? 

Professor  Elv,  in  his  excellent  work  ""Taxation  in  American 
States  and  Cities,"  mentions  a  strong  case  in  |)«)int  where  he  says: 
"'The  last  convention  of  th(»  dominant  political  parly  in  a  certain 
Stiite  adopted  a  platform  in  which  it  Wiis  demanded  that  corp(n-a- 
tions  should  pay  their  fair  share  of  taxes.  The  party  pledged 
itself  to  change  the  laws  of  taxation  so  as  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  this  plank  in  their  platform  in  cjuse  the  party  received  a 
majority.  The  taxation  of  corporations  was  the  rallying  cry  of 
the  campaign.  The  candidati^s  of  tlui  party  received  large 
majorities,  and  a  bill  to  tax  corporations  was  introduced  in  the 
legislature.  This  bill  was  defeated  by  the  efforts  of  the  attorney 
of  one  of  the  most  powerful  railroad  corporations  in  the  United 


SIMPLE  REVUBLICANISK.  461 

States,  and  of  the  attorney  of  a  great  telegraph  company.  Of 
these  two  attorneys  one  was  president  of  the  convention  of  the 
dominant  party  to  which  reference  lias  been  made,  and  the  other 
wrote  the  platfonn." 

What  severer  commentary  could  Ih)  made  by  a  critical  foreigner 
opposed  to  democnitic  principles  on  our  country  as  a  successful 
democi-acy,  than  the  bare  sttitementof  such  an  incident  furnishes? 

Now,  if  the  Swiss  initiative  and  referendum  prevailed  in  the 
State  where  tlie  occurrence  to  whi(!h  Professor  Elv  makes  reference 
took  place,  no  two  corporation  attorneys  could  defeat  the  wishes 
of  the  people  nor  could  even  the  wholesale  corruption  of  the 
legislatin-e,  which  was  unquestionably  elected  in  that  case  cliiefly 
on  the  issue  of  the  proper  taxation  of  corporations. 

Every  one  iu*(piainted  witli  practical  politics  in  the  United 
States  can  duplicate  Professor  Ely's  illustmtioii  regarding  the 
tremendous  power  which  cor])orations,  syndicates,  and  trusts 
exercise  in  shaping  legislation  to  their  own  advantage,  and  in 
most  instances  against  the  pul)lic  welfare.  Tliese  powers  are 
continually  defeating  the  will  of  the  people  b}'  corrupting  the 
legislatures,  and  the  people  witliout  a  referendum  {ire  powerless. 

In  the  Clintons  tlie  sovereignty  inheres  in  tlie  whole  people 
perpetually,  and  tlu^  opening  deelanition  of  each  of  their  consti- 
tutions asserts  that  principle  explicitly.  Tlie  constitution  of 
Ziirich,  for  instanire,  states  in  its  first  article  that  the  power 
of  the  state  rests  on  the  totality  of  the  people;  which  j)Ower 
is  exeiled  directly  through  the  voting  citizens,  and  indirectly 
throutrh  the  authorities  and  officials  Avhom  thev  elect  ov  cause  to 
l)e  selected. 

Tlie  ancient  landsgenieinilen,  or  open-air  assemblies,  Avhich 
obtained  among  the  old  cantons  from  time  inunemorial,  prevailed 
until  1848,  when  they  were  abolished  by  Zug  and  Schwyz.  But 
the  ancient  (custom  still  exists  in  Appenzell,  Glaurus,  Unter- 
walden,  and  Uri. 

Let  us  witness  the  time-honored  proceedings  in  Uri.  It  is  the 
first  Sunday  in  May,  The  landammann,  or  governor  of  the 
canton,  having  attended  mass  in  the  village  church,  which  is  not 
large  enough  on  this  occasion  to  hold  a  quarter  of  the  worship- 
pers,  heads  a  procession  of   the  whole   congregation  from   the 


462  THE  STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

church  door  to  the  ancient  place  of  meeting,  which  is  a  meadow 
not  far  from  the  town  of  Altdorf.  The  landammann  is  escorted 
by  ushers  garbed  after  the  fashion  of  a  by-gone  age,  in  black  and 
yellow,  the  colors  of  their  canton.  Upon  an  ancient  banner, 
borne  before  him,  appears  the  cantonal  aims  of  Uri,  a  bull's  head 
on  a  yellow  ground,  while  quaintly  tlressed  men  carry  aloft 
upon  poles  old  wild  bull's  horns  of  enonnous  size,  said  to  be 
the  identical  horns  that  sounded  the  charge  for  the  men  of  Uri 
over  four  centuries  ago  against  the  mail-clad  knights  of  Charles 
the  Bold,  of  Burgundy,  on  the  ten-ible  field  of  Morat, 

**  When  the  Switzer  phalanx  on  the  Morat  field  swept  on 
Like  a  ])ine-clad  liill 
,  By  an  earthquake's  will 

Hurled  the  valley  upon." 

The  landiimmaiin,  having  arrived  at  the  meadow,  accompanied 
only  by  his  secretary,  takes  up  a  position  in  the  centre  of  the 
crowd  at  a  table.  The  people  sit  or  stand  around  this  table, 
which  is  on  a  slight  elevation.  When  silence  is  secured,  the 
landammann  makes  a  statement  respecting  all  the  important 
mattei-s  which  have  any  bearing  on  the  interests  of  the  people  of 
the  canton,  the  voters  of  whidi  are  now  assembled  before  liim. 
When  he  concludes,  there  is  profound  silence  for  some  time,  for 
every  one  is  offering  up  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the 
])ast  year's  blessings;  but  they  pray  strong  rather  than  long,  and 
soon  the  business  of  the  landsjremeinden  l)e<rins. 

Every  man  wlio  desires  to  speak  can  do  so  as  long  as  he  pleases, 
and  eveiy  subject  of  special  interest  is  disc'ussed  with  great 
decorum  by  the  oldest  men  orenerally  from  the  different  com- 
munes  of  tlie  canton.  At  last  when  all  debatable  matter  has 
been  disposed  of  the  ofHcei's  for  the  coming  year  are  elected. 
The  landammann,  whose  oilice  luus  expired,  now  delivers  up  his 
charge  to  the  people  of  the  canton  with  an  aflirmation  that  he  has 
injured  no  one  voluntarily,  and  he  asks  pardon  of  any  citizen  who 
may  think  himself  aggrieved. 

The  new  landannnann  then  stands  forward,  and  before  the 
assembled  multitude  takes  the  prescribed  oath  of  office  witli  great 
solemnity;  after  Avhich  the  whole  people  swear  to  obey  him,  to 
serve  their  country,  and  respect  tlie  laws.     The  other  state  offi- 


464  THE   STORY   OB^   GOVERNMENT. 

cials  are  now  elected  by  a  show  of  hands.  Then  the  descendants 
of  the  men  who  helped  to  draw  the  Peqietual  Alliance  Ti-eaty  of 
1291  adjourn  for  one  year. 

Most  of  the  cantons  have  a  representative  fonn  of  government 
tv^ith  provision  for  the  referendum  when  duly  demanded.  In 
Basel  fifteen  hundred  citizens  can  exercise  the  popular  initiative, 
while  the  referendum  is  compulsory  for  all  laws,  i-esblutions, 
and  conventions.  In  Schwj^  and  Vaud  the  referendum  is 
optional;  in  the  fonner,  the  demand  must  l>e  made  by  two 
thousand  votei*s;  in  the  latter,  by  six  thousand.  In  all  tlie  other 
cantons  where  the  compulsory  referendum  does  not  exist,  the 
number  of  votei*s  I'equired  to  dcmiind  it  in  writing  varies  from 
fifteen  hundred  to  live  thousand. 

The  State  Council  or  executive  of  nearlv  all-  the  cantons 
appoints  the  judi(riid  officials  of  the  i*espective  canton  for  a  term 
of  yeai*s;  then  one  permanent  tribunal  for  civil  and  criminal 
causes  and  juries  for  the  latter.  In  tlie  French  cantons  the  laws 
are  based  on  the  Code  Xapoleon;  while  the  Gennan  cantons  have 
peculiar  codes  of  their  own,  and  the  oldest  cantons  have  an 
extensive  common  law  to  which  the  courts  give  effect  equally 
with  their  written  law. 

The  conmiunes  or  townships  are  the  ])asis  on  which  rests  the 
whole  structure  of  Ue[)ul)lican  institutions  in  Switzerland.  The 
peo[)le  of  each  possess  connuon  interests,  live  in  the  same  vici- 
nage, and  are  self-governed.  The  (*omnnnies  existed  before  the 
canton  or  the  confedei'ation,  and  the  people  fiiinly  believe  that 
the  natural  growth  of  Democratic  lil)crty  is  upward  from  the 
commune  to  tli(^  canton,  the  latter  being  but  an  aggregation  of 
independent  connnuncs,  and  from  the  canton  to  the  confedemtion. 

Each  comnume  is  practically  in(le[)endent  within  its  own 
boundaries,  but  the  canton  exercises  a  slight  supervision  over 
each  in  mattei*s  relating  to  education,  \\\i}  repairs  of  roads,  and  so 
forth.  .V  number  of  connnunes  in  a  canton  form  a  communal 
district.  Some  cantoiLs  have  several  districts;  othei*s  have  but 
one.  A  communal  district  council  is  elected  to  attend  to  certa,in 
duties  which  are  prescril)ed  by  the  connnunes  fonning  the  district. 
All  citizens  who  have  the  right  to  vote  have  their  names  placed  on 
the  voting  list  of  their  commune  for  public  inspection. 


lI-inu  ur  THE  srouu. 


466  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

That  the  Swiss  voters  take  a  lively  interest  in  national  as  well 
as  in  communal  affairs  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that,  with 
less  than  a  population  of  three  millions  (according  to  the  census 
of  1880)  at  a  voting  held  on  November  26,  1882,  under  the 
referendum,  a  total  of  490,149  votes  were  polled  for  and  against 
"a  law  authorizing  the  appointment  of  a  Federal  Secretary  of 
Education,"  and  the  measure  was  rejected  by  nearly  two  to  one. 

The  communes  perform  many  public  services,  and  enter  into 
many  undertakings  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  which  may  be 
characterized  as  essentially  socialistic.  These  undertakings  vary 
in  their  nature.  For  instance,  in  the  commune  of  Grindelwaldt 
which  is  in  the  communal  district  of  Interlaken,  in  the  canton 
of  Berne,  each  householder  is  entitled  to  a  certain  amount  of 
wood  annually  on  the  payment  of  a  small  sum  of  money.  Any 
householder  not  l)elonging  to  the  commune  can  get  wood  from 
the  communal  authorities,  but  he  must  pay  over  fifty  per  cent, 
more  for  it  than  the  resident.  The  money  received  for  fire\.'ood 
is  paid  in  salaries  to  the  communal  forestei-s,  who  cut  the  timber, 
plant  young  trees,  and  take  care  of  them.  The  inhabitants  of 
nearly  all  the  connnunes  have  pasture  lands  in  common. 

But  while  the  rules,  regulations,  and  customs  of  the  communes 
differ  in  these  respects,  the  freedom  which  they  possess  to  make 
the  most  of  their  opportunities  cannot  be  questioned.  This  free- 
dom they  have  preserved  and  defended  against  every  attack  since 
the  beginning  of  their  history.  The  local  self-government  of  the 
commune  has  been  the  cradle  and  the  sehoolhouse  which  evolved 
the  present  Swiss  Confederation. 

Educated  by  the  past,  and  jealous  of  their  national  birthright 
—  liberty,  — the  Swiss  people  evidently  do  not  propose  to  have 
it  filched  from  them,  slowly  but  surely,  under  mere  forms  of 
representative  government.  Hence  they  have  safeguarded  the 
shrine  with  the  popular  initiative  and  referendum.  Not  a  few 
representatives,  or  a  select  committee,  but  the  people  alone, 
standing  before  the  ballot-box,  is  their  court  of  last  resort  to  pass 
upon  all  important  geneml  laws. 

This  is  true  democracy,  worthy  of  the  ancient  commonwealths 
of  that  mountain  land  which  has  preserved  its  liberty  for  centu- 
ries in  the  midst  of  powerful  and  hostile  foes.     Well  may  the 


SIMPLE   RBPUBLIGANISM.  467 

average  Switzer  quote  these  words  from   the  play  of   William 
Tell :  — 

**  I  have  thought  of  other  lands,  whose  storms 
Are  summer  flaws  to  those  of  mine,  and  Just 
Have  wished  me  there;  the  thought  that  mine  was  free 
Has  checked  that  wish,  and  I  have  raised  my  head 
And  cried  in  thraldom  to  that  fuiious  wind: 
*  Blow  on !    Tliis  is  the  land  of  Liberty ! '  " 

No  historical  sketcli  of  Switzerland  could  seem  complete  with- 
out some  mention  of  William  Tell,  but  unfortunately  the  majority 
of  modern  authority  in  mattei-s  of  tradition  incline  to  the  opinion 
that  the  tyrant  Gesler  was  a  very  amiable  administrator  of  jus- 
tice, and  that  Tell  was  not  a  good  enough  marksman  to  shoot  the 
famous  ap[)le  on  his  son's  head  for  the  sad  but  sufficient  reason 
that  William  Tell  never  existed  save  in  the  imagination  of  a  poet 
who  thought  he  ought  to  exist.  We  present  a  picture  of  him, 
liowever,  according  to  an  artist  who  agrees  with  the  poet,  and 
i-epresents  the  traditionary  hero  escaping  from  a  boat  and  the 
trammels  of  historical  research  on  to  the  unshakable  rock  of 
pojmlar  love  and  honor. 

The  varied  climate  of  Switzerland  affords  the  people,  despite 
the  limited  amount  of  arable  ground  Avhich  so  mountainous  a 
country  supplies,  ample  opportunities  for  varied  agriculture.  On 
the  u[)i)er  reaches  of  the  Alps  grazing  and  the  arts  which  depend 
on  it  are  largely  priu'tised.  In  the  warmer  valleys  and  slopes  the 
vine  flourishes  so  well  that  wine-making  is  an  industry  in  most 
of  the  cantons.  Water  power  is  of  course  plentiful,  and  linen, 
cotton,  and  woollen  spinning  are  extensively  followed,  while  the 
watches  and  pill-l)oxes  of  the  Swiss  are  famous  all  over  the 
world. 

Switzerland  is,  however,  too  small  for  the  support  of  its  popu- 
lation. Accordingly,  tlie  Swiss,  as  domestic  servants,  inn- 
keepei'S,  couriei"s,  and  waiters,  are  found  in  every  city  of  Europe 
and  America.  Indeed,  at  one  time,  the  word  "Suisse"  became  so 
synonymous  with  hall  porter,  that  in  Paris  such  a  functionary  is 
still  known  as  '"a  Swiss,"  and  in  many  pai*ts  of  France  the 
church  l>eadle  is  still  called  the  "Suisse."  At  an  earlier  date 
they  liired  out  as  soldiers.  The  Bourbon  monarchs  bad  their 
Swiss  guards,  and  the  Pope  enjoys  a  like  luxurj'. 


468  THE   8TOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

This  habit  of  tiiking  service  abroad  —  as  in  truth  had  the  Scots 
and  Irish,  and  for  much  the  same  reason,  namely,  the  little  which 
was  to  keep  tliem  at  home,  obtained  for  these  moimtalneeis  an 
invidious  reputation  whicli  is  embodied  in  the  proverb  '"Xo 
money,  no  Swiss,"  th(mgh  the  proper  meaning  of  it  is,  that 
without  pay  you  cannot  have  a  servant.  The  king  in  Hamlet 
says,  "Where  are  my  Switzei's?  Let  them  guard  the  door."  In 
truth,  to  this  day,  the  Swiss,  who  is  tlic  most  liberty-loving  of 
men,  and,  like  the  Scot,  the  most  liomesick  after  a  long  sepai-a- 
tion,  lives  to  a  great  extent  by  attending  on  the  stranger. 

Switzerland  has  been  nicknamed  tlie  '"playgnmnd  of  Europe." 
Every  year  its  lovely  valleys  and  mountains  are  inundated  witli 
thousands  of  holiday  makei-s,  and  hence,  a  hirge  portion  of  its 
population  is  directly  or  indirectly  dependent  on  ministering  to 
the  conveniertce  or  the  amusement  of  this  swarm  of  pleasure 
seekei's.  Hotel  keeping  on  a  great  scab*  is,  especially  for  the 
summer  months,  an  important  "industry."  The  upland  pastures 
are  utilized  for  cattle  breeding  and  dairy  farming  Tlie  most 
enteri)rising  of  the  Alpine  villagei*s  make  money  by  acting  as 
guides  and  portei'S  to  the  more  ambitions  tourists,  and  even  sinct* 
railways  have  p'_Mit*trat(nl  the  most  unpromising  places  there  is 
plenty  of  roOm  for  the  numerous  people  who  have  something  to 
do  with  lioi-ses,  eitlun-  in  the  shape  of  dnvei-s  or  of  post-honse 
keepers. 

Peasant  farmei"s  are  almost  as  numerous  as  in  France,  whcde 
cantons  l)eing  divided  up  into  these  little  territories.  In  the 
well-situated  localities  the  [)easant  proprietoi's  are,  as  a  rule, 
1  Kilter  off  than  their  French  neighbors,  being  educated,  and  very 
often  quite  reiined.  MoreovtM*,  when  their  property  is  small, 
they  have  generally  some  other  occu])ation  by  which  to  ludj)  tluMr 
income,  otherwise  they  would  sometimes  In*  hard  en(Migh  pinched. 

Take,  for  examj)le,  tht»  Canton  Berne,  one  of  the  most  thriving 
portions  of  (ierman  Switzerland.  Taxes  are  high,  and  every  year 
numbei-s  of  peiusant  pro[)rietoi's  are  forced  to  emigrate,  owing  to 
the  difliculty  of  keeping  their  heads  above  water.  Land  is  dear 
and  the  j>easant  has,  like  all  his  class,  a  passion  for  IxuTowing  on 
mortgage,  either  to  round  off  his  pro[)erty  or  to  im])rr)ve  it.  There 
are  mortgages  in  existence  which  were  contracted  more  .than  two 


i 


i    I 


8IMPL£   nKPl'llLlCANlSM. 


469 


liumlred  yeaiv  ago,  aiitl  bid  fiiir  tii  lituig  like  iniUfttoneH  roniul  the 
)wek«  of  genemtioim  yet  unborn. 

The  new  lendvr  is,  liowever,  less  toleitint  than  the  old  one. 
The  spifjul  of  bankx,  railways,  and  joint  stock  comjumies  lias 
ninde  it  etwifi'  to  invest  money  than  formerly;  the  old  capitalists 
press  for  tlieir  money,  and  the  professional  money-lender  is  apt  to 
demand  the  in- 
terest when 
d  n  c ,  or  f()re- 
elose  without 
mnuh  refjurd 
for  tlicsuscL'pti- 
hilitifs    iif    the 


nmloubtL'dly  tilt: 
Cimton  Vinid. 
A  Vandois  [wiis- 
ant, wit lu went y  ^    ""     ^  "■' 

or  thirty  acres  of  land  ne  li  ilf  of  it  under  \ines  tht  icst  meadow 
and  jiastiiie,  iuid  it  hit  of  fi  rtit  and  miiNli  i>,  one  of  the  most  for- 
tunate of  men,  aa  iihk  h  to  he  mvied  iin  (he  inhabitant  of  Sniithern 
("alifomia  who  owns  his  lumeste'Ml 

True,  lie  works   haitl    hut   the  A\oik   is  jileisant    and  though 
ginpes  iiiay  1)e  a  precarious  ei-op,  tliey  seldom  wholly  fail,  and  a 


470  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

good  vintage  represents  a  fair  proportion  of  the  value  of  his  land. 
The  bit  of  forest  supplies  him  with  firewood  and  timber  for 
mending  his  carts  and  repairing  his  house  and  barns;  the  marsh 
furnishes  rushes  for  bedding  his  cattle.  One  way  and  another, 
he  not  only  contrives  to  make  both  ends  meet,  but  to  lay  by 
something  every  year  as  a  dower  for  his  daughters  and  a  provision 
for  his  sons.  On  the  sunny  slopes  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  from 
Chillon  to  La  C8te,  many  peasants  may  be  found  to  whom  this 
description  would  apply.  And  as  nearly  every  inhabitant  of  these 
lacustrine  communes  has  at  least  a  bit  of  hind,  poverty  in  Canton 
Vaud  is  almost  imknown,  and  pauperism  does  not  exist. 

Education,  moreover,  both  primary  and  secondary,  is  free  of 
cost.  Ever}'  commune  possesses  a  communal  estate,  the  income 
from  which  is  applied  to  the  diminution  of  local  rates,  and  to  the 
bringing  up  and  education  of  the  childi-en  of  deceased  members  — 
a  Swiss  commune  being,  in  effect,  a  benefit  society,  whose  meni- 
l)ers  are  mutually  responsible  for  each  other's  support  in  case  of 
need.  An  instance  occurred  not  long  ago  of  a  "ne'er-do-weel" 
meml)er  of  a  Vaudois  commune  being  paid  '^1,500*  to  al) jure  his 
membei'sliip  and  l^etake  liiniself  with  liis  family  to  America. 
Strangei*s  are  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  a  commune  only  by  pay- 
ments, which  vary  according  to  the  communal  possessions.  In 
the  cominniie  of  Montreux  the  entrance  fee  is  al)out  8150. 
Strangei"s  who  fall  into  want  are,  if  Swiss,  temporarily  relieved 
and  sent  to  tlieir  native  communes.  Foreignei's  are  simply 
escorted  to  the  nearest  frontier  and  left  there. 

Even  in  the  colder  Jura  country,  where  gm[)es  ripen  with  diffi- 
culty, the  thrifty  Vaudois  have  managed  to  extinguish  pau- 
perism, by  dint  of  these  little  industries  which  have  already  been 
mentioned  as  forming  part  of  the  secondary  occupation  of  the 
small  farmei'S.  The  result  is  that,  while  on  the  French  side  of 
the  iniaginarj^  line  which  se[)arates  the  two  cantons,  the  houses, 
though  Imilt  of  stone,  are  squalid,  the  windows  dirty,  the  flooi*s 
likewise,  the  men  who  live  in  them  grimy,  and  the  women 
frowsy;  the  dwellings  and  tlieir  inhabitants  on  the  Swiss  side  of 
the  border  are  smart  and  cleanly.  Every  man  willing  to  work 
has  the  means  of  living,  and  the  communal  organization  secures  a 
provision  as  well  for  the  sick  and  aged  as  for  fatherless  children. 


SIMPLE  KEPUBUCANISM.  471 

doasing  from  the  Fraache  Comt^  into  Canton  Vaud  ia  like  step, 
ping  from  a  disorderly  kitchen  into  a  dainty  parlor.  The  fitst 
habitation  on  the  Swiss  side  of  the  border  is  a  neat  cottage  with 
shutters  painted  in  the  Vaudois  colors  —  green  and  white,  and, 
as  you  may  see  tlirougli  the  0[)en  doors  and  transparent  windows, 
as  clean  inside  as  it  is  iiTeproachable  outside.  You  never  find  a 
Vaudois  who  cannot  sign  liis  name ;  you  rarely  find  a  Frenchman 
who  can.  The  staple  industry,  after  agriculture,  is  pill-box  and 
clock-case  making,  for  which  suitable  timber  is  found  in  the 
neighboring  forests.  Tliere  are  no  factories;  tie  men  work  at 
their  own  bouses  and  before 
nearly  every  cottiige  iloor  is  to 
be  seen  a  pile  of  timber  sawn 
into  shapes  suitable  for  the 
bench  and  the  lathe, 

On  the  slopes  of  Mont  Tendre 
and  the  shores  of  Lac  de  Joux 
are  made  the  finest  watches  in 
the  world.  Ou-onographs,  re- 
peaters, watches  with  three  or 
four  dials  which  give  simultan- 
eously the  time  of  London, 
Paris,   Berlin,  and  Xew  York, 

act  in  jwrpetual  calendar,  and  wlien  cased  and  regulated  at 
Geneva  or  Berne,  sell  at  prices  varj-ing  from  $200  to  $1,000.  They 
might,  of  coui-se,  l)e  manufactiued  elsewliei-e,  but,  as  n  matter  of 
fact,  it  is  only  in  the  remote  and  lofty  valley  of  Lac  de  Joux  — 
Ija  Vall<ie,  par  en-dlence,  to  everj'  Switzer  —  that  they  are  made, 
study,  practice,  and  an  aptitude  wliicli  has  become  hereditary, 
having  rendensd  the  peasants  of  this  ixirtion  of  Switzerland  the 
most  skilful  in  the  world.  Yet,  considering  the  eluvracter  of 
their  work,  thoir  wages  are  8uri»risingly  low  —  the  men  making 
from  f3.75  to  S/i.SO  a  week,  while  the  work  which  can  be  done 
1^  women  is  paid  at  the  rate  of  forty  cents  a  day.  Families, 
however,  work  at  home  so  that  their  combined  eaniings  are  con- 
siderable. With  few  of  them  is  watchmaking  the  sole  profession. 
Nearly  every  one  of  the  La  Vall<Se  people  is  a  fanner  also,  and 
divides  his  time  pretty  equally  between  horology  and  husbandry. 


472  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

How  watchmaking  became  the  sole  iudustry  of  the  valley,  how, 
slowly  and  painfully,  with  what  practice  and  patience,  the  people 
of  Joux  have  become  the  deftest  horologists  in  Christendom, 
would  take  too  long  to  tell.  They  doubtless  owe  something  to 
nature.  The  very  isolation  and  remoteness  of  their  position, 
their  brief  summers  and  silent  wintei's,  are  favoraUe  to  that  con- 
centration of  mind  and  freedom  from  distraction  which  the  pursuit 
of  so  delicate  a  calling  imperatively  demands.  The  art  and  mys- 
tery of  fine  and  complicated  Avatchmaking  are  taught  only  to 
meml)ers  of  their  own  families. 

Outsiders  are  as  rigorously  excluded  from  tlie  profession  as  are 
laymen  from  practice  at  the  British  Bar,  for  tlie  Jurassic  horologist 
has  no  intention  of  making  his  art  too  chea]). 

The  rise  of  so  many  small  industries  in  the  Frcncli  and  Swiss 
Jura,  the  manufacture  of  pill-boxes,  clock-cases,  wooden  pipes, 
s})ectiulcs,  paste  diamonds,  and  fine  files,  is  doubtless  in  some 
mciisure  explained  by  the  geographical  ])osition  of  the  country  and 
its  climatic  conditions.  La  Vallce,  f(U'  instance,  is  thirty-four 
hundriMl  feet  above  sea  level;  the  wintei's  are  hard,  tlie  summeis 
short;  the  land  (cannot  keep  the  [)ojmlatioii  that  lives  on  it,  and  a 
few  venerations  ajj-o  it  became  necessary  for  ilw  mountaineers 
to  (levelo[)  some  iiidustiy  or  emigrate,  at  a  time  when  emigra- 
tion was  iieilliei-  easy  nor  populai*.  Manufacturing  in  a  region 
utterly  without  coal,  and,  a  century  ai^-o,  almost  destitute  of 
roads,  was  clearly  impossible.  But  tlierc^  was  and  still  is  timber 
in  abundance,  and  necessity  suggested,  in  one  case,  the  making 
of  pill-boxes,  in  another,  the  making  of  clock-cases. 

From  clock-cases  to  clocks  there  is  only  a  stc]),  and  the  making 
of  clocks  leads,  by  natural  transition,  to  the  construction  of 
Avatches.  About  the  year  170G  clock  and  watch  making  was  first 
introduced  into  Le  Chenit,  one  of  the  three  conununes  of  La 
Yall(?e.  The  result  has  been  that  the  population,  which  at  one 
time  wixs  only  one  hundred  and  sixty,  is  now  six  thousand,  and 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  in  Switzerland. 

A  few  miles  from  Le  Pont,  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Lac  de 
Joux,  lies  the  town  of  Vallorbe,  consisting,  like  La  Valine,  of  a 
confederacy  of  three  communes,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are 
engrossed  in  the  fabrication  of  fine  files  for  watchmaking,  and  of 


474  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

scythes,  sickles,  and  other  implements  for  local  consumption. 
The  files  of  Vallorl)e  are  almost  as  widely  known  as  the  watch 
movements  of  La  Valine.  Iron  is  found  in  the  neighboring  moun- 
tains, but  as  nowadays  iron  cannot  be  profitably  smelted  without 
coal,  the  file-makers  use  for  the  most  part  English  steel,  which 
they  find  best  suited  to  their  purposes,  and  they  have  a  way  of 
preparing  it  with  charcoal  and  without  oil  wliich  is  peculiarly 
their  own. 

To  this  art  the  superiority  of  their  files  and  cutlery  is  said  to 
be  largely,  if  not  altogether  due.  There  are  a  few  large  firms 
here.  But  the  majority  of  the  workmen  are  peasants  living  in 
their  own  houses  and  tilling  their  own  land,  devoting  themselves 
to  file-making  only  when  the  demands  of  agriculture  admit  of 
indoor  work.  Possibly  were  the  people  to  apply  themselves  more 
constantly  to  one  art,  they  might  attain  greater  prosperity.  The 
variety  of  pui-suits  relieves  life  of  some  of  its  monotony,  and 
favombly  affects  health,  character,  and  mind.  "  The  workman  of 
the  country,"  says  Vallolon  Aubert,  the  historian  of  Vallorbe, 
"holds  himself  very  high:  he  must  be  treated  with  deference  by 
the  master  whom  he  serves,  and  will  tolerate  in  him  an  air 
neither  of  affected  superiority  nor  of  haughty  scorn. 

'^As  touching  morals,  the  people  are  religious,  honest,  faithful 
to  their  wonl,  and  delicate  on  the  point  of  honor."  There  is  no 
poverty  at  Vallorbe.  When  the  old  people  are  past  work,  they 
are  maintained  by  the  commune,  and  children  who  have  lost  one 
or  both  parents  are  also  kept  at  the  public  cliarge.  But  in  neither 
case  is  there  any  discredit  att4iching  to  the  protirfes  of  the  com- 
mune. They  are  membei's  of  a  benefit  society  with  accumulated 
funds,  not  paupers  for  the  support  of  whom  their  more  fortunate 
neiglilx)rs  have  to  pay  an  unwilling  tax.  There  is  a  special  fund 
for  the  pui-pose  mentioned,  which  produces  about  $1,000  a  year. 
When  it  is  insufficient  the  deficiency  is  made  good  out  of  the 
ordinary  revenue  of  the  commune,  arising  principally  from  land 
and  forests ;  for  the  commune  is  bound  not  alone  to  bring  up  and 
educate,  but  to  put  to  trades  the  children  of  deceased  members. 


The  story  of  the  growth 
of  constitutional  monarchy, 
foi-  whicli  we  have  taken  England  as  an 
illusti-ation,  is  full  of  the  most  singular 
and  idtartling  contrasts.  Shakespeare  has 
been  accused  by  some  critics  of  being  too  much 
of  a  courtier  in  his  ivrilings,  of  toadying  to 
royalty ;  but  when  one  comes  to  consider  how^  full  of  dramatic 
incident,  and  how  sadly  illustrative  of  human  destiny  in  its  devel- 
oping, rather  than  in  its  completed,  state  the  lives  of  English  kings 
Iiave  been  ever  since  the  battle  of  Hastings,  one  can  readily  under^ 
stand  tliat  a  mind  like  Shakesiieare's  might  be  artistically  tempted 
to  write  chiefly  about  kings  and  nobles,  i-ather  than  to  depict  the 
liumoi-s,  follies,  and  disasters  of  the  common  people.  One  of  the 
most  quoted  lines  written  by  the  great  dramatist,  "  Uneasy  lies  the 
head  that  wears  a  crown."  is  a  reflection  that  must  force  itself  on 
even  the  most  careless  and  desultory  reader  of  English  annals. 

William  the  Norman,  when  disembarking  on  the  shore  of  Eng^ 
land,  fell  flat  upon  his  face,  —  a  token  so  appalling  that  it  roused 
a  murmur  of  dismay  among  his  men-atrarms,  "  Save  us ;  'tis  a 
fearful  omen  I "  But  the  leader,  with  ready  presence  of  mind 
(as  great  men  alwa^-s  try  to  do  with  Mis  or  foilurea),  turned  the 


476  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

tumble  to  advantage  by  shouting  to  his  men  as  he  picked  himself 
up,  "Fear  ye,  then,  to  see  me  clutching  at  this  earth ?  By  the 
splendor  of  God,  I  am  only  seizing  my  throne."  ^ 

Yet,  if  there  were  anything  in  signs  and  tokens,  it  might  seem 
as  if  this  fall  of  William  were  prophetic  of  the  suigular  disasters 
that  pui^ued  the  rest  of  his  dynasty.  Starting  at  first  with  the 
mere  military  despotism  of  this  adventurer,  who  crowned  himself 
after  defeating  King  Harold  and  the  Saxons,  and  apportioned  the 
lands  of  the  conquered  people  among  his  followers,  the  constitu- 
tional monarchy  of  England  has  evolved  by  a  seiies  of  struggles 
on  the  part  of  the  feudal  lords  against  the  king  for  more  power, 
and  of  attempts  by  the  king  to  raise  money  from  the  people,  either 
for  his  private  debaucheries,  or  to  prosecute  w^arlike  adventures  in 
other  lands.  And  this  conflict,  now  between  king  and  nobles,  then 
again  between  king  and  common  people,  has  been  complicated 
from  time  to  time  by  curious  encroachments  and  attempted  en- 
croachments on  the  Church  hy  the  king,  and  in  turn  by  the 
Church  on  royal  and  popular  rights. 

England  luis  not  only  been  the  most  pugnacious  of  nations  out- 
side of  her  borders,  but  has  had  muie  internal  disturbance  in 
proportion  to  the  length  of  her  national  life  than  any  country  with 
whose  history  we  are  familiar.  In  detailing  this  growth,  however, 
there  are  many  reigns  not  necessary  to  consider,  because  the  popular 
mind  was  taken  up  with  foreign  wars,  or  because  the  quarrels  be- 
tween the  nobles  and  the  king  offset  each  other,  and  the  people  made 
little  or  no  headway  in  obtaining  rights  and  privileges  which  to- 
day seem  to  us  the  merest  basic  necessities  of  eomfort^ible  existence. 

For  instance,  although  King  Harold,  the  last  of  the  Saxons,  is 
a  striking,  pathetic  figure,  losing  crown  and  life  so  soon  after  his 
taking  the  oath  of  oflice,  a  constitutional  ceremony  that  marks  the 
popular  element  of  Saxon  sovereignty  as  distinct  from  the  military 
dictiitorship  of  the  Norman  conqueror,  we  do  not  dwell  upon  his 
reign  because  it  was  so  brief,  full  of  promise  for  the  masses,  but 
with  no  chance  for  such  promise  to  ripen.  Nor  shall  we  consider 
the  reign  of  Alfred  the  Great,  who  was  a  mild  paternalist  trying 
to  l)e  a  popular  sovereign. 


»T'ie  j*aine  juie«'(lnto  i«<  told  of  (^a-sar  a  thousaml  years  lu'fore.    Possibly  the  Norman  duke 
had  heard  of  this.    I'ossibly  it  was*  only  history  repeating  itself. 


478  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

The  first  reign,  as  it  seems  to  us,  in  which  the  people  as  a  body- 
came  into  any  strong  prominence  and  were  regarded  as  anything 
more  than  mere  pawns  to  be  sacrificed  at  pleasure  for  the  benefit 
of  kings,  knights,  and  bishops,  was  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  grand- 
son of  William  of  Normandy,  beginning  in  1154.  For  thirty-five 
years  Henry  governed  England  well  under  the  greatest  difficulties. 
Amid  personal  sorrows  of  a  heart-rending  nature,  this  great  man 
tried  to  give  the  whole  people  an  orderly  and  comfortable 
government. 

It  is  perhaps  one  of  the  greatest,  and  certainly,  like  that  of 
George  HI.,  one  of  the  saddest  of  regal  histories.  Henry  was  beset 
by  a  cohort  of  greedy  nobles  anxious  for  more  power  to  oppress  the 
people,  and  by  a  legion  of  lazy  and  tumultuous  priests.  He  was 
cursed  with  a  bad  wife  who  encouraged  his  sons  to  plot  and  rebel 
against  him,  and  his  troubles  with  the  Church  led  to  an  act  which 
clouded  his  whole  life  with  passionate  remorse.  He  had  hoped,  by 
making  one  of  his  familiar  friends,  Thomas  h  Becket,  in  whom  he 
thoroughly  trusted.  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  be  able  to  rule 
the  turbulent  priests  and  so  have  plenty  of  time  to  keep  the  nobles 
within  due  bounds.  But  no  sooner  was  k  Becket  raised  to  this 
lofty  eminence  than  he  tried  to  turn  himself  into  a  pei*8onal  rival 
of  his  monarch ;  not  only  refusing  to  take  the  oath  of  obedience  to 
the  ancient  customs  of  the  country,  but  causing  every  other 
priest,  except  one,  to  qualify  this  oath  of  allegiance  by  the  clause, 
'*  Saving  my  order." 

All  that  King  Henry  desired  Avas  that  a  certain  priest,  who 
had  committed  a  horrible  murder,  should  be  delivered  up  to  be 
tried  in  the  same  court  and  in  the  same  way  as  any  otlier  mur- 
Jerer.  Calling  a  solemn  gathering  in  Westminster  Hall,  the  king 
demanded  that  in  future  all  priests  found  guilty  l)efore  a  clerical 
court  of  crimes  against  the  laws  of  the  land  should  be  considered 
priests  no  longer  and  should  be  handed  over  to  the  common  law 
for  punishment.  Surely,  a  most  reasonable  request  on  the  part  of 
a  king,  and  a  true  step  toward  the  equalization  of  all  men  before 
the  law,  that  is,  before  the  collective  conscience  of  all  men. 

From  the  refusal  of  the  proud  prelate  and  his  insolent  priests  a 
series  of  quarrels  arose,  in  which  the  archbishop  found  countless 
ways  of  annoying  the  poor  king,  already  under  a  continual  cloud 


I 


r!. 


CONSTlTrriONAL   MONAUt-HY.  ■ioo 

o£  family  trouble,  till  ime  day,  when  Heiiry  burst  forth  passion- 
ately,  "  Have  I  no  one  who  will  free  me  from  this  man?"  some  of 
his  frieiiAs  took  it  as  a  sign  that  he  wished  the  archbishop  to  be 
murdeifd,  and  murdered  he  was  by  four  knights,  witliin  the 
sanctuary  and  holding  one  of  the  horns  of  the  altar.  Hubert,  an 
early  iMiglisli  judge,  was  killed  in  tlie  same  way  and  under  the 
same  circumstances,  and  as  the  church  was  considered  an  asylum 
in  those  daj-s.  even  for 
a  criminal  pursued  by 
civil  authorities,  such  a 
crime  committed  in  the 
holy  of  holies  was  ae- 
cou  nted  peculiarly 
atrocious. 

A  .study  of  Ili'nry's 
ehamctcr  .satisfies  thiit 
his  filial  speech,  wrung 
from  him  in  the  torturir 
of  itassion,  wils  not  thi- 
expression  of  a  deliti- 
erate' desire  or  hint  for 
action  ;  hut  it  shadow- 
ed his  hk-  ill  .siiitc  of 
the  Pope's  furgiveness. 
bopansc  Tleniy  II.  was 
warm  of  heart  and  hud 
loved  (he  ohl.  fiiiiidiar 
friend  who  had  Ix'tmy- 
ed  him,  and  who  had 
[wid  till-  })enidty  of 
treachery  with  his  life.  As  this  monarch  lay  in  his  last  illness, 
deserted  by  niuny  of  his  nobles,  while  his  army  was  fightinjf 
against  the  Kinj;  of  France  and  his  own  son,  Richard,  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  bn)nght  him  in  writing,  and  with  it  was  also  bitiught 
a  list  of  English  deserters  from  their  allegiance  whom  he  was 
required  to  pai-don.  That  list  was  headed  with  the  name  of 
John,  his  favorite  son.  This  was  the  last  stab  that  cut  in  twain 
the  great  heart  of  the  first  Plantagenet,  the  first  English  king. 


484  THE   STOllV   OF   GOVERNMEXT. 

except  the  Saxon  Alfred,  who  had  any  conception  of  the  rights 
of  the  common  people.  Turning  on  his  side,  he  groaned  out, 
"  Let  the  world  go  ;  I  care  for  nothing  more,"  and  cursing  the 
liour  of  his  birth  and  the  children  whom  he  left,  he  gave  up  the 
battle  of  life. 

There  was  one  sweet  romance  in  this  reign,  the  story  of  Fair 
Rosamond.^  It  tells  how  this  great  king  had  one  jewel  of  true 
happiness,  one  rose  of  joy  amid  his  crown  of  thorns ;  that  he 
loved  a  fair  girl  and  built  her  a  beautiful  bower  in  a  park  at 
Woodstock,  and  the  bower  was  built  in  a  labyrinth  that  could 
only  be  found  by  following  the  clue  of  a  thread  of  silk.  And  the 
legend  goes  that  the  bad  queen,  becoming  jealous,  found  the  c)ue 
and  confronted  the  sweet  and  gentle  girl  with  a  dagger  and  a  cup 
of  poison,  giving  her  the  choice ;  and  the  Fair  Rosamond,  after 
many  tears  and  prayers,  all  fruitless,  took  the  cup  and  fell  dead 
in  the  happy  garden  where  the  birds  sang  on  lovingly  just  the 
same  as  they  had  sung  before. 

Now  there  was  a  Fair  Rosamond,  and  the  king  loved  her  and 
the  bad  queen  probably  hated  her,  but  history  tells  us  that  we 
must  give  up  the  bower,  and  the  labyrinth,  and  the  silk  tlu-ead,  and 
the  death  by  poison.  As  Dickens  says  in  his  charming  way  ^  "  I 
am  afmid  Fair  Rosamond  retired  to  a  nunnery  near  Oxford  and 
died  there  peacefully ;  her  sister  nuns  hanging  a  silken  drapery 
over  her  tomb  and  often  dressing  it  with  flowei*s  in  remembrance 
of  the  youth  and  beauty  that  had  enchanted  the  sad  king  when 
he,  too,  was  young  and  when  his  life  lay  fair  before  him." 

The  next  important  event  in  the  history  of  England  was  the 
signing  of  the  Great  Charter.  This  occurred  on  June  15,  1215, 
in  the  pleasant  field  called  Runymede,  on  the  banks  of  the  silver 
Thames.  Signing  this  charter  was,  perhaps,  the  most  bitter  pill 
that  an  English  king  ever  liad  to  swallow.  And  John,  the  mean- 
est of  the  sons  of  the  great  Henry,  did  it  with  a  very  bad  grace, 
as  indeed  everything  in  his  life  he  did  with  singularly  bad 
gi-ace,  except  the  extracting  of  teeth,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
most  inventive  and  successful  dentists  on  record.  For  if  we  may 
be  permitted  to  indulge  for  a  moment  in  the  political  slang  of  the 
present  day.  King  John,  up  to  the  signing  of  the  charter,  had  had 

^This  name  is  from  two  Latin  words  Rosa  Mundi  —  meaning.  Rose  of  the  World. 


CONMTITCTIOSAL   MOSAllCHY. 


485 


A!i.y 


a  great  pull   on   all  tlic   i«;opIe,  but  especially  on  the  Jews,  who 
«-ere  the  most  useful  ami  the  most  abused  inhabitants  of  London. 

Scott,  iu  liis  Ivaiihiie,  draws  a  very  mild  picture  of  John's  char- 
acter in  his  trwitnieut  of  Isaac  of  York,  for  John,  like  most  of 
his  prcdeciissoi's  and  successors  in  office,  even  down  to  the  present 
ri.'if,'n,  had  ah\'ays 
been  in  want,  — 
the  royal  want  of 
money, —  and  lie 
utilized  hispi-enig- 
ative  to  the  extent 
<)f  taking  the  i-ich- 
est  Jew  he  could 
lind  and  telling 
him  that  he  must 
fill  the  royal  cof- 
fers. On  the  Jew's 
i^ef usal,  J  o  Ii  II  or- 
dered that  a  tooth 
should  lie  pulled 
out  every  day  till 
he  consented :  on 
tlie  eighth  day  the 
unhappy  Israelite 
yielded.  But  the 
hour  of  i-ecknniiig 
came,  and  the  chai^ 
ter  forced  from 
John  at  Kunj'mede  r 
lirobiilily  caused 
liim  more  pain  than 
waa  condensed  in 
the  Jew's  gum-ache 

and  was  doubtless  productive  of  more  good  to  the  people  than  liis 
mckless  squandering  of  the  Jew's  money. 

This  charter  provided  that  the  Church  should  be  maintained  in 
all  its  rights  ;  that  the  barons  should  be  relieved  of  oppressive 
obligations  as  vassals  of   the  crown ;  the  barons,   in  their   turn. 


486  THE   STORY   OP   GOVEKNMKNT. 

pledging  themselves  to  relieve  their  vassals,  the  people ;  that  the 
liberties  of  London  and  other  cities  should  not  be  infringed  ;  that 
foreign  merchants  should  be  protected ;  that  no  man  sliould  be 
imprisoned  without  a  fair  trial ;  and  that  to  no  one  should  there 
be  any  sale,  delay,  or  denial  of  justice. 

Brave  words  these,  worthy  of  the  bravt;  Ixirons  wlio  forced  the 
mean  and  cowardly  cur,  who  wore  the  crown,  to  sign  them  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  to  the  eye  of  posterity  it  seems  as  if  the  barons  them- 
selves found  it  almost  as  hiird  a  tatik  to  live  up  to  this  charter 
as  did  the  most  contem[)tible  creature  that  ever  disgraced  the 
English  throne.  Anotlier  provision  of  the  charter  was  the 
appointment  of  a  council  of  twenty-five  barons  to  see  that  John 
kept  as  near  to  his  word  as  possible,  with  power  to  declare  war  on 
him  if  necessary. 

"They  have  given  me  five  and  twenty  over-kinga,"  cried  the 
hampered  tyrant,  as  in  a  fit  of  rage  riglit  after  signing,  he  rolled 
on  the  floor  of  bis  jmlace,  biting  sticks  and  straw. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  curious  reigns  in  England ; 
curious  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  king,  the  length  of  time 
that  he  was  endured  by  the  barons,  and  the  gmat  gains  made,  not 
bi/  tlie  people,  but/or  them,  in  the  developmt'tit  of  constitutioniil 
govern  nient. 

Heniy  III.  began  to  i-eign  as  a  boy,  in  1216,  ii  gi-eat  council 
meeting  at  Bristol,  revising  Mf^na  ('harta  and  making  Lord 
Pembroke  Regent  or  Protector  of  England,  us  the  king  was  too 
young  to  rule  alone.  Soon  as  he  came  of  age  Henry  showed  him- 
self a  true  sou  of  liis  father.  He  made  oaths,  and  agreements. 
and  promises  with  wonderful  ease,  and  broke  them  with  an  ease 
more  wonderful.  Always  in  want  of  money  he  i-esoi-ted  to  all 
sorts  of  tricks  to  obtain  it,  so  tliat  he  gained  tlie  [Kipular  title  of 
being  "  tlic  sturdiest  beggar  in  all  England."  He  even  took  up 
the  cross,  pretending  that  he  wished  to  head  a  crusade  and  rescue 
the  tomb  of  tlic  Saviour  from  the  possession  of  infidels,  and  he 
got  permission  fi-om  the  Pope  to  lay  taxes  on  the  English  clerg;y. 
But   some  of  tlie  clergy  stood  up  for  their  rights.     « The    Pojw 

td  Kiiij  together,"  growled  the  liishop  of  London,  "may  take 
off  my  bead,  but  if  they  do,  beneath  it  tliey  may  find 
ildier's  helmet.     I'll  pay  nothing," 


But   s< 
^^Qd  K 

^^^^B  m: 
^^H)ldi 


CONSTITDTIONAL    MONARCHY.  487 

So  Henry  hod  to  give  up  his  (;riisa<le  against  the  pockets  of  the 
prieBts.  Then  he  badgered  tlie  barons  in  every  possible  way  to 
increase  his  revenues,  and  after  ten  years'  squabbling  they  made 
Parliament  vote  him  a  large  sura  wliich  he  frittered  away  with 
the  usual  royal  rapidity.  One  of  the  most  amusing  things  in  thia 
reign  was  the  episode  of  the  Sicilian  throne.  This  happening  to 
be  empty,  the  Pope  obligingly  offered  it  to  Henry  III.  for  his  son, 
Prince  Edward,  and  gave  the  English  king  jiermission  to  levy  a 
special  tax,  mise  an  army  and  invade  Sicily.  But  the  barons  and 
the  clergy,  thinking  t!i:it  tlifjr  king  had  already  Ijeen  altogether 
too  expensive  a  luxury  re 
fused  to  take  any  pa  t  tl  e 
Sicilian  bn.siness,  o  o 

tribute  a  farthing  to  t  by 
vote  of  Parliament  ^V  1  ere- 
upon  the  Pope  offe  ed  h  s 
bargain  to  the  King  of  Fran  e 
and  a  little  while  af  er  se  t 
to  Henry  111.  of  E  gla  d  a 

little  bill  of  ^100,000  f  r  not    \    ^^fWBSO^^^^'O^  \ 
having   taken    adva  tage   of 
the  papal  advice  a    1  permis 
sion   to    possess    1  n  self    of 
Sicily. 

Fancy,  for  the  siike  of  co 
trast  between  those  dijs       d  ^        sadkk 

our  own,  the  ]jresent  wise  and 

venerable  Sui>reme  Pontiff  of  that  marvellous  hierarchy,  the 
Catliolic  Church,  sending  to  our  President  advice,  or  permission, 
to  go  to  wai'  with  Chili,  or  to  annex  Canada,  and  then  sending  in 
a  little  bill  of  $500,000  for  not  taking  the  advice. 

King  Henry  gave  the  biirons  so  much  trouble  that  finally  the 
great  Earl  of  Leicester,  Simon  de  Montfort,  who,  though  a  foreigner 
hf  birth,  was  admired  by  the  men  of  his  order  for  his  great  abili* 
ties,  and  beloved  by  the  common  people  for  his  suavities,  invented 
a  check  upon  the  regal  power  which  appears  to  be  the  germ  of  the 
j^rese&t  department  of  English  government  called  the  British  Min- 
istry ;  a  sort  of  intermediary  between  the  commons  and  the  crown. 


488  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

This  plan  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  which  he  proposed  to  the 
abject,  thoroughly  scared  monarch  at  Oxford,  was  no  less  than  a 
Committee  of  Government,  twelve  men  to  be  selected  by  the  barons 
and  twelve  men  by  the  king.  Henry  agreed  to  this,  but  on 
the  return  of  liis  brother  Richard  from  abroad  summoned  up 
courage  enough  to  oppose  the  barons  again  ;  and  as  they  began 
to  quarrel  among  themselves  the  Earl  of  Leicester  left  the 
kingdom  in  disgust.  Then  the  people  began  to  be  dissatisfied, 
thinking  that  the  barons  were  not  doing  enough  for  them,  so  that 
the  chances  for  Henry  HI.  to  be  once  more  tlie  real,  instead  of 
nominal,  lung  of  England  brightened  up  again. 

It  was  a  common  kingly  trick  in  those  days  to  play  the  people  off 
against  the  barons,  or  the  barons  off  against  the  people,  whichever 
could  be  done  most  easily ;  and  even  to-day  shrewd  politicians,  in  cer- 
tain governments  supposedly  popular,  sometimes  succeed  in  shaping 
their  policies  successfully  for  themselves,  by  tapping  with  one  hand 
the  barrels  of  monopolists,  while  with  the  other  they  tickle  the 
people,  as  they  fill  their  ears  with  promises  of  better  legislation.  So 
Henry  HI.,  or,  as  he  should  be  called,  Hemy  the  Ridiculous,  told 
the  Committee  of  Government  that  he  had  decided  to  abolish 
them,  in  spite  of  his  oath,  and  seizing  all  the  money  in  the  treasury, 
he  shut  himself  up  in  the  Tower  of  London.  Having  gained  these 
coigns  of  vantage,  that  is,  the  money  and  the  Tower,  he  published  a 
letter,  which  he  claimed  to  have  received  from  the  Pope,  addressed 
to  the  world  in  general  and  the  English  people  in  particular,  inform- 
ing them  that  for  five  and  forty  years  he  had  been  a  just  and  excellent 
king.  It  was  very  much  as  if  Nero,  who  set  Rome  burning, 
should  have  informed  the  populace  that  he  did  so  to  demonstrate 
the  necessity  of  having  fire  insurance  companies. 

But  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  returning  and  joining  the  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  took  several  of  the  royal  castles  and  advanced  on 
London,  at  which  the  London  people,  who  had  always  disliked 
the  king,  were  heartily  pleased.  Then  Henry  moved  out  of  the 
Tower  and  began  scampering  about  the  country  till,  managing  to 
secure  the  tassistance  of  the  Scotch,  he  gave  battle  to  Leicester  and 
the  Londoners,  and,  after  losing  five  thousand  men,  was  captured, 
whereupon  the  Pope  promptly  excommunicated  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter ;  but  as  the  English  people  loved  him  he  became  the  real  king, 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY. 


489 


always,  however,  treating  his  cnptive,  King  Henry,  with  the  great- 
est respect,  yet  taking  him  along  everywliere  under  guard  as  a 
piece  of  royal  furniture. 

De  Moiitfort,  ill  the  year  1265,  summoned  tlie  fii-at  parliament 
in  which  the  ]iB(i|ile  had  any  real  share,  and  for  several  yeare 
he  governed  Eng- 
land witli  strength 
and  tender  ness 
combined. 

A  new  Parlia^ 
meiit  was  called  in 
Januaiy,  1265,  to 
Westminster,  l)ut 
the  weakness  of 
the  patriotic  party 
among  the  Itamn- 
i^e  was  provi'd  i>j- 
the  fact  tluit  unly 
twenty-three  earls 
and  liarons  could 
l>e  found  to  .sit  he- 
side  llie  luuidrod 
and  twenty  eeclesi-  - 
asties.  Tliis  aiith- 
metical  weakness  , 
drove  Earl  Sinmn 
to  a  constitutional 
eliange  of  vast  im- 
port. As  before, 
he  summoned  two 
knights  fmm  every 
county.  But  lie 
called  a  new  force  into  English  i>olitics  when  lie  summoned  to  sit 
beside  them  two  citizens  fixim  every  borough.  The  attendance 
of  delegates  from  tbe  towns  had  long  lieen  usual  in  the  county 
courts,  when  any  matter  touching  their  immediate  interests  was  in 
question  ;  hut  it  was  tlie  writ  issued  by  Earl  Simon  that  fii-st  sum- 
moned the  merchant  and  the  trader  to  sit  beside  the  knight  of  the 


■.r^ 


atusADEit, 


490  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMEXT. 

shire,  the  baron  and  the  bishop  in  the  parliament  of  the  realm, 
and  so  set  the  example  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present 
parliamentary  system. 

But  King  Henry's  son,  Edward,  having  escaped  from  custody, 
succeeded  in  gathering  an  army  of  disaffected  barons,  defeated 
De  Montfort's  son,  and  with  the  De  Montfort  banners  advanced 
on  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  The  face  of  this  greatest  of  mediaeval 
English  statesmen  flushed  with  joy  as  he  beheld  his  own  ban- 
ners advancing  to  greet  him  ;  but,  whfen  on  nearer  coming  he  saw 
who  carried  the  banners,  he  knew  that  the  end  of  his  just  and 
generous  life  was  uix)n  him.  "  Lord  have  mercy  on  our  souk," 
quoth  he,  "  for  our  bodies  are  Prince  Edward's."  He  fought  with 
liis  little  army,  however,  till  the  hist  ditch,  and  fell  as  a  great  man 
always  falls,  greatest  of  all  in  failure.  His  enemies  mangled  his 
body  and  sent  it  as  a  compliment  to  a  certain  noble  dame,  the 
wife  of  his  worst  enemy  ;  for  those  were  pleasant  days  and  com- 
pliments of  this  kind  flew  around  easily  as  flies  in  summer. 

But  they  could  not  unshape  his  memory,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards  the  people  always  spoke  of  him  as  Sir  Simon  the 
Righteous,  crossing  themselves  as  for  a  saint.  And  even  though 
he  was  dead,  and  mangled,  and  unburied,  "a  prey  to  dogs  and 
kites,"  the  cause  for  which  he  died  still  lived  and  flourished.  For 
in  great  causes  every  step  taken  makes  the  movement  faster,  and 
when  once  a  new  idea,  if  it  is  a  true  idea,  or  a  just  one,  comes  into 
the  world,  though  it  may  suffer  a  temporary  defeat  or  eclipse,  it  is 
sure  to  shine  forth  again  and  add  to  itself  new  lustre  with  every 
successive  century. 

The  notion  that  the  people  really  had  some  natural  rights  in  the 
business  of  government,  and  that  it  was,  or  should  be,  something 
more  than  a  game  of  greed  or  glory  between  kings  and  nobles, 
wjis  now  thoroughly  alive  in  the  English  mind ;  and  though  at  the 
death  of  De  Montfort,  Henry  III.  was  restored  to  his  public  func- 
tions, he  was  obliged  to  respect  the  great  charter  and  the  la^vs  and 
customs  established  by  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  a  i^eriod  of  peace 
ensued. 

During  this  calm  in  the  kingdom  Prince  Edward  took   up  the 

set  out  to  the  Holy  Land  on  a  crusade.     There  he  had 

itures,  and  came  back  to  England  after  the  death  of 


0ON8TIT0TIONAL   MONARCHY. 


his  father  to  aacend  the  thi^one,  laden  with  well-earned  honors. 
As  a  soldier  of  the  eroas  he  had  been  a  superb  success,  and  his 
return  through  different  countries  was  made  the  occiision  of  much 
international  glorificatioii,  so  tluit  on  his  arrival  in  England  the 
national  jnide  was  as  deeply  and  widely  enlisted  in  his  favor  as 
ever  before  or  since  in  belialf  of  any  great  man.  London  gave 
him  an  ovation  almost  equal  to  that  which  was  given  to  Disraeli 
in  this  century  on  his  return  fi-om  Berlin  bringing  in  triumph 
"Peace  with  Honor." 

But  they  did  things  in  those  old  daj-s  a  little  diffei-ently.  It 
is  related  that  the  return  of  Edtvard  I.,  or  Longshanks,  wa  he  was 
nicknamed,  was  celebrated  by  turning  tlie  conduits  of  the  streets 
and  the  fountains  into  rivers  of  red  wine.  — ■  typical,  iwrhaps,  of  the 
Saracen  blood  which  bis  sword  had  set  flowing;  the  bouses  were 
tapestried  outside  with  silk  and  cloths  of  gold  and  silver;  and 
bonfires  were  lit  and  oxen  were  roasted  whole-  But  though  Edward 
came  back  in  a  blaze  of  [xipularity  he  soon  tumbled  into  trouble, 
—  into  a  ditch  from  which  his  long  legs  were  not  agile  enough 
to  help  him  jump  out  with  ease  or  grace.  Of  course,  it  was  the 
old,  old  kingly  trouble. —  the  need,  or  rather  the  want,  of  money. 

Edward  was  more  fertile  than  most  of  iiis  prototypes  in  schemes 
for  raising  it,  but  in  spite  of  his  prestige,  in  spite  of  his  persistence. 
in  spite  of  the  acknowledged  strength  of  his  chai'aeter,  he  found 
even  more  tlifliculty  than  his  weak-minded  father  hiul  experienced 
as  a  financier.  He  attemptetl  to  tax  the  clergy  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  Pope,  but  succeeded  no  better  then  his  father  had 
witli  the  Pope'^  permission,  and  iiad  it  not  been  for  the  Jews, 
whom  he  threw  into  prison  and  then  ransomed  at  thousands  of 
pounds  and  finally  bvnished  from  the  kingdom,  seizing  all  their 
property,  he  might  have  had  to  sell  his  palace. 

And  now  a  curious  thing  hapjMsned — -out  of  a  cruel  murder 
a  great  benefit  arose,  A  Noiman  crew,  who  had  quarrelled  with 
some  English  sailors  when  filling  their  water  casks  at  the  same 
place,  and  who  had  lH;en  soundly  bethwacked  and  bethumped, 
atlJicked  the  first  English  ship  they  met  of  sufficiently  small  size, 
seized  a  merchant  and  hanged  him  in  the  rigging  of  their  own 
vessel,  with  his  pet  dog  at  liis  feel.  Fnmi  the  hanging  of  this 
merchant  grew  a  national  quan-el,  and  as  the  preparations  for  war 


492  THE   STOllY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

were  expensive,  King  Edward  impatiently  began  to  attempt  to 
raise  money  in  arbitrary  ways,  and  the  chief  barons,  especially 
Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford,  and  Bigod,  Earl  of  Norfolk,  strongly 
opposed  him,  refusing  even  to  take  command  of  his  forces,  and 
leaving  the  court  attended  by  many  lords. 

»'  By  G — d,  Sir  Earl,"  said  the  King  to  Bigod,  *'you  shall  either 
go  or  hang." 

"  By  G — d,  Sir  King,"  replied  the  Earl  stoutly,  "  I  will  neither 
go  nor  hang." 

Then  he  adopted  a  rather  clever  means  to  force  the  clergy  to 
pay  the  taxes  which  he  had  levied  on  them,  for  when  they  refused 
he  declared  that  if  they  would  not  support  his  government  they 
had  no  claim  on  it  for  protection,  and  any  man  might  plunder 
them  who  would.  This  general  permission,  or  immunity  offered 
to  the  thieves  and  robbers  of  the  kingdom,  frightened  some  of  'the 
clergy  into  paying,  but  this  money  in  hand  only  sharpened  Edward's 
appetite  for  more.  His  next  move  was  to  seize  all  the  wool  and 
leather  in  the  hands  of  the  merchants,  promising  to  pay  for  it  when 
convenient.  Not  satisfied  with  that,  he  set  a  tax  on  the  exporta- 
tion of  wool,  but  this  proved  the  last  straw. 

The  barons  under  Bohun  and  Bigod,  at  the  urgence  of  tlie  mer- 
chant^, came  together  and  evolved  the  new  democratic  doctrine 
that  any  taxes  imposed  without  the  consent  of  Parliament  wen* 
unlawful,  and  Parliament  refused  to  impose  taxes  until  King 
Edward  should  reailirm  the  two  great  chartei's,  and  solemnly 
declare  in  writing  that  nevermore  should  there  b(^  any  power  in 
the  country  to  wring  money  from  the  people  exce{)t  the  power  of 
Parliament  representing  all  mnks  of  the  people. 

Here,  we  see,  was  the  germ  of  the  phrase  used  by  our  Enirlish 
forefathers  when  tliev  sev^ered  from  Ensfland :  *' Taxation  without 
representation  is  tyranny.*'  Is  it  not  a  singular  proof  of  the 
average  dulness  of  tlie  royal  biiiin  that  George  HI.,  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  should  not  have  been  able  to  profit  by  the  lesson 
which  Edward  F.  learned  in  the  thirteenth?  If  it  takes  five  hun- 
dred yeai*s  for  a  just  idea  to  lind  permanent  lodgment  in  the  average 
mind  of  even  a  constitutional  monarch,  what  slow  progress  must 
be  expe(*ted  in  the  perfection  of  any  goveinmental  system  where 
power  has  accidentally  fallen  into  one  hand,  or  into  a  few  hands  I 


t:0S8TlTL"TlOVAI.   MOSARI'H 


But  Edward  I.,  in  spite  of  liiti  attempts  to  be  a  tyi-aiit,  after 
learning  his  lesaon  became  one  of  the  beat  administrators  of  the 
affaini  of  his  coi^try.  To  him  i»  due  the  con(;eptton  that  Scotland. 
Wales,  and  England  ought  to  be  one  country,  and  he  set  himself 
sturdily  to  the  task  of  i-ealizing  this.  But  unity,  which  is  tlie 
draam  of  all  religions,  and  the  doctrine  of  oiu'  recent  science  as  to 
the  composition  of  the  material  univereo,  is  sometimes  a  thing  veiy 
ditlicult  to  achieve  between  contiguous  nations  who  seem  geograph- 
ically intended  to  be  one.  It  is  an  ultimate  very  often  just  as 
difficult  as  it  is  dcsiritble.  and  the  first  steps  towards  unity  between 
|>eopleis,  as  lietween  individuals  in  friendship  or  in  love,  are  often 
ste])s  of  pain.  It  was  so  with  King  Edward's  dream  of  a  perfected 
lUitionality.  but  he  laid  the  foundation  of  that  English  oneness 
which  to-daj'  affects  so  strongly  the  civilized  world. 

His  campaign  in  Wales  against  Llewellyn,  tlieir  prince,  had 
some  singular  features  illustrative  of  the  sjjirit  of  those  times. 
When  Edward  came  to  the  thione  he  retjuiied  the  Welsh  prince 
to  swear  allegiance  to  him,  as  had  lieen  done  to  his  father,  but 
Llewellyn  refused,  and  Edward,  with  a  gi-eat  fleet,  invested  the 
coattt  of  Wales,  forced  the  prince  to  take  refuge  on  Mount  Snow- 
don,  starved  liini  into  an  apology  and  a  treaty  of  peace,  and  then 
returned  to  London,  supposing  he  had  reduced  Wales  to  obedience ; 
but  the  Welsli,  though  a.  gentle  and  hospitable  people,  were 
mtenaely  proud,  and  the  airs  some  English  Ungerei-s  in  Wales 
aaeumed  after  this  treaty  were  n  little  too  much. 

Then  wsis  revived  a  prophecy  made  by  a  traditional  magi- 
cian named  Metlin,  whom  Tennyson  has  put  to  more  beautiful  use 
in  his  jKietry  than  probably  ever  residted  in  Merlin's  life.  This 
prophecy  was  tliat,  when  English  money  should  become  round,  a 
Prince  of  Wales  would  be  crowned  in  London.  Now  King 
Edward  liad  forbidden  the  cutting  of  the  English  penny  into 
lialves  and  yuaitere  to  represent  halfpence  and  farthings,  and  had 
recently  intioduced  a  round  coin.  Tlie  Welsh  people  took  this  as 
the  first  part  of  Merlin's  prophecy,  and  r*)se  with  great  violence  to 
complete  the  prophecy  by  overturning  the  English- 
Llewellyn's  brother,  Prince  David,  led  the  revolt,  surprised  the 
castle  of  Hawarden,  kdled  tlie  whole  gai-rison,  and  instantly  all 
Wales  was  in  a  flame  of  insurrection.  Edward,  with  his  customary 


486  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

pledging  themselves  to  relieve  their  vassals,  the  people ;  that  the 
liberties  of  London  and  other  cities  should  not  be  infringed  ;  that 
foreign  merchants  should  be  protected ;  that  no  man  should  be 
imprisoned  without  a  fair  trial ;  and  that  to  no  one  should  there 
be  any  sale,  delay,  or  denial  of  justice. 

Brave  words  these,  worthy  of  the  bmve  barons  who  forced  the 
mean  and  cowardly  cur,  who  wore  the  crown,  to  sign  them  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  to  the  eye  of  posterity  it  seems  as  if  the  barons  them- 
selves found  it  almost  as  hard  a  task  to  live  up  to  this  charter 
as  did  the  most  contemptible  creature  that  ever  disgraced  the 
English  throne.  Anotlier  provision  of  the  charter  was  the 
appointment  of  a  council  of  twenty-five  barons  to  see  that  John 
kept  as  near  to  his  word  as  possible,  with  power  to  declare  war  on 
him  if  necessary. 

"They  have  given  me  five  and  twenty  over-kings,"  cried  the 
hampered  tyrant,  as  in  a  fit  of  rage  right  after  signing,  he  rolled 
on  the  floor  of  his  jmlace,  biting  sticks  and  straw. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  curious  reigns  in  England  ; 
curious  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  king,  the  length  of  time 
that  he  was  endured  by  the  barons,  and  the  great  gains  made,  not 
by  tlie  people,  but /or  them,  in  the  development  of  constitutional 
govennnent. 

Henry  III.  began  to  reign  as  a  boy,  in  1216,  a  great  council 
meeting  at  Bristol,  revising  Magna  Charta  and  making  Lord 
Pembroke  Regent  or  Protector  of  England,  as  the  king  was  too 
young  to  rule  alone.  Soon  as  he  came  of  age  Henry  showed  him- 
self a  true  son  of  his  father.  He  made  oaths,  and  agreements, 
and  promises  with  wonderful  e<i.se,  and  broke  them  with  an  ease 
more  wonderful.  Always  in  want  of  money  he  resorted  to  all 
sorts  of  tricks  to  obtain  it,  so  that  he  gained  the  popular  title  of 
being  "  the  sturdiest  beggar  in  all  England."  He  even  took  up 
the  cross,  pretending  that  he  wished  to  head  a  crusade  and  rescue 
the  tomb  of  the  Saviour  from  the  possession  of  infidels,  and  he 
got  permission  from  the  Pope  to  lay  taxes  on  the  English  clergy. 
But  some  of  the  clergy  stood  up  for  their  rights.  "The  Pope 
and  King  together,"  growled  the  Bishop  of  London,  "may  take 
the  mitre  off  my  head,  but  if  they  do,  beneath  it  they  may  find 
a  soldier's  helmet.     I'll  pay  nothing." 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONAKCHV. 


487 


1 


So  Henry  Iiadto  give  up  his  cmsacle  against  the  pookete  of  the 
priests.  Then  he  badgered  the  barons  in  every  possible  way  to 
increase  his  revenues,  and  after  ten  yeara'  squabbling  they  made 
Parliament  vote  liim  a.  large  sum  which  he  fi-ittered  away  with 
the  usual  royal  rapidity.  One  of  the  most  amusing  things  in  this 
reign  was  the  episode  of  the  Sicilian  throne.  This  happening  to 
be  empty,  the  Pope  obliginglj'  offered  it  to  Henry  III,  for  his  son, 
Prince  Edward,  and  gave  the  English  king  permission  to  levy  a 
special  tjix,  i-aise  an  army  and  invade  Sicily.  But  the  barons  and 
the  clergy,  thinking  th;it  their  king  had  already  Iwen  altogether 
too  expensive  a  luxuiy  r> 
fused  to  take  any  part  tl  e 
Sicilian  business,  or  to 
tribute  a  farthing  ti  t  by 
vote  of  Parliament  Where 
upon  the  Pope  offere  t  his 
bargain  to  the  King  of  France 
and  a  little  while  afte  sent 
to  Henry  III.  of  E  gla  1  a 
little  bill  of  ^100,000  f  r  i  ot 
having  taken  ad  ii  tage  of 
the  papal  advice  a  I  permib 
sion  to  possess  1  nsclf  of 
Sicily. 

Fancy,  for  the  sake  of  co 
trast  between  those  dajs  and 
our  own,  the  present  wise  and 
venerable  Supreme  Pontiff  of  that  marvellous  hiei-archy,  the 
Catholic  Church,  sending  to  our  President  advice,  or  permission, 
to  go  to  war  with  Chili,  or  to  annex  Canatla,  and  then  sending  in 
a  little  bill  of  $500,000  for  not  taking  the  advice. 

King  Henry  gave  the  barons  so  much  trouble  that  finally  the 
great  Earl  of  Leicester,  Simon  de  Montfort,  who,  though  a  foreigner 
hy  birth,  was  admired  by  the  men  of  his  order  for  his  great  abili- 
ties, and  beloved  by  the  common  people  for  his  suavities,  invented 
a  check  upon  the  regal  power  which  appears  to  be  the  germ  of  the 
present  department  of  English  government  called  the  British  Mia- 
istty ;  a  sort  of  intennedioiy  between  the  commons  and  the  crown. 


;oLsrra:«? 


{..NHioC. 

.  at 

wl»>l. 

i 

l,.if 

.1^  1,1- 

I,  iifl'-r  I' 


:  i,.  ;  ;■  :;..:l^  ;r.c  Eirl  of 
'..i.-tl--i  a::ii  ^.tvanced  on 
v.1.0  i....i  alnMvs  .lUIiked 
I[..]:r-.-  m.vt.l  .'lit  of  the 
Liitiv  iV.\.  in.>na;^iiig  to 
"txittle  lo  Leicester  and 
>-iri<j  iivi!  tlioii>;iri(l  men.  vas  captured, 
illy  '^xi;iirniiiiir]icated  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
•|ili;  Irjvud  liim  hu  became  the  real  king, 


.■'!.     Ti. 
.:Ol,:l..  1,.,  ir 


COKSTITI'TIONAL   MONARCHV. 


48y 


always,  however,  treating  Iiis  captive,  King  Henry,  with  the  great- 
est respect,  yet  taking  him  along  everywhere  under  guard  as  a 
piece  of  rayal  furniture. 

De  Moiitfort,  in  the  year  1265,  Hummoned  the  firet  parliament 
in  wliich  tlie  peojile  had  any  real  share,  and  for  several  yeans 
he  governed  Eng- 
land with  ati'ength 
and  tender  nesa 
combined. 

A  new  Pai-lia^ 
ment  wa,s  called  in 
January,  1^65,  to 
Westminster,  but 
the  weakness  of 
the  patriotic  party 
among  tlie  baron- 
age was  proved  hy 
the  fact  that  only 
twenty-three  earls 
and  i^arons  could 
1)6  found  to  sit  be- 
side the  hundred  ' 
and  twenty  eccleai-  ^ 
aaticB.  This  arith- 
metical weakness 
drove  Earl  Simon 
to  a  constitutional 
i:hange  of  vast  im- 
port. As  before, 
he  summoned  two 
knight*!  from  every 
eounty.  But  he 
called  a  new  fnrce  into  English  politica  when  he  summoned  to  sit 
beside  them  two  citizens  from  every  borough.  The  attendaneu 
of  delegates  from  the  towns  had  long  been  usual  in  the  county 
courtK,  when  any  matter  touching  their  immediate  interests  was  in 
question ;  l)ut  it  wiia  tlie  writ  issued  by  Earl  Simon  that  first  sum- 
moned the  merr;haut  and  the  trader  to  sit  beside  the  knight  of  the 


B  SDCCESSFCI.  CltrSAI 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONABCHV. 


483 


of  family  trouble,  till  oae  day,  wheu  Henry  burst  forth  passion- 
ately, "  Have  I  no  one  who  will  free  me  from  tliis  man  ?  "  some  of 
his  friends  took  it  as  a  sign  tliat  be  wished  the  archbishop  to  b© 
murdered,  and  mui-dered  lie  was  by  four  knights,  within  the 
sanctuary  and  holding  one  of  the  horns,  of  tin.  ilUi  Hubert,  an 
early  English  judge,  wai  killed  in  the  same  \iAy  and  under  the 
same  circumstances,  and  a*  the  chuich  wis  coniideied  an  asjlum 
in  those  days,  even  foi 
a  criminal  pursued  bj 
civil  authorities,  such  a 
crime  committed  in  the 
holy  of  holies  was  ac- 
counted  [>ecuharl^ 
atrocious. 

A  study  of  H(  nry  > 
chai-acter  satisfies  thit 
his  fatid  speech,  wrung 
from  him  in  the  tortuit 
of  passion,  was  in)t  the 
expression  of  a  di,hl>- 
erattf  desire  or  hint  foi 
action;  but  itshidow- 
ed  his  life  in  spite  of 
the  Pope's  foi^ivenes- 
because  Hcniy  II  wis 
warm  of  heart  and  had 
loved  the  old,  famih  ii 
friend  who  liad  Ixitm^ 
ed  him,  and  who  V 
paid  the  penalty  of 
treacbtiry  with  his  life.  As  this  monarch  lay  in  his  hist  illness, 
deseiled  hy  many  of  Ins  nobles,  while  his  army  was  fighting 
against  the  King  of  FriUice  and  his  own  son,  Rieliard,  a  ti-eaty  of 
peace  wiis  brought  him  in  writing,  and  with  it  was  also  brought 
a  list  of  English  desertei-s  from  their  allegiance  whom  he  was 
required  to  pardon.  That  list  was  headed  with  the  name  of 
John,  his  favorite  son.  This  was  the  last  stab  that  cut  in  twain 
the  great  heart  of  the  first  Plantagenet,  the  first  English  king. 


484  THE   STOKV   OF   GOVEKNMEXT. 

except  the  Saxon  Alfred,  wlio  had  any  conception  of  the  rights 
of  the  common  people.  Turning  on  his  side,  he  groaned  out, 
"  Let  the  world  go ;  I  care  for  nothing  more,"  and  cursing  the 
hour  of  his  birth  and  the  children  whom  he  left,  he  gave  up  the 
battle  of  life. 

There  was  one  sweet  romance  in  this  reign,  the  story  of  Fair 
Rosamond.^  It  tells  how  this  great  kmg  had  one  jewel  of  true 
happiness,  one  rose  of  joy  amid  his  crown  of  thorns ;  that  he 
loved  a  fair  girl  and  built  her  a  beautiful  bower  in  a  park  at 
Woodstock,  and  the  bower  was  built  in  a  labyrinth  that  could 
only  be  found  by  following  the  clue  of  a  thread  of  silk.  And  the 
legend  goes  that  the  bad  queen,  becoming  jealous,  found  the  c)ue 
and  confronted  the  sweet  and  gentle  girl  with  a  dagger  and  a  cup 
of  poison,  giving  her  the  choice ;  and  the  Fair  Rosamond,  after 
many  tears  and  pi-ayers,  all  fruitless,  took  the  cup  and  fell  dead 
in  the  happy  garden  where  the  birds  sang  on  lovingly  just  the 
same  as  they  had  sung  before. 

Now  there  was  a  Fair  Rosamond,  and  tlie  king  loved  her  and 
the  l)ad  queen  probably  hated  her,  but  history  tells  us  that  we 
must  give  up  the  bower, and  the  labyrinth,  and  the  silk  tlu-ead,  and 
the  death  by  poison.  As  Dickens  says  in  his  charming  way  \  "  I 
am  afraid  Fair  Rosamond  retired  to  a  nunnery  near  Oxford  and 
died  there  peacefully ;  her  sister  nuns  hanging  a  silken  drapery 
over  her  tomb  and  often  dressing  it  with  flower's  in  remembrance 
of  the  youth  and  beauty  that  had  enchanted  the  sad  king  when 
he,  too,  was  young  and  when  liis  life  lay  fair  before  liim." 

The  next  important  event  in  the  history  of  England  was  the 
signing  of  the  Great  Charter.  This  occurred  on  June  15,  1215, 
in  the  pleasant  field  called  Runymede,  on  the  banks  of  the  silver 
Thames.  Signing  this  charter  was,  perhaps,  the  most  bitter  pill 
that  an  English  king  ever  liad  to  swallow.  And  John,  the  mean- 
est of  the  sons  of  the  great  Henry,  did  it  with  a  very  bad  grace, 
as  indeed  everything  in  his  life  he  did  with  singularly  bad 
grace,  except  the  extracting  of  teeth,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
most  inventive  and  successful  dentists  on  record.  For  if  we  may 
be  permitted  to  indulge  for  a  moment  in  tlie  political  slang  of  the 
present  day,  King  John,  up  to  tlie  signing  of  the  charter,  had  had 

1  This  name  is  from  two  toxin,  words  Ro^a  Mundi  —  meaning,  Ro:^  of  the  World. 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MOSAUCHY.  485 

a  great  pull   on   all   the   [juople,  but  esi>ecially  on  the  Jews,  who 
were  the  most  useful  and  the  most  abused  inhabitants  of  London, 

Scott,  in  his  Ivaiiliiie,  draws  a  ver^'  mild  picture  of  John's  char- 
acter in  his  treatment  of  Isaac  of  York,  for  John,  like  most  of 
his  pivdt'ressoi's  and  successors  in  olfice,  even  down  to  the  present 
ivii^n,  had  always 
been  in  want,  — 
tlie  royal  want  of 
money. —  and  lie 
utilized  his[)rei'og- 
ative  to  the  extent 
of  taking  tliu  rich- 
est Jew  he  could 
tind  and  telliug 
him  that  he  must 
lill  the  iijj-al  cof- 
fers. On  the  Jew's 
refusal.  J  o  h  n  or- 
dered that  a  tootli 
should  he  pulled 
out  every  day  till 
he  consented :  on 
the  eighth  (hiy  the 
unhappy  Isnielite 
yielded.  But  the 
hour  of  reckoning 
came,  and  the  char- 
ter forced  fram 
John  at  liuiiymede 
probiibly  caused 
liim  more  pain  than 
was  condensed  in 
the  Jew's  guni-ache 

and  was  doubtless  productive  of  more  good  to  the  people  than  his 
I'eckless  squandering  of  the  Jew's  money. 

This  charter  ]trovided  that  the  Church  shoidd  be  maintained  in 
all  ita  rights  ;  that  the  barons  should  be  relieved  of  oppressive 
obligations  as  vassals  of   the  crown;  the  barons,  in  their   turn, 


486  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

pledging  themselves  to  relieve  their  vassals,  the  people ;  that  the 
liberties  of  London  and  other  cities  should  not  be  infringed  ;  that 
foreign  merchants  should  be  protected ;  that  no  man  should  be 
imprisoned  without  a  fair  trial ;  and  that  to  no  one  should  there 
be  any  sale,  delay,  or  denial  of  justice. 

Brave  words  these,  worthy  of  the  brave  barons  who  forced  the 
mean  and  cowardly  cur,  who  wore  the  crown,  to  sign  them  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  to  the  eye  of  posterity  it  seems  as  if  the  barons  them- 
selves found  it  almost  as  hard  a  task  to  live  up  to  this  charter 
as  did  the  most  contemptible  creature  that  ever  disgraced  the 
English  throne.  Another  provision  of  the  charter  was  the 
appointment  of  a  council  of  twenty-five  barons  to  see  that  John 
kept  as  near  to  his  word  as  possible,  with  power  to  declare  war  on 
him  if  necessary. 

"  They  have  given  me  five  and  twenty  over-kings,"  cried  the 
hampered  tyrant,  as  in  a  fit  of  i-age  right  after  signing,  he  rolled 
on  the  floor  of  his  jialace,  biting  sticks  and  straw. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  curious  reigns  in  England  ; 
curious  on  account  of  the  character  of  tlie  king,  the  length  of  time 
that  he  was  endured  by  the  barons,  and  tlie  great  gains  made,  not 
by  the  people,  but /or  them,  in  the  development  of  constitutional 
government. 

Henry  III.  began  to  reign  as  a  boy,  in  1216,  a  great  council 
meeting  at  Bristol,  revising  Magna  Cliarta  and  making  Lord 
Pembroke  Regent  or  Protector  of  England,  as  the  king  was  too 
young  to  rule  alone.  Soon  as  he  came  of  age  Ilenry  showed  him- 
self a  true  son  of  his  father.  He  made  oaths,  and  agreements, 
and  promises  with  wonderful  ease,  and  broke  them  with  an  ease 
more  wonderful.  Always  in  want  of  money  he  resorted  to  all 
sorts  of  tricks  to  obtiiin  it,  so  that  he  gained  the  popular  title  of 
being  ''  the  sturdiest  beggar  in  all  England."  He  even  took  up 
the  cross,  pretending  that  he  wished  to  head  a  crusade  and  rescue 
the  tomb  of  the  Saviour  from  the  possession  of  infidels,  and  he 
got  permission  from  the  Pope  to  lay  taxes  on  the  English  clergy. 
But  some  of  the  clergy  stood  up  for  their  rights.  "  The  Pope 
and  King  together,"  growled  the  Bishop  of  London,  "may  take 
tlie  mitre  off  my  head,  but  if  they  do,  beneath  it  they  may  find 
a  soldier's  helmet.     I'll  pay  nothing." 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MOSAIMIHY. 

So  Henry  had  to  give  up  his  ciusade  agaiust  the  pockets  of  tiie 
priests.  Then  he  badgered  the  barons  in  every  possible  way  to 
increase  his  revenues,  and  after  ten  yeaw'  squabbling  they  made 
Parliament  vote  him  a  large  sum  which  he  frittered  away  with 
the  usual  royal  rapidity.  One  of  tiie  most  amusing  things  in  thia 
reign  was  the  episode  of  the  Sicilian  throne.  This  happening  to 
be  empty,  the  Pope  obligingly  offei-ed  it  to  Ilenry  III.  for  his  son, 
Prince  Edwai-d,  and  gave  the  English  king  permission  to  levy  a 
special  tjix,  raise  an  army  imd  invade  Sicily.  But  the  barons  and 
the  clergy,  thinking  tluit  tJipir  king  had  already  been  altogether 
too  expensive  a  lixn  re 
fused  to  take  any  pa  n  he 
Sicilian  business, 
tiibute  a  farthing  to  by 
vote  of  Parliament  Whe  e- 
upon  the  Pope  ff  d  h  s 
bargain  to  the  King  o  F  an  e 
and  a  little  while  a   e  t 

to  Henry  HI,  of  E  g  a 

Uttie  bill  of  i:100,000  f  not 
having  taken  ad\a  tag  of 
the  papal  advice  a  pe  mis 
sion  to  possess  n  If  of 
Sicily. 

Fancy,  for  the  sak      f    on 
trast  between  thos    da      ad  ^^^^ 

our  own,  the  i)resent  wise  and 

venei"able  Supreme  Pontiff  of  that  mai'vellous  hierai'chy,  the 
Catholic  Church,  sending  to  our  President  advice,  or  permission, 
to  go  to  war  with  Chili,  or  to  annex  Canada,  and  then  sending  in 
a  little  bill  of  $500,000  for  not  taking  the  advice. 

King  Henry  gave  the  barons  so  much  trouble  that  finally  the 
great  Earl  of  Leicester,  Simon  de  Montfort,  who,  though  a  foreigner 
by  birth,  was  admired  by  the  men  of  his  order  for  his  great  abili- 
ties, and  beloved  by  the  common  people  for  his  suavities,  invented 
a  check  upon  the  regal  power  which  appears  to  be  the  germ  of  the 
present  department  of  English  government  called  the  British  Min- 
istry ;  a  sort  of  intermediaiy  between  the  commons  and  the  crown. 


488  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

This  plan  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  which  he  pi-oposed  to  the 
abject,  thoroughly  scared  monarch  at  Oxford,  was  no  less  than  a 
Committee  of  Government,  twelve  men  to  be  selected  by  the  barons 
and  twelve  men  by  the  king.  Henrj'^  agreed  to  tliis,  but  on 
the  return  of  his  brother  Richard  from  abi-oad  summoned  up 
courage  enough  to  oppose  the  barons  again  ;  and  as  they  began 
to  quarrel  among  themselves  the  Earl  of  Leicester  left  the 
kingdom  in  disgust.  Then  the  people  began  to  be  dissatisfied, 
thinking  that  tlie  barons  were  not  doing  enough  for  them,  so  that 
the  chances  for  Henry  III.  to  be  once  more  the  real,  instead  of 
nominal,  Iving  of  England  brightened  up  again. 

It  was  a  common  kingly  trick  in  those  days  to  play  the  people  oflF 
against  the  barons,  or  the  b:\rons  off  against  the  people,  whichever 
could  be  done  most  easily ;  and  even  to-day  shrewd  politicians,  in  cer- 
tain governments  supposedly  popular,  sometimes  succeed  in  shaping 
their  policies  successfully  for  themselves,  by  tapping  with  one  hand 
the  barrels  of  monopolists,  while  with  the  other  they  tickle  the 
people,  as  they  fill  their  ears  with  promises  of  better  legislation.  So 
Ilenrv  III.,  or,  as  he  should  be  called,  Henry  the  Ridiculous,  told 
the  Committee  of  Government  that  he  had  decided  to  abolish 
them,  in  spite  of  his  oath,  and  seizing  all  the  money  in  the  treasury, 
lie  shut  himself  up  in  the  Tower  of  London.  Having  gained  these 
coigns  of  vantage,  that  is,  the  money  and  the  Tower,  he  published  a 
letter,  which  he  claimed  to  have  received  from  the  Pope,  addressed 
to  the  world  in  general  and  the  English  people  in  particular,  inform- 
ing them  that  for  five  and  forty  yeai*s  he  had  been  a  just  and  excellent 
king.  It  was  very  much  as  if  Nero,  who  set  Rome  burning, 
should  have  informed  the  populace  that  he  did  so  to  demonstrate 
the  necessity  of  having  fire  insurance  companies. 

But  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  returning  and  joining  the  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  took  several  of  the  royal  castles  and  advanced  on 
London,  at  which  the  London  people,  who  had  always  disliked 
the  king,  were  heartily  pleased.  Then  Henry  moved  out  of  the 
Tower  and  began  scampering  about  the  country  till,  managing  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  the  Scotch,  he  gave  battle  to  Leicester  and 
the  Londoners,  and,  after  losing  five  thousand  men,  was  captured, 
reupon  the  Pope  promptly  excommunicated  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ut  as  the  English  people  loved  him  he  became  the  real  king, 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY. 


48SI 


always,  however,  treating  his  captive,  King  Henry,  with  the  great- 
eet  respect,  yet  taking  him  along  everywhere  under  guard  as  a 
piece  of  royal  furniture. 

Do  Montfort.  in  the  year  1265,  summoned  the  first  parliament 
in  which  the  pefiple  had  any  real  share,  and  for  several  yeare 
he  governed  Eng- 
land with  strength 
and  tender  ness 
comhincd. 

A  new  Parlia- 
ment was  called  In 
January,  1265,  to 
Westminster,  hut 
the  weakness  of 
the  patriotic  paity 
among  tlie  bai-on- 
age  was  proved  by 
the  fact  thiit  unly 
twenty-tlii-ee  (?;irls 
and  barons  could 
t)e  found  to  sit  be- 
side the  hiuulred 
and  twenty  ecclesi-  ~ 
asticH.  This  aritli- 
inetical  wfakncf^ 
drove  Earl  Sinio 
to  a  constitutional 
change  of  vast  im- 
port. As  before, 
he  summoned  two 
knights  from  every 
county.  But  he 
called  a  new  force  into  EnplLsh  polities  when  he  summoned  to  sit 
beside  them  two  citizens  from  every  borough.  The  attendance 
of  delegates  from  the  towns  had  long  been  usual  in  the  county 
courts,  when  any  matter  t^Mit-hing  their  imniciiate  interests  was  in 
question;  but  it  was  the  writ  issued  by  Earl  Simon  that  first  sum- 
moned the  merchant  and  tlie  trader  to  sit  beside  tlie  knight  of  the 


I.,  THE  8UCCEBSFUT. 


490  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

shire,  the  baron  and  the  bishop  in  the  parliament  of  the  realm, 
and  so  set  the  example  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present 
parliamentary  system. 

But  King  Henry's  son,  Edward,  having  escaped  from  custody, 
succeeded  in  gathering  an  army  of  disaffected  barons,  defeated 
De  Montfort's  son,  and  with  the  De  Montfort  banners  advanced 
on  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  The  face  of  this  greatest  of  mediaeval 
English  statesmen  flushed  with  joy  as  he  beheld  his  own  ban- 
ners advancing  to  greet  him  ;  but,  whfen  on  nearer  coming  he  saw 
who  carried  the  banners,  he  knew  that  the  end  of  his  just  and 
generous  life  was  uix)n  him.  "  Lord  have  mercy  on  our  souls," 
quoth  he,  "  for  our  bodies  are  Prince  Edward's."  He  fought  with 
his  little  army,  however,  till  the  last  ditch,  and  fell  as  a  great  man 
always  falls,  greatest  of  all  in  failure.  His  enemies  mangled  his 
body  and  sent  it  as  a  compliment  to  a  certain  noble  dame,  the 
wife  of  his  worst  enemy  ;  for  those  were  pleasant  days  and  com- 
pliments of  this  kind  flew  around  easily  as  flies  in  summer. 

But  they  could  not  unshape  his  memory,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards  the  people  always  spoke  of  him  as  Sir  Simon  the 
Righteous,  crossing  themselves  as  for  a  saint.  And  even  though 
he  was  dead,  and  mangled,  and  unburied,  "a  prey  to  dogs  and 
kites,"  the  cause  for  which  he  died  still  lived  and  flourished.  For 
in  great  causes  every  step  taken  makes  the  movement  faster,  and 
when  once  a  new  idea,  if  it  is  a  true  idea,  or  a  just  one,  comes  into 
the  world,  thougli  it  may  suffer  a  temporary  defeat  or  eclipse,  it  is 
sure  to  shine  forth  again  and  add  to  itself  new  lustre  with  every 
successive  century. 

The  notion  that  the  people  really  had  some  natural  rights  in  the 
business  of  government,  and  that  it  was,  or  should  be,  something 
more  than  a  game  of  greed  or  glory  between  kings  and  nobles, 
was  now  thoroughly  alive  in  the  English  mind ;  and  though  at  the 
death  of  De  Montfort,  Heniy  IH.  was  restored  to  his  public  func- 
tions, he  was  obliged  to  respect  the  great  charter  and  the  laws  and 
customs  established  by  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  a  period  of  peace 
ensued. 

During  this  calm  in  the  kingdom  Prince  Edward  took   up  the 

ss  and  set  out  to  tlie  Holy  Land  on  a  crusade.     There  he  had 
ly  adventures,  and  came  back  to  England  after  the  death  of 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONAKCHY.  491 

his  father  to  asceud  the  throne,  laden  with  well-earned  honors. 
As  a  soldier  of  the  cross  he  had  heen  a  superb  success,  and  h'n 
return  through  different  countries  was  made  the  occasion  of  much 
international  glorification,  so  that  on  his  arrival  in  Eoglaad  the 
national  pride  was  as  deeply  aiid  widely  enlisted  in  his  favor  as 
ever  liefore  or  since  in  behalf  of  any  great  man.  London  gave 
him  an  ovation  almost  equal  to  that  which  was  given  to  Disraeli 
in  this  century  on  his  return  from  Berlin  bringuig  in  triumph 
"Patffe  with  Honor r 

But  they  did  things  in  those  old  days  a  little  diffei-ently.  It 
is  rekti'd  tlwt  the  irtiirii  of  Edward  I.,  oi'  Loiigsh;uiks,  as  !ie  was 
nicknamed,  Wiw  celebi-ated  by  turning  the  conduits  of  the  streets 
and  the  fountains  into  rivers  of  red  wine,  —  typical,  (mrliaps,  of  the 
Saracen  blood  which  his  sword  had  set  flowing ;  the  houses  were 
tapestried  outside  with  silk  and  cloths  of  gold  and  silver;  and 
bonfires  were  lit  and  oxen  were  roasted  whole.  But  tliough  Edward 
came  back  in  a  blaze  of  popularity  he  soon  tumbled  into  ti'ouble, 
—  into  a  ditch  from  which  his  long  legs  were  not  agile  enough 
to  help  him  jump  out  with  ease  or  grace.  Of  coui'se,  it  was  the 
old,  old  kingly  trouble,  —  the  need,  or  rather  the  want,  of  money. 

Edward  was  nioi-e  fertile  than  most  of  liis  prototypes  in  schemes 
for  raising  it,  but  in  spite  of  his  prestige,  in  spite  of  his  persistence, 
in  spite  of  the  acknowledged  strengtli  of  his  character,  he  found 
even  more  difficulty  than  his  weak-minded  father  had  experienced 
as  a  financier.  He  attempted  to  tax  the  clergy  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  Pope,  but  succeeded  no  better  then  his  father  had 
with  the  Pope's  permission,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  Jews, 
whom  he  threw  into  prison  and  then  ransomed  at  thousands  of 
pounds  and  finally  Isiniwlied  from  the  kingdom,  seizing  all  their 
property,  he  might  liave  had  to  sell  his  palace. 

And  now  a  curious  thing  happened — -out  of  a  cruel  murder 
a  great  benefit  aiose.  A  Norman  crew,  who  had  quarrelled  with 
some  English  sailoi^  wlien  fdling  their  water  casks  at  the  same 
place,  and  who  liad  l)een  soundly  bethwacked  and  bethumped. 
attacked  the  first  English  ship  they  met  of  sufficiently  small  si7.e, 
seized  a  merchant  and  hanged  him  in  the  rigging  of  their  own 
vessel,  with  bis  pet  dog  at  his  feet.  From  the  hanging  of  this 
merchant  grew  a  national  ijuari'ei,  and  as  tlie  preparations  for  war 


492  THE  STOllY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

were  expensive,  King  Edward  impatiently  began  to  attempt  to 
raise  money  in  arbitrary  ways,  and  the  chief  barons,  especially 
Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford,  and  Bigod,  Earl  of  Norfolk,  strongly 
opposed  him,  refusing  even  to  take  command  of  his  forces,  and 
leaving  the  court  attended  by  many  lords. 

"  By  G — d,  Sir  Earl,"  said  the  King  to  Bigod,  "  you  shall  either 
go  or  hang." 

"  By  G — d.  Sir  King,"  replied  the  Earl  stoutly,  "  I  will  neither 
go  nor  hang." 

Then  he  adopted  a  rather  clever  means  to  force  the  clergy  to 
pay  the  taxes  which  he  had  levied  on  them,  for  when  they  refused 
he  declared  that  if  they  would  not  support  his  government  they 
had  no  claim  on  it  for  protection,  and  any  man  might  plunder 
them  who  would.  This  general  permission,  or  imniunity  offered 
to  the  thieves  and  robbers  of  the  kingdom,  frightened  some  of  'the 
clergy  into  paying,  but  this  money  in  hand  only  sharpened  Edward'* 
appetite  for  more.  His  next  move  was  to  seize  all  tlie  wool  and 
leather  in  the  hands  of  the  merchants,  promising  to  pay  for  it  when 
convenient.  Not  satisfied  with  that,  he  set  a  tax  on  the  exj)orta- 
tion  of  wool,  but  this  proved  the  lust  straw. 

Tlie  barons  under  Bohun  and  Bigod,  at  tlie  urgence  of  the  mer- 
chants, came  together  and  evolved  the  new  deinocratio  doetrine 
that  any  taxes  imposed  without  the  consent  of  Parliament  were 
unlawful,  and  Parliament  refused  to  impose  taxes  until  King 
Edward  slunild  reaffirm  the  two  great  charters,  and  solemnly 
declare  in  writing  that  nevermore  should  tliere  Ik*  any  power  in 
the  country  to  wring  money  from  the  people  except  the  pow<;r  (»f 
Parliament  representing  all  i-anks  of  the  people. 

Here,  we  see,  was  the  germ  of  the  phrase  used  b}^  our  Englisli 
forefathei^s  wlien  they  sevei'ecl  from  England  :  "  Taxation  without 
representation  is  tyranny."  Is  it  not  a  singular  proof  of  the 
average  dulness  of  the  royal  bmin  that  George  III.,  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  should  not  have  l)een  able  t^)  profit  by  the  lesson 
which  Iviward  I.  learned  in  the  thirteenth?  If  it  takes  five  hun- 
di'ed  years  for  a  just  idea  to  find  permanent  lodgment  in  the  average 
mind  of  even  a  constitutional  monarch,  what  slow  progress  must 
be  expected  in  the  perfection  of  any  governmental  system  where 
power  has  accidentally  fallen  into  one  hand,  or  into  a  few  hands  I 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCKV,  493 

But  Edward  I.,  in  opite  of  bis  !ittem]>ts  to  lie  a  tyi-ant,  sifter 
learning  his  lesson  became  one  of  the  best  administrators  of  tlie 
affairs  of  bis  coiyitry.  To  ]iini  is  due  tbe  conception  that  Scotland. 
Wales,  and  England  ought  to  be  one  country,  and  he  set  himself 
Bturdiiy  to  the  task  of  realizing  this.  But  unity,  which  is  the 
dream  of  all  religions,  and  the  doctrine  of  our  recent  science  as  to 
tiiu  composition  of  the  material  universe,  is  sometimes  a  thing  veiy 
dillicuU  to  achieve  between  contiguous  nations  who  seem  geograph- 
ically intended  to  be  one.  It  is  an  ultimate  very  often  jnst  as 
difficult  as  it  is  desirable,  and  the  first  steps  towards  unity  between 
peoples,  as  between  individuiils  in  friendship  or  in  love,  are  often 
steps  of  pain.  It  was  so  with  King  Edwai-d's  dream  of  a  perfected 
nationality,  bnt  he  hiid  the  foundation  of  that  English  oneness 
which  to-day  affects  so  strongly  the  civilized  world. 

His  cam[)aign  in  Wales  against  Llewellyn,  their  prince,  had 
some  singular  features  illustrative  of  the  spirit  nf  tliose  times. 
When  Edward  came  to  the  throne  he  required  the  Welsh  prince 
to  swear  allegiance  tn  him,  as  Iiad  Iwen  done  to  his  father,  but 
Llewellyn  refuseil,  and  Edivai-d.  «ith  a  great  fleet,  invested  the 
coast  of  Wales,  forced  the  prince  to  take  refuge  on  Mount  Snow- 
dun,  starved  him  into  an  apology  and  a  treaty  iif  i>eace,  and  then 
returned  to  London,  supposing  he  had  reduced  Wales  to  obedience ; 
but  the  Welsh,  though  a  gentle  and  hospitalilii  people,  were 
iuieiisely  proud,  and  the  airs  some  English  Ungerei-s  in  Wales 
assumed  after  this  ti-eaty  were  a  little  too  mucli. 

Then  was  revived  a  ]jrophecy  made  by  a  tmditional  magi- 
cian named  Merlin,  whom  Tennyson  has  put  to  more  beautiful  use 
ill  liis  jwetry  than  probably  ever  resulted  in  Merlin's  life.  This 
pix)phecy  was  that,  when  English  money  should  become  round,  a 
Prince  of  Wales  would  be  crowned  in  London.  Now  King 
Edward  liad  forbidden  the  cutting  of  the  English  penny  into 
lialves  and  quarters  to  represent  halfpence  and  farthings,  and  had 
recently  introduced  a  round  coin.  The  Welsh  people  took  this  as 
tlw  first  part  of  Merlin's  prophecy,  and  rose  with  great  violence  to 
complete  the  prophecy  bj*  overturning  the  English. 

Llewellyn's  bn)ther,  Prince  David,  led  the  revolt,  surprised  tlie 
castle  of  Hawarden.  killed  the  whole  gaiTison,  and  instantly  all 
Wales  was  in  a  flame  of  insurrection.  Edward,  witli  his  customary 


486  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

pledging  themselves  to  relieve  their  vassals,  the  people ;  that  the 
liberties  of  London  and  other  cities  should  not  be  infringed  ;  that 
foreign  merchants  should  be  protected ;  that  no  man  should  be 
imprisoned  without  a  fair  trial ;  and  that  to  no  one  should  there 
be  any  sale,  delay,  or  denial  of  justice. 

Brave  words  these,  worthy  of  the  brave  barons  who  forced  the 
mean  and  cowardly  cur,  who  wore  the  crown,  to  sign  them  ;  but  at 
the  same  time  to  the  eye  of  posterity  it  seems  as  if  the  barons  them- 
selves found  it  almost  as  hard  a  task  to  live  up  to  this  charter 
as  did  the  most  contemptible  creature  that  ever  disgraced  the 
English  throne.  Another  provision  of  the  charter  was  the 
appointment  of  a  council  of  twenty-five  barons  to  see  that  John 
kept  as  near  to  his  word  as  possible,  with  power  to  declare  war  on 
him  if  necessary. 

"  They  have  given  me  five  and  twenty  over-kings,"  cried  the 
hampered  tjrrant,  as  in  a  fit  of  rage  right  after  signing,  he  ix)lled 
on  the  floor  of  his  palace,  biting  sticks  and  straw. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  curious  reigns  in  England  ; 
curious  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  king,  the  length  of  time 
that  he  was  endured  by  the  btirons,  and  the  great  gains  made,  not 
by  tlie  people,  but /or  them,  in  the  development  of  constitutional 
government. 

Heniy  III,  began  to  reign  as  a  boy,  in  1216,  a  great  council 
meeting  at  Bristol,  revising  Magna  C^^harta  and  making  Lord 
Pembroke  Regent  or  Protector  of  England,  as  the  king  was  too 
young  to  rule  alone.  Soon  as  he  came  of  age  Henry  showed  him- 
self a  true  son  of  liis  father.  He  made  oaths,  and  agreements, 
and  promises  with  wonderful  ease,  and  broke  them  with  an  ease 
more  wonderful.  Always  in  want  of  money  he  resoited  to  all 
sorts  of  tricks  to  obtain  it,  so  that  he  gained  the  popular  title  of 
being  ''  the  sturdiest  beggar  in  all  England."  He  even  took  up 
the  cross,  pretending  that  he  wished  to  head  a  crusade  and  rescue 
the  tomb  of  the  Saviour  from  the  possession  of  infidels,  and  he 
got  permission  from  the  Pope  to  lay  taxes  on  the  English  clergy. 
But  some  of  the  clergy  stood  up  for  their  right«.  "  The  Pope 
and  King  together,"  growled  the  Bishop  of  London,  "may  take 
the  mitre  off  my  head,  but  if  they  do,  beneath  it  they  may  find 
a  soldier's  helmet.     I'll  pay  nothing." 


COKSTITDTIONAL    MONARCHY.  48T 

So  Heniy  lia<l  to  give  up  hi»  crusade  against  the  pockets  of  the 
priests.  Then  he  badgered  the  biirona  in  every  possible  way  to 
increase  his  revenues,  and  a£ter  ten  j'ears'  squabbling  they  made 
Parliament  vote  him  a  large  sum  which  he  frittered  away  with 
the  usual  royal  rapidity.  One  of  the  moat  amusing  tilings  iu  this 
reign  Wiis  tlie  episode  of  the  Sicilian  throne.  This  happening  to 
be  empty,  the  Pope  obligingly  nffered  it  to  Henry  HI.  for  his  son, 
Prince  Edward,  and  gave  the  English  king  permission  to  levy  a 
special  tax,  raise  an  array  and  invade  Sicily.  But  the  barons  and 
the  clergy,  thinking  th:it  their  king  had  alreaily  been  altogether 
too  exjjensive  a  luxni^  rt 
fused  to  take  any  part  in  the 
Sicilian  business,  oi  ti  con 
tribute  a  farthing  to  it  by 
vote  of  Parliament  Where- 
upon the  Pope  oEfeied  his 
bargain  to  the  King  of  France 
and  a  little  while  tftei  sent  i 
to  Henry  III.  of  Englmd  a 
little  bill  of  ilOO,000  f*  r  not 
having  taken  ad\antagt  of 
the  papal  advice  and  permis 
sion  to  possess  hunself  of 
Sicily. 

Fancy,  for  the  sake  of  con 
trast  between  thohe  d-i\s  and  j^  chisadbr 

our  own,  the  present  wise  and 

venerable  Supreme  Pontiff  of  tliat  marvellous  Iiierarchy,  the 
Catholic  Chuich,  sending  to  our  President  advice,  or  permission, 
to  go  to  war  with  Chili,  or  to  annex  Canada,  and  then  sending  in 
a  little  bill  of  $500,000  for  not  taking  the  advice. 

King  Henry  gave  the  barons  so  much  trouble  that  finally  the 
great  Earl  of  Leicester,  Simon  de  Montfort,  wiio,  though  a  foreigner 
by  birth,  was  admired  by  the  men  of  his  order  for  his  great  abili- 
ties, and  beloved  by  the  common  people  for  his  suavities,  invented 
a  check  upon  the  regal  power  which  appears  to  be  the  germ  of  the 
present  department  of  English  government  called  the  British  Min- 
istry ;  a  sorii  of  intermediaiy  between  the  conunons  and  the  crown. 


ml 

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■  I 


COSSTITITIOSAL  SiuSAKCHV.  4(» 

of  family  trouble,  till  one  day,  wlieu  Henry  miret  ionh  passion- 
atelv,  *■  Have  I  no  one  who  will  free  me  from  this  man?"  some  of 
his  frientU  took  it  as  a  sign  that  he  wished  ihe  arehbishop  to  be 
murderetl,  and  murdered  he  was  by  four  knights,  within  the 
sanctuary  and  holding  one  of  the  horns  of  the  alur.  Hubert,  an 
early  English  judge,  was  killed  in  the  same  way  and  uiidet  the 
same  cirtumstances,  and  as  the  clmreh  was  considered  an  asylum 
in  those  days,  even  for 
a  criminal  pursued  by 
civil  authorities,  such  a 
Clime  committed  in  the 
holy  of  holies  was  ac- 
counted  peculiarly 
atrocious. 

A  stuily  of  Hi-nr^-'s 
eliaracter  satisfies  thai 
his  filial  speech,  wnmi,' 
from  liim  in  the  torture 
of  i>assii;>n,  was  Ufl  the 
exjii-ession  of  a  del  lit- 
erati desire  or  hint  for 
action;  hut  it  shadow- 
ed his  life  in  spite  "f 
the  Poj.e's  foigivpness. 
because  Ilenri- 11.  was 
warm  of  heart  and  had 
loved  the  old.  familiar 
friend  who  had  U-tray- 
wl  him.  and  who  liail 
paiil  the  jienalty  of 
treacheiy  with  his  life.  As  this  monarch  lay  in  his  last  illness, 
deseiinl  by  many  of  his  nobles,  while  his  amiy  was  tighting 
against  the  Kinjj  of  France  and  his  own  son,  Richard,  a  treaty  of 
peace  \va,s  brought  him  in  writing,  and  with  it  wa-s  aL<o  brought 
a  list  of  English  deserters  from  their  allegiance  whom  he  wa« 
require<l  to  pardon.  Tliat  list  was  headed  with  the  name  of 
John,  his  favorite  son.  This  was  the  last  stab  tliiit  cut  in  twua 
the  great  heait  of  the  first  Fhintagetiet,  tfae  fitst  English  king. 


484  THE   STOUV   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

except  the  Saxon  Alfred,  who  had  any  conception  of  the  rights 
of  the  common  people.  Turning  on  his  side,  he  groaned  out, 
**  Let  the  world  go  ;  I  care  for  nothing  more,"  and  cui-sing  the 
hour  of  his  hiitli  and  the  children  whom  he  left,  he  gave  up  the 
battle  of  life. 

There  was  one  sweet  romance  in  this  reign,  the  story  of  Fair 
Rosamond.^  It  tells  how  this  great  king  liad  one  jewel  of  true 
happiness,  one  rose  of  joy  amid  his  crown  of  thorns ;  that  he 
loved  a  fair  girl  and  built  her  a  beautiful  bower  in  a  park  at 
Woodstock,  and  the  bower  was  built  in  a  labyrinth  that  could 
only  be  found  by  following  the  clue  of  a  thread  of  silk.  And  the 
legend  goes  that  the  bad  queen,  becoming  jealous,  found  the  clue 
and  confronted  the  sweet  and  gentle  girl  witli  a  dagger  and  a  cup 
of  poison,  giving  her  the  choice ;  and  the  Fair  Rosamond,  after 
many  tears  and  prayers,  all  fruitless,  took  the  cup  and  fell  dead 
in  the  happy  garden  where  the  birds  sang  on  lo\ingly  just  the 
same  as  they  had  sung  before. 

Now  there  was  a  Fair  Rosamond,  and  the  king  loved  her  and 
the  bad  queen  probably  hated  her,  but  history  tells  us  that  we 
must  give  up  the  bower,  and  the  labyrinth,  and  the  silk  thread,  and 
the  death  by  poison.  As  Dickens  says  in  his  charming  way !  "  I 
am  afmid  Fair  Rosamond  retired  to  a  nunnery  near  Oxford  and 
died  there  peacefully ;  her  sister  nuns  hanging  a  silken  drapery 
over  her  tomb  and  often  dressing  it  with  flowei*s  in  remembrance 
of  the  youth  and  beauty  that  had  enchanted  the  sad  king  when 
he,  too,  was  young  and  when  his  life  lay  fair  before  him." 

The  next  important  event  in  the  history  of  England  was  the 
signing  of  the  Great  Charter.  This  occurred  on  June  15,  1215, 
in  tlie  pleasant  field  called  Runymede,  on  the  banks  of  the  silver 
Thames.  Signing  this  charter  was,  perhaps,  the  most  bitter  pill 
that  an  English  king  ever  had  to  swallow.  And  John,  the  mean- 
est of  the  sons  of  the  great  Henry,  did  it  with  a  very  bad  grace, 
as  indeed  everything  in  his  life  he  did  with  singularly  bad 
gi-ace,  except  the  extracting  of  teeth,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
most  inventive  and  successful  dentists  on  record.  For  if  we  may 
be  pennitted  to  indulge  for  a  moment  in  the  political  slang  of  the 
present  day,  King  John,  up  to  the  signing  of  the  charter,  had  had 

1  This  name  is  from  two  Latin  words  Rosa  Mundi  —  meaning,  Ros«  of  tlie  World. 


NiSTITUTIONAL   MONAUCHY. 


485 


a  great  pull   on  all   the  i>eople,  but  esjjeciivUy  on  the  Jews,  who 
were  the  most  useful  aud  the  most  abused  iiiliabttaiits  of  Loudon. 

Scott,  in  liis  Iv!iiih[)e.  di-aws  a  very  mild  picture  of  John's  cliar- 
acter  in  liis  tiviitnieut  of  Isaac  of  York,  for  John,  like  most  of 
liis  i)ivileci;ssiii-s  and  successors  in  office,  even  down  to  the  present 
tvign,  liiul  il«i\^ 
Ix-eii  in  wvnt  — 
tlu^  rayal  wxnt  >t 
money.—  iiid  ht 
utilized  liispn  io„ 
jitive  to  the  I  \teiit 
of  taking  ih  iich 
t-st  Jew  In,  iOukl 
tind  and  1 1  1 1 1  n  g 
)iim  that  hi,  must 
fill  the  ri  jil  Lof 
fers.  On  the  Jtw  s 
refasal,  J  o  li  n  )i 
'lered  that  i  tooth 
should  be  pulled 
out  every  di\  till 
lie  consentt  1  u 
the  eighth  li\  tin, 
unhappy  ]-,]  i  lite 
yielded.  But  the 
hour  <if  rt'tk  iiiiig 
eame,  and  tliecliar- 
ter  forced  frum 
John  at  Itunj'medp 
probably  caused 
liim  more  pain  than 
was  condensed  in 
the  Jew's  gum-aclif 
and  was  doubtless  jnoductive  of  more  good  to  the  people  than  his 
reckless  squandering  of  the  Jew's  money. 

This  charter  jirovided  that  the  Church  should  be  maintained  in 
all  its  rights  ;  that  the  barons  should  be  i-elieved  of  oppressive 
obligations  as  vassals  of   the  crown ;  the  barons,  in  their    turn. 


484  THE   STOllV   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

except  the  Saxon  Alfred,  who  had  any  conception  of  the  rights 
of  the  common  people.  Turning  on  his  side,  he  groaned  out, 
"  Let  the  world  go  ;  I  care  for  nothing  more,"  and  cursing  the 
hour  of  his  hirtli  and  the  children  whom  he  left,  he  gave  up  the 
battle  of  life. 

There  was  one  sweet  romance  in  this  reign,  the  stoiy  of  Fair 
Rosamond.^  It  tells  how  this  great  king  had  one  jewel  of  true 
happiness,  one  rose  of  joy  amid  his  crown  of  thorns ;  that  he 
loved  a  fair  girl  and  built  her  a  beautiful  bower  in  a  park  at 
Woodstock,  and  the  bower  was  built  in  a  labyrinth  that  could 
only  be  found  by  following  the  clue  of  a  thread  of  silk.  And  the 
legend  goes  that  the  bad  queen,  becoming  jealous,  found  the  c)ue 
and  confronted  the  sweet  and  gentle  girl  with  a  dagger  and  a  cup 
of  poison,  giving  her  the  choice ;  and  the  Fair  Rosamond,  after 
many  tears  and  prayers,  all  fruitless,  took  the  cup  and  fell  dead 
in  the  happy  garden  where  the  birds  sang  on  lovingly  just  the 
same  as  they  had  sung  before. 

Now  there  was  a  Fair  Rosamond,  and  the  king  loved  her  and 
the  bad  (pieen  probably  hated  her,  but  history  tells  us  that  we 
must  give  up  the  bower,  and  the  labyrinth,  and  the  silk  thread,  and 
the  death  by  poison.  As  Dickens  says  in  his  charming  way !  "  I 
am  afi-aid  Fair  Rosamond  retired  to  a  nunnery  near  Oxford  and 
died  there  peacefully ;  her  sister  nuns  hanging  a  silken  drapery 
over  her  tomb  and  often  dressing  it  with  flowei's  in  remembrance 
of  the  youth  and  beauty  that  had  enchanted  the  sad  king  when 
he,  too,  was  young  and  when  his  life  lay  fair  before  him." 

The  next  important  event  in  the  history  of  England  was  the 
signing  of  the  Great  Charter.  This  occurred  on  June  15,  1215, 
in  the  pleasant  field  called  Runymede,  on  the  banks  of  the  silver 
Thames.  Signing  this  charter  was,  perhaps,  the  most  bitter  pill 
that  an  English  king  ever  liad  to  swallow.  And  John,  the  mean- 
est of  the  sons  of  the  great  Henry,  did  it  with  a  very  bad  grace, 
as  indeed  everything  in  his  life  he  did  with  singularly  bad 
gmce,  except  the  extracting  of  teeth,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
most  inventive  and  successful  dentists  on  record.  For  if  we  may 
be  permitted  to  indulge  for  a  moment  in  the  political  slang  of  the 
present  day.  King  John,  up  to  the  signing  of  tlie  charter,  had  liad 

1  This  name  is  from  two  Latin  words  Rosa  Mundi  —  meaning,  Ro.^e  of  the  World. 


aiNSTITUTIONAL   MONAUCHY. 


485 


a  great  pull   on  all   the  people,  but  especiiilly  on  the  Jews,  who 
were  the  most  useful  iintl  the  most  abused  iiiliabitants  of  Loudon. 

Scott,  ill  his  Ivaiihoe,  draws  a  ver}'  mild  picture  of  John's  cliar- 
iitter  in  liis  treatuieiit  of  Isaac  of  York,  for  John,  like  most  of 
his  pit;deressi>i-s  and  successors  in  office,  even  down  to  the  present 
leign,  had  al     > 
been    in  t  — 

the  royal  t     f 

inoiiey. —         1    I 
utilized  hi   \      o 
ative  to  th        te  t 
of  taking   I  1 

est  Jew  1  o  Id 
find  and  til  g 
liim  that  1  u  t 
KU  tlic  ny-xl  of 
fers.  On  tl  e  J 
refusal,  J(  1 
dered  that  tooti 
should  he  pulle  I 
out  every  1  \  1 11 
he  consented :  on 
the  eiglith  day  the 
unliappy  Isnielite 
yielded.  But  the 
hour  of  i-eckoning 
came,  and  the  char- 
ter forced  fmm 
John  at  Kunymede 
probi\bly  caused 
liim  more  pain  tlian 
was  condensed  in 
the  Jew's  gum-ache 

and  was  doubtless  productive  of  more  good  to  the  people  than  liis 
reckless  squandering  of  the  Jew's  money. 

This  ehiirter  provided  that  the  Church  should  be  maintained  in 
all  its  rights  ;  that  the  barons  should  be  relieved  of  oppressive 
obligations  as  vassals  of   the  crown;  the  barons,   in  their    turn. 


486  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

pledging  themselves  to  relieve  their  vassals,  the  people ;  that  the 
liberties  of  London  and  other  cities  should  not  be  infringed  ;  that 
foreign  merchants  should  be  protected ;  that  no  man  should  be 
imprisoned  without  a  fair  trial ;  and  that  to  no  one  should  there 
be  any  sale,  delay,  or  denial  of  justice. 

Brave  words  these,  worthy  of  the  brave  barons  who  forced  the 
mean  and  cowardly  cur,  who  wore  the  crown,  to  sign  them ;  but  at 
the  same  time  to  the  eye  of  posterity  it  seems  as  if  the  barons  them- 
selves found  it  almost  as  hard  a  task  to  live  up  to  this  charter 
as  did  the  most  contemptible  creature  tliat  ever  disgraced  the 
English  throne.  Another  provision  of  the  charter  was  the 
appointment  of  a  council  of  twenty-five  barons  to  see  that  John 
kept  as  near  to  his  word  as  possible,  with  power  to  declare  war  on 
him  if  necessary. 

"  They  have  given  me  five  and  twenty  over-kings,"  cried  the 
hampered  tyrant,  as  in  a  fit  of  rage  right  after  signing,  he  rolled 
on  the  floor  of  his  palace,  biting  sticks  and  straw. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  curious  reigns  in  England  ; 
curious  on  account  of  the  character  of  the  king,  the  length  of  time 
that  he  was  endured  by  the  barons,  and  the  great  gains  made,  not 
by  the  people,  but/or  them,  in  the  development  of  constitutional 
government. 

Henry  III.  began  to  reign  as  a  boy,  in  1216,  a  great  council 
meeting  at  Bristol,  revising  Magna  Chart  a  and  making  Lord 
Pembroke  Regent  or  Protector  of  England,  as  tlie  king  was  too 
young  to  rule  alone.  Soon  as  he  came  of  age  Henry  showed  him- 
self a  true  son  of  liis  father.  He  made  oaths,  and  agreements, 
and  promises  with  wonderful  ease,  and  broke  them  with  an  east' 
more  wonderful.  Always  in  want  of  money  he  resorted  to  all 
sorts  of  tricks  to  obtain  it,  so  that  he  gained  the  popular  title  of 
Ijeing  *'  the  sturdiest  beggar  in  all  England."  He  even  took  up 
the  cross,  pretending  that  he  wished  to  head  a  crusade  and  rescue 
the  tomb  of  the  Saviour  from  the  possession  of  infidels,  and  he 
got  permission  from  tlie  Pope  to  lay  taxes  on  the  English  clergy. 
But  some  of  the  clergy  stood  up  for  their  rights.  "The  Pope 
and  Kng  together,"  growled  the  Bishop  of  London,  "may  take 
the  mitre  off  my  head,  but  if  they  do,  beneath  it  they  may  find 
a  soldier's  helmet.     PU  pay  nothing." 


COKSXITOTlONAIi    MOXARCHY. 


487 


So  Henry  bad  to  give  up  liis  onisade  against  the  pockets  of  the 
priests.  Then  he  biidgeied  tlie  barons  iii  every  possible  way  to 
increase  his  revenues,  and  after  ten  yeais' squabbling  they  made 
Parliament  vote  him  a  large  sum  which  be  frittered  away  with 
the  usual  royal  rapidity,  (ine  of  the  most  amusing  things  in  this 
reign  wiis  the  episode  of  the  Sicilian  throne.  This  happening  to 
be  empty,  the  Pope  obligingly  offered  it  to  Henry  III.  for  his  son. 
Prince  Edward,  and  gave  the  English  king  jiermissiou  to  levy  a 
special  tax,  raise  an  armyjind  invade  Sicily.  But  the  barons  and 
the  clergy,  thinking  that  their  king  had  already  been  altogether 
too  expensive  a  luxury,  re- 
fused t*)  take  any  part  in  the 
Sicilian  business,  or  to  con- 
tribute a  farthing  to  it  l^ 
vote  of  Pariiament.  Where- 
upon the  Pope  offered  his 
bargain  to  the  King  of  France 
and  a  little  while  after  sent 
to  Henry  HI.  of  England  a 
Uttle  bill  of  £100,000  for  not 
having  taken  advantage  of 
the  papal  advice  and  permis- 
sion to  possess  Iiiniself  of 
Sicily. 

Fancy,  for  the  sake  of  con- 
trast between  those  days  and 
our  own,  the  present  wise  and 
venerable  Supreme  Pontiff 
Catholic  Church,  sending  to 


that  marvellous  hierarchy,  the 
President  advice,  or  permission, 
to  go  to  war  with  Chili,  or  to  annex  Canada,  and  then  sending  in 
a  little  hill  of  $500,000  for  not  taking  the  advice. 

King  Henry  gave  the  barons  so  much  tiouble  that  finally  the 
great  E^rl  of  Leicester,  Simon  de  Montfort,  who,  though  a  foreigner 
by  birth,  was  admired  by  the  men  of  his  order  for  his  great  abili- 
ties, and  beloved  by  the  common  people  for  his  suavities,  invented 
a  check  upon  the  regal  power  which  appears  to  be  the  germ  of  the 
present  department  of  English  government  called  the  British  Min- 
istiy ;  a  sort  of  interaiediary  between  the  commons  and  the  crown. 


488  THK   STORY   OF   GOVEllNMENT. 

This  plan  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  which  he  pi-oposed  to  the 
abject,  thoroughly  scared  monarch  at  Oxford,  was  no  less  than  a 
Committee  of  Government,  twelve  men  to  be  selected  by  the  barons 
and  twelve  men  by  the  king.  Henry  agreed  to  this,  but  on 
the  return  of  his  brother  Richard  from  abroad  summoned  up 
courage  enough  to  oppose  tlie  barons  again  ;  and  as  they  began 
to  quarrel  among  themselves  the  Earl  of  Leicester  left  the 
kingdom  in  disgust.  Then  the  people  began  to  be  dissatisfied, 
thinking  that  tlie  barons  were  not  doing  enough  for  them,  so  that 
the  chances  for  Henry  HI.  to  be  once  more  the  real,  instead  of 
nominal,  Iving  of  England  brightened  up  again. 

It  was  a  common  kingly  trick  in  those  days  to  play  the  people  off 
against  the  barons,  or  the  barons  off  against  the  people,  whichever 
could  be  done  most  easily ;  and  even  to-day  shrewd  politicians,  in  cer- 
tain governments  supposedly  popular,  sometimes  succeed  in  shaping 
their  policies  successfully  for  themselves,  by  tapping  with  one  hand 
the  barrels  of  monopolists,  while  with  the  other  they  tickle  the 
people,  as  they  fill  their  ears  with  promises  of  better  legislation.  So 
Henrv  HI.,  or,  as  he  should  be  called,  Henry  the  Ridiculous,  told 
the  Committee  of  Government  that  he  had  decided  to  abolish 
them,  in  spite  of  his  oath,  and  seizing  all  the  money  in  the  treasury, 
he  shut  himself  up  in  the  Tower  of  London.  Having  gained  these 
coigns  of  vantage,  that  is,  the  money  and  the  Tower,  he  published  a 
letter,  which  he  claimed  to  have  received  from  the  Pope,  addressed 
to  the  world  in  general  and  the  English  people  in  particular,  inform- 
ing them  that  for  five  and  forty  yeai's  he  had  been  a  just  and  excellent 
king.  It  was  very  much  as  if  Nero,  who  set  Rome  burning, 
should  have  informed  the  populace  that  he  did  so  to  demonstrate 
the  necessity  of  having  fire  insurance  companies. 

But  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  returning  and  joining  the  Earl  of 
Gloucester,  took  several  of  the  royal  castles  and  advanced  on 
London,  at  which  the  London  people,  who  had  always  disliked 
the  king,  were  heartily  pleiused.  Then  Henry  moved  out  of  the 
Tower  and  began  scampering  about  the  country  till,  managing  to 
secure  the  assistance  of  the  Scotch,  he  gave  battle  to  Leicester  and 
the  Lon(I()nei*s,  and,  after  losing  five  thousand  men,  was  captured, 
whereupon  the  Pope  promptly  excommunicated  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter ;  but  as  the  English  people  loved  him  he  became  the  real  king, 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY. 


48!> 


1 


8  captive.  King  Henry,  with  the  great- 

I  along  everywhere  under  guard  as  a 


always,  however,  trenting  li 
est  respect,  yet  taking  iiii 
piece  of  royal  furaiture. 

De  Moiitfort.  in  tJie  year  1265,  smnraoned  tlie  first  parliament 
ill  which  tlie  people  had  any  real  ahare,  and  fur  several  yeare 
he  governed  Eng- 
land with  strength 
and  tender  ness 
combined. 

A  new  Parlia- 
ment was  called  in 
January,  1^65,  to 
Weal  m  ins  t«r,  but 
the  weakness  of 
the  patriotic  party 
among  the  baron- 
age waa  pi'oved  liy 
the  fat^t  that  only 
twenty-three  earls 
and  liarons  conld 
be  found  to  sit  be- 
side the  bnndred 
and  twenty  ecclesi-  ;^% 
astJc^w.  This  arith- 
metical weakness  , 
drove  Earl  Simon 
to  a  constitutional 
ehange  of  viist  im- 
port. As  before, 
he  summoned  two 
knightsfnim  every 
county.  But  be 
called  a  new  force  into  English  politics  when  he  summoned  to  sit 
iMJside  them  two  citizens  from  every  borongh.  The  attendance 
of  delegates  from  the  towns  had  long  been  usual  in  the  county 
courts,  when  any  matter  tnudiing  their  immediate  interests  was  in 
question  ;  hut  it  was  the  writ  issued  by  Earl  Simon  that  fii-st  sum- 
moned the  merchant  and  the  trader  to  ait  beside  the  knight  of  the 


490  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

shire,  the  baron  and  the  bishop  in  the  parliament  of  the  realm, 
and  so  set  the  example  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present 
parliamentary  system. 

But  King  Henry's  son,  Edward,  having  escaped  from  custody, 
succeeded  in  gathering  an  army  of  disaffected  barons,  defeated 
De  Montfort's  son,  and  with  the  De  Montfort  banners  advanced 
on  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  The  face  of  tliis  greatest  of  mediaeval 
English  statesmen  flushed  with  joy  as  he  beheld  his  own  ban- 
ners advancing  to  greet  him  ;  but,  whfen  on  nearer  coming  he  saw 
who  carried  the  banners,  he  knew  that  the  end  of  his  just  and 
generous  life  was  upon  him.  "  Lord  have  mercy  on  our  souls," 
quoth  he,  "  for  our  bodies  are  Prince  Edward's."  He  fought  with 
his  little  army,  however,  till  the  last  ditch,  and  fell  as  a  great  man 
always  falls,  greatest  of  all  in  failure.  His  enemies  mangled  his 
body  and  sent  it  as  a  compliment  to  a  certain  noble  dame,  the 
wife  of  his  worst  enemy  ;  for  those  were  pleasant  days  and  com- 
pliments of  this  kind  flew  around  easily  as  flies  in  summer. 

But  they  could  not  unshape  his  memory,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards  the  people  always  spoke  of  him  as  Sir  Simon  the 
Righteous,  crossing  themselves  as  for  a  saint.  And  even  though 
he  was  dead,  and  mangled,  and  unburied,  "a  prey  to  dogs  and 
kites,"  the  cause  for  which  he  died  still  lived  and  flourished.  For 
in  great  causes  every  step  taken  makes  the  movement  faster,  and 
when  once  a  new  idea,  if  it  is  a  true  idea,  or  a  just  one,  comes  into 
the  world,  though  it  may  suffer  a  temporary  defeat  or  eclipse,  it  is 
sure  to  shine  forth  again  and  add  to  itself  new  lustre  with  every 
successive  century. 

The  notion  that  the  people  really  had  some  natural  rights  in  the 
business  of  government,  and  that  it  was,  or  should  be,  something 
more  than  a  game  of  greed  or  glory  between  kings  and  nobles, 
was  now  thoroughly  alive  in  the  English  mind;  and  though  at  the 
death  of  De  Montfort,  Henry  HL  was  restored  to  his  public  func- 
tions, he  was  obliged  to  respect  the  great  charter  and  the  laws  and 
customs  established  by  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  a  period  of  peace 
ensued. 

During  this  calm  in  the  kingdom  Prince  Edward  took   up  the 
cross  and  set  out  to  the  Holy  Land  on  a  crusade.     There  he  had 
[ventures,  and  came  back  to  England  after  the  death  of 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY.  491 

his  father  to  ascend  the  throne,  ladeii  with  well-earued  honors. 
Ah  a  soldier  of  the  cross  he  liad  been  a  superb  success,  and  his 
return  through  diGFerent  countries  was  made  the  occasion  of  much 
interuationul  glorification,  so  that  on  his  arrival  in  England  the 
national  piide  was  as  deeply  and  widely  enlisted  in  his  favor  as 
ever  before  or  since  in  behalf  of  any  great  man.  London  gave 
him  an  ovation  almost  equal  to  that  which  was  given  to  Disraeli 
in  this  century  on  his  return  from  Berlin  bringing  in  triumph 
^^ Peace  with  Honor" 

But  they  did  things  in  those  old  days  a  little  differently.  It 
is  related  that  the  return  of  Edward  I.,  or  Lougshnuks,  as  he  was 
mcknamed.  was  celebinted  by  turning  the  conduits  of  the  streets 
and  the  fountains  into  rivers  of  red  wine,  — typical,  perhaps,  of  the 
Suntcen  blood  which  liia  sword  had  set  flowing;  the  houses  were 
tapestried  outside  with  silk  and  cloths  of  gold  and  silver;  and 
bonfires  were  lit  and  oxen  wt;re  roasted  wliole.  But  though  Edward 
came  hack  in  a  blaze  of  popularity  he  soon  tumbled  into  trouble, 
—  into  a  ditch  fi'om  wliich  his  long  legs  were  not  agile  enough 
to  help  him  jump  out  with  ease  or  grace.  Of  course,  it  was  the 
old,  old  kingly  trouble,  —  the  need,  or  rather  the  want,  of  money. 

Edward  was  nioi-e  fertile  than  most  of  his  prototypes  in  schemes 
for  raising  it,  but  in  spite  of  his  prestige,  in  spite  of  his  persistence, 
in  8pit«  of  the  acknowledged  strength  of  his  cliaracter,  he  found 
even  more  difficulty  than  his  weak-minded  father  ha<l  experienced 
as  a  financier.  He  attempted  to  tax  the  clergy  without  the  per- 
mission of  thu  Pope,  but  succeeded  no  better  then  his  father  had 
with  the  Pope's  permission,  and  Iiad  it  not  been  tor  the  Jews, 
whom  he  threw  into  prison  and  then  ransomed  at  thousands  of 
pounds  and  Anally  banished  from  the  kingdom,  seizing  all  their 
property,  he  might  liave  had  to  sell  his  palace. 

And  now  a  curious  thing  hapi>ened  —  out  of  a  cruel  murder 
a  great  benefit  arose.  A  Norman  crew,  wlio  had  quarrelled  with 
some  English  sailors  when  filling  their  water  casks  at  the  same 
place,  and  who  had  been  soundly  bethwacked  and  betlmmped, 
attacked  the  first  English  ship  they  met  of  sufficiently  small  size, 
seized  a  merchant  and  hanged  him  in  the  rigging  of  their  own 
vessel,  with  his  pet  dog  at  his' feet.  From  the  hanging  of  this 
merchant  grew  a  national  quarrel,  and  as  the  preparations  for  vmt 


402  THE  STOltY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

were  expensive,  King  Bd^ard  impatiently  began  tx>  attempt  to 
raiee  monej  in  arbitrary  ways,  and  the  chief  barons,  especially 
Bohun,  £arl  of  Hereford,  and  Bigod,  Earl  of  Norfolk,  strongly 
opposed  him,  refusing  even  to  take  command  of  Km  forces,  and 
leaving  the  couit  attended  by  many  lorda. 

"  By  G — d.  Sir  Earl,"  said  the  King  to  Bigod,  "you  shall  either 
go  or  hang." 

"  By  G — d.  Sir  King,"  replied  the  Earl  stoutly,  "  I  will  neither 
go  nor  Imng," 

Then  he  adopted  a  rather  clever  means  to  force  the  clergy  to 
pay  the  taxes  which  he  had  levied  on  them,  for  when  they  refused 
he  declared  that  if  they  would  not  support  his  government  they 
had  no  claim  on  it  for  protection,  and  any  man  miglit  plunder 
them  who  would.  This  general  permission,  or  immunity  offerwl 
to  the  tliicves  and  robbers  of  the  kingdom,  frightcncil  some  of  'the 
clergy  into  paying,  but  this  money  in  hand  only  sharpened  Kdwai-d's 
apl>etite  for  more.  Hia  next  move  was  to  seize  all  the  wool  and 
leather  in  the  hands  of  the  merchants,  promising  to  pay  for  it  wlien 
convenient.  Not  satisfied  with  ttiat,  he  set  a  tax  on  the  exfiorta- 
tion  of  wool,  but  this  proved  the  last  stmw. 

The  barons  under  B()hun  and  Bigod,  at  the  urg«;iiL-e  of  tlic  nu-i^ 
i-himts,  came  together  and  evolved  the  new  denioer.itii-  doctrine 
tlmt  any  taxes  inn>osed  witliout  the  consent  of  Parliament  ^\•(^l\^ 
unlawful,  and  Parliament  ri'fmed  to  ini[)ose  tAxe»  until  King 
Edwai-d  sliiinld  reaffirm  the  two  great  charters,  and  solemnly 
declare  in  writing  tlmt  nevermore  shonld  tiiere  Ix*  any  power  in 
the  eountiy  to  wring  money  from  the  people  except  ihe  j)Owcr  of 
Parliament  representing  all  ranks  of  the  i>eoplc, 

Ilei-e,  we  see,  wa.H  the  germ  of  the  phrase  used  by  "Ur  Knsrlish 
forefathei-s  wlieii  tliey  severed  from  Englan<l:  "Taxation  without 
nipresentation  is  tymnny."  Is  it  not  a  singular  proof  of  lliu 
average  dulness  of  tlie  royal  brain  tlmt  Geoige  III.,  in  tlie  cigli- 
tocnth  century,  should  not  have  been  able  to  prolit  l)y  tlie  lesson 
wliich  Edward  1.  learned  in  the  thii-teenth  ?  If  it  takes  five  hun- 
dred years  for  a  ju.st  iiiea  to  find  permanent  lodgment  in  the  avenigt; 
ainfl  of  cTRn  a  constitutional  monartOi,  what  slow  progress  must 
reeled  in  the  perfection  of  any  goverinnental  sj-stem  where 
«  accidentally  fallen  Into  one  hand,  or  into  a  few  hands ! 


COSSTITUTIUVAL   MONAliCHV.  iVd 

But  Edward  1.,  in  spite  of  his  attempts  to  be  a  tymnt,  after 
leanitDg  liis  lesson  became  one  of  the  best  administrators  of  the 
f^aint  of  his  coiyitiy.  To  him  its  due  the  conception  that  Scotland. 
Wales,  and  England  ouglit  to  be  one  eonntrj-,  and  he  set  himself 
stni-dily  to  the  task  of  i-ealiziiig  this.  But  unity,  which  is  the 
dream  of  all  religions,  and  the  doctrine  of  onr  recent  science  as  t*i 
tlie  composition  of  the  material  universe,  is  sometimes  a  thing  veiy 
difficult  to  acliieve  between  contiguous  nations  who  seem  geograph- 
ically intended  to  be  one.  It  is  an  ultimate  very  often  just  as 
difficult  as  it  is  desirable,  and  the  first  stejo  towards  tmity  between 
peoples,  as  between  individuals  in  friendship  or  in  love,  are  often 
steps  of  pain.  It  was  so  with  King  Edward's  dream  of  a  perfected 
nationality,  but  he  laid  the  foundation  of  that  English  oneness 
ivliich  to-day  affects  so  sti-ougly  the  civilized  world. 

His  campaign  in  Wales  against  LIewelly^l,  thfiir  prince,  had 
some  singular  featuies  illiistnitive  of  the  s|)irit  of  those  times. 
When  Edwanl  came  to  the  thi-oue  he  required  the  Welsh  prince 
to  swear  allegiance  to  liini,  as  had  )>een  done  to  his  father,  but 
Llewellyn  refused,  and  Edivard,  with  a  great  fleet,  invested  the 
coa^t  of  WalcN,  forced  the  prince  to  take  refuge  on  Mount  Snow- 
don,  starved  him  into  an  apology  and  a  treaty  of  i>eace,  and  then 
Pcturaed  to  London,  supposing  he  liad  reduced  Wales  to  obedience ; 
but  the  Welali,  though  a  gentle  and  hospitable  jieople,  were 
ititensely  proud,  and  the  ail's  some  English  lingerei-s  in  Wales 
assumed  after  tliis  treaty  were  a  little  too  much. 

Then  was  revived  a  prophecy  made  by  a  traditional  magi- 
aian  named  Merlin,  whom  Tennyson  has  put  to  more  beautiful  use 
in  his  iioetry  than  probiibly  ever  resulted  in  Merlin's  life.  This 
prophecy  Wiis  that,  when  English  money  should  become  round,  a 
Prince  of  Wales  would  be  ci"owned  in  London,  Now  King 
Edwartl  liad  forbidden  the  cutting  of  the  English  penny  into 
halves  and  quarters  to  represent  halfjience  and  farthings,  and  had 
recently  introduced  a  round  coin.  The  Welsh  people  took  this  as 
tlie  first  part  of  Merlin's  prophecy,  and  rose  with  great  violence  to 
complete  the  prophecy  bj'  overturning  the  English. 

Llewellyn's  brotlier.  Prince  David,  led  the  revolt,  surprised  the 
castle  of  Ilawardeii,  killed  the  whole  ganison,  and  instantly  all 
Wales  was  in  a  dame  of  insurrection.  Edward,  with  his  customarr 


494  THE   STORY   OF   GOVEUNMENT. 

energy,  crossed  the  Menai  Strait,  near  where  the  wonderful  tubular 
iron  bridge  stands  to-day,  by  a  bridge  of  boats  that  enabled  forty 
men  to  march  abreast.  But  the  tide  rose  and  divided  the  boats^ 
and  the  Welsh  fell  upon  the  soldiers  who  had  landed  and  drove 
them  into  the  sea  where  their  heavy  armor  caused  them  to  drown 
by  thousands. 

Llewellyn,  helped  by  the  bad  weather,  gained  another  battle, 
but  was  finally  captured,  and  had  his  head  sent  to  London,  where 
it  was  set  on  the  Tower  encircled  with  a  wreath,  some  say  of 
silver,  to  make  it  look  like  a  ghastly  coin  and  in  ridicule  of  the 
crowning  of  a  Prince  of  Wales  in  London  prophecied  by  the 
Welsh  magician.  His  brother  David,  six  months  afterwards,  was^ 
also  captured,  hanged,  di-awn,  and  quartered,  a  barbarity  which  from 
that  time  became  the  established  punishment  of  treason  in  England. 

All  Wales  now  yielded  to  the  arms  of  Edward;  and  Edward's 
queen,  who  was  with  him  on  all  his  military  expeditions,  happening 
to  give  birth  to  a  young  prince  in  the  Welsh  castle  of  Carnai-von, 
Edward  had  the  politic  impulse  to  parade  the  little  babe  to  the 
Welsh  people  as  their  countryman  and  to  call  him  the  Prince  of 
Wales ;  thus,  in  his  own  way,  fulfilling  the  Merlin  prophecy  and 
originating  the  title  that  has  since  been  borne  by  the  heir-apparent 
to  the  English  throne.  Having  conquered  the  Welsh  in  pui*suance 
of  his  cherished  ambition  to  make  Wales,  Scotland,  and  England 
one  nation,  Edward  set  himself  to  work  improving  their  condition, 
clarifying  their  laws,  and  stimulating  their  trade. 

This  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  reigns  in  English 
history,  and  one  is  almost  tempted  to  linger  over  the  Scotch 
campaigns  of  this  great  king ;  but  we  are  concerned  chiefly  in 
showing,  not  the  military  exploits  of  crowned  statesmen,  but  the 
growth  of  constitutional  monarchy, —  a  monarchy,  as  Tennyson 
puts  it, 

**  Brocod  based  upon  the  people's  will 
And  compassed  by  the  inviolate  sea."' 

So,  noting  once  more,  to  impress  it  on  the  memory,  that  the 
reign  of  Edward  I.  marks  the  conception  that  a  king  cannot  im- 
pose tiixes  without  the  consent  of  a  parliament  representing  the 
people,  we  pass  on  to  the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  the  little  boy  who 
was  born  in  Wales. 


CONSTITUTIONAL,  MONABCHV.  495 


Thi8  reign  is  8tiU  more  remarkable  than  the  preceding  for  its 
showing  the  rising  of  the  {wpiihir  tide  and  the  eating  awiy  of  the 
stubborn  rofiks  of  royal  privilege  and  prerogative.  Tnvdition  hath 
it  that  the  dying  hero,  Edward  I.,  made  his  son  promise  not  to 
bury  his  bones,  but  to  carry  them  about  with  him  till  his  ambi- 
tious dream  of  uniting  the  tliree  kingdoms  luid  been  fully  realized, 
as  the  great  Edwaixt  fondly  hoped  it  would  be  by  his  successor. 
But  from  Edward  tbe  Great  to  Edward  the  Little  the  fall  was 
tremendous.  Instead  of  improving  the  opportunities  left  him  by 
his  father,  Edward  11.  recalled  from  Gascony  a  certain  boon-com- 
panion, a  young  man  named  Piera  Gaveston,  of  whom  Edward 
I.  had  so  disapproved  that  he  had  banished  him  from  England,  and 
made  his  .son  swear  never  to  bring  him  back  ;  but  no  sooner  was 
Edward  the  Little  crowned  than  he  broke  his  oath, —  a  kingly 
habit,  according  to  all  history. 

Gaveston,  from  all  accounts,  seems  to  have  been  a  handsome, 
indolent,  insolent  fellow  who  fancied  himself  a  wit.  He  reck- 
lessly made  nearly  all  tbe  prominent  English  nobles  bis  enemies 
by  giving  them  nicknames,  calling  one  the  Hog,  another  the 
Black  Dog,  another  the  Jew  and  so  on,  and  when  Edward  tbe 
Little  made  tliis  favorite  Earl  of  Cornwall  and  then  Regent  of  the 
Kingdom,  while  he  went  on  a  journey  to  France  to  marry  the 
French  princess,  and  when  on  his  return  he  ran  into  the  arms  of 
his  favorite,  embraced  Iiim  and  called  liira  his  brother,  the  English 
lords  took  offence,  as  did  tlie  people,  who  bad  never  called  the 
Gascon  by  his  English  title,  Earl  Cornwall,  but  i>ersisted  in  address- 
ing him  as  plain  Gaveston. 

At  last  the  barons  told  tlie  king  bluntly  that  he  must  send  his 
boon -com  pan  ion  away,  and  they  made  Gaveston  take  an  oath  that 
be  would  never  come  back.  Their  anger  was  redoubled  when 
they  found  out  that  in  sending,  him  away  his  royal  admirer  liad 
made  him  Governor  fif  Ireland.  A  year  afterwards  ho  came  back 
and  then  tbe  queen  joined  the  barons  in  taking  offence  at  the 
favorite's  presence, 

Edwai'd  by  this  time  l)eing  well-nigh  penniless  called  a  parlia- 
ment to  help  him  fill  bis  coffers,  but  the  nobles  refused  to 
eonvene  unless  he  banished  the  favorite.  On  bis  doing  this,  they 
nssembled,  each  in  armor,  and  gave  him   the  desired  money,  but 


496  THE   STOUY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

appointed  a  committee  to  look  after  liis  household  affairs  and  oor. 
I'ect  abuses  in  the  state.  This  committee,  after  some  months  of 
study,  ordained  tliat  the  king,  instead  of  summoning  a  parliament 
whenever  it  suited  his  whim  or  convenience,  should  summon  one 
once  a  year  certainly  or  twice  if  necessary.  They  also  decided 
that  if  Gaveston  ever  came  back  he  should  be  beheade<i,  where- 
upon the  favorite,  who,  like  a  bad  penny,  had  returned  again,  was 
sent  to  Flanders. 

Soon  after,  however,  breaking  this  particular  oath  for  about  the 
seventh  time,  Edward  the  Little  had  his  fellow-reveller  back  w^ith 
him  in  the  North  of  England,  where  he  was  trying  to  raise  an  army, 
not  to  complete  the  conquest  of  Scotland,  as  he  had  promised  his 
father,  but  to  oppose  the  nobles.  They,  however,  followed  him 
up,  caught  Gaveston,  set  him  on  a  mule  and  carried  him  with  the 
mockery  of  military  music  to  Warwick  Castle,  or  the  kennel  of 
the  nobleman  he  had  nicknamed  the  Black  Dog.  There  they 
sentenced  him  to  death,  and  he  was  taken  out  on  the  pleasant 
road  near  the  beautiful  river  by  which  long  afterwards  was  born 
sweet-hearted  William  Shakespeare,  and  in  the  bright  sunshine 
<^f  an  English  May-day  the  favorite  was  beheaded.  This  seems 
another  step  gained,  namely,  that  an  English  king  would  not  l>e 
allowed  to  have  a  counsellor  or  favorite  who  was  obnoxious  to  the 
nation  at  large. 

Edward  showed  considerable  spirit  in  trying  to  revenge  the 
death  of  Gaveston,  and  the  civil  war  between  the  king  and  the 
l)arons  went  on  for  six  months,  the  barons  joining  their 'forces 
with  Bruce  of  Sc(>tland.  Then  the  king  got  another  favorite, 
Hugh  le  Despenser,  to  help  him  with  advice.  Le  Despenser  was 
handsome  and  brave,  but  to  be  favorite  and  confidential  adviser  to 
such  a  king  was  no  sinecure,  and  disaster  after  disaster  followed 
the  royal  arms,  although  occasionally  they  gained  a  victory.  Ed- 
ward's queen,  on  account  of  his  neglect,  had  long  refused  to  live 
with  him,  and  now,  going  back  to  her  native  country,  France,  she 
raised  an  army  and  invaded  England.  She  was  at  once  joined  l)y 
the  Earls  of  Kent  and  Norfolk,  the  king's  two  brothers,  by  other 
powerful  noblemen,  and  finally  by  the  very  general  whom  her 
luisband  sent  against  her. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  end,  and  marks  a  new  encroach- 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY.  497 

ment  on  royal  power,  tlie  Bishop  of  HerefonI  su^esting  to  the 
queen  that  the  wretclied  king,  who,  after  running  about  the  coun- 
try like  an  outlaw,  linally  gave  himself  up,  should  be  asked  to 
resign  and  that  his  son  should  I'eigu  iiistead.  This  suggestion  Avas 
carried  out.  Tliey 
haled  liini  into  the 
House  of  C  nnmoii-. 
where  Sii  Willi ini 
Trussel,  the  icik 
er,  belalKiied  hini 
with  a  trcniti  dou  Ij 
long  and  fit!  j  sptech 
to  the  puipose  tint 
everyone  Ii  i  1  it 
nounccd  Ukgi  nee 
to  him  and  he  wns 
iio  loiigei  1  kin^, 
Then  Sii  Thoni  u 
Blount,  the  io\il 
high  stewird  i! 
vanced  and  l>iokt 
his  white  \\  m  1  i 
cereuKiny  only  [  ci 
formed  at  a  king  •> 
death.  E  Iwird  th 
Little  then  ic  icu  I 
himself  to  1  i  fit 
and  they]  loiltn  i 
hisson, Eil»  iid  III 
King  of  jMiglmd 
whose  t  )r  )n  itic  n 
chair  was  set  th 
St«ne  of   Scone   on 

which  the  Scottish  kings  had  l>een  crowned,  and  which  his  gniiid- 
sire  had  brought  from  Scotland.  From  Edwai-d  III.  we  pass  to 
the  reign  of  bis  gi-andson,  Richard  II.,  a  mere  boy  of  eleven,  who 
l»cgan  by  showing  some  of  tlie  courage  of  Iiis  famous  father, 
Edwaixl  the  Black  Prince.     The  kingdom,  as  usual,  was  involved 


498  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

in  war,  and  the  English  government  needing  money,  a  poll  tax 
of  three  groats  a  year  for  every  one  above  the  age  of  fourteen 
was  instituted.  Three  groats  were  equivalent  then  to  about  a 
shilling,  but  making  allowance  for  the  difference  of  value  in 
money  at  the  present  time  would  amount  to  about  two  dollars 
and  a  half. 

Only  beggars  were  exempt  from  this  tax  and  clei^gymen  were 
taxed  more.  It  is  rather  curious  to  note  that  so  long  ago  the 
clergy  should  have  been  taxed  even  in  Catholic  England,  whereas 
lately  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has  gone  to  the 
extent  of  mfiking  an  exception  to  the  contract  labor  law  in  the 
case  of  tlie  Rev.  Dr.  Warren,  who  was  imported  from  England  to 
be  th(J  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  New  York. 

This  poll  tax  provoked  the  greatest  indignation ;  the  people  of 
Essex  rebelled  against  it  and  in  the  county  of  Kent,  a  county 
which  has  always  had  the  nickname  of  the  Bold,  one  Wat,  a  tiler 
by  trade,  killed  the  tax-gatherer  with  one  blow  for  insulting  his 
daughter,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  malcontents,  joined  the 
peo[)le  of  Essex,  who  were  in  arms  under  the  leadei-ship  of  a  priest 
named  Jack  Straw,  and  taking  out  of  prison  another  popular 
priest  named  John  Ball,  marched  on  London. 

Some  have  asserted  that  these  peasants  had  a  socialistic  intention 
to  abolish  property  and  declare  all  men  equal ;  but  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  they  aimed  so  high,  for  they  stopped  everyone 
they  met,  and  made  them  swear  to  be  true  to  "  King  Richard  and 
the  people."  This  was  rather  to  be  exi>ected,  for  tlie  people,  not 
being  in  such  direct  contact  with  their  kings  as  with  the  nobles,  or 
feudal  lords  between  them,  frequently  looked  to  the  king  as  a  pos- 
sible protector  against  the  extortion  and  oppression  of  the  nobles. 

This  mob  marched  into  London,  threw  open  the  prisons,  burned 
all  the  documents  in  Lambeth  Palace,  destroyed  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster's  [)alace,  the  Savoy,  which  was  considered  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  kingdom,  made  a  bonfire  of  all  tlie  law-books  in 
the  temple,  and  yet,  singular  to  relate,  stole  nothing.  Seeing  one 
man  take  a  silver  cup  at  the  burning  of  the  Savoy  Palace  and  put 
it  in  his  breast,  they  drowned  him  in  the  Thames,  cup  and  all. 

Rather  different  from  a  London  mob  to-day  I  They  waited 
patiently,  when  a  proclamation  was  made  that  the  king  would 


meet  them  and  grant  all  their  requeats ;  and  the  king  did  meet  . 
one  section  of  them,  and  pretended  to  be  keeping  thirty  clerks  ap 
all  night  writing  out  a  new  charter. 

Their  requests  were  really  very  moderate,  being  simply  these 
four :  TheU  neither  they,  their  children,  nor  any  of  their  deseendcaUt 
thovld  he  held  in  slavery  any  loiter  by  their  feudal  lords  for  any 
cavse.  Secondly,  that  when  they  rented  land  of  these  feudal  lords 
they  should  be  allowed  to  pay  in  money  instead  of  in  service. 
Thirdly,  (hat  they  should  have  liberty  to  buy  and  sell  freely  in  all 
markets ;  and,  fourthly,  that  they  should  be  pardoned  for  all  past 
offences. 

Wat  Tiler  is  said  to  hare  desired  in  addition  to  this  an  abolition 
of  tlie  cruel  forest  laws,  which  punished  a  starving  peasant  with 
death  if  he  killed  one  of  the  royal  rabbits,  or  any  other  game. 
Wat  Tiler  wiis  not  leading  the  party  of  insurgents  with  whom 
the  king  was  pretending  to  treat,  but  in  another  part  of  London 
was  breaking  into  the  Tower,  and  he  and  his  men  are  said  to  have 
thrust  their  swords  e\'en  into  the  bed  where  the  Princess  of  Wales 
was  sleeping  to  see  if  any  of  their  enemies  were  concealed  under 
the  mattresses,  which  would  indicate  that  any  sense  of  *'  the  divin- 
ity that  doth  hedge  a  king "  was  at  ratlier  low  ebb  among  the 
people  of  England. 

The  meeting  between  Wat  and  King  Ricliard,  which  occurred 
the  nest  day,  furnishes  anotlier  apt  illustration  of  the  temper  of 
the  times.  Wat  rode  boldly  up  to  Richard  and  said,  without 
the  usual  reverence,  '■  King,  dost  see  all  these  men  here  ?  "  "  Ah," 
said  the  king,  "  why  so?  "  "  Because,"  said  Wat,  "  they  are  all 
at  my  command  and  liave  sworn  to  do  whatever  I  say." 

Some  aiErmed  afterwards  that  while  speaking  he  reached  over  " 
and  laid  a  hand  on  the  king's  bridle-rein,  whereupon  Walworth, 
mayor  of  London,  stabbed  him  in  the  back,  and  Wat's  followers 
bent  their  bows  to  avenge  the  fall  of  their  leader.  It  was  a  very 
risky  moment  for  King  Richard,  but  the  boy  had  the  presence  of 
mind  to  spur  his  horse  into  the  ranks  of  the  rioters  and  shout  out 
that  Wat  was  a  traitor,  and  that  he.  King  lUchard,  would  be  their 
leader.  Taken  by  surprise,  the  mob  set  up  a  cheer  and  followed 
the  young  monarch  to  Islington,  where  a  body  of  soldiera  met  him 
■and  then,  turning  on  his  di^ludud  fuUuwui-s,  put  them  lu  the  rout. 


500  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Fifteen  hundred  men  were  hung  in  chains  as  a  i-esult  of  this 
insurrection,  the  chains  being  added  to  their  bodies  to  prevent  their 
grieving  kinsmen  from  taking  them  down  and  gi^'ing  them  the 
last  sad  services  of  interment.  TliLs  was  the  beginning  of  the 
barbarous  custpm  of  hanging  in  chains  and  leaving  the  bodies  to 
the  beaks  of  birds. 

The  kingdom  now  was  governed  by  ministera  of  King  Richaitl^s 
choice,  he  being  only  sixteen,  but  Parliament  quarreled  with  liim 
so  about  these  ministers  that  he  was  obliged  to  consent  to  the 
appointment  of  a  commission  of  fourteen  for  a  year.  On  coming 
of  age,  of  course  he  took  things  into  his  own  liands  again,  ap- 
pointed a  new  chancellor  and  a  new  treasurer,  and  announced 
to  the  people  that  he  alone  was  King  of  England,  which  despotic 
ground  he  lield  for  eight  years  without  much  opposition.  Then 
a  large  cauldron  of  trouble  —  a  very  witch's  broth  of  woe  to  the 
people  also  —  began  to  bubble  for  Richard,  stirred  up  at  first, 
some  thought,  by  his  cousin,  Henry  Bolingbroke,  whom  he  had 
made  Duke  of  Hereford. 

Bolingbroke  had  stood  high  in  the  royal  favor,  but  lost  his 
influence,  and  was  forced  to  flee  to  France.  His  estates  were  con- 
fiscated and  his  career  apparently  ended.  Yet  the  king's  conduct 
was  smoothing  Bolingbroke 's  return,  for  Richard  Ix^gan  to  plunge 
deeply  into  debiiuchery.  The  Commons  had  granted  him  a  duty 
on  wool  for  life,  but  this  had  only  whetted  his  avarice, — that 
basest  of  aM  passions.  In  his  mad  greed  to  raise  money  he  out- 
lawed seventeen  counties  at  once  so  as  to  imi)ose  fines,  and  then 
left  England  and  invaded  Ireland.  This  was  Bolingbroke's 
opportunity.  He  returned  from  France,  reclaimed  the  estates 
which  had  been  >vrested  from  him,  and  being  joined  by  the  Earl  of 
Xortluimberland  and  Westmoreland,  lay  in  wait  foi**the  king. 

Richard,  returning  from  Ireland,  deserted  by  his  soldiers,  ro<le 
from  castle  to  castle  l)egging  for  food,  and  at  last  surrendered 
himself.  He  was  conducted  to  the  castle  of  Flint  where  Henry 
Bolingbroke  met  him  and  dropi>ed  on  his  courtly  knee,  as  if  he 
were  still  respectful  to  this  wandering  shadow  of  a  king. 

"  Your  people  complain,  my  liege,"  said  Bolingbroke,  *'  that  for 
two  and  twenty  years  you  have  oppressed  them  bitterly.  I  wiU. 
help  you  to  govern  tliem  better  in  future." 


k 


502  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

"  Fair  cousin,"  said  the  fallen  king,  "  since  it  pleasetli  you,  it 
pleaseth  me  mightily." 

Richard  was  then  taken  for  safe  keeping  to  the  Tower,  but 
before  lie  reached  there  it  is  related  tliat  even  his  dog  left  him  to 
lick  the  liand  of  Bolingbroke.  The  day  before  Parliament  met,  a 
deputation  waited  on  him  and  told  him  he  must  resign,  which  he 
did,  saying  that  if  he  had  any  choice  he  would  prefer  to  appoint 
his  cousin  his  successor. 

The  next  day,  in  Westminster  Hall,  Henry  Bolingbroke,  Duke 
of  Hereford,  commonly  called  Henry  of  Lancaster,  arose  from  his 
seat  beside  the  empty  throne,  which  was  covered  with  cloth  of 
gold,  and,  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  forehead,  claimed 
the  realm  of  England  as  his  right,  and  the  Archbishops  of  York 
and  Canterbury,  each  taking  him  by  an  arm,  seated  him  on  the 
throne.  Thus  began  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  picturesque 
periods  of  English  history,  of  which  Sliakespeare  has  made  immor- 
tal use  and  beauty  in  his  plays. 

The  gains  in  popular  government  during  this  reign  were  but 
slight,  yet  there  seems  to  have  been  an  extension  of  the  power  of 
law,  and  with  that  extension  a  corresponding  increase  of  respect. 
As  an  example  of  this  extension,  the  beheading  of  a  churchman. 
Scroop,  Archbishop  of  York,  miglit  be  adduced ;  for  Heniy  the  IV., 
like  Henry  the  11.,  —  whom  lie  somewhat  resembled  in  other 
respects,  —  was  determined  that  every  man,  priest,  or  prince,  or 
peasant,  in  his  dominion  should  be  amenable  to  the  general  laws. 
It  is  even  said  that  Chief  Justice  Gascoigne  sent  the  king's  son, 
afterwards  Ilariy  tlie  V.,  to  prison  simply  for  insulting  the  majesty 
of  the  law,  and  that  the  king  approved  of  it. 

But  Bolingbroke,  who  got  the  throne  by  strategy  and  force,  had 
to  hold  it  all  his  life  by  still  greater  force  and  strategy.  Plot 
after  plot  against  him  was  unearthed  and  punished,  and  it  would 
appear  that  aspiring  nobles  made  existence  such  a  burden  for  him 
that  he  actually  grew  tired  of  living.  An  illustration  of  the  man- 
ner of  conducting  public  business  at  tliis  time  is  afforded  by  the 
fact  that  the  fii'st  parliament  Henry  IV.  summoned  was  so  quarrel- 
some that  on  one  day  forty  steel  gloves  were  thrown  on  the  floor 
among  the  members  as  challenges  to  mortal  combat. 

In  a  reign  like  this  very  great  gains  on  the  part  of  the  people 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MON. 

wei* hardly  to  be  expected;  nor  in  the  next  reign,  though  Harry 
V.  was  a  man  much  larger  in  heart,  ami  in  ahility  almost  equal  to 
his  father.  But  beyond  gratifying  the  national  vanity  by  his 
fine  generalship  and  deeds  of  peraonal  prowess  in  France,  lie  made 
little  impression  on  the  national  life. 

The  reign  of  liis  successor,  Henry  VL,  was  marked  by  Parlia- 
ment'a  reveraal  of  the  wishes  of  the  dead  king  by  appointing  the 
Duke  of  Bedford  instead  of  the  Dake  of  Gloucester  at  the  head  of 
the  Council  of  Regency.  This  reign  was  also  marked  by  another 
insurrection  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  Kent  headed  by  an  Irish- 
man, who  called  Iiimaelf  Mortimer,  but  whose  real  name  was  Jack 
Cade.  They  gathered  twenty  thousand  st^piig  and  put  forth  two 
papers  styled  "The  Complaint  of  the  Com^ns  of  Kent,"  and 
"  Thii  Requests  of  the  Captain  of  the  Gteat  Assembly." 

They  defeated  a  royal  army  sent  against  them,  and  Jack  Cade 
himself  in  the  armoi-  of  the  dead  general  led  his  men  to  London. 
There  he  seized,  tried,  and  beheaded  an  unpopular  nobleman 
named  Lord  Say,  but  was  unable  to  keep  his  army  in  order.  It 
gave  itself  up  to  gluttonous  excesses,  and  attempted  to  pillage 
London  but  was  soon  divided  and  cut  in  pieces,  and  Cade  endeav- 
oring to  escape  was  killed.  Then  begiin  the  famous  series  of 
(juarrels  between  tlie  great  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster, —  the 
wars  of  the  Roses. 

The  king  became  an  idiot  and  the  queen  essiiyed  to  govern  the 
country,  the  Duke  of  York  sometimes  being  in  the  ascendant  oa  a 
minister  and  sometimes  the  Duke  of  Somerset.  Whichever  party 
triumphed  would  seize  the  king,  call  a  parliament,  and  make  him 
declare  the  other  side  traitors.  On  one  occasion  it  is  related  that 
the  Duke  of  York  entered  the  House  of  Lorrls  and  laid  liis  hand 
upon  the  gold  cloth  that  covered  the  emjity  thrane  as  if  he  had  a 
strong  inclination  to  sit  down  there.  This  duke  was  a  great  man 
and  when  in  power  tried  to  govern  well  the  racked  country,  but 
he  fell  at  hist  by  the  axe  of  the  headsman ;  and  yet,  a  few  years 
later,  his  son  Edward,  Eiirl  of  March,  after  making  a  speech  to  a 
crowd  of  applauding  Londoners,  entered  the  House  of  Loi-ds  and 
sat  himself  on  the  throne  on  which  his  father  had  lud  a  prophetio 
hand. 

Edward  FV.  tried  at  first  to  be  a  popular  king.     He  married  a 


604  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

London  widow,  one  Elizabeth  Woodville,  and  his  life  started 
happily  ;  but  thorns  sprang  up  under  his  bed  of  roses  in  the  shape 
of  her  relations,  Avho  were  clamorous  for  offices  at  the  expense  of 
the  people,  and  to  supply  their  needs  and  his  own  w<as  a  task  hard 
and  continually  harder.  Towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  revived 
the  old  English  idea  of  having  a  war  with  France,  to  obtain  funtls 
for  which  he  not  only  got  special  gmnts  from  Parliament,  but 
extorted  money  from  the  principal  citizens  of  London  in  the  form 
of  loans,  to  wliich  Avere  given  at  the  time  the  facetious  title  of 
"Benevolences."  He  went  over  to  Calais  with  great  pomp,  but 
instantly  accepted  the  peace  proposed  by  the  French  king. 

The  proceedings  on  this  occasion  were  very  gorgeous  but  amus- 
ingly distrustful.  The  Kings  of  France  and  England  met  on  a 
tempomry  bridge  over  the  river  Somme  in  a  strong  Avooden  grating 
something  like  a  lion's  cage  and  embmced  each  other  througli  two 
holes  in  this  grating,  made  some  exquisite  bows  and  speeches  and 
departed  back  to  Paris  and  London.  On  his  death-bed  this  king 
repented  of  his  "  Benevolences  "  and  extortions  and  ordered  restitu- 
tion to  be  made  to  the  people  he  had  robl)e(l. 

The  next  tliree  reigns,  that  of  Edward  V.,  Richard  III.,  and 
Henry  VII.  are  not  remarkable  for  any  advances  in  the  idea  of 
popular  government ;  but  a  great  (quickening  of  the  popular  mind 
began  to  ensue  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  from  the  discovery  of 
the  New  World  by  Columbus,  for  the  king  appreciated  the  im- 
portance of  this  discovery  and  with  the  mercliants  of  Lond(»n  and 
Bristol  fitted  out  an  English  expedition  for  further  discoveries 
under  the  command  of  Sebastian  Cal)ot. 

After  having  liad  glimpses,  as  it  Avere,  of  a  possible  civil  and 
religious  liberty  in  the  reigns  we  have  been  considering,  it  Avas 
the  curious  destiny  of  the  English  2)eople  to  behold  two  violent 
abolitions  of  the  advantages  they  had  gained,  and  an  apparently 
com2)lete  extinction  of  their  slowly  developing  constitutional  mon- 
archy in  an  absolutism  more  savage  than  tliat  of  the  Cjosai*s. 

The  long  civil  wai-s  that  ceased  when  Henry  VII.  ascended  the 
throne  had  hastened  the  fall  of  Feudalism^  by  breaking  tlie  power 

'The  essential  facts  of  the  feudal  system  were  throe.  Ist.  The  nature  of  territorial  prop- 
erty was  entirely  <lifTerent  from  its  prestMit  nature,  because  no  man  except  the  chief  or  king 
owned  anytliin^  indei>endently,  but  lield  his  possessions  as  derived  from  an  overlord,  with 
oertain  obligations  that  had  to  be  fulfilled  under  pain  of  forfeiture.    2d.    As  a  necessary 


CONSTITI'TIONAL  MONARCHY.  505 

of  the  baroiu^.  This  power  lind  consisted  nf  the  liosU  of  dis- 
oi-derly  retainere  MH-ayiiiing  about  tlieir  ca»tles  i-eady  to  furnish 
force  at  a  moment's  notice  in  ciwe  of  revolt.  The  wm-s  had 
thinned  out  these  ranks,  and  Heniy  YII.  found  himself  able  to 
enforce  an  old  statute  of  Edward  I.  called  the  Statute  of  Liveries 
which  ordered  a  dissolution  of  these  military  households.  Henry 
VII.,  who  was  called  the  miser  king,  when  visiting  the  Earl  of 
Oxford,  one  of  his  stanchest  supportere,  found  two  long  lines  of 
liveried  retainer  drawn  ni>  to  receive  liim,  " Thanks  for  your 
good-cheer,  my  lord,"  quoth  the  king  at  parting,  "but  I  cannot 
have  my  laws  broken  iu  my  sight.  I  must  send  my  attorney  to 
visit  you."     The    liiwyer's  visit   cost   the    Earl   of    Oxford   ten 

TBiollof  llii»  the  whole  of  wL.it  vro  call  KOTBroIgnlj  or  luibllc  power  anil  wlilcli  wefeal  tobe 
tiupeiBoaal  wb9  then  iwrsoiul,  hclni;  IcMlgeil  in  t^ic  Inillvlilual  loriL  fei  thkt  nhen  Loula  tin 
Great  exclaimed ''£'W«(,r'™(  imil."  "  Tlie  SLalB,  I'm  tlio  8:nle,"  he  wa»  giving  perfect  Bxpna- 
bIod  t<f  the  doctrine  nf  fGUtlaligm.  3d.  The  dMlactlve  luarlcoC  leoclAllsin  was  Ita  conHtlotu, 
anil  II  one  maj^  uee  Iha  lenii,  Iti  VDClferoua  Intcrilepenilcnce.  All  tlialegldatlTe,  judicial,  and 
mltlury  iDBtltiitlons  wliieli  united  Iho  )>"*««»<<»  "f  flefn  or  teucia  sTuonE  tbeiuselvei,  and 
formed  them  into  society  were  ubUeutury  In  their  reclprociitluTM.  Ttie  vaual  owediervlM 
to  lilE  lord.— the  lard  oweil  protection  to  his  maal,  and  ir  either  failed  la  bla  duty.foiy 
tejture  of  land  or  net  eniued. 

Nowadays,  when  what  some  jirogressive  ]>ap«Tii  call  the  factory  lord  or  the  coal  baron  bai 
paid  Ills  men  the  agre«d-Q])on  wage*,  lilt  legal  obllcattan  ceitsei.  Ha  la  not  lionncl  to  proleot 
tliem  In  any  way,  allbouBh  they  haye  given  him  In  more  valuable  service  tluui  uinsl  vasgali 
of  old  gare  10  tliclr  lords.  This  te,  luilccd,  tbe  great  liilTennre  between  thla  epocb  of 
ecoNomlc  evolution  and  tliat  one,  that  many  duties  have  lieen  raised  from  the  nanow 
material,  or  legal,  Bphcre  into  t'.ie  evar-vridvnlnjt  realm  of  inarals. 

Thongh  tbenDe-man  imwer,  the  iierpetuatedruleuf  theotie  strong  niaTi,~or  In  one  word, 
myalty  — was  thefountaiuof  fcuilaliam,  It  soon  found  Itself  In  an ut^nlnin  with  the  stream! 
ol  force  of  whtcb  It  was  tlie  siinrca.  The  lilslory  of  remUUsui  la  fiiU  of  einmiilas  of  vassal* 
aiding  their  immediate  lords  against  the  kinp:. 

Tin  ceremonies  occurring  on  Uie  granting  a  Set  were  r"fnc*inl'y  bomage,  fealty,  aad 
iDvestltnre.  Hoioa-K  e<i>rested  the  devotion  of  tbe  vassal ,  and  tbe  oath  of  tealiy  ittffered 
little  from  tlie  act  of  lioinage  but  was  Indlepeosable  anil  was  also  taken  by  eceleslastics  even 
wUen  they  did  not  hold  any  property.  Invesiilnro  wa«  tlieacinal  conveyance  of  the  fendat 
lands  liy  tbe  lord  and  was  of  ino  kinds.  Proiier  investiture  was  tbe  actual  placing  of  tba 
TMsalon  tlie  ground  to  be  conveyed  hy  tbe  lord  or  his  depaty,— which  Is  called  In  EngUali 
Uw  "li»ery  of  seisin  "—meaning.  In  moi'.em  language,  deUvery  o(  pinaeHsiDn.  Impuqier 
inveatiinre  was  the  hamling  over  of  a  stick  or  stone  or  piece  of  turf  as  a  symbol.  The  ras- 
aal'i  duties  after  lnre>.tltnrB  were  so  numeruus  anil  varied  ao  with  pUca  that  only  a  few  can 
be  specified,  such  O-t  the  duty  of  liearln^  uill  I  lory  service  for  the  lord  urking,  and  of  supply- 
ing a  certain  amount  of  tlielr  rroductlODS  from  tbe  soli,  or  a  certain  number  of  their  cattle, 
etc.  Sometimes  a  fief  was  given  by  favor  for  snran  very  trlfllngBBrvlce  to  be  performed, sudl 
SB  scDding  to  the  king  .-1  gray  fox  fur  every  year. 

Tbe  length  of  senice  was  oflea  scrupDlously  defined  For  Instann,  forty  ilayi!  was  the 
usual  term  that  tbe  (ennnl  of  a  knlglit's  flef  was  bound  lo  In  In  the  field  at  bis  own  eiqienae. 
Hie  vassals  of  the  kln^  had  vassals  nuder  them  bound  to  their  estatCH  by  KUbfealtlet,  and 
■oms  of  these  by  forfel  uire  had  beoome  rednccil  In  mere  slaves  deiiendsnt  on  the  >rlilm  of  the 
master  for  everything. 

This  was  the  lyatem  which  William  the  Norman  Inlroduoed  Into  England,  hut  for  his  own 
proteotlon  against  the  iiiiumachmants  of  his  rupacloua  Nirmaii  vassals  ho  wiw  forced  to  take 
ap  Into  his  government  some  of  the  polltleal  cuslams  of  the  )<eople  he  had  oi 


^ll . 


Th- 


B-itli  riiiitiiiii;il  Ij'.r 
in  lliJ!*  n-'v^u  ni;i\  !<■  -li'l  1" 
i  jnflii.      'riii-*    "I'    ^ii 
•  of    ll.-.irv   111.'    i;i'.l, 


-:■      -    ::  :.:i-.>ic.l 

-i.  ii  ri-:  i;:.-.i  Kii^:, ,:!:»■::;  i.:,m.i 
..I  nil,  u,.'  .1..-  i.j.;,v.-  .M„ui. 

Mi.iv.     f,,r    ;,     ],-.„.;     -.ill,,-     III,. 

lill    llii'   I'i'iliK's  "f   th.iE    niotuinh 


liiiii.     Sir  ■H„„,N..  .\r.iiv  .li,..l  „  (■,.il,,.li,.,  ;ii„l  yl  ill  lii« 

riM  l«i"l.,    "I    l,.|,i;i."    M..1.-  i'liil>.li,'i|  111..  fTOlLll-s  illlil  ,l»lii- 

wlii..|i    t'.-v,.|il    I.I    iH    llii.    u'l'tii-i'iil    yiianiiii^'    tiiat  Iiniiijrlil 

lull,    is    Killi'il    III..    l:i.|'<i|.|iuu.iii.      Fniiii  II  n'.ii'M   U'liero 


608  THE   STORY   OF   GOVEBNMSNT. 

fifteen  hundred  years  of  misapplied  Christianity  had  pixxluced  a 
frightful  crop  of  social  injustice,  religious  intolerance,  and  class 
tymnny,  this  delicately  humorous  philosopher  turned  to  his  con- 
ception of  Utopia,  a  country  in  which  the  struggles  of  natural 
virtue  realized  those  purposes  of  equality  and  free  fraternity  for 
Avhicli  alone  society  lias  any  excuse  for  existence.  In  this  won- 
derful book,  the  parent  of  so  many  modern  volumes.  More  touches 
Avith  a  hand  of  exquisite  lightness  and  almost  caressing  tender- 
ness all  the  questions  that  affect  the  widest  human  hearts  of 
to-day.  The  great  problems  of  labor,  of  government,  of  con- 
science he  examines,  not  merely  with  a  keenness  that  proves  the 
analytical  power  of  his  mind,  but  in  the  solutions  which  he 
])roposes  he  shows  himself  possessed  of  a  far-reaching  originality. 
He  is  not  content,  like  some  modern  anarchists,  with  seeking  to 
destroy  what  is  clearly  Avrong,  but  anxious  to  build  on  its  ruins 
Avhat  is  nearly  right.  In  some  points,  such  as  his  treatment  of 
the  labor  question,  he  still  remains  far  in  advance  of  average 
civilized  opinion,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  ranks  of 
those  who  hold  his  extremest  doctrines  are  being  rapidly  increased 
])y  accessions  of  the  most  intelligent  and  conscientious  thinkers. 

The  whole  system  of  society  around  Sir  Thomas  ]\Iore  seemed 
to  him,  as  he  phnised  it,  "Nothing  but  a  conspiracy  of  the  rich 
against  the  poor."  Its  economic  legislation  he  called  simply  the 
perfecting  of  such  a  conspiracy  by  ])rocesses  of  law.  "  The  rich 
are  ever  strivimj  to  pare  away  something  further  from  the  daily 
ivaye%  of  the  poor  hy  private  fraud  and  even  hy  puhll :  lau\  so  that 
the  tcrong  already  existing  Qfor  it  is  a  wrong  that  those  from  whom 
the  state  derives  mof<t  heyiefit  should  receive  least  reward^  is  made 
yet  greater  by  means  of  the  law  of  the  state.  The  rich  devise  every 
means  hy  which  they  may  in  the  first  ])lace  secure  to  themselves  what 
they  have  amassed  hy  wrong.,  and  then  take  to  their  own  use  and 
j)rofit  at  the  lowest  posi<i(le  price  the  tvork  and  labor  of  the  poor.^ 
and  so  soon  as  the  rich  decide  on  adopting  these  devices  in  the  name 
of  the  public.,  then  they  become  laws.,  the  result  of  ivhich  is  the  life 
to  ivhich  the  labor  claims  is  doomed.,  a  life  so  ivretched  that  even  a 
beast's  seems  enviable.'^'' 

With  this  he  contrasts  the   life   in  ''Utopia/'  where  the  aim  of 
legislation  is  to  cstiiblish  the  social,  industrial,  intellectual,  and 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY.  i^>09 

religious  welfare  of  the  community  as  a  unity,  and  of  the  labor 
class  as  the  true  basis  of  an  orderly  commonwealth.  In  "  Utopia  " 
goods  were  possessed  in  common,  but  Avork  was  compulsory  on 
all.  The  term  of  toil  was  shortened  to  the  nine  hours  demanded 
by  modern  workei*s  with  a  view  to  affording  opportunity  for  the 
intellectual  improvement  of  tlioso  who  are  forced  to  toil  with  their 
hands.  Whereas  in  England  half  the  people  could  not  read, 
every  child  was  taught  in  "Utoj)ia." 

In  "Utopia,"  too,  they  had  come  to  realize  the  connection, 
between  public  decency  and  the  hcaltli  that  springs  from  plenty 
of  light,  air,  comfort,  and  cleanliness.  The  same  foresight  indi- 
c<ated  in  More's  treatment  of  labor  and  public  health  is  yet  more 
apparent  in  his  treatment  of  crime.  He  was  the  lirst  to  suggest 
that  prevention  was  better  tlian  punishment,  and  tliat  the  object 
of  jninishment  should  be  reformation  of  the  individual,  and  not  a 
mere  reprisal  or  revenge  perpetrated  by  society. 

*'^  If  you  all oic  people  to  he  hadly  tamjht^  their  morula  corrupted 
from  childhood^  and  then  when  iheij  are  men  puniah  them  for  the 
very  crimes  to  which  they  have  been  trained^  what  is  this  hut  to  make 
thieves  and  then  to  punish  them  ?  " 

Simple  theft  in  that  day  was  punished  the  same  as  murder,  and 
More  argued  that  by  making  tbc  penalty  identical  the  law  was 
tempting  the  thief  to  secure  his  theft  and  do  away  Avith  his  chance 
of  detection  by  adding  murder  to  robbery.  In  tlie  great  princi- 
ples More  lai<l  down  he  aiitit*ipated  all  the  improvements  that 
have  marked  onr  criminal  system  in  the  last  Inuidred  years,  and 
his  treatment  of  tlie  religions  cjuestion,  Avhich  had  just  l)(.'gun  to 
flood  Enrope  with  blood,  was  even  more  wonderfnlly  in  advance 
of  his  age. 

The  religion  of  "Utopia"  was  in  strong  contrast,  conflict,  with 
the  faith  of  Christendom.  It  rested  simply  on  nature  and  reason. 
It  declared  Tiod's  purpose  to  be  the  happiness  of  man,  and  that 
any  ascetic  rejection  of  human  delights,  save  in  exceptional  cases 
for  the  common  good,  wits  a  thanklessness  to  the  (Jiver  which  was 
indeed  the  blindest  and  most  appalling  bhusphemy.  Christianity, 
it  is  true.  More  admitted  to  be  prevalent  in  liis  "Ut02)ia"  ;  but  it 
Avas  a  Christianity  in  Avhich  there  Avere  few  priests,  religion  center- 
ing rather  in  the  family  than  in  the  congregation,  and  each  house- 


510  THE   8TOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

hold  confessing  its  faults  to  its  father  or  mother  instead  of  a 
priest.  More  than  a  century  l>efore  William  of  Orange,  Thomas 
More  pi*oclaimed  the  gi*eat  principle  of  toleration,  for  in  "  Utopia  " 
it  was  lawful  for  every  man  to  believe  jis  he  pleased.  Disl)elievers 
in  God  and  immortality  were  excluded  from  public  office,  not,  how- 
ever, on  the  ground  of  their  disbc^lief,  but  simply  because  their 
opinions  were  felt  to  be  degrading  to  mankind,  and  likely  to 
incapacitate  those  Avho  held  them  from  governing  with  nobility 
.of  temper,  l)ut  they  Avere  subject  to  no  punisliment,  becaase  More 
declared  that  the  people  of  his  undiscovered  country,  Utopia, 
were  '^ pei*suaded  that  it  is  not  in  a  man\s  poAver  to  l)elieve  what 
he  list." 

He  anticipated  also  the  desire  and  (h-eam  of  all  religious  philoso- 
phers tor  essential  religious  unity  by  his  statement  that,  although 
each  sect  in  Utopia  performed  its  special  riti's  in  private,  all 
assembled  at  times  in  a  spjicious  temple  to  join  in  pniyei-s  an<I 
thanksgivings,  so  framed  as  to  be  satisfactorj'  to  all.  But  sucli  a 
man  as  Tliomas  More  had  no  chance  to  live  out  his  life  at  such  a 
])eriod,  and  in  1534  he  was  lu-ought  to  tho  block  l)ccause  he  would 
not  dignify  with  his  approval  the  divorce  oi'  his  sovereign. 
Henry  VIH.  had  forced  the  obsequicms  Parliament,  which  in  this 
reign  had  beconi;^  simply  a  tool  of  regal  i)ower  instead  of  a  check 
upon  it,  to  pass  what  was  called  an  Act  of  Succession  that  made 
leoritimate  the  children  of  his  marriagfc  with  Anne  Bolevn.  Tliis 
Act  of  Succession  was  twofold,  requiring  an  oath  to  be  taken  by 
all  pei"sons,  not  only  recognizing  Anne's  children  as  the  legal  heii's 
to  the  crown,  but  containing  an  acknowledgment  that  Henry's 
former  marriage  with  Catherine  had  been  contrary  to  Scripture, 
and  therefore  invalid  from  the  start.  The  kin'jf  and  his  chief 
counsellor,  Thomas  Cromwell,  knew  Flore's  iK'licf  on  this  point, 
and  the  invitation  to  take  this  oath  was  merelv  a  sununons  to 
death.  Thomas  More,  being  unwilling  to  swear  to  a  delil)erate 
lie,  at  the  age  of  sixty- four  gracefully  laid  his  head  on  the  block, 
a  singular  contrast  to  Charles  the  First  who  lost  his  crown  and 
head  a  hundred  odd  yeai-s  later  chieflv  l)ecause  he  could  not  tell 
the  truth. 

This  Avas  the  beginning  of  what  has  \)een  aptly  styled  a  Reign 
of  Terror  in  England,  to  which  the  brief  period  in  which  Robes- 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  611 

pierre  made  the  streets  of  Paris  run  i-ed  was  but  a  alight  affair 
comparatively.  Fi-om  1.530  to  1540,  during  which  time  Thomas 
Cromwell  was  the  chief  adviser  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  the  people 
of  England  felt  "iw  if  a  scorpion  slept  'neath  every  stone." 
While  the  great  revolution  that  struck  down  the  Church  was  in 
progi-ess  the  English  people  looked  on  silently.  In  the  contest 
over  jiapal  power,  in  tlie  refonii  of  clerical  courts,  in  the  lessening 
of  the  legislative  independence  of  the  clergy,  the  nation  as  a 
whole  had  »ide<l  with  the  king.  Hut  from  the  utter  debasement  of 
the  churchmen,  the  gag- 
ging of  pulpits,  and  the 
suppression  of  monas- 
teries, the  heart  of  the 
people  revolted.  Yet 
sucli  was  the  terror  in 
which  tliey  had  lieen 
boimd  that  only  here 
and  there  in  stniy  fai-ts 
that  have  Iwicn  tussed  up 
to  the  sni'face  do  we 
catcli  glimpses  of  the 
intense  iiopular  discon- 
tent and  righteous  wnith 
that  lay  seething  in  se- 
cret under  this  forced 
silence,  a  wratli  destined  to  break  out  in  later  years,  and  entirely 
overflow  the  banks  of  custom,  and  sweep  away  the  royal  power. 

This  was  a  period  in  which  men  hardly  dared  8[>eak  to  each  other 
lest  their  lightest  phrase  should  be  re|>eatc(l  to  some  spy,  and 
twisted  into  an  expression  of  treason,  jet  even  the  refuge  of  com- 
plete silence  was  attempted  to  l)e  taken  away  by  the  most  infamous 
law  tliat  had  ever  blotted  ii  statute  book.  Secret  thought  was 
legislatively  niaile  treason,  and  men  were  forced  to  reveal  their 
thoughts  on  pain  of  having  their  silence  punished  as  treason. 
Had  this  tyranny  lasted  very  long,  it  must  have  turned  the  frank, 
outspoken  English  into  a  nation  of  hypocrites.  Now,  though  the 
former  minister,  Wolsey,  had  strained  law  to  the  utmost,  still  he 
had  sbntnk  from  assembling  pftrliamenta,  because  of  bis  feeling 


512  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  they  were  the  natural  bulwarks  of  popular  liberty  against 
royal  encroachment.  But  Cromwell,  not  content  with  rendering 
judges  of  the  law  mere  mouth-pieces  df  the  royal  will,  conceived 
and  carried  out  during  his  administration  the  idea  of  making  Par- 
liament itself  but  the  puppet  of  a  regal  potentixte  as  absolutely 
lawless  as  any  Oriental  despot,  and  with  bill  after  bill  Cromwell 
broke  down  every  legal  hairier  between  his  desire  for  a  subject's 
death,  and  the  speedy  gratification  of  such  desire. 

It  was  a  singular  retribution  that  the  crowning  injustice  which 
this  pre-eminently  bad  nmn  sought  to  introduce  into  the  practice 
of  attainder,  namely,  the  condemnation  of  a  man  Avithout  hearing 
his  defence,  was  only  practised  on  himself;  for,  at  the  moment  of 
his  fall  from  royal  favor  in  1540,  the  council  cried  unanimously, 
"  He  shall  be  judged  by  the  bloody  law  he  himself  has  made."  And 
with  taunts  and  execrations  bursting  from  the  lords  at  council,  tlie 
Duke  of  Norfolk  tore  the  star  of  the  garter  from  its  ribbon  around 
his  neck,  and  in  the  month  after  he  was  beheaded  amid  a  perfect 
riot  of  public  applause. 

At  Cromwell's  death  the  success  of  his  policy  seemed  complete  ; 
monarchy  had  reached  the  acme  of  its  power;  tlie  former  liberties 
slowly  gained  by  the  people  appeared  lost.  The  lords  or  hiions 
had  been  cowed  into  submission,  and  the  House  of  Crmimons, 
filled  with  the  creatures  of  Cromwell,  had  been  tninsfornied  into 
an  engine  of  tyranny.  Royal  proclamations  were  supei*seding 
parliamentiiry  legislation.  Benevolences  or  forced  gifts  were 
encroaching  more  and  more  on  the  right  of  parliamentary  taxa- 
tion, and  the  indeterminate  powei*s  of  the  royal  council  were 
eclipsing  the  processes  of  the  common  law. 

Then,  too,  the  religious  changes  had  thrown  an  almost  sacred 
character  over  the  majesty  of  the  sovereign.  In  making  himself 
the  head  of  the  church  Ilenrv  VIII.  unconsciouslv  oriijinated  the 
dogma  of  divine  right  which  was  destined  to  cause  his  successoi-s 
among  the  Stuarts  so  much  trouble.  The  voice  of  England's 
preachers  had  become  the  piping  echo  of  the  royal  will,  forms  of 
worship  and  statements  of  l>clief  being  shifted  about  at  the  mon- 
arch's caprice  like  the  stock-in-trade  with  which  a  juggler  amuses 
his  audience.  Half  of  the  former  wealth  of  the  reliiifious  l)odies  of 
the  kingdom  had  gone  to  swell  the  royal  coflfei-s  and  the  other 


■  I 
i 


CONSTmrriONAL  MONARCHY.  618 

hnlf  lay  at  his  mercy.  It  must  Imve  been  this  unprecedented  and 
hitherto  unimagiimble  concentration  of  power  in  the  peraou  of  one 
man  which  oveniwed  the  minds  of  the  people  of  England,  and 
kept  tliem  for  yeara  in  a  stJite  of  daze  or  amazement  wondering 
what  next,  and  wliich  made  a  large  mass  of  the  people  come  to 
regard  tlic  moiuirch  as  a  being  high  above  the  laws  that  applied  to 


common  men.  So  strong  had  grown  this  dreadful  servility  tliat  Par- 
liament rose  as  one  man  and  bowed  to  the  em])ty  throne  wlieii 
Henr)'  'a  name  wiis  mentioned,  for  a  slavish  devotion  liad  i-eplaced 
the  old  loyalty  to  the  law,  and  when  the  primate  of  the  English 
Church  was  eulogizing  Cromwell,  he  stated,  as  that  minister's 
chief  merit,  that  he  loved  the  king  no  less  than  he  loved  God. 

But  no  sooner  was  Cromwell  dead  than  this  fabric  of  king  wor- 
ship which  he  had  built  began  to  crumble  away  like  an  ice  palace 
struck  by  a  summer  sun.  The  very  success  of  his  measures 
caused  the  ruin  of  his  policy.     He  had  succeeded  in  cowing  the 


604  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

London  widow,  one  Elizabeth  Woodville,  and  his  life  started 
happily  ;  but  thorns  sprang  up  under  his  bed  of  roses  in  the  shape 
of  her  relations,  who  were  clamorous  for  offices  at  the  expense  of 
the  people,  and  to  supply  their  needs  and  his  own  was  a  task  hard 
and  continually  harder.  Towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  revived 
the  old  English  idea  of  having  a  war  with  France,  to  obtain  funcLs 
for  which  he  not  only  got  special  gi-ants  from  Parliament,  but 
extorted  money  from  the  principal  citizens  of  London  in  tlie  form 
of  loans,  to  which  Avere  given  at  the  time  tlie  facetious  title  of 
"Benevolences."  He  went  over  to  Calais  with  great  pomp,  but 
instantly  accepted  the  peace  proposed  by  the  French  king. 

The  proceedings  on  this  occasion  were  very  gorgeous  but  amus- 
ingly distrustful.  The  Kings  of  France  and  England  met  on  a 
tempomry  bridge  over  the  river  Somme  in  a  strong  wooden  grating 
something  like  a  lion's  cage  and  embraced  each  other  througli  two 
holes  in  this  grating,  made  some  exquisite  bows  and  speeches  and 
departed  back  to  Paris  and  London.  On  his  death-bed  this  king 
repented  of  his  "  Benevolences  "  and  extortions  and  ordered  restitu- 
tion to  be  made  to  the  people  he  had  robbed. 

The  next  three  reigns,  that  of  Edward  V.,  Richard  III.,  and 
Henry  VII.  are  not  remarkable  for  any  advances  in  the  i<lea  of 
popular  government ;  but  a  great  (quickening  of  the  popular  mind 
began  to  ensue  in  tlie  reign  of  Henry  VII.  from  the  discovery  of 
the  New  World  by  Columbus,  for  the  king  appreciated  the  im- 
portance of  this  discovery  and  with  the  merchants  of  London  and 
Bristol  fitted  out  an  English  expedition  for  further  dis(!0veries 
under  the  command  of  Sebastian  Cabot. 

After  having  had  glimpses,  as  it  Avere,  of  a  possible  civil  and 
religious  liberty  in  the  reigns  Ave  have  been  considering,  it  was 
tlie  curioiLs  destiny  of  the  English  people  to  behold  two  violent 
abolitions  of  the  advantages  they  had  gained,  and  an  apparently 
completi^  extinction  of  their  slowly  developing  constitutional  mon- 
archy in  an  absolutism  more  savage  than  that  of   the  Ca^sai-s. 

The  long  civil  wai-s  that  ceased  when  Henry  VII.  ascended  the 
throne  had  hastened  the  fall  of  Feudalism^  bv  breakint^  the  i)Ower 

*The  essential  facts  of  the  feudal  system  were  three.  Ist.  The  nature  of  territorial  prop- 
erty was  entirely  different  from  its  present  nature,  because  no  man  except  the  chief  or  kinj; 
owned  anything:  indeiwndently,  but  lield  his  possessions  as  derived  from  an  overlord,  with 
certain  obIi|;rations  that  had  to  be  fulfilled  under  pain  of  forfeiture.    2d.    As  a  necessary 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  606 

of  the  baronage.  This  power  had  consisted  of  the  hosts  of  dis- 
oiilerly  i*etainei*8  swarming  about  their  castles  ready  to  furnish 
force  at  a  moment's  notice  in  case  of  revolt.  The  wars  had 
thinned  out  these  i-anks,  and  Henry  VII.  found  himself  able  to 
t»nforce  an  old  statute  of  Edward  I.  called  the  Statute  of  Liveries 
which  ordered  a  dissolution  of  these  militiiry  liousehohls.  Henry 
Vll.,  wlio  was  called  tlie  miser  king,  wlien  visiting  the  Earl  of 
Oxfoixl,  one  of  his  stanchest  su[)portei*s,  found  two  long  lines  of 
liveried  retainei-s  dniwn  up  to  receive  him.  ''Thanks  for  your 
good-cheer,  my  lonl,"  quoth  the  king  at  parting,  "but  I  cannot 
Iiave  my  laws  bi-oken  in  my  sight.  I  must  send  my  attorney  to 
visit  vou."     The    lawver's  visit   cost    the    Earl   of    Oxford   ten 


result  of  this  the  wliole  of  what  we  call  8overei<;nty  or  public  power  and  which  we  feel  to  be 
impersonal  was  then  i>ersonal,  l)ein}>:  lodtn^eil  in  tlie  individual  lord.  So  that  when  Louis  the 
«reat  exclaimed  *'Z'e<a^,rVjs«  ;/»«/,'•  **  The  State,  I'm  the  S^ate,"  he  was  giving  perfect  expree- 
Hion  Ul  the  doctrine  of  feudalism.  3d.  The  di.4tinctive  mark  of  feudalism  was  its  conscious, 
and  if  one  may  ui*e  the  term,  its  vociferous  interdependence.  All  the  legislative,  judicial,  and 
military  institutions  which  united  the  ]»o8sessors  of  ik'fs  or  feuds  among  themselves,  and 
formed  them  into  society  were  obligatory  i:i  their  reciproi;ations.  Tiie  vassal  owed  senrloe 
to  his  lonl,^the  lord  owcmI  i)rotection  to  his  vassal,  and  if  either  failed  in  his  duty,  for- 
feiture of  land  or  flef  ensued. 

Nowadays,  when  what  some  progressive  papers  call  the  factory  lord  or  the  coal  baron  bas 
paid  his  men  the  agreed-upon  wages,  his  legal  obligation  ceases.  He  is  not  bound  to  protect 
them  in  any  way,  although  they  have  given  him  far  mora  valuable  service  than  most  vassals 
of  old  gave  to  tluir  lords.  This  is,  indeed,  the  great  difference  between  this  epoch  of 
economic  evolution  and  that  one,  that  many  duties  have  been  raised  from  the  narrow 
material,  or  legal,  sphere  into  t'.ie  ever- widening  realm  of  morals. 

Though  the  one-man  iwwer,  the  i)erpetuated  rule  of  the  one  strong  num,  — or  in  one  word, 
royalty  —  was  the  fountain  of  feudalism,  it  soon  found  itself  in  antagonism  with  the  streams 
of  force  of  which  it  was  the  source.  The  history  of  feudalism  is  full  of  examples  of  vassals 
aiding  their  immediate  lords  against  the  king. 

The  ceremonies  occurring  on  the  granting  a  flef  were  principally  homage,  fealty,  and 
investiture.  Homa  re  expressed  the  devotion  of  the  vassal,  and  the  oath  of  fealty  differed 
little  from  the  act  of  homage  but  was  indispensable  and  was  also  taken  by  ecclesiastics  even 
when  they  did  not  hold  any  i)n)i>erty.  Investiture  was  the  actual  conveyance  of  the  feudal 
lands  by  the  lord  and  was  of  two  kinds.  Proi>er  investiture  was  the  actual  placing  of  the 
vassal  on  the  ground  to  be  conveyed  by  the  lord  or  his  deputy,— which  is  called  in  English 
law  "livery  of  seisin"  —  meaning,  in  modern  language,  delivery  of  i>ossession.  Improper 
investiture  was  the  handing  over  of  a  stick  or  stone  or  piece  of  turf  as  a  symbol.  The  vas- 
saVs  duties  after  investiture  were  so  numerous  and  varied  so  with  ])lace  that  only  a  few  can 
be  s]>ecilled,  such  as  the  duty  of  l>earing  military  service  for  the  lord  or  king,  and  of  supply- 
ing a  certain  amount  of  their  productions  from  the  soil,  or  a  certain  number  of  their  cattle, 
etc.  Sometimes  a  flef  was  given  by  favor  for  some  very  trifling ser\ice  to  be  ]>erformed, such 
as  sending  to  the  king  a  gray  fox  fur  every  year. 

The  length  of  service  was  often  scrupulously  deflned.  For  instance,  forty  days  was  the 
usual  term  that  the  tenant  of  a  knight's  flef  was  boun<l  to  1>e  in  the  field  at  his  own  expense. 
The  vassals  of  the  king  liad  vassals  under  them  bound  to  their  estates  by  snbfealties,  and 
some  of  these  by  forfeiture  had  become  reduced  to  mere  slaves  dependent  on  the  whim  of  the 
master  for  everything. 

Tills  was  the  system  which  William  the  Norman  introduoed  into  England,  but  for  his  own 
protection  against  the  encroachments  of  his  rapacious  Norman  vassals  he  was  forced  to  take 
ap  into  his  government  some  of  the  political  customs  of  the  people  he  had  conquered. 


«r 


506  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

thousand  pounds, — rather  a  high  price  to  pay  for  keeping  so 
many  retainers.  This  incident  shows  how  the  j>ower  of  the 
baronage  had  been  weakened. 

Henry  VIII.  has  been  epigramatized  by  one  indignant  English- 
man as  "  a  huge  blot  of  blood  and  grease  "  on  the  history  of  his 
nation.  His  reign  is  indeed  the  part  of  English  history  whicli 
provokes  the  profoundest  disgust,  and  yet  this  epoch,  in  which 
the  liberty  of  the  subject  went  to  its  lowest  ebb,  and  the  mon- 
archy reached  its  worst  pitch  of  cruel,  almost  insane,  absolut- 
ism, wjvs  in  reality  a  transition  period.  Some  recent  historians, 
Froude  for  instance,  have  endeavored  to  rehabilitate  this  regal 
wi'etch,  Henry  VIH.,  and  to  make  out  that  he  was  a  king  of  more 
than  ordinary  talents,  but  the  truth  aj)peai*s  to  be  that  he  was  for- 
tunate in  having  about  him  ministei-s  of  unusual  intellectual 
powers,  whose  abilities  he  had  twe  trick  of  absorbing,  and  of  reflect- 
ing to  a  certain  extent  as  his  own.  He  had  one  gift  that  often 
dazzles  the  nuiltitude,  — a  tremendous  energy,  an  almost  tireless 
activity  in  projecting  his  pereonality  upon  his  subjects.  He  never 
allowed  the  popular  interest  to  flag  for  one  moment,  but  plavcd 
from  first  to  last  a  gorgeous  dninia,  l^rutal,  barbaric,  bizarre,  but 
never  dull.  His  quarrels  with  the  Pope,  his' tymnny  over  his 
nobles,  his  extraordinary  marital  record,  and  the  strange  €ij)parent 
success  that  attendtMl  all  liis  wickedness,  made  him  not  a  pi)i)ular 
idol  but  an  object  of  keener  j)opular  concern  than  any  preceding 
monarch  except  Henry  the  Second,  Edward  the  Fii*st,  and  Harry 
the  Fifth. 

The  religious  agitation  that  s[)rang  from  the  mere  personal 
whim,  passion,  and  vanity  of  Henry  tlie  Eiglith  was  productive  of 
gi-eat  intellectual  results,  although  it  deluged  England  with  l)lood 
for  several  successive  reit^ns,  and  fills  the  close  reader  of  annals 
with  continual  horror.  The  revival  of  learning  wliich  took  plare 
in  tins  reijL^n  may  be  said  to  have  shown  its  most  perfect  fruit  in 
oiu*  man.  This  was  Sir  Thouias  ]\Iore,  for  a  long  time  tlie 
a<lviser  of  Henry  the  l^ii^hth,  till  the  crimes  of  that  monarch 
estrauL^ed  him.  Sir  Thomas  ^Unv  died  a  Catholic,  and  vet  in  his 
delightful  book,  'Ttopia,"  ^lore  embodied  the  feelings  and  aspi- 
rations which  ri»veal  to  us  the  t^eneml  yearnin<x  that  brounflit 
about   what    is    called    the    Ueformation.      From  a  world   where 


I 


508  THE   STOBY   OF   GOVERNM2NT. 

fifteen  hundred  years  of  misapplied  Christianity  had  pitxluced  a 
frightful  crop  of  social  injustice,  religious  intolerance,  and  class 
tyi-anny,  this  delicately  humorous  philosopher  turned  to  his  con- 
ception of  Utopia,  a  country  in  which  the  struggles  of  natural 
virtue  realized  those  purposes  of  equality-  and  free  fraternity  for 
which  alone  society  has  any  excuse  for  existence.  In  this  won- 
derful book,  the  parent  of  so  many  modern  volumes.  More  touches 
with  a  hand  of  exquisite  lightness  and  almost  caressing  tender- 
ness all  the  questions  that  affect  the  widest  human  hearts  of 
to-day.  Tlie  gi-eat  problems  of  labor,  of  government,  of  con- 
science he  examines,  not  merely  with  a  keenness  that  proves  the 
analytical  power  of  his  mind,  but  in  the  solutions  which  he 
proposes  he  shows  himself  possessed  of  a  far-reaching  originality. 
He  is  not  content,  like  some  modern  anarcliists,  with  seeking  to 
destroy  what  is  clearly  wrong,  but  anxious  to  build  on  its  ruins 
what  is  nearly  right.  In  some  points,  such  as  his  treatment  of 
the  lal)or  question,  he  still  remains  far  in  advance  of  average 
civilized  opinion,  though  it  must  \ye  admitted  that  the  ranks  of 
those  wlio  hold  his  extremest  doctrines  are  l)eing  rapidly  increased 
by  accessions  of  the  most  intelligent  and  conscientious  thinkers. 

Tlie  wliole  system  of  society  around  Sir  Thomas  More  seemed 
to  him,  as  he  phrased  it,  "Nothing  but  a  conspiracy  of  the  rich 
against  the  poor."  Its  economic  legislation  he  called  simply  the 
perfecting  of  such  a  consj)ii*acy  by  processes  of  law.  "  The  rich 
are  ever  8trivin(j  to  pare  away  something  further  from  the  daily 
wayes  of  the  poor  by  private  fraud  and  even  by  public  latv^  so  that 
the  irrony  already  eristiny  (^for  it  is  a  wrong  that  those  from  whom 
the  state  derives  most  benefit  should  receive  least  reivard^  is  made 
yet  greater  by  means  of  the  law  of  the  state.  The  rich  devise  every 
means  by  which  they  may  in  the  first  place  secure  to  themselves  what 
they  have  amassed  by  trrong^  and  then  take  to  their  own  use  and 
profit  at  the  lowest  possilde  j^^iee  the  work  and  labor  of  the  poor^ 
and  so  yoon  as  the  rich  decide  on  adopting  these  devices  in  the  name 
of  the  public^  then  they  become  laws^  the  result  of  tchich  is  the  life 
to  tvhiclt  tlie  labor  class  is  doomed^  a  life  so  wretched  that  even  a 
beast's  seems  enviable ^ 

With  tliis  he  contrasts  tlie   life   in  ''Utopia,"  wliere  the  aim  of 
legislation  is  to  est^iblisli  the  social,  industriiil,  intellectual,  and 


CONflTrriTIONAL    MOXAIICHY. 


religious  welfare  of  the  community  as  a  unity,  and  of  the  labor 
clasa  as  the  true  basis  of  an  orderly  commonwealth.  In  "  Utopia  " 
goods  were  possessed  in  common,  but  work  was  compulsor}'  on 
all.  Tlie  term  of  toil  was  shortened  to  the  nine  hours  demanded 
by  modem  workers  with  a  view  to  affording  opportunity  for  the 
intellectual  improvement  of  those  who  are  forced  to  toil  with  their 
hands.  Whereas  in  England  half  the  people  could  not  read, 
every  child  was  taught  in  "Utopia." 

In  "Utopia,"  too,  they  had  come  to  realize  the  connection, 
between  public  decency  and  the  health  that  springs  from  plenty 
of  light,  air,  comfort,  and  cleanliness.  The  same  foresight  indi- 
cated in  More's  treatment  of  labor  and  public  health  is  yet  more 
{^parent  in  his  treatment  of  crime.  He  was  the  fii-st  to  suggest 
tliat  prevention  was  better  than  punishment,  and  that  the  object 
of  punishment  should  be  reformation  of  the  individual,  and  not  a 
mere  reprisal  or  revenge  [Perpetrated  by  society. 

"  ]f  you  allow  people  to  he  hadly  taught,  their  morah  corrupted 
from  ehildhooj,  and  then  when  they  are  men  punith  them  for  the 
very  crimes  to  which  they  have  been  trained,  what  ts  this  but  to  make 
thieves  and  then  to  pvnish  them  ?  " 

Simple  theft  in  that  day  aviis  punished  the  same  as  murder,  and 
More  argued  tliat  by  making  tlie  penalty  identical  tiie  law  wjis 
tempting  the  thief  to  secure  liis  theft  and  do  away  with  his  chance 
of  detection  by  adiling  murder  to  i-obljery.  In  the  great  princi- 
ples More  laid  down  lie  aiiticiiMited  nil  the  improvements  that 
have  marked  our  criminal  sj-stem  iu  tlie  last  hundred  years,  and 
his  treatment  of  the  religious  question,  which  had  just  begun  to 
flood  Europe  with  blood,  was  even  more  wonderfully  in  advance 
of  his  age. 

Tlie  religion  of  "Utopia"  was  in  strong  contrast,  conflict,  M'ith 
the  faith  of  Christendom.  It  rested  simply  on  nature  and  reason. 
It  declared  God's  purpose  to  be  the  happiness  of  man,  and  that 
any  ascetic  rejection  of  huinaii  delights,  save  in  exceptional  cases 
for  the  common  good,  was  a  thanklessness  to  the  Giver  which  was 
indeed  the  blindest  and  most  appalling  blasphemy.  Christianity, 
it  is  tme,  More  admitted  to  be  prevalent  in  his  "  Utopia  "  ;  but  it 
was  a  Christianity  in  which  there  were  few  priests,  religion  center- 
ing latber  in  the  family  than  in  the  congregation,  and  each  house- 


510  THE   STOKV  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

hold  confessing  its  faults  U)  its  father  or  mother  iastead  of  a 
priest.  More  than  a  eenturj'  before  William  of  Orange,  Thomas 
More  proclaimed  the  great  principle  of  toleration,  for  in  **  L'topia  ^ 
it  was  lawful  for  everv'  man  to  lielieve  jis  he  pleased.  Dislielievers 
in  Grxl  and  immortality  were  excludc'd  from  public  office,  not,  how- 
ever, on  the  ground  of  their  <lislK'lief,  but  simply  Ixfcause  their 
opinions  were  felt  to  Ixf  degrading  to  mankind,  and  likely  to 
incapacitate  those  who  held  them  from  governing  with  nobility 
.of  temj>er,  but  they  were  subject  to  h(»  punishment,  liocause  More 
declared  that  the  i)eoplc  of  his  undiscovered  country,  Utopia, 
were  '' |)ei*8uaded  that  it  is  not  in  a  man's  pciwer  to  Ixelieve  what 
he  list." 

He  anticipated  also  tlie  desii-e  and  dream  of  all  religioiLs  philaso- 
j>liers  for  essential  religious  unity  by  his  statement  that,  although 
efich  sect  in  Utopia  perfonned  its  special  rites  in  private,  all 
assembled  at  times  in  a  spacious  temple  to  join  in  prayei's  ami 
thanksgivings,  so  framed  as  to  Ix*  satisfactory'  to  all.  But  sucli  a 
man  as  Thomas  More  had  no  chance  to  live  out  his  life  at  such  a 
period,  and  in  1534  he  was  brought  to  the'  ])!i>ck  K^cause  he  would 
not  dignify  with  his  approval  the  divoivi*  oi  his  sovereign. 
Henry  Vlll.  had  forced  the  obsequious  Parliament,  which  in  this 
I'eign  had  become  simply  a  tool  of  regal  p(»wer  instead  of  a  check 
upon  it,  to  pass  what  was  called  an  Act  of  Succession  that  made 
legitinrate  the  children  of  his  marriage  with  Anne  I>oleyn.  This 
Act  of  Succession  Avas  twofold,  requiring  an  oath  to  be  taken  by 
all  pei*sons,  not  only  recognizing  Anne's  children  as  the  legal  hell's 
to  the  crown,  but  containing  an  acknowledgment  that  Heiu'j^'s 
former  marriagi?  with  Catherine  had  been  contrary  to  Scripture, 
and  therefore  invalid  from  the  start.  The  kin^r  and  his  chief 
connsellor,  Thomas  Cromwell,  knew  More's  Wlief  on  this  point, 
and  the  invitation  to  take  this  oath  was  merelv  a  summons  to 
death.  Thomas  More,  being  unwilling  to  swear  to  a  delil)erate 
lie,  at  the  age  of  sixty-fonr  gracefully  laid  his  head  on  the  block, 
a  singular  contrast  to  Charles  the  Fii^st  who  lost  his  crown  and 
liead  a  hundred  odd  yeai*s  later  chiefly  l)c»caiise  he  could  not  tell 
the  truth. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  what  has  l)een  aptly  styled  a  Reign 
of  Terror  in  England,  to  which  the  brief  period  in  Avhich  Robes- 


CON8TITUTIOSAI,  MONARCHY. 


511 


pierre  made  the  streets  of  Paris  run  i-ed  was  but  a  sliglit  afEair 
comimratively.  Fmm  1530  to  1540,  during  wliich  time  Tliomas 
Cromwell  was  tlie  cliief  a<lvi8er  of  Ileiii^'  the  Eiglith,  the  people 
of  Enghviid  felt  "as  if  a  scorpion  slept  'neatli  every  stone." 
While  the  great  i-evolution  that  struck  down  the  Church  was  in 
progress  the  English  people  looked  on  silently.  In  the  contest 
over  papil  power,  in  the  i-efonu  of  clerical  courts,  in  the  lessening 
of  the  legislative  independence  of  the  clergy,  the  nation  as  a 
g      11   t  f  o  n  t1  e  utt«r  debaseme  t  of 


w 

lolol 

1     1  I 

tl  the  I 

tl 

e    h 

1 

tl    ff"!. 

S 

got 

i"ir  t 

1th 

11 

ot 

t 

e 

1    1 

I    f  tie 

I» 

ih 

It 

1       ■i   t 

1 

•u     tl       t 

TO 

^ 

1     1 

tie      1 

I    l«en 

Ik 

1 

tl    t 

I      le-e 

1  tl 

1    t 

tl 

atl 

1         t 

1    1 

t<i 
0 

1 
t  1 

1    c 
1     1 

lo       e 

r    tie 

e 

1   I    1 

1 

te 

ta 

1       „lt   0 

tl 

tl     t    1  hCetl         g  h      AX        N  SK  N       \  YS 

cret   under   this    forced  '"''  ^"'  tih.ham  moiik. 

silence,  a  ivititli  destined  to  break  out  in  later  years,  and  entirely 

oveiflow  the  banks  of  custom,  and  sweep  away  the  royal  power. 

This  was  a  [loriod  in  Avhicli  men  hardly  dared  speak  to  each  other 
lest  their  lightest  plimse  should  Iw  iv^wated  to  some  spy,  an<l 
twisted  into  an  expression  of  treason,  yet  even  the  refuge  of  com- 
plete silence  wjis  attempted  to  lie  taken  away  by  the  nio.*t  infamous 
law  that  had  ever  ltlotte<l  a  statute;  Ixtok.  Secret  thought  ^vas 
legislatively  ina<Ie  treason,  and  men  were  foreed  to  I'eveal  their 
thoughts  on  ijain  of  having  their  silence  punished  as  treason. 
Had  this  tyranny-  lasted  very  long,  it  must  have  turned  the  frank, 
outspoken  English  into  a  nation  of  hypocrites.  Now,  though  the 
former  minister,  Wolaey,  had  strained  law  to  the  utmost,  still  he 
had  shrunk  from  assembling  parliaments,  because  of  his  feeling 


512  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  they  were  the  natural  bulwarks  of  popular  liberty  against 
royal  encroachment.  But  Cromwell,  not  content  with  rendering- 
judges  of  the  law  mere  mouth-pieces  df  the  royal  will,  conceived 
and  caiTied  out  during  his  administration  the  idea  of  making  Par- 
liament itself  but  the  puppet  of  a  regal  potentate  as  absolutely 
lawless  as  any  Oriental  despot,  and  with  bill  after  bill  Cromwell 
broke  down  every  legal  barrier  between  his  desire  for  a  subject's 
death,  and  the  speedy  gratification  of  such  desire. 

It  was  a  singular  retribution  that  the  crowning  injustice  whicli 
this  pre-eminently  bad  man  sought  to  introduce  into  the  practice 
of  attainder,  namely,  tlie  condemnation  of  a  man  without  hearing 
his  defence,  was  only  practised  on  himself;  for,  at  the  moment  of 
his  fall  from  royal  favor  in  1540,  the  council  cried  unanimously, 
"  He  shall  be  judged  by  the  bloody  law  he  himself  has  made."  And 
with  taunts  and  execrations  bursting  from  the  lords  at  council,  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk  tore  the  star  of  tlie  garter  from  its  ribbon  around 
his  neck,  and  in  the  month  after  he  was  beheaded  amid  a  perfect 
riot  of  public  applause. 

At  Cromwell's  deatli  the  success  of  his  policy  seemed  complete  ; 
monarchy  had  reached  the  acme  of  its  power;  the  foimer  liljerties 
sloAvIy  gained  by  the  people  appeared  lost.  The  lords  or  barons 
had  been  cowed  into  submission,  and  tlie  House  of  Commons, 
filled  Avitli  the  creatures  of  Cromwell,  had  been  transformed  into 
an  engine  of  tyranny.  Royal  proclamations  Avere  superseding 
parliamentiiry  legislation.  Benevolences  or  foi-ced  gifts  wt^-c 
encroacliing  more  and  more  on  the  right  of  parliamentary  taxa- 
tion, and  the  indeterminate  powers  of  the  royal  council  Avere 
eclipsing  the  processes  of  the  common  law. 

Then,  too,  the  religious  changes  had  thrown  an  almost  sacred 
character  over  the  majesty  of  the  sovereign.  In  making  liimself 
the  head  of  the  church  Henrv  YIII.  unconsciouslv  orii^inatcd  the 
dogma  of  divine  right  Avhich  was  destined  to  cause  his  successoi-s 
among  the  Stuarts  so  much  trouble.  The  voice  of  England's 
preachers  had  become  the  pil)ing  echo  of  the  royal  will,  forms  of 
worship  and  statements  of  belief  being  shifted  about  at  the  mon- 
arch's caprice  like  the  stock-in-trade  with  whicli  a  juggler  amuses 
his  audience.  Half  of  the  former  wealth  of  the  religious  bodies  of 
the  kingdom  had  gone  to  swell  the  royal  coffers  and   the  other 


coNSTirnriONAi.  monarchy. 


618 


half  lay  at  his  mercy.  It  must  hnve  been  this  unprecedented  and 
liitherto  unimi^iiiable  concentration  of  power  in  the  peraou  of  one 
man  which  oveniwed  the  minds  of  the  people  of  England,  and 
Icept  them  for  yeara  in  a  state  of  daze  or  amazement  wondering 
what  next,  and  which  made  a  lai^e  musB  of  the  people  come  to 
regard  the  monai-ch  a»  a  being  high  above  the  laws  that  applied  to 


JANK    UltUV. 


common  men.  So  strong  had  gi-own  this  (Ireadfnl  servility  that  Par- 
liament n>se  as  one  man  and  bowed  to  the  empty  throne  when 
Henry  'a  name  was  mentioned,  for  a  slavish  devotion  had  replaced 
the  old  loyalty  to  the  law,  and  when  the  primate  of  the  English 
Church  was  eulogizing  Cromwell,  he  stated,  as  tliat  mijiister's 
chief  merit,  that  ho  loved  the  king  no  less  than  he  loved  God. 

But  no  sooner  was  Cromwell  dea*!  tlian  tliis  fabric  of  king  wor- 
ship which  he  had  built  began  to  ci-umble  away  like  an  ice  palace 
struck  by  a  summer  sun.  The  very  success  of  his  measures 
caused  the  ruin  of  his  -policy.     Me  had  succeeded  in  cowing  the 


514  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

House  of  Lortls  and  crowding  tlie  Comnions  with  niembei-s 
directly  or  indirectly  elected  by  the  royal  council ;  he  had  made 
Parliament  an  accomplice  in  liis  attempt  at  constructing  an  aliso- 
lutism;  by  parliamentaiy  stiitutes  lie  had  dragged  the  Church 
down  to  the  feet  of  tlie  monarch ;  by  bills  of  attainder  he  liad 
hounded  great  nol^les  to  the  l)lock ;  under  constitutional  forms  he 
had  gag^^c(l  freedom  with  new  tretusons,  and  oaths,  and  ser\ile 
questions,  but  tlie  continuous  success  of  such  a  system,  of  coui-st*, 
depended  wholly  on  the  continuous  servility  of  l*arliament  U^  the 
will  of  the  crown,  and  whenever  a  weak  king  or  a  weak  minister 
should  happen  to  ])e  in  power,  a  reversal  of  the  situation  wcmkl 
naturally  result.  Is  it  not  a  curious  reflection  that  Cromwell, 
the  wickedest  minister  of  England's  cruellest  king,  should  have 
made  the  way  clear  by  the  very  success  of  his  schemes  for  that 
other  Cromwell  a  hundi-ed  yeais  after,  who  gave  a  death  blow  to 
the  dogma  of  the  divine  right  of  kings? 

It  was  in  this  reign  that  stout  Lord  llussey  gave  vent  to  a  senti- 
ment which,  by  the  light  of  later  events,  reads  like  a  prophecy: 
•"■The  world  will  never  mend  till  we  fight  for  it."  Like  many 
another  noble  in  this  reign,  Hussey  ])aid  with  his  head  for  the 
privilege  of  speaking  his  mind.  The  succeeding  reigns  of 
Edward  VI.,  the  ten  days  of  i^ady  Jane  (irey,  who  paid  for  her 
brief  titstc?  of  royalty  with  her  Iniautiful  head  on  the  block,  and 
the  crimson  reign  of  Mary,  called  the  bl(K)dy  by  Protestants, 
though  she  caused  no  more  blood  to  flow  than  many  Protestiint 
princes,  werti  distinguished  by  no  diminution  of  the  royal  prerog- 
atives, and  no  gains  on  tlie  i)ait  oi  any  class  in  England;  nor  Wius 
the  reign  of  Elizal)eth,  splendid  as  it  seenie(l  to  the  people  by 
comparison  of  its  quietude,  and  by  reiuson  of  the  j)opular  man- 
ners and  picturesque  personality  of  their  (picen,  marked  by  any 
political  gains. 

Elizabeth's  chief  ambition  Avas  to  preserAc  her  throne,  keep 
lingland  out  of  A>ar,  and  her  realm  in  good  order;  but  she  had  no 
conception  of  Ix^ng  a  popular  or  constitutional  monarch  save  in 
the  way  of  dazzling  the  people  with  pageantries,  and  even  that 
not  to  any  great  dt^gree,  for  she  Avas  as  economical  as  the  present 
queen.  Hut  though  ILlizal)eth's  sovereignty  was  almost  a  des- 
potism it  Avas  i>roductive  of  great  good  to  the  English  people. 


rONSTITUTtONAL   MONARCHY. 


515 


The  feeling  of  nationality  was  iiiteiuiitied,  the  great  success  which 
accident  and  tiie  iihility  to  take  advantage  of  a<;cident  g.ive  to 
J'liglisli  amis  against  the  Spanish  Armada  not  only  cripijlcd  lier 
most  formiLlahie  rival,  hut  awakened  England  tn  the  idea  that  she 
might  Ix'come  not  merely  a  gi^eat  naval  power  hut  a  great  colo- 
nizing power. 

Moreover,  in  tliis  age,  the  imjictus  given  to  the  minds  of  men 


hy  the  revival  of  h-arning,  of  which  we  <|uoted  Sir  Tlioniiis  Mims 
Its  a  conspicuous  exuniple.  produced  an  intellectual  hanest  some- 
thing like  (he  purse  of  Fortnnatus.  I)ecause  to-djiy  we  urc  still 
reaping  it.  Tins  eiu  is  called  hy  flatteritig  liistoi'iaiis  the  Kli/a- 
I>ethan  Age.  It  could  lie  more  aptly,  more  justly,  entitled  tho 
Sliakespearean  or  Baconian  -Vge;  for  these  two  minds  (wlumi 
some  scholai-s  would  have  us  Ixdieve  were  only  one)  were  of  such 
extraoixliuary  richness  that  they  not  only  atloi-ned  their  ()Wii  time, 


51*>  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

turning  even  much  of  its  tinsel  into  gold,  but  they  liad,  in  one 
case  j)erhaps  unconsciously,  the  faculty  of  fecundating  the  future, 
and  impressing  themselves  not  merely  on,  but  deep  into,  the 
national  life  as  a  2)emianent  force. 

Their  comparative  ix)wer  has  waned  somewhat  through  the  ex- 
tension of  t lie  empire  and  the  vast  increase  in  population  unaccom- 
])anied  by  a  corres])onding  increase  in  education,  and  yet  to-day, 
unsatisfactory  as  are  lx)th  on  the  spiritual  side,  the  ma jority  of  men 
are  either  Shakespeareans  in  the  practical  conduct  of  life,  or,  if 
their  minds  have  a  more  philosophic  cjist,  are  Baconians.  Yet, 
strange  to  say,  Shakespeare  api>eai"s  to  have  had  no  reverence  for  the 
future,  as  Bacon  had  none  for  the  i>ast. 

Bacon's  attitude  towards  theology  and  psychology  which   he 
left  entirely  out  of  his  system  of  human  knowledge  is  paralleled 
by  Shakes|>eare's  inability  to  see  any  spiritual  meaning  or  anj' 
l)olitical  jK)ssibility  in  the  great    Puritan  movement  which  was 
well  under  wav  in  his  time.     He    saw    in    the  Puritans   mere 
olijects  for  theatric   mirtli,  just  Jis  Bacon  saw  in   all  churchmen 
pei-sons  unwort!iy  th(»  consideration  of  a  philosopher.   Of  the  popu- 
lar trend  of  Puritanism  (and  fault v  as  it  was,  Puritanism  was  the 
lii-st  political  system  wliicli  rcM^ogiiizcd  the  grandeur  of  the  people 
ju;  a  wliole)  Sluikespeare  knew  notliing.  Socially,  the  j>oet  reflects 
the   aristocnitie    view   of  life   and  his  philosophy   is  essentially 
Iloratian:    "(let   :us   imuli  out  of  life  as  possible  and  laugh  while 
vou  live,  for  vou  niav  Ije  a  lony-  time  dead.'*    And  vet  the  Puritan 
movement  despised  by  these    men  Avas  the  most  vital  and  grandest 
force  that  Ir.ul  appeared  in  the  nation's  (levelo[)ment ;  for,  however 
much  we  may  abhor  its  modern  displays  of  narrowness,  it  brought 
into  Kn^^land  a  new  conee})tiou  of  social  equality.      The  common 
br(»therhood  in  C'hiist  which  it  tauj^dit  conspired  to  confound  that 
ovei'wludmin^  sense  of  pei-sonal   difference  which  feudalism  had 
established.       Il   is   true  that    even     now    there    are   very  many 
Kn::^lishnien  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes  who  cringe  to  anyone 
that  comes  from  the  anciiuit  <ri;ntrv,  whether  he  beai*s  a  title  or 
Jiot,  and  who   also   cringe   to  any  rich  tradesman  who  has  lx)Ught 
title  either  directlv  or  bv  i)olitical  service,   as   in   the  recent 
of  sundiy  manufacturers  of  beer  and  porter. 
ut  the   leaven    of    Puritanism,    though   it    works    slowly,    is 


618  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

making  over  the  entire  lump,  is  working  surely,  and  the  admira- 
tion of  royalty  and  of  nobility  per  %e  is  on  the  wane  never  again  to 
wax.  The  intensity  of  this  Puritan  feeling  when  it  first  arose  in 
England  can  hardly  be  described,  but  must  be  left  largely  to  the 
imagination.  It  was  like  a  new  revelation  from  Him  who 
preached  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  It  \\idA  Christianity  speak- 
ing again  to  all  kinds  and  classes  with  the  same  freshness  and 
force  with  which  this  great  religion  spoke,  when  inspiring  the 
hearts  of  its  earliest  followei-s  to  fling  themselves  into  the  arena 
against  the  colossal  power  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Under  the 
teaching  of  Puritanism  the  meanest  peasant  felt  himself  ennobled, 
and  the  proudest  noble  recognized  that  thei'e  might  be  between 
himself  and  his  lowest  vassal  such  a  thing  as  spiritual  equality. 
Macaulay's  flippant  sneer  to  the  effect  that  the  Puritan  objected 
to  the  popular  sport  of  l)ear-baiting,  not  because  it  gave  pain  to 
the  bear  but  because  it  gave  jileasiu^e  to  the  spectators,  is  by  no 
means  a  just  one.  Tliat  Puritanism  at  times  ran  into  excesses  of 
asceticism,  is  not  to  be  denied,  but  a  great  popular  movement,  like 
a  great  individual  life,  should  be  judged  by  its  best,  not  by  its 
worst  or  bv  tlie  excesses  of  its  best. 

A  fact  worthy  of  notice  under  the  Tudoi-s  was  the  compai*ative 
al)sence  of  rebellions.  Only  two  great  risings  occurred  against 
the  reform  policy,  the  Pilgrimage  of  Grace,  as  it  was  called, 
and  the  rebellion  of  the  Nevilles  and  Percies  in  lo09.  Each  of 
these  Avas  of  the  type  usual  under  the  Plantagenets,  where  the 
great  nobles  niised  the  whole  countryside  against  the  policy  of 
the  crown.  The  otlier  insuirections  during  the  Tudor  dynasty, 
such  as  those  of  Ivet  and  Wyatt,  were  local  and  for  special  causes, 
but  the  ease  with  which  these  risings  were  suppressed  indicates 
tlie  general  j)opularity  of  tlie  gov^ernment,  or  the  acquiescence  of 
the  majority  of  the  i)eople  in  a  strong  rule. 

The  reason  of  tliis  is  to  be  found,  perliaps,  })artly  in  the  exten- 
sion of  the  commercial  spirit.  The  rise  of  commercialism  or  the 
increase  of  trade  in  a  nation  produces  a  class  anxious  to  have  a 
steady  government  rather  than  one  subject  to  political  fluctuations, 
and  even  if  such  a  government  does  tren(*h  cm  tlie  liberty  of  the 
individual  a  general  consent  to  the  loss  of  some  individuality  for 
the  sake  of  security  is  one  of  the  coninion  compromises  of  a  com- 


620  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

mercial  civilization.  Then,  too,  the  necessity  of  self-preservation 
as  a  nation  had  contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  internal  quiet, 
for  England  had  been  under  the  shadow  of  great  dangers  from 
European  complications  through  the  pei-sonal  conduct  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  and  this  shadow  hung  over  the  land  through  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  till  the  execution  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  in  1587, 
and  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada  in  1588.  One  of  the 
incidents  most  characteristic  of  the  English  temper  at  this  time 
is  that  shown  in  the  illustration.  When  the  Spanish  Armada 
hove  in  sight.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  Frobisher,  Lord  Howard  and 
other  naval  commanders  were  playing  a  game  of  nine-pins.  The 
picture  tells  the  story.  After  the  disastrous  defeat  of  the 
Spaniards,  England,  no  longer  breathlessly  anxious  for  her  own 
national  existence,  was  able  to  turn  her  attention  from  outside 
security  to  the  acquisition  of  internal  or  constitutional  freedom, 
and  then  it  became  evident  that  the  calm  which  had  prevailed 
under  the  Tudors  was  merely  the  incubation  of  a  tempest. 

This  effort  of  the  people  lasted  exactly  one  hundred  years,  and 
during  that  time  the  old  liberties  won  under  the  Plantagenets  were 
regained  with  such  certainty  that  they  have  never  since  then  l>een 
dangerously  infringed.  The  change  from  the  Tudors  to  the  Stuarts 
to  be  thoroughly  understood  necessitates  a  consideration  of  king- 
sliip  in  Europe.  The  concei)tion  of  kingship  was  modified  markedly 
by  the  events  of  the  sixteenth  century;  the  idea  of  a  feudal  sovereign 
was  replaced  by  that  of  a  personal  monarch  and  its  opposite,  a 
constitutional  king.  As  the  clash  of  these  ideas  was  the  cause  of 
the  struggle  l)etween  the  Stuarts  aiul  their  parliaments,  Avhicli 
culminated  in  the  bringing  of  Charles  to  the  block,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  republic,  perhaps  it  is  well  to  examine  rather  closely 
into  the  meaning  of  these  modifications.  In  mediaeval  times, 
society  was  founded  on  the  feudal  system  which  we  have  outlined 
in  a  previous  note.  It  was  a  vast  pyramid  with  serfdom  at  the  foot, 
and  at  the  head  an  emperor,  for  Europe  still  accounted  itself  a 
Roman  Empire  of  which  the  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  Pope 
represented  the  chief  temporal  and  spiritual  authorities.  Under 
the  Emperor  were  ranged  the  kings  and  their  sul)jects;  under 
the  Pope  the  arclibisli()])s  find  their  clergy, 

t  this  ideal  of  feudalism  was  not  altogether  realized.     Eng- 


CONBIITUTIONAL  HONABCHT.  521 

land  always  claimed  independence  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
and  when  the  Emperor  Sigismund  visited  Henry  V.  it  was 
expressly  stipulated  that  he  came  as  a  visitor  and  not  aa  one 
claiming  any  authority  over  the  island,  or  any  allegiance  from 
the  king  of  England.  As  the  mistiness  of  the  Middle  Ages 
melted  away  before  the  rising  sun  of  reviving  learning,  the  old 
ideal  began  to 
crumble  rapid- 
ly, the  Emperoi-8 
losing  their  hold 
on  Italy  and 
Germany,  and 
becoming  mere 
German  pri  ncea. 
In  like  manner 
the  Reformation 
broke  up  the  ec- 
clesiastical en- 
tirety, and  of 
course  when 
England,  Scot- 
land, Holland, 
and  much  of 
Germany  threw 
over  the  papacy, 
in  this  fresh 
condition  a 
fresh  theory  of 
kingship  had  to 

be  formed.  From  the  standi>oint  of  the  king,  therefoi-e,  the 
theory  was  advanced  that  sovereigns  derived  their  authority 
directly  from  God  himself  without  any  interniediation  of  Em- 
peror or  Pope.  This  dogma  of  divine  right  made  the  sovereign 
owner  of  all  his  dominions  in  a  sense  unknown  to  feudal  times, 
and  changed  his  relation  to  tlie  law,  for  in  old  times  a  king  had 
been  just  as  much  bound  by  the  customs  of  the  realm  as  any 
of  his  subjectB.  On  the  other  hand  an  absolutely  opposite  view 
of  t^  king's  position  grew  out  of  the  Reformation,  the  central 


514  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

House  of  Lords  and  crowding  the  Commons  with  members 
directly  or  indirectly  elected  by  the  royal  council ;  he  had  made 
Parliament  an  accomplice  in  his  attemi)t  at  constructing  an  al)so- 
lutism;  by  parliaraentaiy  statutes  he  had  dragged  the  Clnireh 
down  to  the  feet  of  the  monarch;  by  bills  of  attainder  he  had 
hounded  great  nobles  to  the  block ;  under  constitutional  forms  he 
had  gagged  freedom  with  new  tretusons,  and  oaths,  and  ser\ile 
questions,  Init  the  continuous  success  of  such  a  system,  of  coui-sc, 
depended  wholly  on  the  continuous  servility  of  Parliament  to  the 
will  of  the  crown,  and  Avhenever  a  weak  king  or  a  weak  minister 
should  happen  to  be  in  power,  a  reversal  of  the  situation  Avould 
naturally  result.  Is  it  not  a  curious  reflection  that  Cromwell, 
the  wickedest  minister  of  P^ngland's  cruellest  king,  sliould  have 
made  the  way  clear  by  the  very  success  of  his  schemes  for  that 
other  Cromwell  a  hundred  years  after,  who  gave  a  death  blow  to 
the  dogma  of  the  divine  riglit  of  kings? 

It  was  in  this  reign  that  stout  Lord  Ilussey  gave  vent  to  a  senti- 
ment which,  by  the  light  of  later  events,  i-eads  like  a  prophecy: 
"The  world  will  never  mend  till  we  fight  for  it."  Like  many 
another  noble  in  this  reign,  Husvsey  paid  with  his  head  for  the 
privilege  of  speaking  his  mind.  The  succeeding  reigns  of 
Edward  Y I.,  the  ten  days  of  Lady  Jane  (nvv,  who  paid  for  her 
brief  taste  of  royalty  with  her  beautiful  head  on  the  block,  and 
the  crimson  reign  of  Maiy,  called  the  bloody  by  Protestants, 
though  she  caused  no  more  l)lo()d  to  flow  than  many  Protestant 
I)rinces,  were  distinguished  by  no  diminution  of  the  royal  prerog- 
atives, and  no  gains  on  the  part  ot  any  class  in  England;  nor  was 
the  reign  of  Klizal)eth,  splendid  as  it  seemed  to  the  people  l)y 
comparison  of  its  quietude,  and  by  reason  of  tbe  popular  man- 
ners and  })icturesque  personality  of  their  (pieen,  marked  by  any 
political  gains. 

Elizabeth's  chief  ambition  was  to  preserve  her  throne,  keep 
England  out  of  war,  and  her  realm  in  good  order;  but  she  had  no 
conception  of  being  a  popular  or  (M)nstitutional  monarch  save  in 
the  way  of  dazzling  the  people  with  pageantries,  and  even  that 
not  to  au}^  great  degree,  for  she  was  as  economical  as  the  present 
queen.  But  though  Elizabeth's  sovereignty  was  almost  a  des- 
potism it  was  productive  of  great  good  to  the  English  people. 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHV. 


515 


Tlie  feeling  o£  iiiUionality  was  iuteiisifietl,  tlie  great  success  wliich 
accident  and  tiie  ability  to  take  advantage  of  at'cident  gave  to 
English  amis  against  the  Spanish  Annadiv  not  only  criii|iled  lier 
most  foiTuidable  rival,  but  awakened  England  to  the  idea  that  she 
might  Ik'Corae  not  merely  a  great  naval  jiower  hut  a  great  colo- 
1  z  ng  [    ve 

"Mo  e       1  t)        f,      tl  I   t      g    e    t    tl  e  If  men 


hy  the  ivvival  of  learning,  of  whieh  we  (juoted  Sir  Thomas  More 
!LS  a  consjiifuoiis  example,  produced  an  intelleitual  harvest  snnie- 
tliiiig  like  the  ]iui-sc  of  Fortunatiis,  l>eeaitsc  t^)-day  we  are  slill 
reaping  it.  This  era  is  eallcd  by  flattering  historians  th(;  Kli/.a- 
I)etluin  Agir.  It  eonld  l»c  more  aptly,  moi-ii  justly,  entitled  the 
SI  lakes  pcarean  or  Raecmian  Age ;  fur  tliese  two  niiiids  (whum 
some  seholai-s  would  have  us  believe  were  only  one)  were  of  such 
extraoitlinary  richness  tluit  they  not  only  adorned  their  nwu  time, 


51»>  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

turning  even  mncli  of  its  tinsel  into  gold.  l»ui  ihey  ha*L  in  one 
case  i>erliajjs  unconsciously,  the  faculty  of  fecunilaiing  the  futme, 
and  impressing  themselves  not  merely  ou,  but  deep  into,  the 
national  lite  as  a  jiermanent  force. 

Tlu'ir  comijarative  jiower  has  waned  somewhat  thmmgh  the  ex- 
tension <»f  the  empire  and  the  vast  iia-reiise  in  [>r»pulation  unaecom- 
]ianied  hy  a  crirresjiTjnding  increase  in  education,  and  yet  to-day, 
unsatisfactory-  jus  are  lx>th  tm  the  spiritual  side,  the  ma jority  of  men 
aiti  either  Shakes{»eareans  in  the  practical  conduct  of  life,  or,  if 
their  minds  liiive  a  more  phik>sophic  cast,  are  Baconians.  Yet, 
strange  tosay,.Shakes|Kfare  api>eai-s  to  have  had  no  reverence  for  the 
future,  as  Baco!i  had  none  for  tlie  i>ast. 

Bacon's  attitude  towanls  theology  and  |isychology  which   he 
left  entirely  out  of  his  system  of  human  knowledge  is  paralleled 
hy  Shakes[>eare's  inability  to  see  any  spiritual  meaning  or  any 
jKjliiical  ixjssibiliiy  in  the  great    Puritan  movement  which  was 
well  under  wav  in  his  time.     He    sjiw    in    the  Puritans   mere 
o])jects  for  theatric   mirtli,  just  as  Bacon  siiw  in   all  churchmen 
j)ei's<ms  unwoiiliy  the  cou^idenition  of  a  philosopher.   Of  the  popu- 
lar tread  of  Punt:iiiism  faiid  faulty  as  it  was,  Puritanism  was  the 
rn*st  ])olitiral  system  wlii<h  rtn-ognizi-d  the  grandeur  of  the  {Hjople 
;u;  a  whole)  Shakespeare  knew  nothing.  Socially,  the  ])oet  rt^flects 
the  aristo<nitic    view   of  life   and   his  philosophy   is  essentially 
Horatian:    **(iet    as   much  out  of  life  as  i>ossil)le  and  laugh  while 
von  live,  for  you  mav  1h'  a  lonj*"  time  dead."    And  A'et  the  Puritan 
movement  despised  by  tliesi'    men  was  the  most  vital  and  grandest 
force  that  Ii.kI  aj>j)ean.Ml  in  tlie  nation's  development ;  for,  however 
miieli  we  may  abhor  its  modern  displays  of  narrowness,  it  brought 
into  Knp(land  a  new  conception  of  social  equality.      The  common 
brotherhood  in  C'hiist  which  it  taiiLj-hl  conspired  to  confound  that 
overwludming  sense  of  pei-sonal  difference  which  feudalism  had 
establislied.        It   is  true   that    even    now    there    are   very   many 
Kn^-lislnnen  of  tin*  middle?  and  lower  classes  who  cringe  to  anyone 
that  comes   from  the  ancient  ''('iitrv,  whether  he  iK-'ai-s  a  title  or 
not,  and  who  alscj  cringe  to  any  ricli  tradesman  who  has  lx)ught 
a  title  either  dircM-tlv  or  bv  political  service,   as   in  the  recent 
lidry  manufacturers  of  betu*  and  porter. 
leaven    of    Puritanism,    though   it    works    slowly,    is 


518  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

making  over  the  entire  lump,  is  working  surely,  and  the  admira- 
tion of  royalty  and  of  nobility  per  se  is  on  the  wane  never  again  to 
wax.  The  intensity  of  this  Puritan  feeling  when  it  first  arose  in 
England  can  hardly  be  described,  but  must  be  left  largely  to  the 
imagination.  It  was  like  a  new  revelation  from  Him  who 
preached  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  It  was  Christianity  speak- 
ing again  to  all  kinds  and  classes  with  the  same  freshness  and 
force  with  which  this  great  religion  spoke,  Avhen  inspiring  the 
hearts  of  its  earliest  followers  to  fling  themselves  into  the  arena 
against  the  colossal  power  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Under  the 
teaching  of  Puritanism  the  meanest  peasant  felt  himself  ennobled, 
and  the  proudest  noble  recognized  that  there  might  be  between 
himself  and  his  lowest  vassal  such  a  thing  as  spiritual  equality. 
Macaulay's  flippant  sneer  to  the  effect  that  the  Puritan  objected 
to  the  popular  sport  of  l>ear-baiting,  not  because  it  gave  pain  to 
the  bear  but  because  it  gave  pleasure  to  the  spectatoi's,  is  by  no 
means  a  just  one.  Tliat  Puritanism  at  times  ran  into  excesses  of 
asceticism,  is  not  to  be  denied,  but  a  great  popular  movement,  like 
a  great  individual  life,  should  be  judged  by  its  best,  not  by  its 
worst  or  by  the  excesses  of  its  best. 

A  fact  worthy  of  notice  und(?r  the  Tadors  was  the  compai-ative 
aljsence  of  rebellions.  Only  two  great  risings  occurred  against 
the  reform  [)()liey,  the  Pilgrimage  of  Grace,  as  it  was  called, 
and  the  rebellion  of  the  Nevilles  and  Percies  in  loOO.  Each  of 
these  was  of  the  type  usual  under  the  Plantagenets,  where  the 
great  n()l)les  raised  the  whole  countryside  against  the  policy  of 
tlie  crown.  Tlie  other  insuiTectioiis  during  the  Tudor  dynasty, 
such  as  those  of  Ivct  and  Wyatt,  were  local  and  for  special  causes, 
but  the  Ciise  Avitli  which  these  risings  were  supprcvssed  indicates 
the  general  popularity  of  the  government,  or  the  acquiescence  of 
the  majority  of  the  people  in  a  strong  rule. 

The  reason  of  this  is  to  l)e  found,  perhaps,  partly  in  the  exten- 
sion of  the  commercial  spirit.  Tlie  rise  of  commercialism  or  the 
increase  of  trade  in  a  nation  produces  a  class  anxious  to  have  a 
steady  government  rather  than  one  sul)ject  to  political  fluctuations, 
and  even  if  such  a  government  does  trench  on  tlie  liberty  of  the 
individual  a  general  consent  to  the  loss  of  some  individuality  for 
the  sake  of  security  is  one  of  the  coinnion  compromises  of  a  com- 


520  THE   STOBr   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

mereial  cmlization.  Then,  too,  the  necessity  of  self-preservation 
as  a  nation  liad  contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  internal  quiet, 
for  England  iiad  been  under  the  sliadow  of  great  dangers  from 
Euroj>eaa  complications  through  tlie  pereonal  conduct  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  and  this  shadow  hung  over  tlie  land  through  the  reign 
of  Elizaljeth  till  the  execution  of  Marv.  Queen  of  Scots,  in  1587, 
and  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Annada  in  1588.  One  of  the 
incidents  most  characteristic  of  the  English  temper  at  this  time 
is  that  shown  in  the  illustration.  When  the  Spanish  Armada 
hove  in  sight.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  Frobisher,  Lord  Howard  and 
other  naval  commanders  were  playing  a  game  of  nine-pins.  Tlie 
picture  tells  the  story.  After  the  disastroiis  defeat  of  the 
SjKiniards,  England,  no  longer  breathlessly  anxious  for  her  own 
national  existence,  was  able  to  turn  her  attention  from  outside 
security  to  the  acquisition  of  internal  or  constitutional  freedom, 
and  then  it  became  evident  that  the  calm  which  had  prevailed 
under  the  Tudore  wa-f  merely  the  incubation  of  a  tempest. 

This  effort  of  the  jwople  lasted  exactly  one  hundred  years,  and 
during  tliat  time  the  old  liberties  won  under  the  Plantagenets  were 
regained  witli  such  certainty  that  they  have  never  since  then  been 
dangerously  infringed.  The  change  fi-om  tlie  Tudiirs  to  the  Stuart* 
to  Ix;  thoroughly  understood  necessitates  a  consideration  of  king- 
ship in  Eurojie.  The  conception  of  kingship  was  niotlified  markedly 
by  the  events  of  tiie  sixtoentli  century;  the  idea  of  a  feudal  sovereign 
was  replaced  by  that  of  a  per!s<mal  nionanh  and  its  opposite,  a 
constitutional  king.  As  the  clash  of  these  ideas  was  the  cause  of 
the  struggle  Ijetween  tlie  Stuarts  aiul  their  parliaments,  which 
culminated  in  the  bringing  of  CharlcH  t"  the  block,  and  the  estaV 
lishment  of  a  rcijuhlic,  perhaps  it  is  well  to  examine  rather  closely 
into  the  meaning  of  these  modifications.  In  mediipval  times, 
society  was  founded  on  the  feudal  system  which  wc  have  ontlined 
in  a  previous  note.  It  wa-s  a  vast  pyrnuid  with  serfdom  at  the  foot, 
and  at  the  head  an  emperor,  for  Europe  still  accounted  itself  a 
Roman  Empire  of  which  the  EmiM?ror  of  Gennany  and  the  Pope 
represented  the  chief  teni]>oral  and  spiritual  authorities.  Under 
\-vAv.  ranged  the  kings  and  their  subjects;  under 
Lthe  archbishops  and  their  clcigy- 

iileal  of  feudalism  was  not  altogether  realized,     Eng- 


CON8TITDTIOMAL  KONABOHT.  621 

land  always  claimed  independence  of  the  H0I7  Roman  Empire, 
and  when  the  Emperor  Sigismund  visited  Henry  V.  it  was 
expressly  stipulated  that  he  came  as  a  visitor  and  not  as  one 
claiming  any  authority  over  the  island,  or  any  allegiance  from 
the  king  of  England.  As  the  mistiness  of  the  Middle  Ages 
melted  away  before  the  rising  sun  of  reviving  learniagi  the  old 
ideal  began   to 

crumble    rapid-       }T^'ilM\~^ '^tf^j^t^lJif'' 
ly,the  Emperoi-s      sSS^lS^B^BtKIB^^Sm 
losing  their  hold     iJsa^^^^^SK^SK^ 
on  Italy  and     ^^^^^^eB^^B^^ . 
GermanV)  and     ^^iuB^^^IBk'{«^  Ifd'  U  I'.  J     ^'^ 
becoming   mere     M^fflffl^  IBHel^L^  lufl^lS^ad^^... 
German  princes.      BJ^jft^^^  ^BHHPMlfr  lji^BSB9iH^3^^ 
lu  like  manner     Bfe  IKgaPfe.L  tHM^^BI^^^B^BB^^Bb. 
the  Reformation     j^^^Bbj^^^B  •^K^^^V^B^^B^^^B^ 
broke  up  the  ec-     M^i^Wrmfe^T^^^BB&JSWyBBBJw 
clesiastical    en-     w^ulfKm^^r^^^^SwB^Ml^K^^MSK^ 
tirety,  and  of     |^^^»^^^H^k^^^^B|B^^^BnIp 
course    when      B^^^S7^@r\BlHl^HNB^^^Bll 
England,    Scot-     Bk     ^^Bv^^^^P^V^^^BB^^UbBBiil 
land,    Holland,      Bft!^^m^3^^i£^^^^P'"'SHHH^ 
and   much    of      ^Bn^^BS^M^^^vYy—^     \»^^*5oi 
Germany  threw      ^B^^^JMim^^^f^^rC~V^'  j^^^ 
over  the  papacy,      H^^<  '^^UHpH^^Hl^^r^'T^vC^^- 
in   this   fresh      BSa^^SP^V^^^^^^2lJitf*?^^^^,fe^-  ■ 
condition    a      ^^^^^^^^^^|^^?^gj^^^y^v^ 
fresh  theory  of 
kingship  had  to 

be  formed.  From  the  standiwiiit  of  tlie  king,  therefore,  the 
theory  was  advanced  that  sovereigns  derived  their  authority 
directly  from  God  himself  without  any  intermediation  of  Em- 
peror or  Pope.  This  dogma  of  divine  right  made  the  sovereign 
owner  of  all  his  dominions  in  a  sense  unknown  to  feudal  times, 
and  changed  his  relation  to  the  law,  for  in  old  times  a  king  had 
been  just  as  much  bound  by  the  customs  of  tlie  realm  as  any 
of  his  subjects.  On  the  other  hand  an  absolutely  opposite  view 
of  the  king's  position  grew  out  of  the  Reformation,  the  central 


514  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

House  of  Lords  and  crowding  the  Commons  with  membei'S 
directly  or  indirectly  elected  by  the  royal  council ;  he  had  made 
Parliament  an  accomplice  in  his  attempt  at  constructing  an  al)so- 
lutism;  by  parliamentary  sttitutes  he  had  dragged  the  Church 
down  to  the  feet  of  the  monarch;  by  bills  of  attainder  he  had 
hounded  great  nobles  to  the  block ;  under  constitutional  forms  he 
had  gagged  freedom  with  new  treasons,  and  oaths,  and  ser\ile 
questions,  but  the  continuous  success  of  sm^h  a  system,  of  coui-sc, 
depended  wholly  on  the  continuous  servility  of  1  Parliament  to  the 
will  of  the  crown,  and  whenever  a  weak  king  or  a  weak  minister 
should  happen  to  be  in  power,  a  reversal  of  the  situation  would 
naturally  result.  Is  it  not  a  curioiLs  refltH'tion  that  Cromw(dl, 
the  wickedest  minister  of  England's  cruellest  king,  sliould  have 
made  the  way  clear  by  the  very  success  of  his  schemes  for  that 
other  Cromwell  a  hundred  yeai-s  after,  who  gave  a  death  blow  to 
the  dogma  of  the  divine  right  of  kings? 

It  Avas  in  this  reign  that  stout  Lord  IFussey  gave  vent  to  a  senti- 
ment which,  by  the  light  of  later  events,  reads  like  a  prophecy: 
*''The  world  will  never  mend  till  we  fight  for  it."  Like  many 
another  noble  in  this  reign,  Ilussey  paid  with  his  hcixd  for  the 
privilege  of  speaking  his  mind.  The  succeeding  reigns  of 
Edward  Y I.,  the  ten  days  of  Lady  Jane  (irey,  who  paid  for  her 
brief  taste  of  royalty  with  her  beautifid  head  on  the  block,  and 
the  crimson  reign  of  Mary,  called  the  bloody  by  Protestants, 
though  she  caused  no  more  l)lood  to  flow  than  many  Protestant 
princes,  were  distinguished  by  no  dimiiuition  of  the  royal  prerog- 
atives, and  no  gains  on  the  part  ol  any  class  in  England;  nor  wjus 
the  reign  of  Elizal)eth,  splendid  as  it  sccin(Ml  to  the  people  by 
comparison  of  its  quietude,  and  by  reiusoii  of  the  popular  man- 
ners and  })icturesque  personality  of  their  ({lU'en,  marked  by  any 
political  gains. 

Elizabeth's  chief  ambition  was  to  preserve  her  throne,  keep 
England  out  of  Avar,  and  her  realm  in  good  order;  but  she  had  no 
conception  of  being  a  popular  or  constitutional  monarch  save  in 
the  way  of  dazzling  the  people  with  pageantries,  and  even  that 
not  to  any  grt^at  degree,  for  she  was  as  economical  as  the  present 
queen.  But  though  Elizalx3tli\s  sovereignty  was  almost  a  des- 
potism it  was  productive  of  great  good  to  the  English  people. 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY. 


515 


The  feeling  of  nationality  was  intensified,  tlie  great  success  which 
accident  and  tlie  abilitj-  to  take  advantage  of  accident  guve  to 
English  ai'ms  ngainst  the  S^wmish  Armiula  not  only  cripplt-d  her 
most  fonuidabie  rival,  but  awakened  England  to  the  idea  that  she 
might  become  nut  nieridy  a  great  naval  power  hut  a  great  colo- 
nizing power. 

Mon'ovcr.  in  tliis  age,  the   inijjetiis  given  to  the  mind.s  of  men 


by  the  I'evival  of  learninfr,  of  wliiib  we  (piuted  Sir  Thomas  Moro 
as  a  conspifuons  exani]'Ic,  pixxluoed  an  intellectuiit  hanest  sf>nif- 
thing  like  the  ]mi-si.'  nf  Fortunatus,  iKieause  to-day  w<'  are  slill 
reaping  it.  This  em  is  ealled  by  flattering  liistorians  the  Kliza- 
l)ethan  Age.  It  <'Ouhl  lie  more  aptly,  nionj  justly,  entitled  the 
Shakespearean  or  Riiennian  Age;  for  these  two  ininils  (whom 
some  seholars  wouhl  liave  ns  Ixdiev*;  were  fiuly  one)  were  of  such 
extraordinary  richness  tluit  tiiey  not  only  adorned  their  own  time, 


516  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

turning  even  much  of  its  tinsel  into  gold,  but  they  had,  in  one 
case  perhaps  unconsciously,  the  faculty  of  fecundating  the  future, 
and  impressing  themselves  not  merely  on,  but  deep  into,  the 
national  life  iis  a  permanent  force. 

Their  comparative  power  has  Avaned  somewhat  through  the  ex- 
tension of  the  empire  and  the  A^ast  increase  in  population  unaccom- 
])anied  by  a  corresponding  increase  in  education,  and  yet  to-day, 
unsatisftictory  as  are  both  on  the  spiritual  side,  the  majority  of  men 
are  either  Shakespeareans  in  the  practical  conduct  of  life,  or,  if 
their  minds  have  a  more  philosophic  cast,  are  Baconians.  Yet, 
strange  to  say,  Shakespeare  appeai-s  to  haA^e  had  no  reverence  for  the 
future,  as  Bacon  had  none  for  the  past. 

Bacon's  attitude  towards  theology  and  psychology  which   he 
left  entirely  out  of  his  system  of  human  knoAvledge  is  paralleled 
l)y  Shakespeare's  inability  to  see  any  spiritual  meaning  or  any 
political  possibility  in  the  great   Puritan  movement  which  was 
Avell  under  Avay  in  his  time.     He    saAV    in    the  Puritans   mere 
objects  for  theatric   mirth,  just  as  Bacon  saAV  in   all  churchmen 
pei"Sons  unworthy  tlic  consideration  of  a  philosopher.   Of  the  popu- 
lar trend  of  Puritanism  (and  faulty  as  it  Avas,  Puritanism  Avas  the 
iii"st  [)oliti('al  system  Avhicli  nnjognizi'd  the  grandeur  of  tlie  people 
iu:  a  Avholc)  Sliakespeare  knew  nothing.  Socially,  the  poet  reflects 
the  aristocrat ie    view   of  life  and  his  pliilosophy  is  essentially 
Horatian:    "(let   lus   imieli  out  of  life  as  possible  and  laugh  Avhile 
v(m  Ha'c,  for  you  luav  be  a  lontr  time  dead."    And  yet  the  Puritan 
movement  despised  l)y  tliese    men  Avas  the  most  vital  and  grandest 
forer'  that  li:i(l  appcNired  in  the  nation's  dcA'elopment ;  for,  hoAvever 
much  we  may  ablioi-  its  modern  displays  of  narroAvness,  it  brought 
into  England  a  new  conception  of  social  e(piality.      The  common 
brotherhood  in  (Inist  Avliich  it  taught  conspired  to  confound  that 
overwhelming  sense  of  ]>ersonal  difference  Avhich  feudalism  had 
established.       It  is  true  that    even    now    there    are   very   many 
Kii;^lishnien  of  the;  middle  and  lower  (dasses  who  cringe  to  anyone 
that  conies  from  tlie  ancient  cicntrv,  Avhether  he  beai's  a  title  or 
Jiot,  and  Avho   also  cringe   to  any  rich  tradesman  Avho  liiis  bought 
a  title  either  directly  or  by  i)olitical  service,   as   in  the   recent 
case  of  sundiy  manufacturers  of  bec;r  and  porter. 

But  the   leaven    of    Puritanism,    though   it    Avorks    slowly,    is 


518  THE  STORY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

making  over  the  entire  lump,  is  working  surely,  and  the  admira- 
tion of  royalty  and  of  nobility  per  se  is  on  the  wane  never  again  to 
wax.  The  intensity  of  this  Puritan  feeling  when  it  first  arose  in 
England  can  hardly  be  described,  but  must  be  left  largely  to  the 
imagination.  It  was  like  a  new  revelation  from  Him  who 
preached  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  It  was  Christianity  speak- 
ing again  to  all  kinds  and  classes  with  the  same  freshness  and 
force  with  which  this  great  religion  spoke,  when  inspiring  the 
hearts  of  its  earliest  followers  to  fling  themselves  into  the  arena 
against  the  colossal  power  of  the  Roman  Empire.  Under  the 
teaching  of  Puritanism  the  meanest  peasant  felt  himself  ennobled, 
and  the  proudest  noble  recognized  that  there  might  be  between 
himself  and  his  lowest  vassal  such  a  thing  as  spiritual  equality. 
Macaulay's  flippant  sneer  to  the  effect  that  the  Puritan  objected 
to  the  popular  sport  of  bear-baiting,  not  because  it  gave  pain  to 
the  bear  but  l^ecause  it  gave  pleasure  to  the  spectators,  is  by  no 
means  a  just  one.  That  Puritanism  at  times  ran  into  excesses  of 
asceticism,  is  not  to  l>e  denied,  but  a  great  popular  movement,  like 
a  great  individual  life,  should  Ik?  judged  by  its  best,  not  by  its 
worst  or  by  tlic  excesses  of  its  best. 

A  fact  worthy  of  notice  under  the  Tadoi*s  was  the  compai-ative 
alwence  of  rebellions.  Only  two  o^reat  risings  occurred  against 
the  reform  [)olicy,  the  Pilgrimage  of  Gmee,  as  it  w:\s  called, 
and  the  rebellion  of  the  Nevilles  and  Percies  in  1560.  Each  of 
th(ise  was  of  the  type  usual  under  the  Plantagenets,  where  the 
great  nobles  raised  the  whole  countryside  against  the  policy  of 
the  crown.  Tlie  othtn*  insurrections  during  the  Tudor  dynasty, 
sucli  as  those  of  Ivet  and  Wyatt,  were  local  and  for  special  causes, 
))Ut  the  ease  Avith  whicli  these  risings  were  suppressed  indicates 
the  general  pojmlarity  of  the  government,  or  the  acquiescence  of 
the  majority  of  tluj  people  in  a  strong  rule. 

The  reason  of  this  is  to  be  found,  perliaps,  partly  in  the  exten- 
sion of  the;  commercial  sj)irit.  Tlie  rise  of  commercialism  or  the 
increiuse  of  trade  in  a  nation  produces  a  class  anxious  to  have  a 
steady  government  rather  than  one  subject  to  political  fluctuations, 
and  even  if  such  a  government  does  trench  on  the  liberty  of  the 
individual  a  general  consent  to  the  loss  of  some  individuality  for 
the  sake  of  security  is  one  of  the  conniion  com[)romises  of  a  com- 


620  THE   STOEY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

mercial  civilization.  Then,  too,  the  necessity  of  self-preservation 
as  a  nation  had  contributed  to  the  maintenance  of  internal  quiet, 
for  England  had  been  under  the  shadow  of  great  dangers  from 
European  complications  through  the  pei-sonal  conduct  of  Henrj- 
the  Eighth,  and  this  shadow  hung  over  the  land  through  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  till  the  execution  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  in  1587, 
and  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada  in  1588.  One  of  the 
incidents  most  characteristic  of  the  English  temper  at  this  time 
is  that  shown  in  the  illustration.  When  the  Spanish  Armada 
hove  in  sight,  Sir  Francis  Drake,  Frobisher,  Lord  Howard  and 
other  naval  commanders  were  playing  a  game  of  nine-pins.  The 
l)icture  tells  the  story.  After  the  disastrous  defeat  of  the 
Spaniards,  England,  no  longer  breathlessly  anxious  for  her  own 
national  existence,  was  able  to  tuni  her  attention  from  outside 
secmuty  to  the  acquisition  of  internal  or  constitutional  freedom, 
and  then  it  became  evident  that  the  calm  which  had  prevailed 
under  the  Tudors  was  merely  the  incubation  of  a  tempest. 

This  effort  of  the  people  lasted  exactly  one  hundred  years,  and 
during  that  time  the  old  liberties  won  under  the  Plantagenets  were 
regained  with  such  certainty  that  they  have  never  since  then  been 
dangerously  infringed.  The  change  from  the  Tudors  to  the  Stuarts 
to  be  tlioro uglily  understood  necessitates  a  consideration  of  king- 
sliip  in  Europe.  The  concei)tion  of  kingship  was  modified  markedly 
l)y  the  events  of  tlie  sixteenth  century ;  the  idea  of  a  feudal  sovereign 
was  replaced  by  that  of  a  personal  monarch  and  its  opposite,  a 
constitutional  king.  As  the  clash  of  these  ideas  was  the  cause  of 
the  struggle  l^tween  the  Stuarts  aiul  their  parliaments,  which 
culminated  in  the  bringing  of  Charles  to  the  block,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  repul)lic,  perhaps  it  is  well  to  examine  mther  closely 
into  the  meaning  of  these  modifications.  In  mediaeval  times, 
society  was  founded  on  the  feudal  system  which  we  liave  outlined 
in  a  previous  note.  It  was  a  vast  pyramid  with  serfdom  at  the  foot, 
and  at  the  head  an  emperor,  for  Euro})e  still  accounted  itself  a 
Roman  Empire  of  wliicrh  tlie  Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  Pope 
represented  tlie  cliief  temporal  and  spiritual  authorities.  Under 
the  Emperor  were  ranged  the  kings  and  their  subjects;  under 
the  Pope  the  archbishops  and  their  clergy, 

But  this  ideal  of  feudalism  was  not  altogether  realized.     Eng- 


C0N8T1TCT10NAL   MONARCHY.  521 

land  always  claimed  independence  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
and  when  the  Emperor  Sigisniund  visited  Henry  V.  it  was 
expressly  stipulated  that  he  came  as  a  visitor  and  not  as  one 
claiming  iiiiy  authority  over  the  island,  or  any  allegiance  from 
the  king  of  England.  As  the  mistiness  of  the  Middle  Ages 
melted  away  Ix^fore  the  rising  sun  of  reviving  leamiug,  the  old 
ideal  hegan  to 
crumble  rapid- 
ly, the  Empcroi-s 
losing  their  hold 
on  Italy  and 
Germany,  a  n  d 
becoming  meie 
German  princes. 
In  like  manner 
the  Reformation 
broke  up  the  ec- 
clesiastical en- 
tirety, and  of 
course  when 
England,  Scot- 
land, HoUaiid, 
and  much  of 
Germany  threw 
over  the  papacy, 
in  this  fresh 
condition  ;i 
fresh   theory  of 

kingship  iiad  to  <     ■     - 

be  fonned.  From  tlie  stand|ioiiit  of  the  king,  tlioruforc,  the 
theoiy  was  adviinci'd  that  sovereigns  derived  their  autlioritv 
directly  from  Goil  himself  without  any  intennediation  of  Em- 
peror or  Pope.  This  dogma  of  divine  right  mailc  the  sovereign 
owner  of  all  his  dominions  in  a  sense  unknown  to  feu<lal  times. 
and  changed  his  relation  to  the  law,  for  in  old  times  a  king  liad 
been  just  as  much  bound  by  the  customs  of  the  realm  as  any 
of  his  subjects.  On  the  other  hand  an  absolutely  opposite  view 
of  the  king's  position  grew  out  of  the  Reformation,  the  central 


522  THE    STOKY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

idea«  of  which  agitation  were  the  right  of  private  judgment,  and 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  These  theories,  leaving  no 
logical  place  for  priestly  or  royal  authority,  carried  with  them 
the  claim  that  all  men  were  equal  before  (Jod,  and,  if  before 
Go<l,  much  more  so  before  men. 

Such  views  wei-e,  of  coui-se,  not  fonnulated  at  the  accession  of 
James  I.,  whom  Elizal)eth  on  her  death-be<l  vaguely  named  as  her 
successor,  but  they  were  in  the  air,  and  even  if  James  had  l)een  a 
strong  man  he  would  have  had  to  encounter  them  not  once  but 
again  and  again.  He  was  not  a  strong  man,  though  perhaps  the 
most  learned  king  in  Europe,  and  he  showed  his  weakness  and 
Lack  of  judgment  by  pushing  juetensions  which  even  the  Tudors 
would  not  have  dared  to  do,  for  no  Tudor  would  have  claimed  to 
be  alx)ve  the  law.  If  laws  stood  in  their  way  they  had  no  scruple 
about  violating  or  circumventing  them,  but  they  never  thought  of 
claiming  to  do  so  as  a  right.  James  did,  and  at  the  same  time 
tlie  popular  impression  which  he  made  when  he  arrived  in  his 
n(»w  kingdom  was  not  favorable,  for  he  was  followed  by  a  train  of 
needy  Scots  who  looked  upon  England  as  a  place  to  Ik?  pillaged 
j)olitely.  At  N(?waik,  the  king  caused  a  j)ick}K)cket  to  be  hung 
on  tlie  spot  without  trial,  and  when  some  Puritan  clergy  })re- 
sented  a  petition  for  certain  alterations  in  tlie  prayer-book,  ten 
of  their  leadeiv;  were  thrown  into  prison  by  his  majesty's  ordeis. 
Hence  by  the  time  he  had  ivached  London,  England  was  well 
assured  that,  to  secure  English  lilH*rty  from  further  undermining, 
and  to  })revent  the  manipulation  of  her  politics  by  alien  adven- 
tuieiN,  a  constant  vigilance  must  l)e  exerted. 

The  feeling  in  regard  to  the  deluge  of  Scotchmen,  which  over- 
whelmed Entrlaiid  wlu  n  the  Stuarts  came  in,  luis  been  vented  bv 
some?  celebrated  Enirlishincn  with  a  certain  Lrrim  humor  that  is 
dcliirlitful  in  itself,  thou<rh  anv  maintenance  of  national  or  ]>ro- 
vincial  prejudice  is  utterly  and  intrinsically  absurd.  The  first 
to  crack  any  historic  joke  on  this  point  seems  to  have  l>een  Guy 
Eawkes,  who  was  the  chief  conspirator  in  an  attem[)t  to  blow  up 
the  II:)uses  of  Parliament,  a  plot  partly  political  and  partly  re- 
ligious. When  (Juy  Fawkes,  carefully  guarded,  just  after  his 
arrest,  was  taken  before  the  king  who  asked  him  some  questions, 
a  little  S(!otch   lord   in  attendance   inquired  why  the  conspirators 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  628 

had  put  80  very  much  gunpowder  under  Parliament,  thirty-six 
barrels  seeming  to  Iiis  thrifty  Scotch  mind  rather  an  extravagant 
amount  for  the  task.  To  this  silly  question,  Fawkes  replied  with 
extreme  gravity,  that  he  thought  that  amount  necessar}-,  as  it  was 
liis  design  not  merely  to  blow  up  Parliament  but  to  blow  all  the 
Scotchmen  l)ack  to  Scotland.  This,  and  in  the  next  century  Dr. 
Johnson's  definition  in  his  dictionary  of  oats  as  a  grain  that  in 
England  was  food  for  horees  and  in  Scotland  food  for  men,  and 
in  the  next  century  ]Maeaulay's  lament  over  the  lost  glories  of 
Greece,  *' that  her  temples  had  been  given  up  to  the  successive 
depredations  of  Romans,  Turks,  and  Scotchmen,"  show  how 
intense  and  deepseated  a  national  prejudice  may  sometimes  grow. 

At  this  time  Parliament  had  the  sole  right  of  making  laws,  but 
this  right  had  l)ecn  continually  encroached  on  by  the  use  of  proc- 
lamations from  tlic  king  and  his  council,  and  Parliament  had  no 
control  over  the  appointment  of  the  king's  niinistei-s  from  the 
chancellor  or  the  treasurer  to  the  sheriffs  and  magistrates.  The 
judicial  i)art  of  the  kingdom  was  divided  into  two  classes;  courts 
of  Star  ChamlK*r  and  Ilijirh  Commission  and  the  ordinarv  courts  of 
the  Lmd.  Over  the  fii-st  the  nation  had  no  control,  the  judges 
being  app<)inte<l  hv  the  king  and  aeting  witlumt  juries;  nor  in  the 
ordinary  jury  courts  were  tlie  rights  of  the  subject  safe,  for  the 
king  appointed  and  dismissed  the  judges  and,  iis  he  indirectly 
appointed  the  sheriffs,  and  the  sheriff  eliose  the  jury,  there  was 
sure  to  be  a  strong  bias  in  the  king's  favor.  Besides  this,  a  man 
accused  of  a  criminal  offence  was  not  furnished  witli  a  copy  of  the 
indictment  or  a  list  of  the  witnesses  against  him  till  the  day  of 
trial ;  nor  was  he  permitted  to  examine  witnesses  upon  oath,  fi-om 
which  it  will  l)e  seen  that  the  law  courts  originally  intended  for 
the  protection  of  the  subject  had  become  merely  instruments  for 
his  oppression. 

Tlie  only  hope,  then,  lay  in  Parliament,  but  there  was  now  no 
law  compelling  the  king  to  summon  one.  Nor,  so  long  as  he 
could  pay  his  way  without  additional  taxes,  or  get  money  without 
a  parliamentary  grant,  was  there  any  likelihood  that  he  would  sum- 
mon an  assembly  which,  when  once  convened,  might  make  laws  to 
impede  or  entangle  his  futiure  movements.  It  is  therefore  due  in' 
some  degree  to  the  bad  economy  of  the  Stuarts  that  they  were 


624  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

brought  face  to  face  with   the  national  assemblj''  which  finallj^ 
wiped  them  out. 

During  the  reign  of  James  I.  Parliament  was  occupied  only 
with  the  assertion  or  reassertion  of  its  former  riglits ;  but  from  1614 
to  1621  no  Parliament  met,  and  James  had  full  chance  to  develo[> 
his  dogma  of  divine  right  or  of  governing  the  country  as  an  abso- 
lute sovereign.  Now  James  I.  had  considerable  ability  of  the 
smooth  intriguing  kind,  and  only  skirmishes  occurred  between 
him  and  Parliament,  prepamtions  as  it  were,  or  trials  of  strength, 
for  the  pitched  battle  of  the  reign  of  Charles. 

Charles  lacked  his  father's  smoothness,  and  took  his  father's 
theory  of  divine  right  still  more  seriously.  Between  1625  and 
1629  he  had  tln-ee  parliaments.  Between  1629  and  1640  he  had 
none  at  all.  During  that  period  he  ruled  with  help  of  a  few 
advisers  and  made  no  endeavor  to  take  into  his  confidence  the 
body  of  the  nation.  His  queen,  Henrietta  Maria,  was  vain  and 
extravagant,  and  the  example  of  economy  in  court  expenses  set 
by  Elizabeth  became  merely  a  tradition,  for  the  cost  of  the  royal 
household  rose  to  about  ten  times  the  Elizabethan  amount,  ancl 
thus  it  l)ecanie  impossible  for  the  king  to  live  upon  his  ordinary 
income.  Tlierefore  he  began  collecting  taxes  through  the  stM- 
vility  of  judges  in  all  sorts  of  illegal  ways,  and  the  people  l)i»gau 
to  resent  it,  at  first  individually,  soon  collectively.  In  1628, 
Robert  Chambei's,  a  London  merchant  wlio  refused  to  pay  the 
unlawful  taxes  on  trade,  when  summoned  l)efore  the  Court  of 
Exchequer,  said  there  was  no  country  in  Europe  where  mer- 
chantii  received  so  little  encouragement,  and  that  it  was  as  bad  as 
living  under  Turkish  tyranny,  for  which  freedom  of  speech  he  was 
tried  before  the  Coui-t  of  Star  Chamber  for  "trying  to  make 
people  believe  that  Charles'  happy  government  wt\s  a  Turkish 
tyranny."  He  was  fined  two  thousand  pounds  and  sent  to  the 
tower  where,  refusing  either  to  pay  or  to  apologize,  he  was  kept 
until  released  by  the  Long  Parliament. 

Monopolies  had  long  been  made  illegal,  but  Charles'  attorney- 
general,  Nov,  affirmed  that  though  the  law  forbade  the  gmnting 
of  a  monopoly  to  one  person,  it  did  not  forbid  the  gi*anting  of  the 
same  to  two,  and  thus  the  sole  right  of  selling  various  articles 
was  granted  by  Charles  to  companies  of  individuals  who  paid  a 


CHARLES  I. 


626  THE   STOEY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

large  sum  on  the  spot,  and  a  royalty  on  the  amount.  We  have 
here  the  germ  of  our  trusts  and  syndicates,  equally  illegal  in  the 
face  of  original  law.  These  monopolies  were  granted  for  soiip, 
starch,  gunpowder,  and  so  many  otlier  things  that  it  looked  as  if 
in  time  every  article  in  common  use  would  be  absorljed  by  some 
company,  and  the  genei-al  traders  and  merchants  l)ecame  thoroughly 
dismayed  at  the  spread  of  a  system  so  delightful  to  a  few,  so  dis- 
astrous to  the  many. 

Not  satisfied  with  cutting  the  ground  fr<^m  un<ler  the  feet  of 
the  merchants,  Charles  next  pix>ceeded  to  stamp  on  the  toes  of  tin* 
nobility  by  a  new  scheme  to  gain  money.  At  the  CoiKjuest  the 
old-folk-land  or  common  land  of  the  people  liad  been  annexed  hy 
the  king  under  the  name  of  the  king's  forest.  This  had  Ijeen  a 
large  source  of  revenue  to  the  Plantagenet  kings,  but  had  dwindled 
away  partly  in  gift«  to  courtiers,  and  partly  in  encroachments  by 
neighboring  barons  at  times  when  the  crown  had  been  unable  to 
enforce  its  rights.  In  this  way  large  tracts  of  fortsst  land  liad 
been  lost;  Rockingham  forest,  for  iiLstance,  which  had  once  Ixhmi 
sixty  miles  across  now  lieing  reduced  tx)  six. 

Suddenlv  Charles  determined  to  reassert  these  riofhts  whi(th  lor 
centuries  had  lain  in  abeyance,  and  he  sent  Lord  Holland  throuo^h- 
out  the  realm  to  reclaim  all  the  land  within  the  old  boundaries  to 
which  its  present  holders  could  show  no  exact  title,  and  to  tind  in 
addition  those  who  were  found  to  have  thus  trespassed  on  tln' 
original  royal  domain.  In  Essex  alone  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds  was  thus  raised,  ami  the  Earl  of  Essi;x  was  nearly  ruined. 
Such  distress  caused  to  the  nobility  generally  is  the  reason  why 
so  many  noble  hoiLses  in  the  civil  war  that  ensued  were  found  on 
the  Republican  side. 

The  next  to  suffer  were  the  countrv  <xenti'v.  ]\y  an  old  law 
ownei's  of  land  wcnth  twenty  pounds  a  year,  that  is,  about  two 
hundred  })Oun(ls  at  the  present  time,  were  to  be  kni^^-hted.  Tins 
practice  liad  decayed,  and  Charles  took  advantai^e  of  the  fact  to 
send  an  inquisition  into  the  country,  and  fine  those  icentry  who 
had  not  complied  Avith  the  obsolete  law.  A  statute  of  Queen 
Elizaljcth  had  ordered  every  cottage  to  have  four  acies  of  land 
attached  to  it,  and  numerous  proclamations  had  been  made  against 
the  building  of  more  houses  in  London,  but  none  of  these  had 


CONSTITUTIOXAL  MONARCHY.  527 

beein  enforced  till  Charles  sent  another  commission  for  twenty 
miles  around  London  to  look  into  the  matter.  The  poor,  accord- 
ing to  the  phrase  of  the  time,  were  *' mightily  vexed,"  and  one 
builder  wiis  fined  a  thousand  pounds  and  onlored'to  pull  down 
forty  new  houses  or  pay  a  thoasand  pounds  more.  Inn-keepers 
were  taxed  on  wine,  and  when  they  refused,  forced  into  compliance 
by  a  prohibition  to  cook  any  meat.  The  result  was  that  in  one 
way  or  another  beer,  wine,  tolKicco,  soap,  etc.,  were  all  taxed, 
and  Charles  raised  his  revenue  from  five  hundi-ed  thousand  pounds 
to  eight  hundred  thousand. 

Still  this  was  not  enough  for  Charles,  though  the  people  were 
beginning  to  consider  Scotch  kings  a  costly  luxury.  The  sums 
squandered  on  court  festivities  had  left  little  for  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  government.  Salaries  had  fallen  into  arreare,  and 
the  navy,  England's  protection  against  foreign  invasion  and 
against  pirates,  had  been  totally  neglected.  To  remedy  this, 
Charles    decided    to  increase  the  navv   and  his  own  income    at 

ftr 

the  same  time.  English  kings  had  been  in  the  habit  of  collecting 
money  from  seaboard  counties  and  towns  in  time  of  war  to  furnisli 
themselves  with  a  navv,  and  Charles  determined  to  extend  this 
tax  to  inland  counties.  This  ship  money,  as  it  was  called, 
created  an  inimonsity  of  indignation  becaase  it  was  clearly  seen 
that  under  guise  of  providing  a  navy  Charles  was  really  attempt- 
ing to  establish  a  precedent  for  making  himself  independent  of 
Parliament. 

The  trial  of  Hami)den,  which  occurred  in  1(337,  for  refusing  to 
pay  the  sliip  tax  was  the  lii*st  dc?claration  of  independence  on  the 
|)art  of  an  English  gentleman,  and  therefore  attracted  far  more 
attention  than  the  protests  or  refusals  of  membej"s  of  the  mercan- 
tile class.  Hampden's  resistancit  thrilled  tlnough  England  just  at 
the  moment  when  men  were  being  roused  by  the  news  that  the 
patience  of  Scotland  had  been  at  last  exhausted,  and  that  the 
Scottish  people  and  clergy  did  not  intend  to  submit  any  longer  to 
clerical  oppression,  backed  up  by  legal  tyiunny. 

The  king  had  ordered  the  clergy  of  Edinburgh  to  introduce  the 
prayer-book  into  their  churches,  but  no  sooner  was  it  opened  at 
the  chui-ch  of  St.  Giles,  July  23,  163G,  than  a  mummr  arose 
among  the  congregation  and  swelled  into  such  a  formidable  riot 


528  THE  STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

that  the  church  liad  to  be  cleared  by  the  officers  of  the  law.  The 
judges,  however,  were  so  frightened  by  the  rising  wrath  of  the 
people  that  they  rendered  a  decision  that  the  royal  Avrit  com- 
manded only  the  purchase,  and  not  the  use  of  the  prayer-book. 

The  trial  of  Hampden,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned  personally, 
was  a  farce,  for  the  judges,  being  mere  creatures  of  the  king,  with 
two  exceptions,  decided  that  although  Hampden's  lawyers  had 
shown  by  an  unbroken  series  of  evidence  that  taxation  by  the  king 
without  consent  of  Parliament  was  illegal,  nevertheless  the  king 
was  above  all  law.  Out  of  the  twelve  judges  two  voted  for 
Hampden,  one  decided  against  the  king  on  teclmical  grounds,  the 
other  nine  decided  for  the  king.  Four  years  after  this  Charles, 
not  having  money  enough  to  carry  on  the  war  against  Presby- 
terianism  in  Scotland,  by  the  advice  of  his  chief  counsellor,  the 
Earl  of  Stmfford,  called  a  Parliament  which,  on  account  of  its 
brief  dumtion,  has  been  styled  the  Short  Parliament. 

Eveiy  member  of  the  Commons  knew  that  the  battle  for  reli- 
gious liberty  in  Scotland  was  a  battle  also  for  the  political  liberty 
of  every  individual  Englishman,  and  instead  of  voting  money  to 
the  king  to  prosecute  his  Scottish  campaign,  this  Parliament 
declared  that  no  subsidy  should  be  granted  till  security  had  been 
given  for  religion,  property,  and  parliamentary  liberty.  An  oflFer 
to  give  up  the  ship  money  tax  failed  to  lure  Parliament  away 
from  this  linn  stand,  and  after  three  weeks'  sitting  the  king  exer- 
cised his  prerogative  by  dissolving  it,  and  Strafford,  his  minister, 
maintained  that  the  refusal  of  Parliament  to  supply  the  king's 
wants  freed  the  king  from  all  rule  of  government,  and  entitled 
him  to  supply  himself  at  his  royal  pleasure.  Meantime  so  suc- 
cessful were  tlie  Scots  that  Charles  was  forced  to  summon  a  great 
council  of  the  peel's  at  York  to  help  him.  These  nobles  geneitilly 
repudiated  his  projects  and  again  lie  was  driven  to  summon  a 
Parliament  which  was  called  the  Long  Parliament. 

Tlie  great  light  of  tliis  time  now  began  to  shine  in  the  person 
of  John  Pym,  the  finest  as  he  was  th(*  first  of  parliamentary 
leadei*s.  Of  the  five  hundred  membei's  lie  was  the  one  who  clearlv 
foresaw  the  certainty  that  Parliament  and  the  crown  had  met  for 
a  death  struggle.  He  was  the  fii'st  English  statesman  who 
discerned  and  tried  to  apply  what  may  be  called  the  doctrine  of 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY. 


619 


constitutional  proportion.  Pym  saw  that,  as  an  element  of 
national  life.  Parliament  must  outrank  the  crown,  or  else  it  wiiw 
of  no  consequence  at  all.      He  saw,  too,  tliiit  of  Parliament  the 


essential  part  was  tiie  House  of  Commons.  On  these  two  points 
he  based  his  policy.  When  Charles  i-efused  to  act  with  Parlia- 
ment Pym  treated  such  conduct  as  a  temporary  abdication  which 


580  THE   STORY   OF   GOVKUNMEXT. 

vested  the  entire  executive  in  the  two  Houses  until  new  arrange- 
ments were  made.  \VTien  the  lords  obstructed  public  business, 
lie  served  warning  upon  them  that  such  tactics  would  only  force 
tlie  Commons  "to  save  the  kingdom  alone.^' 

Revolutionary  principles  these,  but  they  have  Ixjen  recognized 
as  bases  of  the  English  constitution  since  the  day  when  Pym 
declared  them.  The  first  principle  was  established  deep  below 
any  future  uprooting  or  shaking  by  the  Convention  and  Parlia- 
ment wliich  followed  on  the  departure  of  James  II.,  in  1688. 
The  second  principle  was  recognized  and  ratified  by  the  acknowl- 
edgment on  all  sides  since  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  that  the 
government  of  England  is  really  in  the  hands  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  can  only  be  carried  on  by  ministers  who  represent 
the  majority  of  that  house.  As  Strafford,  the  chief  minister  of 
Charles,  represents  royal  tyranny  and  England  at  its  lowest  point 
of  national  degradation,  so  John  Pym  stands  out  on  the  canvas 
of  history  jis  the  embodiment  of  law,  a  face  looking  always 
towards  the  future. 

This  Long  Parliament  which  Pym  managed  undid  one  by  one 
the  lawless  acts  of  Charles'  government.  Ship  money  was 
declared  illegal;  the  judgment  in  Hampden's  case  was  annulled; 
one  of  the  judges  committed  to  prison ;  the  statute  declaring  the 
ancient  right  of  the  subject,  that  no  sulvsidy,  custom,  impost,  or 
any  (jhiirg;^  whatsoever  ought  or  may  be  laid  or  im[)osed  upon  any 
merchandise  exported  or  imported  by  subjects,  denizens,  or  aliens, 
(rlthouf  common  couHcnt  of  ParJiam"nf  enXyl  f:)rv'ver  all  preten- 
sions of  the  crowa  to  any  rii^flit  of  arbitrary  tixation;  and  a 
triennial  bill  called  for  an  assembly  of  the  House  every  three 
yeai*s,  and  l)Ou:id  the  returning  officers  to  proceed  to  election 
even  if  the  royal  writ  failed  to  summon  them. 

Not  satisfied  with  this  the  ('ommons  proceeded  to  impeach  the 
king's  minister,  Strafford,  for  high  treason.  Charles,  always 
plotting,  apparently  a])an(loned  Strafford  to  his  fate,  and  when  it 
was  discovered  that  the  kins'  ^vas  listenine:  to  counselloi*s  who 
proposed  that  the  army  should  march  on  London,  seize  the  Tower, 
free  Strafford  and  do  away  with  Parliament,  Strafford's  doom 
was  sealed.  The  Londoners  were  roused  to  frenzy  and  as  the 
])eers  gathered  at  Westminster,  crowds  saluted  them  with  hoarse 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY.  531 

cries  for  "Justice."  Yielding  to  this  cry  the  House  of  Lords 
j)assed  the  bill  of  attainder  found  against  Strafford  by  the  Com- 
mons to  which  two  days  hiter  Charles  gave  liis  signature,  thus 
.sacrificing  })crhaps  one  of  the  most  faithful  servantij  a  bad  king 
vwr  possessed,  and  over  this  crowning  act  of  royal  meanness  the 
London  streets  blazed  with  bonfires,  and  l)ells  rang  out  from  every 
steeple. 

Tile  courage  of  tlie  two  Houses  of  Parliament  hud  now  risen, 
and  it  l)ecame  evident  to  all  that  civil  war  was  inevitable. 
Charles  dispatched  one  of  his  adherents,  the  Earl  of  Newcastle, 
to  muster  an  army  in  the  north,  iviid  both  sides  prepared  for  the 
coming  struggle.  Tlie  queen  sailed  for  the  continent  to  pawn  the 
crown  jewels  and  buv  nuuiitions  of  war.  The  cavaliers,  as 
the  king's  i)arty  were  called,  gathered  round  him  and  to  the  last 
proposals  of  1  Parliament,  demanding  the  power  of  appointing  and 
dismissino-  the  roval  ministers,  of  namincr  eruardians  for  the  royal 
cliildren,  and  of  virtuallv  controUino-  militarv,  civil,  and  reli- 
Cfious  affairs,  Cliarles  retorted:  "If  1  crninted  vour  demands,  I 
should  be  no  moi'c  thin  the  mere  phantom  of  a  king." 

Then  beiran  the  maiidest  era  of  Eni:i'lish  history  with  the  battle 
of  Edge  Hill,  October  2o,  1;)4*2.  This  was  a  drawn  battle,  but 
tlie  moral  advantage  rested  with  the  king,  for  it  showed  him  to 
l)e  stronger  than  bid  b;*en  generally  supposed,  and  many,  there- 
fore, fiocked  to  his  standard.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  state 
l)rierty  tlie  rapid  succession  of  striking  events  which  mark  this 
period.  The  battles  of  Edge  Hill,  and  Chalgrove  Field  where 
Hampden  fell,  wen^  not  decisive,  nor  did  the  success  of  the  par- 
liamentarv  ]).irtv  become  assured  till  the  Commons  made  a  covenant 
with  Scotland  to  l)ring  the  churches  of  God  in  the  three  kins'- 
doms  to  the  nearest  uniformity  in  religion  in  form  of  church  gov- 
ernment, and  incidentally,  as  they  expressed  it,  "to  extirpate 
l)opery,  prelacy,  supei-stition,  schism,  and  profaneness,  and  to 
preserve  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Parliament,  and  to  unite  the 
two  kingdoms  of  Scotland  and  England  in  a  firm  peace  and  imion 
to  all  posterity." 

In  the  next  great  battk,  that  of  Marston  Moor,  July  2,  1644, 
there  came  into  prominence  for  the  first  time  a  leader  whose  very 
name  even  for  a  hundred  years  after  his  death  sounded  a  menace 


Mie  nx  sroBT  or  oovkssukst. 

^^,  it>i  ntrs  k  %iiur^  fur  it  is  a  natter  of  record  that  in  the  last 
^f^)^..,  ^<^M  M  Tiitf^isib  gentlemia  idm  b«d  msrried  a  descend- 
<,h  ^'  'i!.pi^  ^.'Nfamrell  petitioned  that  his  name  might  be 
.«.»nv.^    ;>    «.-    Ik.  T^arliameDt  to  -Qui  of  hts  wife's  family,  King 

•ii.       :..<,    .'>i>uc«v1l,  whose  Hank  charge  mined  the  title  of 

«.  ..     .  'i;u>i>.n  V»r.  is  a  man  whose  snrjassing  greatness  can- 

.    \,  ^:i.4..t>.i.  t^cu!  ::; «  bri^f  skfti'h  like  this.    He  was  the  giant  of 

»i    .*  ,    ;■  r^fftiMs.     Dnriii/f  tlie  rivil  war  some  of  the  partia- 

i^^.    . -..ci'V'Jicaak  from  olitnininga  complete  victory  over  th« 

v-:,^ .  .:~>  s,  utvc  JefeatinfT  hJM  foivt-R  they  would  permit  him  to 
V.  .....    :>  ^>'Ou  'fctier  inst«a«l  of  iittciiijiting  to  capture  him  luid 

'. ......>  -tui'  iut  cod  to  tlie  will'.     Till' old  .'iiijierstition of  lo^-alty 

■ss--'-  'K"  uiiswcprise.  They  iliil  nut  (It*sire  to  crush  him,  but 
>  IS...V  '.iiu  'ta,-tl.  lk«  tlie  ixMiliou  of  a  (-oiistitutiniiiil,  instead  of  an 
.  V  .;..*.  :tt»nhWi-lfc.  and  they  «hniiik  from  the  taint  of  treason  —  a 
a:!.v.i  u\tfirvirf*J  still  a  trfmendous  influence  over  the  Eng- 

■  1-.     :v  "rlitiji  N?  K-aten."  argued  Loiil  Manchester  at  Xewlniry, 

V   ■'   .;   -i;".   Iv  king;  if  ]i<?  beat  iis,  lie   will   Ining  ns  all  for 

•  ■.  :  -wsi  tV  i.i»}r  ill  Inttle,"  retorted  Cromwell,  "I  would  lire 

>,v,  ,u  hi!H  just  the  same  as  at  another." 

S.  ».k;uk>)\\  W  dwlared  that  the  iwirliamentary  leaders  were 

..  ».i  ,i  u»  vv'i*iiHi'r,"  and  that  unless  the  whole  foree  were  new- 

.1.-..V  v^;,  -uiU  iium*  strictly  disciplined,  no  settled  success  could 

.V  .  \iv>u<l-      Ut'  saw  that  it  was  neces.sary  for  success  to  opi»ose 

«'iuU;u>»iMti  ^^ub  «>iilhusia»im. 

■  \  -wi  <.'(  (>tnw taiBtcrs  and  town  apprentices,"  he  said,  "would 
iK'wi  li^hl  »^«ilist  men  of  honor,"  or  such  as  followed  the  banner 
vJ  VUuk-i  tt\m  a  principle  of  devotion  as  intensely  real  as  it  was 

uiy  wi^8taken.     Cromwell  had  early  discerned  that  attach- 

ll^i  l^t  A  wligimis  cause  was  the  one  weaimn  which  could  meet 

I  M\«.«i*hl^'W  tiR!  chivalry  of  the  cavalier.     So  he  had  gathered 

I  Uui  W  a  nucleus  a  regiment  of  a  thousand  men,  a  "  lovely 

jthe  called  them.     No  blasphemy,  drinking,  disorder,  or 

D  allowed  in  these  ranks.      "Not  a  man  swears  but  be 

UTe-pence."     Nor  was  his  choice  of  religious  men  his 


d 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  533 

only  innovation  on  the  military  customs  of  the  time.  Social 
tradition  had  limited  command  of  regiments  to  men  of  birth,  but 
Cromwell  said:  "I  had  i-ather  have  a  plain,  russet-coated  captain 
that  knows  what  he  fights  for  and  loves  what  he  knows  than  what 
you  call  a  gentleman  and  is  nothing  else,  though  I  honor  a  gen- 
tleman that  is  so  indeed." 

The  civil  war  came  to  an  end  at  the  battle  of  Xaseby,  June  14, 
1645.  Charles,  indeed,  went  wandering  helplessly  along  the  bor- 
ders of  Wales  in  search  of  fresh  forces,  but  the  spring  of  1646 
saw  the  few  troops  that  still  clung  to  the  king  surrounded  and 
captured  at  Stow.  ''You  liave  done  your  work  now,"  said  their 
leader,  Sir  Jacob  Astley,  to  his  conquerors,  "and  may  go  to  play, 
unless  you  fall  out  among  yourselves." 

With  the  end  of  tlie  civil  war  came  a  time  of  extreme  confu- 
sion but  of  greater  interest  tlian  even  the  war  itself  in  its  bearing 
on  English  history.  Modern  England,  ius  apolitical  entity,  began 
with  the  triumph  of  Cromwell  at  Niuseby.  When  Astley  gave  up 
his  sword  a  little  later,  the  *'work"  of  the  generations  that  had 
striven  for  public  liberty  in  his  own  emphatic  phrase  was  "'done." 
However  the  later  Stuarts  might  struggle  to  revive  their  absolute 
claims,  England  could  safely  *'go  to  play."  But  a  new  woik  had 
commenced  ;  the  constitutional  and  eeclesiiistical  problems  that  still 
beset  English  polities  in  the  shape  of  home  rule  and  the  national 
church  came  to  the  front  as  subjects  of  debate  in  the  yeai-s 
Ixjtween  the  close  of  the  civil  war  and  tlie  death  of  Charles. 
The  gi*eat  j)arties  that  have  ever  since  divided  the  social,  political, 
and  religious  life  of  England,  either  as  Independents  and  Presby- 
terians, Whigs  and  Tories,  Conservatives  and  Lil^erals,  sprang 
into  organization  from  the  contest  between  the  army  which  the 
civil  war  had  created  as  an  independent  force  and  the  Parliament 
which  had  created  the  civil  war. 

Then  began  for  the  first  time  a  conscious  struggle,  far  from 
ended  yet,  between  i)olitical  tradition  and  political  progn^ss, 
between  the  piineiplc  of  religious  conformity  and  that  of  religious 
freedom.  From  164G  to  1G41)  England  was  a  cauldron  of  con- 
spiracy on  the  part  of  the  defeated  king,  who  had  given  himself 
up  to  the  army  in  Scotland  in  1G46,  and  with  chamcteristic 
kingly  policy  tried  to  play  off  the  Scotch  covenanters  against 


&^ 


THE   STORr   OF   GO\'ERX31EXT. 


liwi:  EwrUfth  allies,  but  the  ScMttUh  army,  accepting  four  hon- 
liivtl  tlioiisai:»i  p4>imds  ia  dischaige  of  its  claims,  surrendered 
(Miiirhrfi  to  d  .•^>Diminee  of  Parliament  in  January,  1647.  Charles 
siHMit  the  ^^?!^^  oc  his  time  on  earth  in  intriguing  to  cause  trouble 
i>i»t\vefi:  tin  Pirliament  and  the  army. 

Thcrt  "v-jis  still  a  curious  reverence  felt  for  him  even  by  his 
^■'Oiunicrrcs.  Aavi  when  the  army  demanded  that  "'the  capital  and 
.TniMil  f.niiS.T  v^t  our  tn>ubles,  by  whose  commissions,  commands 
^im:  nr.v^T^'tw^^nts  all  our  wars  an«l  troubles  have  l)een,  may  be 
s!v».  ih.;-\  >-:\»Ui:ht  to  justice  for  the  treason,  blood,  and  mischief 
U«  '^  c-^Z-v  ot\**  this  demand  drove  the  Houses  to  a  sort  of  per- 
Ti|«v<'.*^  *v;vsjvur.  They  hatl  been  negotiating  with  the  king  for 
,^»••f^  r  ,\uu*essions  as  a  hasis  of  return  to  something  like  the  old 
i\yU'^..  avaI  ihoir  reply  to  this  demand  fi-om  the  army  wjis  to  accept 
•Ay,  X 'U^s  si>-called  concessions.  Tliis  act  \\'as  construed  by  the 
1,..  ;.iivv  jvirty  ivs  a  defiance,  and  Charles  was  seized  and  carried 
/^t,  V,*  Mui^i  Castle,  the  bulk  of  the  army  moving  on  London. 

'^\\\'  sluill  know  now,"  said  Vane,  as  the  troops  surrounded  the 
*»,,".ixvs  \»t'  Parliament,  **wlio  is  ou  the  side  of  the  king,  and  wlio 
'. •  '.:u-  sivlc  of  the  peoj)le."  But  fear  of  the  army  was  weaker 
f!  'tiiT  the  nienibei*s  than  the  awniz.ed  lovaltv  that  strove  to  save 

^  fry  %  « 

''o  moiiaix-hy  and  tin*  chnrch.      A  larye   majority  of  l)oth  Houses 
w'Uvl  lo  have  Charles  Ijack  again  on  his  own  tenns. 

The  next  morning  Colonel  I^ride  appeai-ed  in  l^ehalf  of  the 
Aimx's  Coiineil  of  Officers  at  the  door  of  the  House  of  Commons 
wiih  a  list  of  forty  inemlKii-s  of  the  majority,  and  as  each  member 
a[»[»eared  he  was  arrested  and  i)Ut  in  eontinement.  ""By  wliat 
lii^hl  do  you  this?*'  asked  one  of  the  nienilx^is.  '^By  the  right 
i»f  the  sword,"  said  Hugh  Petei-s.  Tlie  House  still  held  out,  but 
ihe  next  ni()rnin<^  fortv  more  niemlxTs  were  excluded  and  the  rest 
yitdded.  Then  tluj  two  great  powei'S  which  for  five  years  had 
wau*'<l  tliis  hitter  conflict,  the  Parliament  and  the  monarchv, 
melted  away;  the  remnant  wlio  remained  to  cor»j)erate  with,  or 
carry  out  the  will  of  the  army,  was  no  longer  a  representative 
IhmIv.  In  the  eoai-se  iniageiy  of  popular  speech,  they  were  but  the 
*'r\niij>"  of  a  jiarliament,  and  hy  this  name  have  passed   into  his- 

e    House    of    I^ords    at  this   time    had  pnictically  vanished 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONAKCHV. 


and  the  next  act  of  this  reviBed  House  of  CommoiiB  was  a  resolu- 
tion for  the  trial  of  Charles,  and  a  Domination  of  a  court  of  a 
huadred  and  fifty  commissionera  to  conduct  it,  with  John  Brad- 
shaw,  a  lawyer  of  emiuence,  at  their  head.  The  rejection  of  this 
ordinance  by  the  few  peers  ulin  etill  remained  brought  out  this 
resolution  from  the  lower  House:  "That  the  people  are,  nndi-r 
God,  the  original  of  all  jait  ]iower;  tluvt  the  Commons  of  Eng- 
land in  Parliament  asaembleil,  being  obosen  by  and  i^epreseuting 
the  people,  have  the  supreme  power  in  this  nation,  and  tliat  wliat- 
soever  is  enacted  and  declared  for  law  by  the  Comraomi  iu  Parlia- 
meat  assembled  hath  the  force  of  n  law,  and  all  the  people  of  this 
nation  are  concluded  thereby,  although  the  consent  and  concur- 
rence of  the  king  or  House  of  Peei-s  he  not  ha*il  thereunto." 

Charles  appeared  before  Bntdshaw's  court  denying  its  com- 
petence and  refusing  to  plead.  Thirty-two  witnesses  ivere 
examined  to  satisfy  the  consL'iences  of  his  judges,  and  on  the  fifth 
day  he  ^vas  condemned  to  death  as  a  "tyrant,  traitor,  murderer, 
and  enemy  of  his  countrj-,"  The  dignity  which  he  had  failed  to 
show  in  his  wrangling  with  Bradshaw  and  the  judges  returned  to 
him  as  death  drew  near.  As  Macaulay  sayj. :  "  He  went  to  the 
block  with  a  placid  courage  that  has  half  redeemed  his  fame." 
Two  masked  executioners  waited  on  him  as  he  mounted  the  scaf- 
fold which  had  Iwen  built  outside  one  of  the  windo\vs  of  the 
Banquettiug  Hoiuse  at  Whitehall.  Streets  and  roofs  were 
thronged  with  spectators,  and  a  strong  guard  of  soldiers  stood 
below.  Tlie  king's  head  fell  at  the  first  blow,  and  as  the  execu- 
tioner lifted  it  by  its  long  locks  to  the  sight  of  all,  groans  of  pity 
and  horror  mixed  with  the  shouts  of  triumph  from  the  populace 
lepresenting  the  nation  he  had  misruled. 

The  news  of  Charles'  death  thrilled  royal  Europe  with  horror. 
The  Czar  of  Russia  drove  the  English  envoy  from  his  court. 
France  withdrew  her  ambassador  from  England  on  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Republic.  The  Protestant  powers  of  the  continent 
were  more  anxious  than  any  to  disavow  all  connection  with  a 
people  who  liad  killed  their  king.  Holland  took  the  lead  in  acts 
of  open  hostility  to  the  English  Commonwealth,  i>aying  a  solemn 
official  visit  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  who  took  the  title  of  Charles 
II.,  and  refusing  an  audience  to  the  English  envoys.     In  Scotland 


686  'THE    STOllY    OF    GOVKKNMENT. 

the  Duke  of  Argyle  proclaimed  Charles  II.  king,  .and  invited  him 
from  Holland  to  ascend  the  throne. 

Hesitation  and  delay  marked  the  eoui-se  of  the  Commons  in 
entering  on  their  new  tiisk  of  recjonstiTicting  the  government. 
Six  weeks  passed  before  the  monarchy  was  formally  abolished, 
and  the  government  of  the  nation  provided  for  by  the  creation  of 
a  council  of  state  consisting  of  forty-one  membei's  selected  from 
the  Commons  who  were  entrusted  with  full  executive  power  at 
home  or  abroad.  Two  months  more  elapsed  l)efore  the  passing  of 
the  memorable  act  of  May  19,  1649,  which  declared  "that  the 
people  of  England  and  of  all  the  dominions  and  territories  there- 
unto belonging  are,  and  shall  l)e,  and  are  hereby  constituted,  made, 
established,  and  confirmed  to  ]ye  a  commonwealth  and  free  state, 
and  shall  henceforward  be  governed  as  a  commonwealth  and  free 
state  by  the  supreme  authority  of  this  nation,  the  representatives 
of  the  people  in  Parliament,  and  by  such  as  they  shall  appoint 
and  constitute  officers  and  ministers  for  the  good  of  the  people, 
and  that  without  any  king  or  House  of  Lords." 

Trouble  in  Ireland,  troul)le  in  Scotland,  trou])lo  with  Holland 
stared  them  in  the  face ;  but  with  (^roniwell  for  their  leader  all 
difficulties  were  tnmsnuited  into  triuniplis.  Charles  the  Sei'ond 
was  in  Scotland  at  this  time,  l)ut  to  secure  the  suj)port  of  the 
Scot(.*li  he  had  been  put  to  the  greatest  humiliations.  He  had  sulr 
scribed  to  the  Presbyterian  covenant,  he  had  listened  to  sermons 
and  scoldings  from  the  ministers,  he  had  Ik'cu  called  on  to  sign 
a  declaration  that,  wliile  it  })r()inised  l)t4t(»r  behavior  on  his  pai*t, 
acknowledged  the  tyranny  of  liis  father  and  the  idolatrousness  of 
his  niotlier,  who  was  a  Catliolic 

Shameless  as  he  was,  tlie  youn<r  kinij  niomentarilv  recoiled. 
"I  could  never  look  my  mother  in  tlu^  face  anfain  after  sisfniui; 
such  a  paper,"  lie  said;  but  he  signed.  He  was  a  king,  liowever, 
only  in  name,  and  after  tlie  battle  of  Worcester,  September  3, 
1051,  in  which  Cromweirs  loss  wu.s  little,  and  the  Scots  lost  six 
thousand  men,  witli  all  their  baggage  and  artillery,  Charles  the 
Second  fled  the  field,  and  after  months  of  wandering  escaped  to 
France. 

The  contluct  of  Cromwell  after  theses  victories,  in  dissolving 
the  Parliament  and  tiiki ng  for  a  while  supreme  command  of  the 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  587 

nation,  was  a  necessity  of  the  times.  He  looked  on  the  legal 
defects  of  liis  title  to  the  office  of  pit)tector  as  more  than  supplied  by 
the  consent  of  the  nation.  "I  called  not  myself  to  this  place,"  he 
iirgetl ;  "  God  and  the  i>eople  of  these  kingdoms  have  borne  testi- 
mony to  it."  His  rule  had  been  acquiesced  in  by  London,  by  the 
army,  by  the  solemn  decision  of  the  judges,  by  addresses  from 
every  shire,  by  the  appearance  of  members  of  the  new  Parliament 
of  1654  in  answer  to  his  writ  of  summons.  "Why  may  I  not 
balance  this  providence,"  he  asked,  "with  any  hereditarj'  inter- 
est?" He  discerned  in  tliis  national  approval  a  call  from  God; 
a  divine  right  of  a  higher  order  than  that  of  the  kings  who  had 
gone  before. 

But  witli  the  dissolution  of  this  Parliament  of  1654  ended  all 
show  of  constitutional  rule.  Cromwell's  protectorate  became  a 
simple  tyranny.  Cromwell,  indeed,  professed  to  be  restrained  by 
an  ordinance  drawn  up  by  one  of  the  early  Councils  of  State, 
called  the  Instrument  of  Government ;  but  the  one  restraint  on  his 
power  which  this  instrument  provided,  namely  the  inability  to 
levy  taxes  save  by  consent  of  Parliament,  he  set  aside  on  the  plea 
of  necessity. 

"The  people,''  said  he,  in  words  that  Charles  the  First's  great 
minister  StnifFonl  might  have  used,  "  will  prefer  their  real  security 
to  mei*e  forms."  From  this  moment,  Whitelock  tells  us,  "many 
sober  and  nol)le  lovers  of  their  country,  in  despair  of  public 
liberty,  did  begin  to  incline  to  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts."  If 
tyranny  could  be  pardoned,  the  wisdom  with  which  Cromwell 
used  the  power  he  had  usurped,  the  grandeur  of  his  rule,  and  the 
vast  extent  —  reai'liing  even  to  the  present  —  of  the  benefits  which 
his  management  of  her  foreign  affairs  gave  to  England,  would 
win  pardon  for  Cromwell.  "We  always  reckon  those  eight  years 
of  the  usurpation,"  said  the  royalist  Burnet  afterwards,  "a  time 
of  great  peace  and  pmsperity." 

It  was  not  vulgar  flatteiy  which  influenced  the  Parliament  of 
his  creation  to  offer  Cromwell  the  title  of  king  which  he  refused, 
as  Caesar  did  on  a  similar  occasion,  for  the  experience  of  the 
nation  had  taught  these  men  to  find  a  certain  value  in  the  tra- 
ditional forms  under  which  their  liberties  had  developed.  They 
really  wished  Cromwell  to  become  their  king,  for  a  king  was 


530  THE   STORY   OP   GOVKUNMENT. 

vested  tlie  entire  executive  in  the  two  Houses  until  new  arrange- 
ments were  made.  When  the  lonls  obstructed  public  business, 
lie  served  warning  upon  them  tliat  such  tarCtics  would  only  force 
the  Commons  "to  save  the  kingdom  alone,^^ 

Revolutionary  principles  these,  but  they  have  been  recognized 
as  biises  of  the  English  constitution  since  the  day  when  Pym 
declared  them.  The  first  principle  was  established  deep  below 
any  future  uprooting  or  shaking  by  the  Convention  and  Parlia- 
ment which  followed  on  the  departure  of  James  II.,  in  1688. 
The  second  principle  was  recognized  and  ratified  by  the  acknowl- 
edgment on  all  sides  since  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  that  the 
government  of  England  is  really  in  the  hands  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  can  only  be  carried  on  by  ministers  who  represent 
the  majority  of  that  house.  As  Strafford,  the  chief  minister  of 
Charles,  represents  royal  tyranny  and  England  at  its  lowest  point 
of  national  degradation,  so  John  Pym  stands  out  on  the  canvas 
of  history  as  the  embodiment  of  law,  a  face  looking  always 
t^i wards  the  fut\ue. 

This  Long  Parliament  which  Pym  managed  undid  one  by  one 
the  lawless  acts  of  Charles'  government.  Ship  money  was 
declared  illegal;  the  judgment  in  Hampden's  ease  was  annulled; 
one  of  the  judges  committed  to  prison ;  tlie  statute  declaring  the 
ancient  right  of  the  subject,  that  no  subsidy,  cu-^tom,  impost,  or 
any  charg;^  whatsoever  ought  or  may  be  laid  or  imposed  upon  any 
merchandise  exported  or  imported  by  subjjcts,  denizens,  or  aliens, 
tnlthout  common  ro)iHcnt  of  ParViarn'mt  en:l 'd  f:>rv'ver  all  preten- 
sions of  the  crown  to  anv  rii^lit  of  arbitrary  tixation;  and  a 
triennial  bill  called  for  an  assembly  of  the  House  every  three 
years,  and  bound  the  returning  officers  to  proceed  to  election 
even  if  the  royal  writ  failed  to  summon  them. 

Not  satisfied  witli  this  the  C'Ommons  proceeded  to  impeach  the 
king's  minister,  Strafford,  for  high  treason.  Charles,  always 
plotting,  ap})arently  abandoned  Strafford  to  his  fate,  and  when  it 
was  <liscovered  that  the  kincf  was  listeningr  to  counsellors  who 
proposed  that  the  army  should  march  on  London,  seize  the  Tower, 
free  Strafford  and  do  away  with  Parliament,  Strafford's  doom 
was  sealed.  The  Londoners  were  roused  to  frenzy  and  as  the 
])eers  gathered  at  Westminster,  crowds  saluted  them  with  hoarse 


OONSTlTUIlnK 


ciies  for  "Justice."  Yielding  to  this  cry  the  House  of  Lords 
passed  the  bill  of  attainder  found  against  Strafford  by  the  Com- 
mouB  to  whicli  two  dajs  later  Charles  gave  his  signature,  thus 
sacrificing  perhaps  one  of  the  most  faithful  servants  a  bad  king 
ever  i)08ses8ed,  and  over  this  crowning  act  of  royal  meanness  the 
London  streets  blazed  with  bonfires,  and  bells  rang  out  from  every 
steeple. 

The  coumge  o£  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  had  now  risen, 
and  it  became  evident  to  all  that  civil  war  was  inevitable. 
Charles  dispatched  one  of  his  adlierents,  the  Earl  of  Newcastle, 
to  muster  an  arniy  in  the  nortli,  and  both  sides  prepared  for  the 
coming  struggle.  Tlie  queen  sailed  for  the  continent  to  pawn  the 
crown  jewels  and  biiy  munitions  of  war.  The  cavaliers,  as 
the  king's  party  were  called,  gathered  nmud  him  and  to  the  last 
proposals  of  Parliament,  demanding  the  power  of  appointing  and 
dismissing  the  royal  ministers,  of  naming  guardians  for  the  royal 
children,  and  of  virtually  controlling  military,  civil,  and  reli- 
gious affaii-s,  Charles  retorted:  "If  I  granted  your  demands,  I 
should  be  no  more  than  the  mere  phantom  of  a  king." 

Then  began  the  grandest  era  of  English  history  with  the  battle 
of  Edge  Hill,  October  23,  1042.  This  was  a  drawn  battle,  but 
the  moral  advantage  rested  with  the  king,  for  it  showed  him  to 
be  stronger  than  had  b^en  generally  supposed,  and  many,  there- 
fore, flocked  to  his  standard.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  state 
briefly  the  mpid  succession  of  striking  events  which  mark  this 
periml.  The  battles  of  Edge  Hill,  and  Chalgrove  Field  where 
Hampden  fell,  were  ]iot  decisive,  nor  did  the  success  of  the  par- 
liamentary party  become  assured  till  the  Commons  made  a  covenant 
with  Scotland  to  bring  the  churches  of  God  in  the  three  king- 
doms to  the  nearest  uniformity  in  religion  in  form  of  church  gov- 
ernment, and  incidentally,  as  they  expressed  it,  "to  extirpate 
popery,  prelacy,  superstition,  schism,  and  profaneness,  and  to 
preserve  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Parliament,  and  to  unite  the 
two  kingdoms  of  Scotland  and  England  in  a  firm  peace  and  union 
to  all  posterity." 

In  the  next  great  battiL,  that  of  Marston  Moor,  July  2,  1644, 
tiiere  came  into  prominence  for  the  first  tiine  a  leader  whose  very 
ntune  even  for  a  hundred  years  after  his  death  sounded  a  menace 


'm^r 


624  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

brought  face  to  face  with   the  national  assembly  which  finally 
wiped  them  out. 

During  the  reign  of  James  I.  Parliament  was  occupied  only 
with  the  assertion  or  reassertion  of  its  former  rights ;  but  from  1614 
to  1621  no  Parliament  met,  and  James  had  full  (;liance  to  develop 
his  dogma  of  divine  right  or  of  governing  the  country  as  an  abso- 
lute sovereign.  Now  James  I.  had  considerable  ability  of  the 
smooth  intriguing  kind,  and  only  skirmishes  occurred  between 
him  and  Parliament,  preparations  as  it  were,  or  trials  of  strength, 
for  the  pitched  battle  of  the  reign  of  Charles. 

Charles  lacked  his  father's  smoothness,  and  took  his  father's 
theory  of  divine  right  still  more  seriously.  Between  1625  and 
1629  he  had  three  parliaments.  Between  1629  and  1640  he  had 
none  at  all.  During  that  period  he  ruled  with  help  of  a  few 
advisers  and  made  no  endeavor  to  take  into  his  confidence  the 
body  of  the  nation.  His  queen,  Henrietta  Maria,  wi\s  vain  and 
extravagant,  and  the  example  of  economy  in  coint  expenses  set 
by  Elizabeth  became  merely  a  tradition,  for  the  cost  of  the  royal 
household  rose  to  about  ten  times  the  Elizabethan  amount,  and 
thus  it  l)ecame  impossible  for  the  king  to  live  upon  his  ordinary 
income.  Therefore  he  begrau  collectinsf  taxes  tlirouMi  the  scr- 
vility  of  judges  in  all  sorts  of  illegal  ways,  and  the  people  Ix^gan 
to  resent  it,  at  first  individually,  soon  collectively.  In  1628, 
Robert  Chaml^ei's,  a  London  merchant  who  refused  to  pay  the 
unlawful  taxes  on  trade,  when  summoned  bcfoi'c  the  Court  of 
Exchequer,  said  there  w<as  no  country  in  Europe  where  mer- 
chants received  so  little  encouragement,  and  that  it  was  as  bad  as 
living  under  Turkish  tyranny,  for  which  freedom  of  speech  he  was 
tried  before  the  Court  of  St^ar  Chamber  for  ''trying  to  make 
people  l>elieve  that  Charles'  happy  government  was  a  Turkish 
tyranny."  He  wiis  fined  two  thousand  pounds  and  sent  to  the 
tower  where,  refusing  either  to  pay  or  to  apologize,  he  was  kei>t 
until  released  by  the  Long  Parliament. 

Monopolies  had  long  been  made  illegal,  but  Charles'  attorney- 
general,  Noy,  affirmed  that  though  the  law  forbade  the  gmnting 
of  a  monopoly  to  one  person,  it  did  not  forbid  the  granting  of  the 
same  to  two,  and  thus  the  sole  right  of  selling  various  articles 
was  granted  by  Charles  to  companies  of  individuals  who  paid  a 


IB 


1 


526  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

large  sum  on  the  spot,  and  a  royalty  on  the  amount.  We  have 
here  the  germ  of  our  trusts  and  syndicates,  equally  illegal  in  tlie 
face  of  original  law.  These  monopolies  were  granted  for  soap, 
starch,  gunpowder,  and  so  many  other  things  that  it  looked  as  if 
in  time  every  article  in  common  use  would  be  al>sorbed  hy  some 
company,  and  the  general  traders  and  merchants  l)ecaine  tlioroughly 
dismayed  at  the  spread  of  a  system  so  delightful  to  a  few,  so  dis- 
astrous to  the  many. 

Not  satisfied  with  cutting  the  ground  from  under  the  feet  of 
the  merchants,  Charles  next  pi-oceeded  to  stamp  on  the  toes  of  the 
nobility  by  a  new  scheme  to  gain  money.  At  the  Concjuest  the 
old-folk-land  or  common  land  of  the  people  had  lx»en  annexed  by 
the  king  under  the  name  of  the  kiug's  forest.  This  had  l>een  a 
large  source  of  revenue  to  the  Plantiigenet  kings,  but  had  dwindled 
away  ])artly  in  gifts  to  courtieiij,  and  partly  in  encroachments  by 
neighboring  barons  at  times  when  the  crown  had  been  unable  to 
enforce  its  rights.  In  this  way  large  tracts  of  foiest  land  had 
been  lost;  Rockingham  forest,  for  instiince,  which  had  once  1>(hmi 
sixty  miles  across  now  l)eing  reduced  to  six. 

Suddenlv  Charles  determined  to  reassert  these  rights  which  for 
centuries  had  lain  in  abeyance,  and  he  sent  Lord  Holland  ihrout^h- 
out  the  realm  to  reclaim  all  the  land  within  the  old  boundaries  to 
which  its  present  holders  could  sliow  no  exact  title,  and  to  lind  in 
addition  those  who  were  found  to  have  thus  trespassed  on  tlu» 
original  royal  domain.  In  Essex  alone  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds  was  thus  raised,  and  the  Earl  of  Essex  was  nearly  ruined. 
Such  disti-ess  caused  to  the  nobilitv  efenerallv  is  the  reason  whv 
so  many  noble  houses  in  the  civil  war  that  ensued  were  found  on 
the  Republican  side. 

The  next  to  suffer  were  the  countrv  <^entrv.  15 v  an  old  law 
ownei's  of  land  worth  twenty  pounds  a  >'ear,  thai  is,  about  two 
hundred  pounds  at  the  present  time,  were  to  be  knighted.  This 
practice  had  decayed,  and  Charles  took  advantage  of  the  fact  to 
send  an  inquisition  into  the  country,  and  tine  those  L^entrv  who 
had  not  comi)lied  with  the  ol^solete  law.  A  statute  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  had  ordered  every  cottage  to  have  four  acies  of  land 
attached  to  it,  and  numerous  proclamations  had  l)een  made  against 
the  building  of  more  houses  in  London,  but  none  of  these  had 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  6^7 

been  enforced  till  Charles  sent  another  commission  for  twenty 
miles  around  London  to  look  into  the  matter.  The  poor,  accord- 
ing to  the  phrase  of  the  time,  were  '* mightily  vexed,"  and  one 
builder  was  fined  a  thousand  pounds  and  ordered*  to  pull  down 
forty  new  houses  or  i)ay  a  thousand  pounds  more.  Inn-keepers 
were  taxed  on  wine,  and  wlien  they  refused,  forced  into  compliance 
by  a  prohibition  to  cook  any  meat.  The  result  was  that  in  one 
way  or  another  beer,  wine,  tobacco,  soap,  etc.,  were  all  taxed, 
and  Charles  raised  his  revenue  from  five  hundred  thousand  pounds 
to  eight  hundred  thousand. 

Still  this  was  not  enough  for  Charles,  thougli  the  i)eople  were 
beginning  to  consider  Scotch  kings  a  costly  luxury.  The  sums 
squandered  on  court  festivities  had  left  little  for  the  ordinarj- 
expenses  of  government.  Salaries  had  fallen  into  arreai-s,  and 
the  navy,  England's  protection  against  foreign  invasion  and 
against  pirates,  had  been  totally  neglected.  To  remedy  this, 
Charles  decided  to  increase  the  navv  and  his  own  income  at 
the  same  time.  English  kings  had  been  in  the  habit  of  collecting 
money  from  sejil^oard  counties  and  towns  in  time  of  war  to  furnish 
themselves  with  a  navv,  and  Charles  determined  to  extend  this 
tax  to  inland  counties.  This  ship  money,  as  it  was  called, 
created  an  innnensity  of  indignation  because  it  was  clearly  seen 
that  under  guise  of  pnn'iding  a  navy  Charles  was  really  attempt- 
ing to  est:il)lisli  a  iH'ecedent  for  making  himself  independent  of 
Parliament. 

The  trial  of  Hampden,  wliieli  occurred  in  1<)87,  for  refusing  to 
pay  the  ship  tax  was  the  fii*st  declaration  of  independence  on  the 
I)art  of  an  English  gentleman,  and  therefore  attmcted  far  more 
attention  than  the  protests  or  refusals  of  membei's  of  the  mercan- 
tile class.  Hampden's  resistance  thrilled  through  England  just  at 
the  moment  when  men  were  beint»:  roused  bv  the  news  that  the 
patience  of  Scotland  hatl  been  at  last  exhausted,  and  that  the 
Scottish  peoi)le  and  clergy  did  not  intend  to  submit  any  longer  to 
clerical  oppression,  backed  up  by  legal  tyranny. 

The  king  had  ordered  the  clergy  of  Edinburgh  to  introduce  the 
prayer-lx)ok  into  their  churches,  but  no  sooner  was  it  opened  at 
the  chui-ch  of  St.  Giles,  July  23,  163(3,  than  a  mummr  arose 
among  the  congregation  and  swelled  into  such  a  formidable  riot 


528  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERXMEXT. 

that  the  chui-ch  had  to  be  cleared  bv  the  officers  of  the  law.  The 
judges,  however,  were  so  frightened  by  tlie  rising  wrath  of  the 
people  that  they  rendered  a  decision  that  the  royal  \\Tit  com- 
manded only  the  purchase,  and  not  the  use  of  the  prayer-book. 

The  trial  of  Hampden,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned  personally, 
was  a  farce,  for  the  judges,  being  mere  creatures  of  the  king,  with 
two  exceptions,  decided  that  although  Hampden's  lawyers  had 
shown  by  an  unbroken  series  of  evidence  that  taxation  by  the  king 
without  consent  of  Parliament  wjis  illegal,  nevertheless  the  king 
was  above  all  law.  Out  of  the  twelve  judges  two  voted  for 
Hampden,  one  decided  against  the  king  on  technical  grounds,  the 
other  nine  decided  for  the  king.  Four  years  after  this  Charles, 
not  having  money  enough  to  carrj'  on  the  war  against  Presby- 
terianism  in  Scotland,  bv  the  advice  of  his  chief  counsellor,  the 
Earl  of  Straflford,  called  a  Parliament  which,  on  account  of  its 
brief  duration,  has  been  st}'led  the  Short  Parliament. 

Eveiy  member  of  the  Commons  knew  that  the  battle  for  reli- 
gioiLs  liberty  in  Scotland  was  a  battle  also  for  the  political  liberty 
of  every  individual  Englishman,  sind  instead  of  voting  money  to 
the  king  to  prosecute  his  Scottish  campaign,  this  Parliament 
declared  that  no  subsidy  should  be  granted  till  security  had  been 
given  for  religion,  property,  and  parliamentary  liberty.  An  offer 
to  give  up  the  ship  money  tax  failed  to  lure  Parliament  away 
from  this  firm  stand,  and  after  three  weeks'  sitting  the  king  exer- 
cised liis  prerogative  hy  dissolving  it,  and  Straflfoi'd,  his  minister, 
maintained  that  the  refusal  of  Parliament  to  supply  the  king's 
wants  freed  the  king  from  all  rule  of  government,  and  entitled 
liim  to  supply  himself  at  his  royal  pleasure.  Meantime  so  suc- 
cessful were  the  Sctots  that  Charles  was  forced  to  summon  a  great 
council  of  the  })eei's  at  York  to  help  him.  These  nobles  generally 
repudiated  his  projects  and  again  he  was  driven  to  sunmion  a 
Parliament  which  was  called  the  Loner  T^lrliament. 

The  great  light  of  this  time  now  began  to  shine  in  the  person 
of  John  Pym,  the  finest  as  he  Wivs  the  fii*st  of  parliamentary 
leadei's.  Of  the  five  hundred  membei's  he  was  the  one  who  clearly 
foresaw  the  certainty  that  Parliament  and  the  crown  had  met  for 
a  death  sti-uggle.  lie  was  the  fii-st  English  statesman  who 
discerned  and  tried  to  apply  what  may  be  called  the  doctrine  of 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY. 


constitutional  proportion.  Pym  saw  that,  as  an  element  uf 
national  life,  Parliament  must  outrank  the  crown,  or  else  it  wa.-i 
of  nn  consequence  at  all.      He  saw,  too,  that  of  Parliament  the 


essential  part  was  tlie  House  of  Commons.  On  these  two  points 
he  based  his  policy.  When  Charles  i-efused  to  act  with  Parlia- 
ment Pym  treated  such  conduct  as  a  temporary  abdication  which 


530  THE   STORY   OF   CJOVKUNMENT. 

vested  the  entire  executive  in  the  two  Houses  until  new  arrange- 
ments were  made.  AVhen  the  lonls  obstructed  public  business, 
he  served  warning  ui>on  them  that  such  tactics  would  only  force 
the  Commons  "to  save  the  kingdom  aZow^." 

Revolutionary  principles  these,  but  they  have  l^een  recognized 
as  b;ises  of  the  English  constitution  since  the  day  when  Pym 
<lechiixid  them.  The  first  principle  was  established  deep  below 
any  future  uprooting  or  shaking  by  the  Convention  and  Parlia- 
ment which  foHowed  on  the  departure  of  James  II.,  in  1688. 
Tlie  second  principle  Wiis  i-ecognized  and  mtified  by  the  acknowl- 
edgment on  all  sides  since  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  that  the 
government  of  England  is  really  in  the  hands  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  can  only  be  carried  on  by  ministers  who  represent 
the  majority  of  that  house.  As  Strafford,  the  chief  minister  of 
Charles,  represents  royal  tyranny  and  England  at  its  lowest  point 
of  national  degradation,  so  John  Pym  stands  out  on  the  canvas 
of  history  ixs  the  embodiment  of  law,  a  face  looking  always 
towards  the  future. 

This  Long  Parliament  which  Pym  managed  undid  one  by  one 
the  lawless  acts  of  Charles'  government.  Ship  money  was 
declared  illegal;  the  judgment  in  Hampden's  case  was  annulled; 
one  of  the  judges  committed  to  prison ;  the  stixtute  declaring  the 
ancient  riglit  of  the  subject,  that  no  subsidy,  cu-itom,  impost,  or 
any  charges  whatsoever  ought  or  may  be  laid  or  imposed  upon  any 
merchandise  exported  or  imported  by  subj.M-ts,  denizens,  or  aliens, 
ffuthofff  common  coHxrnt  of  Parliament  eii.l.'d  f:)r.n'er  all  preten- 
sions of  the  cnnva  to  any  riglit  of  arbitrary  taxation;  and  a 
triennial  bill  called  for  an  assembly  of  tlie  House  every  three 
years,  and  bound  the  returning  officers  to  proceed  to  election 
even  if  the  royal  writ  failed  to  summon  them. 

Not  satisfied  with  this  the  Commons  pro(;eeded  to  impeach  the 
king's  minister,  Strafl:V)r(l,  for  high  treason.  Charles,  always 
plotting,  ap})arently  abandoned  Strafford  t(^  his  fate,  and  when  it 
was  discovered  that  the  kinir  was  listeninir  to  counselloi*s  who 
proposed  that  the  army  should  march  on  London,  seize  the  Tower, 
free  Strafford  and  do  away  with  Parliament,  Strafford's  doom 
was  sealed.  The  Londoners  were  roused  to  frenzy  and  as  the 
peers  gathered  at  Westminster,  crowds  saluted  them  with  hoarse 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY.  631 

cries  for  "Justice."  Yielding  to  this  cry  the  House  of  Lords 
passed  the  bill  of  attuinder  found  against  Strafford  by  the  Com- 
mons to  which  two  days  later  Charles  gave  his  signature,  thus 
sacrificing  perhaps  one  of  the  most  faitliful  servant^s  a  bad  king 
ever  jK)ssessc<l.  and  over  this  crowning  act  of  royal  meanness  the 
London  streets  blazed  with  bonfires,  and  bells  rang  cmt  from  every 
steeple. 

The  courage  of  tlie  two  Houses  of  Parliament  had  now  risen, 
and  it  Ix'camc  evident  to  all  that  civil  war  was  inevitable. 
Charles  dispatclied  one  of  his  adherents,  the  Karl  of  Newcastle, 
to  muster  an  army  in  the  north,  and  l)oth  sides  prepared  for  the 
(doming  struggle.  'I'he  queen  sailed  for  tlie  continent  to  pawn  the 
crown  iewcls  and  l)u\  nnuiitions  of  war.  The  cavaliers,  as 
the  king's  party  were  called,  gathered  round  him  and  to  the  last 
proposals  of  Parliament,  demanding  the  power  of  appointing  and 
dismiss incr  tlie  roval  ministers,  of  namins:  <jruardians  for  the  roval 
t-hildren,  and  of  virtuallv  controllinij  militarv,  civil,  and  reli- 
ffious  affairs,  Charles  retorted:  "  H  I  ^nanted  vour  demands,  I 
sh(mld  be  no  more  thin  the  mere  phantom  of  a  king." 

Then  beiran  the  ufraudest  era  of  Knu'lish  history  with  the  battle 
of  Edge  Hill,  October  2-),  l'U2.  This  was  a  drawn  battle,  but 
the  moral  advantage  rested  with  the  king,  for  it  showed  him  to 
])e  stronger  than  h  id  l);'en  generally  supposed,  and  many,  there- 
fore, fiocked  to  his  standard.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  state 
briefly  tlu^  rapid  succession  of  striking  events  which  mark  this 
period.  The  battles  of  Edge  Hill,  and  Chalgrove  Field  where 
Hampden  fell,  were  not  decisive,  nor  did  the  success  of  the  par- 
liamentarv  party  become  assured  till  the  Connnons  made  a  covenant 
with  Scotland  to  brinj]^  the  churches  of  God  in  the  three  kinir- 
doms  to  the  nearest  uniformity  in  religion  in  form  of  church  gov- 
ernment, and  incidentally,  as  they  expressed  it,  "to  extirpate 
])Opery,  prelacy,  su[)erstition,  schism,  and  ])rofaneness,  and  to 
preserve  the  rights  and  privileges  of  Parliament,  and  to  unite  the 
two  kingdoms  of  Scotland  and  England  in  a  firm  peace  and  union 
to  all  posterity." 

In  the  next  great  battlt,  that  of  Marston  Moor,  July  2^  1644, 
there  came  into  prominence  for  the  first  time  a  leader  whose  very 
name  even  for  a  hundred  years  after  his  death  sounded  a  menace 


532  THE   STOUV   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

in  the  ears  of  kings,  for  it  is  a  matter  of  recoi-d  tliat  in  the  last 
century  when  an  English  gentleman  who  had  married  a  descend- 
ant of  Oliver  Cromwell  petitioned  tliat  his  name  might  he 
changed  hy  act  of  Parliament  to  that  of  his  wife's  family,  King 
George  opposed  the  request. 

But  Oliver  Cromwell,  whose  flank  charge  turned  the  tide  of 
battle  at  Mai*ston  Moor,  is  a  man  whose  surpassing  greatness  can- 
not be  summarized  in  a  bri^f  sketch  like  this.  He  was  the  giant  of 
an  age  rich  in  Titans.  During  the  civil  war  some  of  the  parlia- 
mentary leaders  shrank  from  obtaining  a  complete  victory  over  the 
king;  that  is,  after  defeating  his  forces  they  would  permit  him  to 
retreat  in  good  order  instead  of  attempting  to  capt\ire  him  and 
summarily  put  an  end  to  the  war.  The  old  superstition  of  loyalty 
clogged  their  enterprise.  They  did  not  desire  to  crush  him,  but 
to  force  him  back  to  the  position  of  a  constitutional,  instead  of  an 
absolute,  monarch,  and  they  shmnk  fix)m  the  taint  of  treason  —  a 
word  which  exercised  still  a  tremendous  influence  over  the  Eng- 
lish mind. 

"If  the  king  be  beaten,"  argued  Lonl  Mancliester  at  Xewbury, 
'*he  will  still  be  king;  if  he  beat  us,  he  will  hang  us  all  for 
tmitoi-s." 

"If  I  met  the  king  in  battle,"  retorted  Cromwell,  "I  would  lire 
my  pistol  at  him  just  the  same  as  at  another." 

Furthermore,  he  declared  that  the  parliamentiiry  leadei's  were 
"afraid  to  conquer,"  and  that  unless  the  whole  force  were  new- 
modeled,  and  more  strictly  disciplined,  no  settled  success  could 
Ixj  expected.  lie  saw  that  it  was  necessary  for  success  to  oppose 
enthusiasm  with  enthusiasm. 

"A  set  of  poor  tapstei-s  and  town  apprentices,"  he  said,  '*  would 
never  fight  against  men  of  honor,"  or  such  as  followed  the  banner 
of  Charles  from  a  principle  of  devotion  as  intensely  real  as  it  was 
immensely  mistaken.  Cromwell  had  early  discerned  that  attach- 
ment to  a  religious  cause  was  the  one  weapon  which  could  meet 
and  overthrow  the  chivalry  of  the  cavalier.  So  he  had  gatheivd 
about  him  as  a  nucleus  a  regiment  of  a  thousand  men,  a  "lovely 
company  "  he  called  them.  No  blasphemy,  drinking,  disorder,  or 
impiety  were  allowed  in  these  i*anks.  "Not  a  man  swears  but  he 
pays  his  twelve-pence."     Nor  was  his  choice  of  religious  men  his 


CONSTITUnOKAIi  MOKAROHT.  5SS 

only  innovation  on  the  military  customs  of  the  time.  Social 
tradition  had  limited  command  of  regiments  to  men  of  birth,  but 
Cromwell  said:  ^I  had  rather  have  a  plain,  russet-coated  captain 
that  knows  what  he  fights  for  and  loves  what  he  knows  than  what 
you  call  a  gentleman  and  is  nothing  else,  though  I  honor  a  gen- 
tleman that  is  so  indeed." 

The  civil  war  came  to  an  end  at  the  battle  of  Naseby,  June  14, 
1645.  Charles,  indeed,  went  wandering  helplessly  along  the  bor- 
dera  of  Wales  in  search  of  fresh  forces,  but  the  spring  of  1646 
saw  the  few  troops  that  still  clung  to  the  king  surrounded  and 
captured  at  Stow.  "  You  have  done  your  work  now,"  said  their 
leader.  Sir  Jacob  Astley,  to  his  conquerors,  "and  may  go  to  play, 
unless  you  fall  out  among  yourselves." 

With  the  end  of  the  civil  war  came  a  time  of  extreme  confu- 
sion but  of  greater  interest  than  even  the  war  itself  in  its  beai-ing 
on  English  history.  Modern  England,  tis  a  political  entity,  began 
with  the  triumph  of  Cromwell  at  Xiiseby.  A\Tien  Astley  gave  up 
his  sword  a  little  later,  the  '"work"  of  the  generations  that  had 
striven  for  public  libci*ty  in  his  own  emphatic  phrase  was  "'done." 
However  the  later  Stuarts  might  struggle  to  revive  their  absolute 
claims,  England  could  safely  "go  to  play."  But  a  new  Avork  had 
commenced ;  the  constitutional  and  ecclesiastical  problems  that  still 
beset  English  polities  in  the  shai)e  of  home  rule  and  the  national 
church  came  to  the  front  as  subjects  of  debate  in  the  yeara 
between  the  close  of  the  civil  war  and  the  death  of  Charles. 
The  great  parties  that  have  ever  since  divided  the  social,  political, 
and  religious  life  of  England,  either  as  Independents  and  Presby- 
terians, Whigs  and  Tories,  Conservatives  and  Libemls,  spi-ang 
into  organization  from  the  contest  between  the  army  Avhich  the 
civil  war  had  created  as  an  independent  foree  find  the  Parliament 
which  had  created  the  civil  war. 

Then  began  for  the  first  time  a  conscious  struggle,  far  from 
ended  yet,  between  i)olitical  tradition  and  political  progress, 
between  the  princii)le  of  religious  conformity  and  that  of  religious 
freedom.  From  1646  to  1649  England  was  a  cauldron  of  con- 
spiracy on  the  part  of  the  defeated  king,  who  had  given  himself 
up  to  the  army  in  Scotland  in  1646,  and  with  characteristic 
kingly  policy  tried  to  play  off  the  Scotch  covenanters  against 


634  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

their  English  allies,  but  the  Scottish  army,  accepting  four  hun- 
dred thousand  pounds  in  discharge  of  its  claims,  surrendered 
Charles  to  a  committee  of  Parliament  in  January,  1647.  Charles 
spent  the  rest  of  his  time  on  earth  in  intriguing  to  cause  trouble 
between  the  Parliament  and  the  army. 

There  was  still  a  curious  reverence  felt  for  him  even  by  his 
conquerors,  and  when  the  army  demanded  that  ^Hhe  capital  and 
grand  author  of  our  troubles,  by  whose  commissions,  commands 
and  procurements  all  our  wars  and  troubles  have  been,  may  be 
specially  brought  to  justice  for  the  treason,  blood,  and  mischief 
he  is  guilty  of,"  this  demand  drove  the  Houses  to  a  sort  of  per- 
plexed despair.  They  had  been  negotiating  with  the  king  for 
certain  concessions  as  a  basis  of  return  to  something  like  the  old 
order,  and  their  reply  to  this  demand  from  the  army  was  to  accept 
the  king's  so-called  concessions.  Tliis  act  was  construed  by  the 
military  party  as  a  defiance,  and  Charles  was  seized  and  carried 
off  to  Hurst  Castle,  the  bulk  of  the  army  moving  on  London. 

"We  shall  know  now,"  said  Vane,  as  the  troops  surrounded  the 
Houses  of  Parliament,  "who  is  on  the  side  of  the  king,  and  who 
on  the  side  of  the  people."  But  fear  of  the  army  was  weaker 
among  the  membei-s  than  the  agonized  loyalty  that  strove  to  save 
the  monarchy  and  the  church.  A  large  majority  of  lx)th  Houses 
voted  to  have  Charles  back  again  on  his  own  terms. 

The  next  morning  Colonel  Pride  appeared  in  behalf  of  the 
Army's  Council  of  Officers  at  the  door  of  the  House  of  Commons 
Avith  a  list  of  forty  nicml^ei's  of  the  majority,  and  as  each  member 
appeared  he  was  arrested  and  put  in  confinement.  "By  what 
right  do  you  this?  "  asked  one  of  the  meml:)ei*s.  "By  the  right 
of  the  sword,"  said  Hugh  Petei-s.  The  House  still  held  out,  but 
the  next  morning  forty  more  members  were  excluded  and  the  rest 
yielded.  Then  the  two  great  powei*s  which  for  five  years  had 
waged  this  l)itter  conflict,  the  Parliament  and  the  monarchy, 
melted  Jiway;  the  remnant  wlio  remained  to  coiiperate  with,  or 
carry  out  the  will  of  the  army,  was  no  longer  a  representative 
Ixxly.  In  the  eoai-se  imagery  of  popular  speech,  they  were  but  the 
"'runi^)''  of  a  parliament,  and  l)y  this  name  have  passed  into  his- 
tory. 

The    House    of    Lords    at  this   time    had  piuctically  vanished 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  586 

and  the  next  act  of  this  revised  House  of  Commons  was  a  resolu- 
tion for  the  trial  of  Charles,  and  a  nomination  of  a  court  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  commissioners  to  conduct  it,  with  John  Brad- 
shaw,  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  at  their  head.  The  rejection  of  this 
ordinance  by  the  few  peers  who  still  remained  brought  out  this 
resolution  from  the  lower  House:  "That  the  people  are,  under 
God,  the  original  of  all  just  power;  that  the  Commons  of  Eng- 
land in  Parliament  assembled,  being  chosen  by  and  representing 
the  people,  have  the  supreme  power  in  this  nation,  and  that  what- 
soever is  enacted  and  declared  for  law  by  the  Commons  in  Parlia- 
ment assembled  hath  the  force  of  a  law,  and  all  the  people  of  this 
nation  are  concluded  thereby,  although  the  consent  and  concur- 
rence of  the  king  or  House  of  Peers  be  not  had  thereunto." 

Charles  appeared  before  Bnidshaw's  court  denying  its  com- 
petence and  refusing  to  plead.  Thirty-two  witnesses  were 
examined  to  satisfy  the  consciences  of  his  judges,  and  on  the  fifth 
day  he  was  condemned  to  death  as  a  "  tyrant,  traitor,  murderer, 
and  enemy  of  his  country."  The  dignity  which  he  had  failed  to 
show  in  his  wmngling  witli  Bradshaw  and  the  judges  returned  to 
him  as  death  drew  near.  As  Macaulay  says :  "  He  went  to  the 
block  with  a  placid  courage  that  has  half  i*edeemed  his  fame." 
Two  masked  executioners  waited  on  him  as  he  mounted  the  scaf- 
fold which  had  l^een  built  outside  one  of  the  Avindows  of  the 
Banquetting  House  at  Whitehall.  Streets  and  roofs  were 
thronged  with  spectatoi's,  and  a  strong  guard  of  soldiers  stood 
below.  The  king's  head  fell  at  the  first  blow,  and  as  the  execu- 
tioner lifted  it  by  its  long  locks  to  the  sight  of  all,  groans  of  pity 
and  horror  mixed  with  the  shouts  of  triumph  from  the  populace 
representing  the  nation  he  had  misruled. 

The  news  of  Charles'  death  thrilled  royal  Europe  with  horror. 
The  Czar  of  Russia  drove  the  English  envoy  from  his  court. 
France  withdrew  her  ambassador  from  England  on  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Republic.  The  Protestant  powers  of  the  continent 
were  more  anxious  than  any  to  disavow  all  connection  with  a 
people  who  had  killed  their  king.  Holland  took  the  lead  in  acts 
of  open  hostility  to  the  English  Commonwealth,  paying  a  solemn 
official  visit  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  who  took  the  title  of  Charley 
n.,  and  refusing  an  audience  to  the  English  envoys.     In  Scotlan<J 


536  'THE   STOUY    OF    GOVKRNMENT. 

the  Duke  of  Argyle  proclaimed  Charles  II.  king,  and  invited  him 
from  Holland  to  ascend  the  throne. 

Hesitation  and  delay  marked  the  CM)ui'8e  of  the  Commons  in 
entering  on  their  new  task  of  reconstmcting  the  government. 
Six  weeks  passed  before  tl\e  monarchy  was  formally  abolished, 
and  the  government  of  the  nation  provided  for  by  the  creation  of 
Ji  council  of  state  consisting  of  forty-one  membei-s  selected  from 
the  Commons  who  were  entrusted  with  full  executive  power  at 
home  or  abroad.  Two  months  more  elapsed  l)efore  the  passing  of 
the  memorable  act  of  May  19,  1649,  whic^h  declared  "that  the 
people  of  England  and  of  all  the  dominions  and  territories  there- 
unto belonging  are,  and  shall  l)e,  and  are  hereby  constituted,  made, 
established,  and  confinned  to  he  a  commonwealth  and  free  state, 
and  shall  henceforAvard  be  governed  as  a  commonwealth  and  free 
state  by  the  supreme  authority  of  this  nation,  tlie  representatives 
of  the  people  in  Parliament,  and  by  such  as  they  shall  appoint 
and  constitute  officers  and  ministers  for  the  good  of  the  people, 
and  that  without  any  king  or  House  of  Lords." 

Trouble  in  Ireland,  trouble  in  Stjotland,  trouble  with  Holland 
stared  them  in  the  face ;  but  with  Cromwell  for  their  leader  all 
difficulties  were  tniiisniuted  into  trium[)hs.  Charles  the  Second 
was  in  Scothmd  at  tliis  time,  Init  to  secure  the  su[)port  (»f  the 
Scotch  he  had  been  put  to  the  greatest  liumiliations.  He  had  sulr 
scribed  to  tlie  Presbyterian  covenant,  he  had  listened  to  sermons 
and  scoldino;s  from  the  ministers,  he  had  Inten  called  on  to  sigfn 
a  declaration  that,  while  it  promised  better  behavior  on  his  part, 
acknowledged  the  tyranny  of  his  father  and  the  idolatrousness  of 
his  mother,  who  was  a  Catholic. 

Shameless  as  he  was,  the  youn*^  kinij  niomentarilv  recoiled. 
"I  could  never  look  my  mother  iu  the  face  again  after  sign int:^ 
such  a  paper,''  lie  said;  but  he  signed.  He  was  a  king,  however, 
only  in  name,  and  after  the  battle  of  Worcester,  Septeml)er  3, 
lOf)!,  in  whi(!h  Croniweirs  loss  was  little,  and  the  Scots  lost  six 
tlumsand  men,  with  all  their  baggage  ar.d  artillery,  Charles  the 
Second  fled  the  field,  and  after  months  of  wandering  escaped  to 
France. 

The  conduct  of  Cromwell  after  th(^se  victoiies,  in  dissolving 
the  Parliament  and  taking  for  a  whiUj  supreme  command  of  the 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONAKGHV.  687 

nation,  was  a  necessity  of  the  times.  He  looked  on  the  legal 
defects  of  ]iis  title  to  the  office  of  pit)tector  as  more  than  supplied  by 
the  consent  of  the  nation.  ^^I  called  not  myself  to  this  place/*  he 
urged ;  "  God  and  the  jHJople  of  these  kingdoms  have  home  testi- 
mony to  it."  His  rule  had  been  acquiesced  in  by  London,  by  the 
army,  by  the  solemn  decision  of  the  judges,  by  addresses  from 
every  shire,  by  tlie  api>eai'ance  of  membei-s  of  the  new  Parliament 
of  1654  in  answer  to  liis  writ  of  summons.  '*Why  may  I  not 
balance  this  providence,"  he  asked,  "with  any  hereditary'  inter- 
est?" lie  discerned  in  this  national  approval  a  call  from  God; 
a  divine  right  of  a  higher  oi*der  than  that  of  the  kings  who  had 
gone  before. 

But  Avitli  the  dissolution  of  this  Parliament  of  1654  ended  all 
show  of  loiLstitutional  rule.  Cromwell's  protectomte  became  a 
simple  tyranny.  Ci-omwell,  indeed,  professed  to  be  restrained  by 
an  ordinance  drawn  up  by  one  of  the  early  Councils  of  State, 
called  the  lustriimeiit  of  Government ;  but  the  one  restraint  on  his 
power  which  this  instrument  provided,  namely  the  inability  to 
levy  Uixes  save  by  consent  of  Parliament!  he  set  aside  on  the  plea 
of  necessity. 

"The  people,'*  said  he,  in  words  that  Charles  the  First's  great 
minister  Strafford  might  have  used,  "  will  prefer  their  real  security 
to  mei-e  forms."  From  this  moment,  Whitelock  tells  us,  "many 
sober  and  noble  lovers  of  their  country,  in  despair  of  public 
liberty,  did  begin  to  incline  to  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts."  If 
tyranny  could  be  pardoned,  the  wisdom  with  which  Cromwell 
used  the  power  he  had  usurped,  the  grandeur  of  his  rule,  and  the 
vast  extent  —  rea'jhing  even  to  the  present  —  of  the  benefits  which 
his  management  of  her  foreign  affairs  gave  to  England,  would 
win  panlon  for  Oomwell.  "  We  always  reckon  those  eight  years 
of  the  usurpation,"  said  the  rojTilist  Buniet  afterwards,  "a  time 
of  great  peace  and  pi-osperity." 

It  was  not  vulgar  flattery  which  influenced  the  Parliament  of 
his  creation  to  offer  Cromwell  the  title  of  king  which  he  refused, 
as  Csesar  did  on  a  similar  occasion,  for  the  experience  of  the 
nation  had  taught  these  men  to  find  a  certain  value  in  the  tra- 
ditional forms  under  which  their  liberties  had  developed.  They 
really  wished  Cromwell  to  become  their  king,  for  a  king  was 


538  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

limited  to  a  certain  degree  l)y  constitutional  precedents.  A  pro- 
tectorate, on  the  other  hand,  was  a  political  novelty  that  afforded 
no  means  of  limiting  its  power. 

But  Cromwell  knew  that  the  armv  he  had  commanded  would 
not  relish  the  title  of  king,  and  he  was  right,  for  a  ]:)etition  came 
from  the  officers  to  Parliament  demanding  a  withdrawal  of  their 
liroposal  "in  the  name  of  the  old  cause  for  which  they  had  bled," 
and  Cromwell  at  once  headed  off  a  delxite  Avhich  might  have 
led  to  a  breach  between  the  armv  and  the  Commons  bv  refusincr 
the  crown  May  8,  10  ")7.  He  was  then  fonnally  inaugurated  as 
Protector  by  the  Parliament,  the  speaker  investing  him  v.ith  a 
mantle  of  state,  placing  the  sceptre  in  his  hand  and  girding  the 
sword  of  justice  to  his  side.  By  this  act  of  Parliament  Cromwell 
was  allowed  to  name  his  own  successor,  but  in  all  after  eases  the 
office  was  to  be  elective.  The  forms  of  the  older  constitution 
were  carefuUj"  restored,  Parliament  re-established  its  two  houses, 
the  seventy  members  of  the  Upper  House  to  be  named  by  the  pro- 
tector; a  fixed  revenue  was  voted  to  him;  it  wjis  provided  that 
no  moneys  should  be  rais^'d  but  by  assent  of  Parliament,  and 
liberty  of  Avorsliip  was  secured  for  all  but  Papists,  Prelatists, 
Socinians,  or  those  who  denied  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  liberty  of  conscience  was  secured  for  all.  This  was  in 
June,  1057. 

But  the  hand  of  death  was  on  him  and,  though  never  had  the 
fame  of  an  English  ruler  stood  higher,  in  the  midst  of  his  glory 
he  was  wearv  of  his  task.  **God  knows,"  he  had  cried  out  to  Par- 
lianient  a  year  Ixjfore,  "'1  would  have  l)een  glad  to  have  lived 
under  my  woodside,  and  to  have  kept  a  flock  of  sheep  than  to 
have  undertiiken  this  government."  Anl  now  to  the  weariness  of 
power  was  added  the  feverish  impatienee  of  disease.  The  Parlia- 
ment that  opposed  him  in  his  plans  he  dismissed  in  an  angry 
speech  (jlosing  with  the  words:  "I  dissolve  this  Parliament,  and 
let  Ood  ludcre  between  vou  and  me."  Yet  he  had  hardlv  dissolved 
it  before  he  was  planning  the  summons  of  another,  but  before  his 
plans  could  be  realized  his  strength  gave  way.  Prayer  arose  on 
everv  side  for  his  reooverv,  and  with  characteristic  enercfv  he  was 
the  last  to  l)e  convinced  that  his  hour  was  come.  A  tremendous 
August  storm  which  tore  roofs  from  houses  and  overthrew  huge 


640  THE   8TORV   OF   GOVERN^rEXT. 

trees  in  every  forest  seemed  to  the  popular  mind  an  omen  and  a 
fit  prelude  to  the  passing  of  this  mighty  spirit.  Three  days  after, 
on  the  3d  of  September,  1658,  the  day  which  had  witnessed  his 
victories  of  Worcester  and  of  Dunbar,  Cromwell  quietly  breathed 
his  last. 

So  mighty  even  in  death  was  his  sway  over  the  minds  of  men 
that  to  the  wonder  of  tlie  hopefully  excited  royalists  even  a  doubt- 
ful nomination  from  his  deathbed  was  sufficient  to  secure  the 
peaceful  succession  of  liis  son,  Richard  Ci-omwell,  to  the  pro- 
tectorate. Many,  in  fact,  wlio  denied  the  authority  of  the  father 
acquiesced  cheerfully  in  that  of  the  new  protector.  Richard, 
however,  was  a  weak  and  worthless  man  who,  conscious  of  his 
inferiority,  soon  resigned  the  government,  and  a  new  House  of 
Commons  l)egan  to  draw  up  terms  for  a  restoration  of  the  Stuart 
race  in  the  person  of  Charles  the  Second.  Charles,  with  whom 
General  Monk  of  the  army  had  been  in  communication,  sent  over 
a  promise  of  general  pardon  and  religious  toleration  which  was 
received  with  a  burst  of  enthusiasm,  and  the  old  constitution  was 
resU)re(l  bv  a  solemn  vote  that,  accord ingr  to  the  ancient  and  fun- 
damental  laws  of  the  kingdom,  tlie  government  is  and  onght  to  be 
by  king,  lords,  and  commons. 

Charles  at  once  hiistened  to  return,  landed  at  Dover  and  made 
his  way  amid  the  shouts  of  the  multitude  to  Whitehall  where  his 
father  had  lost  his  head.  Puritanism,  so  men  believed,  had  fallen 
never  to  rise  again.  As  a  political  experiment  it  had  endod 
apparently  an  utter  failure.  As  a  religious  system  of  national 
life  it  brouiifht  about  the  wildest  outbreak  of  moral  revolt  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  that  England  had  ever  witnessed;  and  j'et 
Puritanism  was  not  dead,  but  was  drawing  in  silence  a  nobler  life 
from  suffering  and  defeat.  For  the  whole  history  of  English 
progress  sinci^  the  restoration  on  its  moral  and  spiritual  sides  has 
been  the  history  of  Puritanism.  Eager  royalists  were  greatlj' 
disappointed  with  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  for  they  beheld  the 
ideas  they  had  bled  for  steadily  sinking  into  the  background,  but 
Charles  himself  was  clever  enough  to  realize  that  the  England 
which  had  (tailed  him  back  was  a  new  En<jfland  and  the  monarchv 
having  passed  through  the  crucible  of  Cromwell,  an  entirely  new 
monarchy.      The  Parliament  proceeded  to  limit  the  king's  power 


COKSTITUTIOKAL  KOKAROHT.  541 

by  chains  much  stronger  though  less  tangible  than  any  that  had 
bound  his  predecessors,  for  in  this  reign  it  secured  the  power  of 
controlling  the  king's  policy  through  a  complete  and  specific  con- 
trol of  the  national  purse. 

Charles  II.  was  by  far  the  cleverest  of  the  Stuarts,  and  at  the 
end  of  his  reign  found  himself  more  popular  and  practically  more 
absolute  than  any  member  of  his  family,  but  it  was  in  reality  by 
yielding  points  of  government  that  lie  had  gained  his  ends.  Not 
since  the  days  of  Richard  II.  had  Parliament  voted  supplies  for 
special  purposes,  and  when  they  voted  taxes  of  tonnage  and 
poundage  or  subsidies,  the  king  got  a  large  sum  of  money  to 
apply  as  he  chose.  This  plan,  however,  was  far  from  satis- 
factory, for  no  check  could  be  kept  on  a  king's  extravagance, 
nor  could  Parliament  have  any  security  that  money  designed  for 
a  special  purpose  would  be  spent  for  that  purpose.  In  1665,  how- 
ever, Parliament  voted  one  million  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand pounds,  declaring  that  it  was  to  be  applied  only  to  the  war 
with  the  Dutch.  Charles'  chief  minister,  Clarendon,  opjxjsed 
this  specific  limitation  as  an  innovation  on  royal  custom;  but 
Charles  favored  it,  because  he  thought  it  would  lure  Parliament 
into  voting  supplies  more  readily,  and  that  he  could  get  hold  of 
the  money  for  his  special  purposes  just  as  easily.  He  was  right,  as 
far  as  he  was  concerned,  but  his  successoi*s  found  that  bonds  which 
he  was  able  to  slip  through  were  chains  of  a  heavier  kind  upon 
their  movements,  and  this  was  obviously  an  enormous  gain  for  the 
people,  since  it  made  the  control  over  the  purse  far  more  strict,  and 
the  Commons  followed  it  up  by  iiuiuiring  how  the  money  thus 
voted  was  spent,  and  as  a  result  of  this  inquiry  the  treasurer  of 
the  navy  was  dismissed  from  his  post. 

The  impeachment  ot  Danby  precipitated  a  crisis  between  the 
king  and  Parliament  which  hitherto  Charles  had  endured,  deem- 
ing it  the  most  pliant  he  was  likely  to  get.  But  losing  patience, 
when  it  again  impeached  his  fii'st  minister,  he  decided  to  risk  a 
general  election.  The  new  Parliament  was  no  better  than  the 
last.  Besides  impeaching  Danby,  it  tried  to  exclude  the  Duke  of 
York,  the  king*s  brother,  from  anj'  possible  succession  to  the 
throne  on  account  of  his  Catholicism,  and  was  in  its  tuni  dis- 
solved. 


642  THE   STORV   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

At  this  period  Charles  showed  his  good  sense  by  consenting  to 
the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  which  again  asserted  the  principle  that 
any  unconvicted  prisoner,  unless  accused  of  treason  or  felony, 
niiglit  call  upon  the  lord  chancellor  or  any  judge,  under  penalty 
of  a  fine  of  five  hundred  pounds,  to  issue  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  ^ 
to  the  gaoler,  ordering  him  under  penalty  of  a  fine  of  one  hundred 
poimds  to  bring  up  the  body  of  the  prisoner  within  not  more  tliau 
twenty  days,  and  that  the  judge  on  his  appearance  should  release 
him  on  bail.  In  the  case  of  treason  or  felony,  if  a  i^risoner  was 
not  tried  in  tlie  next  term  or  next  sessions  of  gaol  delivery  after 
his  commitment,  lie  could,  on  petition  to  the  court,  l^e  released  on 
bail,  unless  it  appeared  that  the  crown's  witnesses  could  not  be 
produced  at  that  time. 

This  Act  contained  no  new  principle,  but  it  gave  greater 
facility  for  the  assertion  of  an  ancient  right,  and  henceforth  the 
crown  ceased  to  be  able  to  imprison  its  enemies  in  defiance  of  the 
principles  of  the  security  of  the  person. 

Charles'  attempt  to  improve  his  position  by  an  election  failed; 
again  he  dissolved  Parliament,  but  its  successor  only  continued 
its  coui-se,  and  again  an  election  occurred.  Two  years  the  strug- 
gle raged;  thrice  the  king  exercised  his  prerogative  of  dissolving 
Parliament;  once  the  Commous  exercised  theii*s  of  refusing  sup- 
plies; once  the  Exclusion  Bill  in  regard  to  the  Duke  of  York, 
afterwards  James  II.,  passed  the  Commons,  only  to  be  rejected 
by  the  Lords.  At  length,  the  violence  of  the  Commons  over- 
leaped itself,  Charles  found  that  the  nation  was  with  him,  and 
having  secured  a  permanent  income  from  Louis  XIV.,  the  king  of 
France,  lie  dissolved  the  Oxford  Parliament  and  determined  to 
dispense  with  the  services  of  Parliament,  until  one  could  be 
elected  that  suited  him  l^etter.  Of  this  he  had  some  hopes,  for 
the  struggle  had  shown  that  there  was  a  party  in  the  kingdom 
upon  whom  the  king,  so  long  as  he  was  moderate,  could  rely,  and 
the  violence  of  the  Commons,  who  had  endeavored  to  exclude 
James,  not  for  what  he  had  done,  but  for  what  he  might  do,  had 
frightened  many  men  of  moderate  views  and  caused  a  reaction  in 
Charles'  favor.  This  reaction  took  the  form  of  the  rise  of  a  new 
party,  and  from  henceforth  the   country  party,  as  the  opposition 

1  "  Thou  Shalt  have  (or  take)  the  body." 


644  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

was  called,  took  the  name  of  Whigs,  and  the  court  party,  which 
yet  contained  many  men  who  were  not  courtiere,  took  tlio  name  of 
Tories. 

The  rise  of  organized  parties  in  Parliament  is  the  most  impor- 
tant event  which  has  taken  place  since  the  Restoration ;  for  it  has 
established  the  only  conditions  on  which  it  seems  possible  that 
constitutional  government  can  be  worked  with  success  or  promise 
of  permanency,  and  happily,  at  their  first  rise,  the  principles  they 
followed,  though  vague,  were  roughly  distinguishable,  so  that 
almost  every  man  was  able  to  range  himself  under  the  banner  of 
one  or  the  other.  Thus  at  the  very  moment  when  party  govern- 
ment was  coming  into  existence  there  was  no  conflict  of  small 
cliques,  which  might  have  hami)ered  its  Avorking. 

Generally  speaking,  the  Tories  were  such  as  thought  that,  if 
England  was  to  be  governed  by  king  and  Parliament,  greater 
advantage  was  likely  to  be  gained  by  upholding  the  prerogative 
of  the  king  than  by  extending  the  rights  of  Parliament,  and  since 
the  men  who  thought  thus  were  almost  invariably  churchmen, 
they  adopted  as  their  watchword,  "King  and  Church."  The 
Whigs,  on  the  other  hand,  were  those  wlio  Ix^lieved  that  the  safety 
of  the  country  lay  in  giving  prominence  to  the  powers  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  that  the  ancient  prerogative  of  the  crown  should  Ix^ 
restrained  in  it^?  exercise,  whenever  at  variance  with  the  interests 
of  the  subject. 

Contrasted  with  the  Tory  gentry,  the  luiiss  of  the  Whig  pai*ty 
naturally  came  from  the  cities  and  l)orouglis,  for  it  wjis  in  the 
small  manufacturinsf  towns  that  the  Purit^ms  had  been  stronsf.  To 
reduce  the  tide  that  was  running  against  him,  Charles  had  to  play 
the  part  of  a  politician,  and  this  was  one  of  his  acts.  The  cor- 
porate towns  held  tlieir  privileges  by  virtue  of  charters  which 
had  been  granted  at  one  time  or  another  by  the  sovereign, 
and  many  of  them  bore  a  very  ancient  date.  By  these  ehartei>; 
certain  privileges,  including  the  right  of  self-government,  were 
granted  to  the  burgesses,  wlio  purchased  the  charter  either  by  the 
payment  of  a  sum  of  money  or  by  the  performance  of  certain 
duties.  ^lany  of  these  duties,  dating  far  back  into  feudalism,  had 
l)een  quite  neglected,  and  few  towns  could  Ije  found  which  iiad  not, 
in  one  way  or  another,  infringed  some  article  of  their  charter. 


COKBTITUTIONAL  HONABOHT. 


645 


Charles,  therefore,  had  a  legal  shadow  of  right  to  call  in  the 
charter,  fiad  the  flaw,  coDdemo  as  forfeit  the  privileges  of  the 
corporation,  and  to  return  the  charier  with  a  new  list  of  sldermen 
and  a  new  mayor  named  from  the  Tory  party.  This  waa  what 
Charles  did,  and  in  this  way  he  spent  the  last  three  years  of  his 
life,  remodelling  the  constituencies  and  providing  for  the  elec- 
tion of  a  Tory  Parliament.  But  death  has  no  respect  for  politi- 
cians and  Charles  II.,  who  was  the  best  and  wont  of  his  race, 
died  suddenly,  asking  forgiveness  of  his  injured  queen,  not  of  his 
corrupted  country. 

James  II..  his  hitither,  completely  deceived  hy  the  calm  that  bad 


WEBTMISSTER  IN  1847. 


followed  the  dissolution  of  the  last  Parliament,  fancied  the  nation 
had  outgrown  its  fit  of  dislike  to  a  popish  sovereign.  Perhaps  he 
gave  too  much  weight  to  a  decree  passed  hy  the  Tory  University 
of  Oxford,  condemning  tho  doctrine  that  resistance  to  a  king  is 
lawful  under  certain  circumstances.  At  any  rate,  within  three 
years  he  had  jnore  than  shown  himself  shorn  of  any  pojiularity  be 
might  have  bad.  The  nation  had  become  utterly  sick  of  him. 
The  storj'  of  his  mistakes  is  well  known;  how  ho  iised  his  di8[>cns- 
ing  power  to  give  Komivn  Catliolics  not  only  toleration,  but  even 
ascendem-y  in  the  kingdom;  how  he  turned  out  experienced  offi- 
cials, merely  because  they  were  Protestants ;  how  he  set  up  a  new 


546  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Court  of  High  Commission  and  attacked  the  Universities  of  Ox- 
ford and  Cambridge ;  how  tlie  non-conformists  refused  to  join  him 
in  his  attacks  upon  the  Church ;  how  even  the  Church  was  driven 
to  give  up  her  doctrine  of  passive  resistance  by  the  prosecution  of 
the  seven  bishops;  and  how  the  nation  was  finally  driven  to 
despair  by  the  birth  of  a  prince  who  would  be  educated  as  a 
Roman  Catholic,  and  who  supplanted  the  popular  Princess  Mar}-. 

In  the  time  of  Edward  II.,  or  of  Richard  II.,  such  conduct 
would  have  been  equivalent  to  his  deposition,  for  in  those  times 
the  nation  could  at  a  week's  notice  have  marched  upon  London  an 
overwhelming  force  to  which  the  king  could  oppose  notliing  but 
his  own  personal  adherents.  Now,  however,  times  had  changed ; 
the  retention  of  those  five  thousand  old  army  men  at  the  Restora- 
tion had  given  to  the  king  the  nucleus  of  a  trained  force,  against 
which  untrained  levies,  however  valiant,  could  not  easily  hold 
their  ground,  and  it  was  absolutely  necessar}-,  if  the  nation  was 
to  have  a  fair  chance  of  declaring  its  will,  for  some  force  to  be 
found  that  should  balance  the  thirteen  thousand  men  whom  James 
had  established  as  his  guard  on  Hoimslow  Heatli. 

Such  a  force  was  found  in  the  «anny  of  William  of  Orange, 
who  came  over  from  Holland  to  give  the  nation  an  opportunity 
of  declaring  its  will  in  a  free  Parliament.  Happily  no  bittle  was 
fought.  Deserted  by  their  leadei-s  and  disheartened  by  their 
unpopularity,  James'  soldiei-s  struck  no  blow  in  his  defence,  and 
James  sought  refuge  in  flight.  A  convention  was  summoned 
which,  taking  into  account  the  double  flight  of  James,  declared  in 
a  somewhat  wordv  document  tliat  "Kinsf  James  II.,  haviuij 
endeavored  to  8ul)vert  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  l)v  break- 
ing the  original  contract  between  king  and  })eo[)le,  and  by  the 
advice  of  Jesuits  and  other  wicked  pei-sons  having  violated  the 
fundamentiil  laws,  and  liaving  withdrawn  himself  out  of  the  king- 
dom, had  fibdicated  tlie  government,  and  that  the  crown  had 
thereby  l)ecome  vacant." 

Many  schemes  were  proposed  for  filling  up  the  vacancy;  but 
finallv  the  throne  was  offered  to  and  accepted  by  William  of 
Orange,  the  son  of  James'  sister,  and  Mary  his  wife,  James' 
daughter,  and  so  not  only  was  James  liimself  removed  from  the 
throne,  but  also  his  lately  \)oni  son,  wliom  the  majority  believed 


to  be  supposititioiLs,  was  excluded  from  the  succession.  But  the 
convention  did  more  than  merely  transfer  the  crown  fmm  one 
member  of  the  royal  family  to  another;  they  reasserted  in  the  must 
positive  teima  the  chief  points  upon  which  the  constitution  ifsted, 
and  the  way  in  which  they  had  been  violated  by  the  Iiite  king. 
For  this  purpose  they  drew  up  the  Bill  of  Right*,  ivhoae  chief 
declarations  were:  "WhereJis  the  late  King  James  II.,  by  the 
assistance  of  diverse  evil  counsellors,  judges,  and  ministera 
employed  by  him,  did  endeavor  to  subvert  and  extirpate  the 
Protestant  religion,  and  the  laws  and  ]il>erties  of  this  kingilom, 
etc.,  etc.,  therefore  the  Loixis  Spiritual  and  Tera[>oml  and  the 
Commons  declare :  — 

I.  "Tliat  the  pretended  power  of  suspending  of  laws,  or  the 
execution  of  laws  by  regal  authority,  without  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment, is  illegal. 

IT.  "That  the  pretended  jiowfr  of  dispensing  with  laws,  or  the 
execution  of  laws  by  regal  authority,  as  it  Iiath  been  assumed  and 
exercised  of  late,  is  illegal. 

III.  "That  the  commission  for  erecting  tlie  late  Court  of  Com- 
missioners for  Ecclesiastical  Causes,  andallothercommissionsand 
courts  of  like  nature,  are  illegal  and  pernicious, 

IV.  "That  levying  money  for  or  to  the  use  of  the  ci-own  by 
pretence  of  prerogative,  without  grant  of  Parliament,  for  longer 
time  or  in  other  manner  than  the  same  is  or  shall  be  granted,  ia 
illegal. 

V.  "That  the  raising  or  keeping  a  standing  army  within  the 
kingdom  in  time  of  peace,  unless  it  be  with  consent  of  Parlia- 
ment, is  against  law. 

VI..  "That  the  election  of  members  of  Parliament  ought  to  be 
free." 

VII.  "That  the  freedom  of  speech  and  debates  or  proceedinga 
in  Parliament  ought  not  to  be  impeached  or  questioned  in  any 
court  or  place  out  of  Parliament. 

VIII.  "That  for  the  redress  of  all  grievances,  and  foi-  the 
amending,  strengthening  and  preserving  of  laws,  -  government 
ought  to  be  held  frequently." 

.  In  this  document  also  the  crown  was  settled  on  William  and 
Mftiy  for  life,  then  on  Mary'a  children,  and   in  their  default  on 


548  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

the  Princess  Anne  of  Denmark  and  her  children ;  and  in  their 
default  on  the  children  of  William  by  any  other  wife. 

Here  we  find  again  laid  down  the  old  principles  of  English 
government,  no  changes  in  the  law  or  levying  of  taxation  without 
the  consent  of  Parliament,  the  freedom  of  election,  freedom  of 
speech  and  frequency  of  meeting  of  that  body,  and  there  is  added  to 
these  the  statement  that  without  consent  of  Parliament  no  sover- 
eign may  keep  an  army  in  time  of  peace.  That  is  all ;  but  that 
in  1688  a  standing  army  should  still  be  an  anomaly  in  England 
marks  the  difiference  between  the  development  of  government  in 
England  and  on  the  continent. 

To  the  many  the  revolution  meant  merely  the  expulsion  of 
James  II.  and  his  male  descendants  from  the  throne;  to  the  few 
it  meant  besides  this  the  substitution  of  the  Parliament  for  the 
king  as  the  really  supreme  power  in  the  country.  The  first  of 
these  changes  absorbed  all  interest;  the  second  was  hardly  noticed 
at  all. 

We  have  noted  how  king  after  king  had  tried  to  evside  calling 
Parliament,  and  how  the  enactments  under  the  Plantagenets  and 
the  Triennial  Bill  under  the  Stuarts  had  alikt^  been  ineffective  to 
secure  its  regular  meeting.  This  dilliculty  at  once  vanished,  for 
no  sooner  were  supplies  granted,  not  for  life,  but  for  one  year,  than 
the  whole  fabric  of  government  would  have  melted  away,  had  not 
Parliament  been  summoned  year  by  year  to  Westminster  to  renew 
the  <xJ'ants.  Instead  of  the  old  difficulty  a  new  one  was  intro- 
diiccd.  The  Long  Parliament  had  piisscd  a  Triennial  Act  mainly 
to  force  the  king  to  summon  Parliament  eveiy  thive  yeara; 
William  Ill.'s  Parliament  passed  their  Triennial  Act  mainly  to 
prevent  the  king,  M'hen  he  got  a  Parliament  to  his  mind,,  from 
keeping  it  permanently  as  Charles  II.  liad  done,  instead  of  appeal- 
ing to  the  people  in  a  fresh  election. 

In  this  wav  Parliament  secured  a  most  effective  control  over 
the  expen<liture  and  military  establishments  of  the  country.  It 
vet  remained  for  them  to  secure  a  similar  control  over  the  law 
conns.  Though  the  removal  of  the  Courts  of  Star  ('haml)er  and 
High  Commission  had  nrot  rid  of  two  great  engines  of  oppivssion, 
the  ordinary  hiw  courts  of  the  country  had,  under  the  later  Stuarts, 
and  in(h»ed  in  earlier  times  in  cases  where  the  crown  was  a  party. 


been  scenes  of  gross  injustice.  This  was  due  to  three  causes :  1, 
tite  unfair  appointment  of  jarymen;  2,  the  an&imesa  of  the  pro* 
oednre  of  the  court  to  the  accused;  3,  the  partiality  of  thd  judges 
who  were  appointed  or  removed  by  the  king's  pleasure.  All  these 
points  had  been  brought  into  question  at  various  times,  but  they 
were  for  the  most  part  removed  under  William  III.  1.  In  the 
Bill  of  Rights  it  was  enacted  "that  jurors  ought  to  be  duly  im- 
panelled and  returned,  and  jurors  which  pass  upon  men  in  trials 
for  high  treason  ought  to  be  freeholders."  2.  By  the  Treasons 
Act  of  William  III.  it  was  ordered  tliat  the  accused  should  have, 
five  days  before  his  trial,  a  list  of  the  witnesses  and  a  copy  of  the 
indictment,  and  be  allowed  to  examine  his  own  witnesses  upon 
oath.  3,  In  the  Act  of  Settlement  wliiiih  arranged  that,  as 
Anne's  children  were  all  dead  the  succession  should  pass  from  her 
to  the  Electress  Sophia,  it  was  enacted  that  the  judges  should 
hold  their  offices  for  life,  should  receive  fixed  salaries,  and  should 
only  be  removable  on  the  petition  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament. 

But  this  new  fi-eedom  of  Parliament  at  first  came  near  falling 
to  pieces  by  its  own  newness,  for  it  showed  a  strong  tendency 
during  the  reign  of  William  and  his  successors  to  degenei'ate  into 
license.  Bribery  became  the  first  step  of  public  business.  The 
great  Whig  minister.  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  gave  vent  to  the  cynical 
axiom,  "Every  man  has  his  price,"  which  indeed  began  to  seem 
a  univei-sal  tmth  <luring  the  beginning  of  Parliamentary  freedom. 
The  consolidation  of  party  government  was  immensely  helped 
ly  the  personal  character  of  the  four  sovereigns  who  followed  the 
Revolution,  Willitim  III.,  .Vnne,  George  I,,  and  George  II.,  for 
they  were,  esi>ecially  the  last  three,  content  with  the  show  of 
royalty  without  troubling  themselves  about  the  substance,  and 
showing  little  disposition  to  interfere  in  political  affaire. 

Meanwliile  the  character  of  the  ministry  itself  was  changing. 
Originally  the  Cabinet  was  composed  of  those  members  of  tlie 
Privy  Council  to  whom  the  king's  special  confidence  was  given. 
As  s  rule,  but  not  invariably,  they  held  some  special  office  under 
the  crown.  But  it  did  not  follow  that  ail  officials  were  members 
of  the  Cabinet  or  even  of  the  Privy  Council;  nor  even  was  the 
Cabinet  always  composed  of  holders  of  the  same  offices.  By 
degrees,  however,  certain  ciistoms  sprang  up.     First,  the  holders 


560  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  certain  offices  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  government ;  second, 
the  most  important  members  of  the  government  attained  a  certain 
recognized  position  as  members  of  the  Cabinet;  and  thirdly,  the 
holder  of  a  particular  office  became  recognized  as  the  head  of  both 
Cabinet  and  government.  This  office  was  that  of  first  lord  of 
the  treasuiy.  Ever  since  the  Norman  Conquest,  some  minister 
has  been  recognized  as  in  some  way  tlie  king's  chief  ad\iser. 
First,  it  was  the  justiciar  or  lonl  chief  justice ;  tlien  it  was  the 
lord  chancellor  who  remained  most  prominent  under  the  Plan- 
tagents.  Under  the  Tudors  it  'was  sometimes  the  chancellor, 
sometimes  tlie  treasm*er;  Wolsey  ^vas  cliancellor,  Burleigh  ^vas 
treasurer.  Under  the  Stuarts  the  chancellor  again  came  to  the 
front,  and  Lord  Chancellor  Clarendon  was  the  last  great  chan- 
cellor. After  his  fall  the  minister  who  presided  over  the  public 
purse  A^'as  the  most  important,  and  Lord  Treasurer  Danby  was 
distinctly  the  leading  minister  of  his  day.  It  is  curious  to  note 
how  justice,  law,  finance  became  in  turn  the  most  im[x>rtant 
things  in  the  country,  marking  the  eiKx*h  of  the  nation  t<>  a  com- 
mercial entitv. 

The  care  of  the  purse  was,  liowover,  loo  resjxiiisible  a  work  t<» 
l>e  often  entrusted  to  one  ik*isoii,  and  as  earlv  as  the  reien  of 
James  I.  the  office  had  been  put  in  comiuission.  This  was  often 
done  under  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II.,  and  since  ihe  fall  of  Danbv 
in  1G79,  it  has  been  the  invariable  rule,  the  coniniissionei-s  Ivinir 
oaHed  lonls  of  the  treasury,  and  their  rhairman  InMntr  stvle<l 
first  lonl.  It  was  not  long,  howrvrr,  K^fore  thr  fii-st  lonl 
acquired  all  the  inijH^rtanee  that  was  formally  possessed  liy  the 
single  treasuivr.  For  a  time  bis  preeniinenit*  was  disputed  by 
the  seei*etaries  i^f  state,  but  he  finally  triumphe<l,  and  siiu-e  the 
time  of  AValix^le  the  fii-st  lonl  of  the  ireasurv  has  invariablv 
lx*en  the  head  of  the  trovernnient,  a  faet  which  is  recoirnizt'd  bv 
the  popular  title,  unknown  to  law,  of  Pi-emier. 

^\1iile  this  was  goin^^  on  another  chanj^re  of  great  imjK»rtance 
w;v^  pn^gressing.  The  'jfovernnient  was  acouiring  a  corjK>rate 
character.  The  pnx^ess  l)y  which  it  did  this  wivs  very  sli>w. 
Originally  the  king's  ministers  weie  completely  independent  of 
one  another.  Each  was  appointed  or  dismissed  solely  with  refer- 
ence  to  the  conduct  of  his  own  otlice;  but  bv  dei:^n?es,  mainlv 


CONSTITDTIONAL   MONAKCHY.  551 

Twcaiise  the  ministry  was  more  aiid  more  composed  of  members 
who  thought  alike,  a  feeling  of  solidarity  giew  up,  and  it  came 
to  be  understood  that  miiii.sterB  stood  by  one  another  and  that  an 
attack  upon  one  was  an  attack  upon  all.  During  the  reigns  of 
Geoige  I.  and  George  II.  this  eould  hardly  be  regarded  as  more 
than  a  tendency ;  there  were  nnmei-oiis  instances  of  ministers  vot- 
ing against  their  fellows,  and  even  in  the  reign  of  George  III. 
Lord  Thurlow  never  considered  himself  bound  either  to  support 
a  measure  or  to  resign  because  his  colleagues  were  agreed  upon  it. 

Meanwhile  the  new  importance  which  the  Hoiise  of  ComraonB 
hod  gained  resulted  in  differences  between  it  ami  the  Hereditary 
House.  At  the  accession  of  Anue  the  lay  jwers  numbered  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two.  A  majority  of  these  were  Wliigs  and  uo 
sooner  did  the  election  of  1710  return  a  Tory  majority  in  the 
Commons  than  the  two  Houses  were  at  a  deadlock.  To  get  over 
the  difficulty  Harley  used  the  prerogative  of  tlie  crown  by  per- 
suading Anne  to  create  twelve  new  Tory  peers  who  forthwith 
altered  the  balance  of  parties.  But  tliis  summary  process  was  not 
relished  by  the  lords,  and  in  1719  they  made  a  determined  effort 
to  prevent  a  repetition  of  such  a  political  triL-k  which  they 
regarded  iis  a  social  insult.  With  this  view  they  passed  a  bill 
that  the  House  of  Lords,  which  then  numbered  one  hundred  and 
seventy-eight,  should  never  be  raised  to  a  higher  number  than  one 
hundred  and  eighty-four.  Had  this  bill  p;tssed  the  Commons 
likewise  there  would  have  been  two  most  important  results.  It 
would  have  eompletely  tiiken  it  out  of  the  power  of  the  minister 
of  the  day  to  make  the  lords  give  way  to  the  House  of  CommoTis 
when  the  views  of  the  two  differed,  or  in  brief,  the  Hereditary  and 
not  the  Elective  Chamber  would  have  hiid  the  dominant  voice  in 
all  affairs.  Secondly,  the  rule  which  had  always  obtained  in  Eng- 
land, that  no  bar  existed  to  prevent  a  commoner  from  rising  to  the 
peerage,  would  have  been  done  a\vay  with,  and  the  lords  would  have 
become  an  exclusive  body.  But  the  Commons  fully  ajipreeiated 
the  danger  to  their  own  prospects,  and  that  made  them  save  the 
constitution  as  well,  and  thus  the  leading  voice  iu  the  State  was 
preserved  to  the  representatives  of  the  people. 

But  this  expression,  "representatives  of  the  people,"  brings  us 
to  a  new  inquiry.     The  House   of    Commons  wbs  the    leading 


V-V 


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1    TO    THK    tJUKE-V. 


I  ,• 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONAKCHY.  557 

the  policy  of  the  country,  for  they  reserved  to  themselves  all  the 
most  influential  places  in  the  ministry.  Pitt  only  forced  himself 
into  this  charmed  circle  by  the  strength  of  his  personal  character, 
and  Burke,  the  champion  of  the  Whigs,  was  never  admitted  into 
the  Cabinet  at  all. 

These  Whig  nobles  ruled  the  House  of  Commons;  for  there 
were  few  counties  where  a  Tory  luid  a  chance,  and  none  where 
a  man  unconnected  with  the  aristocracy  wius  likely  to  be  elected, 
while  of  the  borouglis  a  large  proportion  were  in  tlie  gift,  to  all 
practical  purposes,  of  one  nobleman  or  another.  Tliey  ruled 
society;  for  the  word  of  a  nobleman  was  law,  and  tlic  manners  of 
the  nobility  gave  the  tone.  Thi^y  ruled  literature,  for  no  writer 
could  hope  to  live  by  the  sale  of  his  works,  and  the  Whig  nobility 
alone  could  pay  for  the  luxury  of  being  praised.  They  had  no 
rivals  in  the  Univei*sities,  for  Oxfoitl  and  Cambridge  were  asleep; 
nor  in  the  clergy,  who  were  given  over  either  to  lioping  for  pre- 
fennent,  or  to  making  life  pleasant;  nor  in  the  gentry,  who  were 
too  much  of  the  S(piire  Western  stamp  to  trouble  themselves  as 
long  as  they  were  let  alone;  while  the  common  people,  rarely 
able  to  read,  coarse  iu  their  plejisures  and  ideas,  and  as  yet 
thoroughly  loyal  to  the  powers  tliat  be,  represented  by  the  great 
men  of  the  country,  took  no  interest  in  politics,  if  they  had  no 
vote,  and,  if  they  had,  regarded  an  election  chiefly  as  a  too  mrely 
occurring  epoch  of  free,  unlimited  beer. 

In  a  nation  such  as  this,  and  tli(»  English  nation  of  the  first  half 
of  the  eighteenth  century  wjis  a  still  worse  subject  for  contem- 
plation than  it  is  now,  the  nobility  reigned  supreme.  But  theirs 
was,  on  the  whole,  a  beneficent  despotism.  Tliey  secured  the 
persons  and  poc^kets  of  the  subject  l)y  the  revolution  of  1088,  and 
liis  creed  by  the  Toleration  Act  of  J. (589,  and  the  repeal  of  the 
occasional  Conformity  and  Schism  Acts  in  1718. 

But  it  was  inevitiible  that  a  waking  uj> should  take  place,  and 
presently  the  nobility  found  themselves  attacked  on  both  sides; 
by  the  people,  who  demanded  a  better  representation  in  the  Com- 
mons; by  tlie  king,  who  demanded  to  liave  a  larger  sbare  in  the 
government  of  the  country.  George  III.  wished  to  be  a  pei^sonal 
king,  not  a  royal  automaton,  and  lie  cleverly  fomented  the  dissen- 
sions which  a  long  lease  of  power  had  caused  among  the  great 


N 


668  THE   STOEY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

Whig  families.  The  prosecution  of  Wilkes  ^  had  begun  to  open 
men's  minds  to  the  fact  that  parliamentary  privileges  were  not 
an  end  but  a  means.  Parliament  is  no  more  a  sacred  institution 
than  royalty,  and  if  it  abuses  its  power  there  is  a  force  beyond 
and  above  it. 

Now  tlie  chief  privileges  of  Parliament  were,  as  we  have  seen 
before,  control  over  their  own  elections,  freedom  from  arrest  and 
freedom  of  speech.  But  if  the  right  to  control  their  own  elec- 
tions was  used  to  keep  out  membei's  duly  elected  by  the  people; 
if  the  right  of  freedom  from  arrest  was  used  to  save  the  members 
from  paying  their  just  debts,  or  was  extended  to  their  servants 
and  dependents  to  the  injury  of  their  fellow-subjects;  and  if 
freedom  of  speech  was  interpi-eted  as  the  right  of  using  their 
privilege  to  prevent  the  n.ation  from  knowing  what  was  done  by 
its  representatives,  then  these  privileges  had  outlived  their  time, 
and  had  Ijeen  tinned  into  abuses.  And  there  was  no  doubt  that 
this  was  the  case.  The  treatment  of  Wilkes,  the  notorious  abuse 
of  freedom  from  arrest,  the  strenuous  attempts  of  Parliament  to 
prevent  their  debates  from  being  published,  all  sliowed  that  P.ar- 
liament,  wliich  w<as  in  former  times  the  bulwark  of  the  people 
against  the  sovereign,  had  in  the  moment  of  victoiy  forgotten  its 
obligations  and  mistaken  the  object  of  its  own  existence.  To 
put  a  stop  to  these  evils  two  ])arties  arose;  the  watchword  of  one 
was  the  abolition  of  influence;  the  crv  of  the  other  was  reform. 

Cxray,  the  poet,  writing  at  Cambridge,  said  that  he  could 
remember  nothing  like  the  rapid  changes  of  government,  and  the 
fluctuations  in  ])olicv  since  the  early  yeai-s  of  Charles  I.  The 
virulent  lettei"s  of  Junius  overwhelmed  the  ministry  with  scorn. 
The  i)ublication  of  debates,  which  after  a  violent  struggle  with 
Parliament  was  finally  yielded  to  the  printei*s  in  1771,  threw 
light  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Houses  and  helped  to  form  public 
opinion.  Still  more,  the  dististrous  results  of  King  George's 
policy  toward  the  American  colonies  roused  popular  indignation, 
and  by  degrees  Burke  and  his  friends,  so  long  in  an  unsuccessful 
opposition,  found  themselves  supported  by  popular  opinion.      In 

» John  ^Vilke8  was  f»mr  times  electeil  by  Middlesex  electors,  and  three  times  the  Commons, 
in  deflan<e  of  the  Bill  of  Ri{;hts,  declared  him  incapable  of  representing  the  men  who  had 
chosen  him.  The  fourth  time  they  declared  his  opponent,  Colonel  Luttrell,  who  only  received 
290  votes  to  Wilkes'  1143,  to  be  duly  elected. 


CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY.  659 

1780,  bucked  Iiy  a  large  petition  from  the  freeliolders  of  York- 
shire, they  won  their  firet  parliamentiiry  triumph,  for  ia  that  year 
Iliinnino;'s  inntifui.  "tliattlie  pow*T  of  thi.'  crowii  iiius  increased, 
18  increasing,  and  ought  to  be  diminished,*'  was  carried  by  two 
hundred  and  thirty-three  to  two  hundred  and  fifteen. 

The  next  yeiir  Lord  North  resigned,  and  Rockingham,  at  the 
head  of  the  most  united  Whig  ministry  of  the  reign,  came  into 
power.  They  did  not  expect  to  stay  in  long,  but  they  determined 
before  they  fell  "to  strike  a  good  stout  blow"  at  the  king's  influ- 
ence both  in  and  out  of  Parliament.  To  do  this  they  took  in 
hand  the  king's  civil  list,  and  divided  it  into  eight  classes, 
abolii^hed  an  immense  number  of  useless  oHicea,  such  as  that  of 
kingV  turnspit,  whose  occupant  had  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, abolished  secret  pensions,  and  curtailed  the  expenses  of  the 
court  to  such  an  extent  that,  without  in  the  least  interfering  ivith 
the  comfort  or  splendor  of  the  royal  family,  they  diminished  its 
expenditure  by  seventy-two  thousand  pounds  a  year. 

Haphazard  is  a  word  almost  too  feeble  to  describe  the  method, 
OP  absence  of  metho*!,  by  which  the  English  House  of  Commons 
gradually  assumed  the  form  which  it  exhibited  in  the  days  of 
George  III.  The  return  of  members,  the  selection  of  boroughs, 
the  distribution  of  the  franchise,  were  all  equally  anomalous. 
Yorkshire  and  Rutland  alike  returned  two  members  each;  Old 
Sanim,  where  not  a  vestige  of  a  house  was  to  be  seen,  sent  two 
representatives,  while  Birmingham,  whose  vast  area  of  thriving 
workshops  and  foi'ges  was  densely  crowded  with  human  beings, 
had  no  representation  at  all.  At  Preston  every  householder  had 
a  vote,  and  at  the  election  of  1830,  7,122  persons  actually  polled; 
at  London  the  largest  number  recorded  was  at  the  election  of  1826 
and  only  amounted  to  8,631.  But  if  the  result  was  anomalous,  its 
history  is  perhaps  still  more  surprising.  Anyone  who  now  notes 
the  eagerness  of  English  towns  tu  send  members,  and  the  anxiety 
of  gentlemen  to  get  seats,  and  is  led  to  imagine  by  this  that  the 
same  eagerness. was  shown  in  former  times,  and  that  a  desire  to 
have  a  share  in  the  national  assembly,  either  personally  or 
through  a  representative,  bad  always  been  one  of  the  character- 
istics of  Englishmen,  and  that  to  this  patriotic  feeling  is  due  the 
great  success  of  parliamentary  institutions  in  England  for  so  long 


\ 


660  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

a  time,  would  be  sadly  mistaken,  and  would  be  picturing  to  him- 
self a  condition  of  things,  the  exact  contrary  of  what  was  the 
case. 

Refonnation  in  the  representative  system  was  sorely  needed  as 
well  as  economical  reform,  but  the  manoeuvring  of  George  III. 
and  his  supporters  had  so  divided  reformers  into  cliques,  that 
headway  was  exceedingly  slow. 

In  1792  a  society  called  the  "Friends  of  the  People"  was 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  statistics  on  the  subject,  and 
in  May,  1793,  Mr.  Grey,  who  had  already  made  one  unsuccessful 
motion  on  the  subject,  presented  to  the  Commons  a  petition  of 
the  society  in  which  they  demonsti-ated  that  the  representation 
was  in  great  need  of  reform.  They  showed  (1)  tliat  the  majority 
of  the  House  was  elected  by  fifteen  thousand  electors,  only  one  two 
hundredth  part  of  the  adult  males  of  the  kingdom ;  (2)  that  Corn- 
wall retmned  more  members,  county  and  borough,  than  York- 
shire, Middlesex,  and  Rutland  together;  (3)  that  Cornwall  sent 
more  borough  members  than  Yorkshire,  Lancashii-e,  Warwick- 
shire, Middlesex,  Worcestershire,  and  Somei-setshire  united;  (4) 
that  eighty-iour  individuals  did  of  their  own  authority  send  157 
members  to  Parliament,  that  seventy  otlier  individuals  practi- 
cally nominated  150  more,  so  that  15-4  pei*sons  returned  311 
members,  a  majority  of  the  whole  House,  which  then  numl)ered 
558.  Besides  these  points  the  petition  complained  of  the  irregu- 
larities of  the  franchise.  From  that  time  to  this  the  pressure 
from  below  for  a  juster  distribution  of  political  power  luis  l)een 
constant  and  tlirough  many  defeats  has  evolved  lasting  and  valua- 
ble victories.  It  remains  now  to  consider  in  its  eutiretv  the 
English  government  as  it  exists  to-day. 

Montesquieu  declared  that  it  was  essential  to  the  well-l^eing  of 
every  state  that  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  functions 
should  be  absolutely  separate.  In  England  tliey  are  apparentl}- 
hopelessly  entangled.  While  by  one  enactment,  Parliament  for- 
bids the  sovereign  to  keep  a  standing  army  in  peace,  by  another 
it  votes  money  annually  for  the  support  of  just  such  a  thing. 
According  to  law,  the  sovereign  may  declare  war,  make  treaties, 
appoint  and  dismiss  his  ministers.  In  point  of  fact,  he  can  do 
nothing  without  the  advice  of  his  niinist^n-s  who  are  responsible  to 


CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHV.  561 

Parliament.  With  prei-ogative  so  clipped,  wliat  does  a  king 
amount  Uy,  wliat  purpose  does  lie  serve  /  Chiefly  this :  that  he  is 
the  living  symbol  of  racial  unity  round  whom  history  gathers, 
and  on  whom,  iis  a  peraonal  object,  the  feeling  of  patriotism,  so 
Viigue  in  a  large  state,  ean  concentrate  itself  in  the  form  of  loj'alty. 
The  height  whiih  the  sovereign  occupies  is  extreme;  but  the 
descent  is  bi-oken  by  the  existence  iwmd  the  throne  of  the  nobility. 
The  nobles  de|)end  for  liouor  eitlier  on  ancient  lineage  or  recent 
merit;  on  the  one  Iiand  they  appixuich  the  crown,  on  tlie  other 
tliey  foncli  society;  and  as  tlie  nobility  in  England  have  never 
been  a  distinct  caste,   they  serve  as  a  link  in  the  cluiin   which 


1»nds  the  jialace  to  the  I'ottage.  With  the  sovereign,  they  share 
many  of  the  functions  which  lielong  to  tlie  existence  of  a  mon- 
archy, and  of  a  nobility  which  dei)ends  neither  on  political  power 
nor  on  commercial  success;  and  in  a  country  like  England  where 
both  political  and  i-onimei-cial  ambition  run  very  high,  it  is  a 
givat  advantai,'e  tluit  these  potencies  and  potentialities  should  be 
balanced  by  the  existence  of  lionors  whi(^li  neither  votes  nor  money 
can  purchase. 

Again,  so  long  iuf  they  command  respect,  the  nobility  help 
to  teach  respect  and  a  higher  avemge  of  human  conduct,  and 
happily  the  nobility  of  England  in  this  century  have,  as  an 
onler,  lieen  tolerably  Int-  from  the  vices  which  abroad  have 
often  secured  so  evil  a  name  for  the  aristocracy,  although  it  must 
lie  admitted  that  signs  of  decay  are  becoTuing  rather  frequent 
during  the  last  two  decades.  As  to  the  constitutional  maxim  that 
the  sovereign  reigns  but  does  not  govern,  while  it  is  tnie  in  the 


562  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNJ^fENT. 

main  in  England,  still  the  present  ruler  has  shown  a  woman's 
determination  to  know  at  least  what  her  ministers  are  doing,  as 
this  note  from  Victoria  to  one  of  her  ministers  clearly  proves. 

"  The  queen  requires^  firsts  ilmt  Lord' Palmer ston  will  distinctly 
state  what  he  proposes  in  a  giveti  case  in  order  that  the  queen  may 
know  as  distinctly  to  what  she  is  yitnng  her  royal  sa7iction.  Secondly^ 
having  once  given  her  sancti07i  to  a  measure^  t/uit  it  be  not  arbitrarily 
altered  or  modified  by  the  minister.  Such  an  act  sh^  must  consider  as 
failing  in  sincerity  to  the  crown^  and  Justly  to  be  visited  by  her  consti- 
tutiomd  right  of  dismissing  that  minister.  S/ie  expects  to  be  kept 
informed  of  what  passes  between  him  and  the  foreign  m,inisters  before 
important  decisions  are  taken y  based  vjyon  that  intercourse/  to  receive 
the  foreign  despatc/ies  in  good  time,  and  to  have  the  draft  for  her 
approval  sent  to  her  in  sufficient  time  to  make  herself  acquainted  with 
their  contents  before  tliey  must  be  sent  ojf,^'* 

From  which  it  appears  that  Queen  Victoria  wishes  to  be  some- 
thing more  than  merely  a  high-saharied  executive  clerk,  signing 
documents  devised  by  others.  But  in  reality  tlie  Queen  is  only 
an  ornament,  a  figurehead  to  the  ship  of  state,  for  the  ministrj' 
fonn  the  larger  part  of  the  executive;.  Tliey  consist  of  two  bodies, 
a  large  one  comprising  those  oHicci-s  who  liold  political  office  under 
the  crown,  and  wlio,  according  to  custom,  all  ])clong  to  that  party 
whicli  has  the  majority  in  the  House  of  Conunous,  and  an  inner 
council  or  Cabinet  which  is  made  up  of  the  cliief  oflicei-s,  and  who 
discuss  in  secret  the  most  important  matters  of  State.  The  Cabi- 
net and  tlie  ministrv  are  terms  unknown  to  the  law,  but  are  con- 
venicnces  of  ])opular  parlance.  Of  tlic  ministei^s,  some  are  and 
some  arc  not  lucmbei's  of  the?  Privy  Council,  but  the  Cabinet  are, 
as  we  liav(;  seen,  all  membci's  of  that  l)ody,  an<l  liave  developed 
out  of  a  small  irregular  committee,  meeting  for  the  tmiLsaction  of 
the  highest  state  business. 

The  ofliccs  held  bv  the  membci's  of  the  Cabinet  are  not  fixed. 
They  vary  in  number  from  time  to  time.  Though  its  memlKM*s 
are  an  important  part  of  the  executive,  they  are  all  of  them  mem- 
bci's of  the  le<^islative  IkxIv.  The  whole  svstem  is  the  result  of 
no  law,  aii<l  it  is  fettered  in  its  operation  by  no  enactments. 

Nc>w,  without  going  into  detail,  the  great  merit  of  tlie  English 
plan  is,  that  if  the  English  ministers  cannot  get  their  niea.sures 
passed  by  the  House  of  Commons,  they  can  advise  the  king  to  dis- 


TUB  CABl^lET  BOOM  Uf  OOVHISO  STBEET.  CC3 


664  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

solve  the  House  and  see  whether  the  nation  in  a  new  election 
will  give  them  moi-e  support;  or  if  the  House  is  dissatisfied  with 
the  ministry  it  can  refuse  to  order  supplies,  or  pass  the  Mutiny 
Bill,  in  which  case,  as  supplies  are  only  voted  for  one  year  and 
the  Mutiny  Bill  is  only  in  force  for  the  same  length  of  time,  the 
ministry  is  in  its  turn  forced  to  dissolve,  and  hence  the  ministrj-, 
the  Commons,  and  the  nation  can  never  be  out  of  accord  for  any 
very  long  time  together.  Again,  when  an  English  minister  wants 
a  tax  granted  or  a  bill  jiassed,  he  can  go  down  to  the  House  and 
explain  it  and  use  his  i>ersonal  influence  to  carry  it  through. 
Moreover,  no  bill  has  a  chance  which  is  not  supported  by  minis- 
ters, or  at  any  rate  not  opposed  by  them,  and  therefore  they  never 
wish  to  advise  the  sovereign  to  exercise  his  prerogative  of  refus- 
ing his  consent. 

Now  the  American  Constitution  fails  in  all  these  points.  The 
President,  if  he  disagrees  with  his  House  of  Congress,  cannot 
dissolve  them;  on  the  other  hand,  they  cannot  make  him  dissolve. 
He  cannot  go  down  to  the  House;  he  can  only  write  a  letter; 
and  the  ill  working  of  the  American  system  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  right  of  veto  has  again  and  again  to  be  used, 
because  the  executive  is  continually  out  of  accord  with  the 
legislative  department.  Again,  there  are  other  points  of  dif- 
ference. In  England  immense  interest  is  taken  in  politics; 
indeed,  a  too  keen  excitement  is  felt,  while  in  America,  except 
at  election  times,  the  masses  take  little  interest  in  politics.  In 
England  the  system  of  pmctically  putting  the  executive  into  the 
hands  of  that  party  which  has  the  majority  has  created  a  consti- 
tutional opposition  ever  ready  to  show  the  nation  that  it  is  more 
fit  than  the  men  in  power  to  manage  the  nation's  affairs.  Thus  a 
regular  battle  is  always  going  on,  and  at  any  moment  a  grand 
caUustroplK-  may  occur,  and  the  ministry  and  opposition  may  have 
to  change  sides,  or  an  appeal  be  made  to  the  country.  It  has  all 
the  excitement  of  a  fight.  In  America  there  is  nothing  of 
this.  No  debate  can  turn  out  a  ministry  or  produce  a  general 
election,  and  the  consequence  is  that  little  interest  is  taken  in 
congressional  mattei^,  except  on  rare  occasions. 

Hut  does  the  English  system  secure  the  great  aim  of  all  govern- 
ment that  is  personal,  namely,  the  getting  the  best  persons  for 


OOHaTITUTIONAL  MONABOHX. 


M6 


rolera?  At  any  rate,  it  Beemfl  to  work  as  well  as  any  other 
plan  yet  devised.  The  qualities  needful  to  enable  any  man  to 
hold  his  own  as  a  minister  in  England  seem  to  he  these:  He 
must  be  capable  of  an  immense  amount  of  hard  work,  or  he  would 
never  for  a  moment  be  able  to  8tand  the  strain  both  in  his  office 
and  in  tTie  House  of  Parliament,  particularly  in  the  Commons. 
He  must  have  been  so  many  years  in  the  House  that  he  has  con- 
vinced it  that  he  is  a  capable  man.  He  must  almost  necessarily 
be  a  good  speaker  to 
explain  or  defend 
his  policy.  He 
must  have  by  per- 
sonal character  the 
respect  of  the  House 
and  of  the  nation. 
But  it  does  not 
necessarily  follow 
that  even  men  such 
as  these  ai-e  invari- 
ably able  to  manage 
such  varied  depart- 
ments as  war,  the 
home  office,  the  navy. 
This  difficulty  is  met, 
however,  by  arran- 
ging that  the  detail 
work  of  each  depart- 
ment shall  he  done 
hy  permanent  officiah 
who  do  7iot  change 
with  the  ministry,  and  have  no  polities,  so  tliat  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments are  merely  thoroughly  able  men,  who  come  into  each 
department  with  a  desire  to  make  it  work  well,  and  who  by  their 
general  knowledge  of  affairs  are  often  able  to  give  an  impetus 
to  public  business,  to  excite  energy,  and  declare  fresh  war  against 
the  great  danger  of  permanent  officialism  —  red-tapeism. 

We  may  then  summarize  the  development  of  English  govern-  , 
ment  thus :  Througboat  the  Middle  Ages  the  House  of  Lords  was 


666  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  predominant  House,  because  the  strength  of  the  nation  lay  in 
the  lords  and  their  retainers.  Slowly  the  power,  following  the 
change  outside,  passed  to  the  House  of  Commons,  but  even  then 
only  to  the  House  of  Commons  as  dominated  by  the  same  class  to 
which  belonged  the  House  of  Lords,  Then  the  great  Reform 
Bill  of  1832  upset  this  arrangement  and  gave  power  into  the  hands 
of  the  now  all-powerful  middle  class ;  and  finally,  in  1867,  Lord 
Beaconsfield,  a  Tory  minister  whose  Torj'ism  has  been  called 
Radicalism  in  masquerade,  decided  to  shift  the  centre  of  gravity 
still  lower,  and  place  the  arbitrament  of  the  destinies  of  the 
nation  in  the  hands  of  the  working  classes. 

Each  of  these  changes  has  produced  a  corresponding  change  in 
the  members  of  the  ministry  and  the  Commons.  So  long  as  the 
l^eers  held  sway  the  sovereigns  had  difficulty  in  keeping  as  their 
counsellors  any  men  who  were  not  of  noble  birth,  and  even  after 
the  revolution,  when  power  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  king  to 
the  Houses  of  Parliament,  dukes  and  earls  still  formed  the  pre- 
dominant element  in  every  ministry.  It  was  only  by  degrees  that 
commoners  such  as  the  Pitts  gained  a  footing.  With  1832  came 
a  change.  Since  that  date  the  ministries  have  been  less  aristo- 
cratic, when  reflecting  the  character  of  the  new  House  of  Com- 
mons, and  there  is  some  evidence  to  show  that  since  1867  a 
further  change  is  in  progress. 


Jvlystery  ajrjd  Fratcn^ity* 


3E  VERAL  years  ago,  when  the  writer  was  standing  on  the 
deck  of  a  steamer  joat  arrived  from  Europe,  close  up  to 
the  wharf,  while  the  gang-plank  was  lowering,  he  hap- 
pened to  notice  a  fellow-passenger,  a  tallish,  elderly 
man  with  a  look  of  much  tmvel,  of  travail,  too,  perhaps,  for  his 
gmy  eyes  had  a  tired,  far-away  appearance,  as  if  scanning  the 
cloudy  horizon  for  the  vanishing  gleains  of  a  fond  heart's  loat 
illuaion.s.  All  at  once  the  man  stretched  both  arms  over  his  head 
in  a  peculiar  way  that  seemed  to  his  observer  on  the  deck  to  be- 
taken extreme  Iwdily  as  well  as  mental  weariness,  though,  per- 
ba]>s,  it  was  only  the  twdily  symbol  of  the  spiritual  fact. 

Tlie  man's  attitude  that  moment  was  very  strange  and  calcu- 
lated  to  attract  attention.  He  brought  his  anus  up  slowly  slx)ve 
and  then  down  towards  his  head,  as  i  f  to  clasp  them  back  of  it,  then 
clenched  his  fists,  and  then  let  his  arms  out  slowly  their  full 
length,  at  the  same  time  tilting  his  head  back  and  seeming  for  a 
Hecond  as  if  he  were  being  nailed  to  a  cross.  The  supremacy  of 
sadness  or  of  weariness  reigned  in  face  and  attitude,  and  then 
he  subsided  into  commonpiaceness, 

Suddenly,  however,  the  observer  became  aware  that  othere  had 
marked  the  odd  action,  and  had  translated  it  into  speech,  for, 
rusliing  up  the  now  adjusted  gung-plank  from  the  waiting  throng 


568  THE   STORY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

(two,  in  fact,  not  heeding  the  plank,  but,  boylike,  clambering' 
over  the  side-rails  of  the  steamer),  a  dozen  men  crowded  round 
the  tii-ed  traveller,  seized  him  by  the  hands  and  shoulders  and, 
as  with  one  voice,  begged  to  know  what  was  the  matter  and  what 
they  could  do  to  help  him. 

A  more  surprised  gentleman  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  *^I've 
heard  it  said,"  he  exclaimed,  "that  New  Yorkers  were  the  kindest, 
most  hospitable  people  on  earth,  but  this  beats  the  Dutch." 

Then  he  proceeded  to  say  that  he  needed  nothing  in  the  world 
that  he  knew  of  except  a  good  wife  and  a  good  digestion,  and 
would  like  to  know  why  his  kindly  assailants  had  singled  liim  out 
as  especially  worthy  of  their  cooperative  courtesy.  Tliey  Ijegan 
to  apologize  awkwanlly,  saying  that  they  had  mistaken  him,  and 
things  of  that  kind,  but  I  heai-d  one  murmur  to  another,  "Did 
you  ever  see  the  sign  made  more  perfectly?  " 

The  fiict  wa.s,  this  stranger  had  accidentJiUy  made  in  all  its 
details  that  secret  sign  of  Masonry  which  indicates  supreme  dis- 
tress and  calls  for  instant  help  from  all  worthy  brothei-s.  Pon- 
dering on  this  incident  the  writer  was  led  to  a  close  study  of 
Mfusonry  and  other  secret  orders,  some  of  which  he  h;is  since 
joined  and  lie  luus  the  audacity  to  believe  that  the  condensed 
results  of  liis  study  as  presented  in  this  comparatively  brief 
eha[)ter  will  give  some  surprises  in  the  way  of  new  and  novel 
Miusonic  information,  even  to  Masons  tlieniselves  who  have  not 
mastered  many  degrees. 

Legendary  Mjisonry  (which  is  closely  joined  with  Operative 
Masonry,  c)r  that  shown  in  the  aetnal  building  of  many  of  the 
world's  most  famous  eiustles,  catliedrals,  and  palaces,  and  which 
is  distinct,  except  in  certain  dim  possible  connections,  from 
Speculative  Masonry  which  ros(»  to  the  suiface  in  the  lii-st  quarter 
of  the  last  century,)  has  all  the  fascination  of  fable  and  is  of  pro- 
found ethical  interest  to  Christian  and  Jew  and  Mohammedan, 
as  well  JUS  to  the  Pagan  student  who  is  outside  of  all,  yet  looking 
sympathetically  into  all  —  the  student, 

"  Wliose  calmly  comprehensive  mind 
Kinbraccs  every  creed, 
And  sees  in  each  some  well-designed 
Expression  of  man^s  need." 


w 


VKllXMliNT   lliT   .MVSTEJtV   AKV   FItATKltNITV.  569 


To  (ill  siieh  l!ie  Legend  o£  tlie  Teraplo  iniiat  be  attractive, 
whether  cutis  i  tie  red  as  the  fabulous  foundation  of  iiiodeiit  Masoiuy, 
111-  as  a  niajestie  mytli  standing  alone  and  having  no  relation  to  the 
present  invisible  temple,  more  glorious  and  more  full  of  wisdom 
tJian  tlitj  line  whieli  the  dreaming  monarch,  Solomon,  tried  to 
makti  "a  joy  forever," — that  temple  of  Human  BrotheHinod 
which  Masonry  tries  to  build  in  every  land  and  every  heart, 

This,  then,  is  the  story  of  that  temple  of  the  Wise  King. 
Solomon,  liaviiig  determined  on  biiikling  the  grandest  temple 
BVer  beheld  of  mi;ii,  colleL-t«d  artificers,  divided  them  into  com- 
panies, imd  put  them  under  the  command  of  Adoniram  or  Hiram 
Abiff,  an  ai(hitJ:-i:t  wnt  to  him  by  his  friend  and  ally,  Hiiiim, 
King  of  Tyre. 

According  to  one  Jewish  Iniditioii,  the  aneestry  "f  the  builders 
of  the  mj-stical  tempii-  wjis  as  follows:  (.>n«  of  the  Elohim,  or 
primitive  genii  (anil  this  word  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  means 
gods),  maiTied  Eve  and  had  a  son  called  Cain;  whilst  Jehovah  or 
Adonai,  another  of  the  Klohini,  ci-eated  Adam  and  united  him 
with  Eve  to  bring  forth  the  family  of  Abel,  to  whom  were  sub- 
jected the  sons  of  Cain,  as  a  ]>unisliment  for  the  transgression  of 
Eve.  Cain,  though  industriously  cultivating  the  s<)il,  yet  derived 
little  pro<lii('e  from  it,  whilst  Abel  leisurely  tended  liis  flock. 

Adonai  rejected  the  gifts  and  sacrifices  of  Cain,  and  stiiTcd  up 
strife  between  the  sons  of  the  Elohim,  Avho  had  l>een  generated 
out  of  fire,  and  the  sons  who  were  formed  out  of  the  eartli  only. 
Cftin  killed  AI>el,  and  Adonai,  |iursuing  his  sons  with  a  senes  of 
humiliations,  subjected  them  to  the  sons  of  Abel,  thus  making 
servants  and  sufferers  of  the  noble  family  who  invented  the  arts 
and  diffused  science,  Tliis  is  clearly  another  version  of  the 
Greek  myth  of  Prometheus,  jjunished  by  Jupiter  for  having 
given  fire  t«  men. 

Enw^h,  a  son  of  Cain,  taught  men  to  hew  stones,  raise  build- 
ings, and  form  civil  societies.  Irad  and  Mehujiiel,  his  son  and 
grandson,  .set  Ixmndaries  to  the  waters  and  fashioned  cedare  into 
beams.  Methusael,  another  of  his  descendants,  invented  the 
sabred  chanictere,  the  books  of  Tau  and  the  symbolic  T,  by  which 
the  workei-s  descended  fmm  the  genii  of  lire  recognized  each  other 
—  a  sort  of  masonio  family  tree. 


670  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Lamech,  whose  prophecies  are  inexplicable  to  the  profane,  was 
the  father  of  Jabel,  who  firet  taught  men  how  to  dress  camel 
skins ;  of  Jubal,  who  discovered  the  harp ;  of  Naamah,  who  dis- 
covered the  ail;  of  spinning  and  weaving;  of  Tubal-Cain,  who 
first  constructed  a  furnace,  worked  in  metals,  and  dug  deep  caves, 
subterranean  con-idors  in  the  mountains,  to  save  his  race  during 
the  deluge. 

But  that  brave,  inventive  race  perished  nevertheless,  and  only 
Tubal-Cain  and  his  son,  the  sole  survivors  of  the  glorious  and 
gigantic  family,  came  out  alive.  Then  the  wife  of  Ham,  second 
son  of  Noah,  thought  the  son  of  Tubal-Cain  fitter  to  mate  with 
than  the  sons  of  men,  and  he,  througli  her  favor,  became  progenitor 
of  Nimrod,  called  the  Mighty  Hunter,  who  taught  his  brethren 
the  arts  of  the  chase,  and  founded  Babylon.  Thus  Adoniram, 
or  Hiram  Abiff,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Tubal-Cain,  seemed  called 
by  destiny  to  lead  the  militia  of  free  men,  connecting  the  sons  of 
fire  with  the  sons  of  thought,  progress,  and  truth. 

And  this  Hiram  fashioned  that  marvellous  building,  the  temple 
of  Solomon.  He  built  also  the  golden  throne  of  Solomon,  most 
beautifully  wrought,  and  many  glorious  edifices.  But,  melan- 
choly amidst  all  his  greatness,  lie  lived  alone,  understood  and 
loved  by  few,  hated  by  many,  and  among  others  by  Solomon, 
who  was  envious  of  his  genius  and  his  glory. 

Now  the  fame  of  the  wisdom  of  Solomon  had  spread  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth;  and  Balkis,  the  Queen  of  Slicba,  came  to  Jeru- 
salem to  greet  the  great  king  and  behold  the  marvels  of  his 
reign.  She  found  Solomon  seated  on  a  throne  of  gilt  cedar  wood, 
arrayed  in  cloth  of  gold,  so  that  at  fii'st  she  fancied  him  a  statue 
of  gold  with  hands  of  ivory.  Solomon  received  her  with  festal 
pomp,  and  led  her  by  the  hand  all  over  his  palace  and  then  to  see 
the  grand  works  of  the  temple ;  and  the  queen  was  lost  in  wonder. 

Solomon,  the  wise,  except  in  women,  was  captivated  by  her 
beauty  and  soon  offered  her  his  hand,  which  the  queen,  pleased 
at  having  conquered  this  proud  heart,  accepted.  But  every  time 
they  visited  the  temple,  she  repeatedly  desired  to  see  the  archi- 
tect who  had  wrought  such  marvels.  Solomon  delayed  as  long 
as  possible  presenting  Hiram  Abiff  to  the  queen,  but  at  last  his 
fund  of  excuses  failed. 


LATE  ORANI) 


572  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Tlie  mysterious  artificer,  Adoniram,  was  brought  l>efore  Balkis, 
and  he  cast  on  the  queen  a  look  that  penetrated  lier  heart.  Hav- 
ing recovered  her  comi^osure,  Balkis  questioned  him  closely, 
despite  the  rising  jealousy  of  the  king.  When  she  wished  to  see 
the  countless  host  of  workmen  that  had  wi*ought  the  temple,  and 
were  still  engaged  in  some  parts  of  its  vastness,  completing  the 
inside  works,  Solomon  protested  the  imj:x)ssibility  of  Jissembling 
them  all  at  once;  but  Adonimm,  leaping  on  a  stone,  to  be  better 
seen,  with  his  right  hand  wrote  in  the  air  tlie  mystic  sjTubol, 
Tan,  and  immediately  the  men  hastened  from  all  parts  into  the 
presence  of  their  master;  whereat  the  queen  wondered  greatly,  and 
secretly  repented  of  the  j)i*omise  she  had  given  the  king,  for  she 
felt  herself  in  love  with  the  mighty  architect. 

Solomon  set  himself  to  destro}'  tliis  affection,  and  to  prepare 
his  rival's  humiliation  and  ruin.  For  this  puipose,  he  employed 
three  fellow-crafts,  who  were  envious  of  Hiram,  l)ecause  he  had 
lefused  to  raise  them  to  the  degree  of  mastei-s,  on  account  of  their 
want  of  knowledge  and  their  idleness.  They  were  Fanor,  a 
Syrian  and  a  mason;  Amin,  a  Phoenician  and  a  carj^enter ; 
Metusael,  a  Hebrew  and  a  miner.  The  envy  of  these  three 
plotted  that  the  brazen  casting  which  was  intended  to  resemble 
the  ocean,  and  which  was  to  raise  the  oflorv  of  Hiram  to  its  utmost 
lieiglit,  should  turn  out  a  failure.  A  young  workman,  Benoni, 
discovered  the  plan,  and  revealed  it  to  Solomon,  thinking  that 
sufhcient. 

Tlie  day  for  the  casting  came,  and  Balkis  was  present.  The 
doors  that  restrained  the  molten  metal  were  thrown  open,  and  tor- 
rents of  liquid  fire  poured  into  the  vjist  mould  wherein  the  ])razen 
sea  was  to  assume  its  fonn.  But  the  burning  mass  ran  over  the 
(»dges  of  the  mould,  and  flowed  like  lava  into  the  adjacent  places. 
The  terrified  crowd  fled  from  the  stream  of  fii-e. 

Hiram,  calm  as  a  god,  endeavored  to  aiTest  its  advance  with 
ponderous  columns  {»f  water,  but  without  success.  The  water  and 
the  fire  mixed,  and  the  struggle  was  terrible ;  the  Mater  rose  in 
dense  steam  and  fell  down  in  the  shape  of  scalding  rain,  spread- 
ing terror  and  death.  The  dishonored  artificer  needed  the  sym- 
pathy of  a  faithful  heart;  he  sought  Benoni,  but  in  vain;  tlie 
proud  youth  had  perished  in  endeavoring  to  prevent  the  horrible 


A    flOVKRNMENT    OF    Sn'8TKRV    AND    FKATBIISITV.  573 

ootaitti'ophe,  when  he  found  that  Solomon  had  done  nothing  to 
binder  it. 

Hiram  could  not  withdraw  himself  from  the  scene  of  his  ^a- 
comfiture.  Oppressed  with  grief,  he  heeded  not  the  danger,  he 
remembered  not  that  this  ocean  of  fire  might  speedily  engulf  him ; 
he  thought  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  who  came  to  admire  and  con- 
gratulate him  <)n  a  great  triumph,  and  who  saw  nothing  but  a 
deadly  disaster.  Suddenly  ho  lieard  a  stniiige  voice  coming  from 
above  and  ciyiiig,  "Hiram,  Himm,  Hiram  I  "  He  raised  his  eyes 
and  beheld  a  gigantic  figure.  The  Ap£jarition  continued:  "Come, 
my  son,  l)e  without  feai-,  I  have  rendered  thee  incombustible ;  cast 
thyself  into  the  flames." 

Full  of  the  faith  of  genius  and  of  love,  Hiram  threw  himself 
into  the  furnace,  and  where  othcra  would  have  found  death,  he 
tasted  ineffable  deliglits;  nor  could  lie,  di-awn  by  an  irresistible 
force,  h^ave  it,  »ru\  he  asked  the  Spirit  that  drew  him  into  the 
abyss:  "Whither  dost  thou  take  imi?"  "Into  the  centre  of  the 
eaiili,  into  tlie  soul  of  the  world,  into  the  kingdom  of  great  Cain, 
where  liherty  reigns  with  him.  There  the  tyrannous  envy  of 
Adonai  ceases;  there  can  we,  despising  liis  anger,  taste  tlie  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge;  there  i.i  the  home  of  thy  fathers." 
"Who  then  am  I,  and  who  art  thou?"  "I  am  the  fatlier  of  thy 
fathei-s,  I  am  tlie  son  of  Lanu-ch,  I  am  Tubal-Cain." 

Then  TulKil-Citin  introduced  Hii-am  into  the  secret  sanctuarj- 
of  the  Inmost  Fire,  where  lie  exj>ouiided  to  him  the  weakness  of 
Adonai  and  tlie  Iklsc  passions  of  that  god,  the  enemy  of  his  own 
creature,  whom  he  condemned  to  the  inexoi-able  law  of  death,  to 
offset  the  benelitw  which  the  genii  of  fire  had  bestowed  on  him. 
Hiram  was  thus  led  into  the  presence  of  his  ancestor,  Cain,  and 
the  Angel  of  Liglit  tliat  begat  Cain  was  reflected  in  the  beauty  of 
this  son  of  love,  whose  noble  and  generous  mind  had  roused  the 
envy  of  Adonai. 

Cain  related  to  Hiram  all  the  experiences,  sufferings,  and  mis- 
fortunes, brought  uiKin  liimby  the  implacable  Adonai.  Presently 
he  heard  the  voice  of  him  who  was  the  offspring  of  Tubal-Cain 
and  his  sister  Naamah,  saying:  "A  son  shall  be  bom  unto  thee 
whom  thou  shalt,  indeed,  not  see,  but  whose  numerous  descend- 
ants shall  perpetuate  thy  race,  which,  superior  to  that  of  Adam, 


1 


574  THE   STORY   OF   GO\'ERNMENT, 

shall  acquire  the  empire  of  the  world ;  for  many  centimes  thev 
shall  consecrate  tlieir  courage  and  genius  to  the  ser\'ice  of  the 
ever  ungrateful  race  of  Adam,  but  at  last  lowest  shall  become 
highest,  the  gentlest  shall  become  the  strongest,  and  restore  on  the 
earth  the  worship  of  fire.  Thy  sons,  in\incible  in  thy  name,  shall 
destroy  the  power  of  kings  and  of  all  tyrants,  of  the  rich  who  are 
kings  of  the  poor,  yea,  and  all  the  ministers  of  Adonai's  tyranny. 
Go,  my  son,  the  Spirits  of  Fire  are  with  thee  I  ** 

Then  Hiram  was  returned  to  the  earth,  and  Tulxd-Cain  before 
quitting  him  gave  him  the  lianmier  with  which  he  himself  had 
wrought  great  things,  saying:  "Thanks  to  this  hanmier  and  the 
help  of  the  genii  of  fire,  tliou  shalt  speedily  accomplish  the  work 
left  unfinished  through  man's  stupidity  and  malignit}'.''  Hiiam 
did  not  hesitate  to  test  at  once  the  wonderful  efficacy  of  the  precious 
instrument,  and  the  new  dsiym  beheld  that  great  mass  of  bronze 
cast  in  a  shape  like  unto  the  sea  when  it  lauglis  up  at  the  moon. 
The  artist  felt  a  most  lively  joy ;  the  queen  exulted ;  the  people 
came  running  up,  astounded  at  this  secret  power  which  in  one 
night  had  repaired  ever}i;hing;  and  Solomon  in  silence  ate  his 
heart. 

One  day,  not  long  after,  the  queen,  accompanied  by  her  maids, 
went  beyond  the  walls  <»f  Jerusalem,  and  there  encountered  liiranu 
alone  and  thoughtful.  Tlie  encounter  was  decisive;  they  con- 
fessed their  love.  Had-llad,  the  bird  who  filled  with  the  queen 
the  office  of  messenger  from  the  Genii  of  Fire,  seeing  Hiram  in 
the  air  make  the  sign  of  the  mystie  T,  flew  around  his  head  and 
settled  on  his  wrist.  At  this  Sarahil,  the  nurse  of  the  queen, 
exclaimed:  "'The  oracle  is  fulfilled,  llad-llad  i-ecognizes  the 
huslxind  which  the  Genii  of  Fire  destined  for  Balkis,  whose  love 
alone  she  dare  accept  I  " 

Whereupon  the  lovei-s  hesitated  no  longer,  but  plighted  their 
troth,  and  delilx^iated  licuv  Balkis  could  eseaj^e  fulfilling  tlie 
promise  given  to  the  king.  Ilimm  wius  to  Ije  the  first  to  quit 
Jeiiisaleni;  the  queen,  impatient  to  rejoin  him  in  Arabia,  was  to 
elude  the  vicrilance  of  the  king,  which  she  accomplished  by  with- 
drawing from  his  finger,  while  he  was  overcome  with  wine,  the 
ring  wherewitli  she  had  j)ledge(l  liei'self  to  him. 

But  meanwhile  Solomon  had  hinted  to  the  envious  fellow-crafts 


\ 

I 


"■"■■■■'"-■■>■....,, ^,^ 


676  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  the  removal  of  his  rival,  who  had  refused  to  give  them  the 
master's  word,  would  be  acceptable  unto  himself;  so,  when  the 
architect  came  into  the  temple  to  look  at  his  great  work  for  the 
last  time,  he  was  assailed  and  slain  by  them.  Befoi*e  his  death, 
however,  he  had  time  to  throw  the  golden  triamjle  whicli  he  wore 
round  his  neck,  and  on  which  was  engraven  the  master's  word, 
into  a  deep  well.  They  wrapped  up  his  body,  carried  it  to  a  soli- 
taiy  hill,  and  buried  it,  phuiting  over  the  grave  a  sprig  of  acacia. 

Hiram,  not  having  l)een  seen  for  seven  days,  Solomon,  against 
his  inclination,  but  to  satisfy  the  clamor  of  the  people,  was 
forced  to  have  a  search  made.  The  body  was  found  by  three 
masters,  and  they,  suspecting  that  he  had  been  slain  by  the  three 
fellow-crafts  for  refusing  them  the  master's  word,  determined, 
nevertheless,  for  greater  security,  to  change  the  word,  and  that 
the  fii'st  word  accidentiilly  uttered  on  i-aising  th(^  l)ody  should 
thenceforth  be  the  word. 

In  the  act  of  raising  it,  the   skin  came  oflf  the  body,  so  that  one 

of  the  mastei-s  exchiimed, (meaning  the  flesh  is  off  the 

)  and  this  word,   never  to  he  vttered  aloud,  and  only  whispered 

in  HifUahU'H  under  eertaiu  eonditiouH^  then  Ixicame  the  saci*ed  word 
of  the  miister's  degree.  I'he  three  fellow-crafts  were  traced,  but 
rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  their  pni*snei"s,  they  committed 
suicide,  and  their  heads  were  l)rought  to  Solomon. 

The  triangle,  not  liaving  been  found  on  the  body  of  Hiram,  was 
soutrht  for  and  at  last  discovered  in  the  well  into  which  he  had 
cast  it.  The  king  caused  it  to  be  placed  on  a  triangular  altar 
erected  in  a  secret  vault,  built  under  the  most  retired  part  of  the 
temple.  The  triangle  was  further  concealed  by  a  cubical  stone, 
on  which  had  been  inscribed  the  sacred  law.  The  vault,  the 
existence  of  which  was  onlv  known  to  the  twentv-seven  elect, 
was  then  walled  up. 

Such  is  the  Legend  of  the  Temple  to  whicli  for  many  years 
^Masonry  usimI  to  j)oint  as  the  fii*st  material  work  of  its  mystical, 
ancient  order,  for  Masonry  has  always,  until  recently,  laid  claim  to 
extreme  ancientness  as  one  of  its  many  marks  of  augustness. 
Indeed,  all  nations,  all  states,  all  corporations,  to  increase  theii' 
power  and  diuluce  from  above  their  excuse  for  existence,  attributt^ 
to  themselves  a  very  early  origin. 


A   GOVERNMENT   OF   MYSTERY   AND   FRATERNITY.  577 

This  wish  must  be  all  the  stronger  in  a  society  altogether  ideal 
and  moral,  living  a  life  of  principles,  which  needs  rather  to  seem, 
not  coeval  with,  but  anterior  and  superior  to,  all  others.  Hence 
the  curious,  fantastic  claim  set  up  by  Freemasonry  of  being,  not 
contemporary  with  the  creation  of  man,  but  with  that  of  the 
world;  because  light  was  before  man,  and  prepared  for  him  a 
suitable  habitation,  and  light  is  the  scope  and  symbol  of  Free- 
masonry. 

Now  it  has  been  believed  by  some  dreamers  that  there  was  from 
the  verj'  first  appearance  of  man  on  the  earth  a  highly  favored  and 
civilized  i-ace,  possessing  a  full  knowledge  of  the  laws  and  proper- 
ties of  nature,  which  knowledge  was  embodied  in  mystical  figures 
and  schemes  such  as  were  deemed  appropriate  and  necessary  for 
its  preservation  and  propagation. 

These  figures  and  schemes  were  supposedly  discovered  l)y 
magi,  or  wise  men,  in  different  ages,  and  are  partially  preserved 
in  Masonry,  though  their  meaning  is  no  longer  imdei'stood  l)y  the 
fraternity.  Granting  for  the  sake  of  argument,  or  of  art,  or  of 
mere  picturesqueness,  that  there  have  been  and  still  are  beings  of 
that  ancient,  more  fiery  nuie,  still  wandering  on  earth,  trying  to 
help  men,  yet  constantly  hindered  and  misundei-stood  by  men, 
what  are  the  real  truths  or  doctrines  hidden  under  the  symbols 
and  enigmatical  forms  of  their  mystic  science,  —  forms  and  syin- 
lx)ls,  which  without  a  key  appear  but  as  absurd  and  del)asing  rites 
and  ceremonies? 

The  aim  of  all  the  secret  societies  of  the  piist,  except  those 
which  were  purely  predatoiy  or  political,  was  to  preserve  such 
knowledge  as  still  survived,  or  to  recover  what  had  been  lost. 
And  since  Freemasonry  is,  so  to  speak,  the  rcHinn^  of  tlie  teachings 
of  all  those  societies,  dogmas  in  accordance  with  one  or  more  of 
those  taught  in  the  ancient  mysteries  and  other  associations  are 
to  be  found  in  Masonry;  hence  also  it  is,  impossible  to  attribute 
its  origin  to  one  or  other  specific  society  preceding  it.  Free- 
masonry is  —  or  rather  ought  to  be  —  the  compendium  of  all 
primitive  accumulated  human  knowledge. 

Masonic  writera  generally  divide  the  history  of  the  Order  into 
two  periods,  the  firat  comprising  the  time  from  its  assumed  foun- 
dation to  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  during  which  the 


578  THK    ST()i:V    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

Order  admitted  only  masons,  i.  e.,  operative  masons  and  aitificei'S 
in  some  way  connected  with  architectui*e.  During  the  earlier 
jxjriod  the  Operative  Brotherhood  built  most  of  those  luai'vellous 
structures  which  delight  the  eye  of  the  tmveller  in  Europe.  Of 
these  the  Cathedral  of  Rheims  and  the  Cathedral,  Baptistry  and 
Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa  of  which  we  give  picitures  are  shining 
examplei;. 

The  second  or  present  period,  they  denominate  the  period  of 
Speculative  Masonry,  when  the  Order  no  longer  chooses  its  mem- 
l)ers  only  amongst  men  engaged  in  the  raising  of  material  struc- 
tures, but  receives  into  its  ranks  all  who  are  willing  to  assist  in 
building  a  spiritual  temple,  the  temple  of  universal  harmony  and 
knowledge.  Yet  pei*soiis  who  were  not  working  masons  had 
l)efore  the  last  century  been  admitted,  for  the  records  of  a  lodge 
Jit  Waringtcm,  as  old  as  1648,  note  the  admission  of  Colonel 
Mainwaring,  and  the  great  antiquary,  Ashmole.  Charles  I., 
Charles  II.,  and  James  II.  also  were  initiated. 

Still,  from  what  ha.s  been  said  above,  does  it  not  follow  that  true 
Masonry  always  was  spectdative^  and  tluit  to  deduce  any  specific 
origin  from  the  ancient  Diony^iac  mysteries  or  any  other  kindred 
college  is  sheer  nonsense  ?  The  name  "masonic  "  was  adopted  by 
the  society  on  its  reconstruction  in  the  l-dst  century,  because  the 
brotherhood  of  buildei*s  who  erected  the  magnificent  cathedrals 
and  other  buildings  that  arose  duiing  the  Middle  Ages  had 
lodges,  degrees,  landmarks,  secret  signs,  and  passwords,  such  as 
the  builders  of  the  temple  of  Solomon  are  said  to  have  had. 
But  of  a  perfect,  unbroken  connection  absolute  historic  proof  is 
still  lacking. 

Vet,  considering  that  Freemasonry^  is  a  tree,  the  roots  of  which 
arc  spread  through  so  many  soils,  it  follows  that  tmces  of  many 
things  must  be  found  in  its  fruit;  or  that  its  language  and  ritual 
should  rettxin  much  of  the  various  sects  and  institutions  it  has 
passed  througli  l)efore  arriving  at  their  present  state,  and  accord- 
ingly in  Masonry  we  meet  with  Indian,  Egyptian,  Jewish,  and 
Christian  ideas,  terms,  and  symbols. 

For  instance,  the  Masonic  alphabet  preserves  the  angular 
character  of  primitive  alplvabets.  Thirteen  characters  (9  +  4) 
<*()nipose  the  Masonic  system  of  wTiting.     Hence  all  the  sounds 


580 


THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 


can   only  be    represented  by  means  of  points,   in  the  following 
manner:  — 

I  1 

A-B     C-D     E-F 


G-H      l-L   '  M-N 


0-P  j  Q-H  ,  S-T 

I  I 

The  letter,  a,  is  written  -J ;  the  ^me  sign  with  a  dot  in  it,  JJ, 
means  b;  the  sign  >•  means  u,  and  with  a  dot  >•,  v.  Masonic 
abbreviations  are  always  indicated  by  thi-ee  dots,  placed  triangu- 
larly. Thus,  brother  is  abbreviated  B.*.  Lodge  is  written  L.-. 
or  []].  *.  in  the  plural  LL.-.  or  rnLl-*-  Our  common  alphabet  has  an 
equally  simple  origin,  as  well  as  the  Arabic  numerals;  they  are 
all  contained  in  combinations  of  the  lines  of  this  figure:  — 


A, 

11,  "■    ) 

c. 

U,*''-  — 1, 

—J 

) 

-J) 

H,     , 

—  J 

M, 

N,  n, 

R 

K 

X    T 

-J) 

V,    X. 

Y. 

Z,     3, 

) 

z, 

^, 

^,   b 

A, 

7,   Z, 

^ 

The  jnrencral  leader  wlio  is  not  a  Mason  may  1h»  interested  in  a 
brief  description  of  various  lodges  and  of  various  modern  cere- 
monies in  tlu;  making  of  an  apprentice,  a  fellow-ci-aft,  and  a  mas- 
ter. The  arrangement  of  the  lodge  varies  and  will  vary  according 
to  periods  and  degrees,  but  certiiin  general  rules  are  always  followed 
in  its  construction.  According  to  the  most  ancient  Fi*ench  cate- 
chism the  lodge  must  huve  a  vaulted  ceiling,  painted  blue  and 
covered  with  golden  stars  to  represent  the  heavens. 

The  floor  is  called  a  mosaic  floor;  the  term  "' mosaic"  lx?inir 
derived  from  Moses;   i.  e.,  *' drawn  from  the  water,''  l)ecause  by 


A   OOVEENMENT   OF   MYSTERY   AND   FBATEKNITV.  581 

its  variegated  coloi-s  it  represents  the  eartli  as  covered  with  flowera 
again  after  the  withdmwal  of  the  watera  of  the  Nile.  There  uit  . 
three  windows,  — one  east,  one  west,  and  a  tliird  soutli.  There 
must  also  be  two  or  three  ant«-chambers,  so  that  the  profane, 
which  is  the  technieal  term  for  outsiders,  may  catch  no  glimjise 
of  what  is  going  on  in  the  lodge.  If,  by  accident,  some  stranger 
should  nevertheless  inti-ude,  the  master  exclaims,  "It  i-aina!" 
and  the  lodge  is  ipgo  facto  dissolved. 

The  lodge  should  he  always  hung  with  black;  the  brethren 
tidting  their  places  accoi-ding  to  their  rank ;  the  Grand  Master  in 
the  eiist,  the  Master  in  the  south,  and  the  novices  at  the  north. 
When  an  apprentice  is  made,  the  lodge  is  brightly  illuminated. 
Tlie  Grand  Master,  seated  in  his  ])lace,  weara  on  his  neck, 
appended  to  a  liii'ge  riblwn,  a  small  square  and  compasses.  Before 
him  stands  a  table  on  which  lie  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  and  a 
small  hammer.  At  his  side  are  the  two  stewards,  the  first  ot 
whom  wears  a  level  and  the  second  a  plumb  of  gold  or  silver. 
The  masters  and  fellow-crafts  stand  amund  with  the  apprentices, 
all  wearing  whit*  aprons  of  Iamb  akin,  and  each  caiTying  a  naked 
sword. 

On  the  floor  are  peculiar  patterns,  representing  the  steps  that 
led  to  Solomon's  temple,  and  the  two  Pinal's,  Jachin  and  Boaz, 
hut  which  in  reality  symbolize  the  summer  and  winter  solstices, 
the  pillars  of  Hercules,  the  two  pillai-s  ot  Seth.  Above  are  seen 
the  sun,  moon,  and  a  large  sbir, 

A  coffin  covere  the  centre  of  the  floor,  in  which  lies  a  man 
apparently  dead,  with  his  face  turned  upward  and  shrouded  with 
his  white  apron  smeared  with  blootl,  one  h.'ind  resting  on  his 
breast  and  the  other  extended  towards  the  knee.  In  the  comers 
of  the  roc)m  are  substances  easily  combustible,  such  as  sulphur, 
to  kindle  a  fire  instantjvneously.  This  apparatus  is  somewhat 
altered  when  a  fellow-craft  or  a  master  is  to  be  made.  Such  was 
the  old  French  lodge  of  which  two  pictures  are  given. 

The  modem  lodge  is  a  large  square  hall,  alwaj's,  if  possible, 
situated  due  east  and  west.  Upon  a  dais,  ascended  by  three  steps 
opposite  the  door  of  ingress,  sit^  the  Worshipful  Master.  Instead 
uf  the  coffin  an  alUir  is  placed  in  the  centre  on  four  steps.  A 
sky-blue  canopy  dotted  with  stars,  and  having  above  it  the  shin- 


582  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

ing  triangle  with  the  sacred  name  inscribed  therein,  covers  the 
throne. 

To  the  left  of  the  canopy  is  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  and  to  the 
right  of  the  moon.  Another  ornament  is  the  blazing  star,  and 
the  point  within  a  circle,  symbolizing  the  sun  in  the  universe. 
A  chest  or  ark  also  forms  part  of  the  Masonic  furniture.  To  the 
west,  at  the  sides  of  the  door  of  ingress,  stand  two  pillars  of 
bronze,  whose  capitals  represent  pomegranates,  bearing  on  their 
fronts  the  initials  J.  and  B.  (Jachin  and  Boaz). 

The  senior  and  junior  wardens  sit  near  th3se  two  columns, 
having  before  them  a  triangular  table,  covered  with  masonic 
emblems.  Around  tlie  lodge  there  are  ten  other  pillars  connected 
by  an  architrave  with  the  two  pillai-s  above  mentioned. 

On  the  altar  rest  a  Bible,  a  square,  a  pair  of  compasses  and 
swords,  and  three  candehibra  with  long  tapei*s  are  placed,  one  at 
the  east  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  the  second  at  the  west,  near  the 
first  warden,  and  tlie  third  at  tlie  south.  The  room  is  surrounded 
with  benches  for  the  members. 

In  the  lodges  called  Scotcli,  and  in  English  and  American 
lodges,  the  canopy  that  (•()vim's  the  master's  throiK^  is  of  crimson 
silk.  In  the  United  States,  the  Worshipful  Master  wears  a  cap 
adorned  with  black  feathers  and  a  large  cockade  of  the  same  color. 
The  senior  and  junior  wfirdens  are  seated  in  niches  with  fringed 
drapery,  and  Avear,  like  heralds,  stavt^s  of  el)ony  sculptured  like 
pillai-s. 

lies  ides  the  master  and  the  wardens,  who  are  figuratively  called 
the  three  Iv/hta^  the  lodge  litis  other  ollicera  —  the  orator,  secre- 
tiiry,  treasurer,  master  of  tlu^  ceremonies,  keeper  of  the  seals, 
ar(;liiteet,  steward,  captain  of  tlu*.  host,  principal  sojourner,  inner 
and  outer  guard  or  tyler,  and  olhei-s.  Every  official  occupies  a 
place  assigned  to  him,  and  has  his  ])ropcr  jewels  and  badges,  just 
as  was  the  case  with  the  Egyptian,  Hebrew,  and  Greek  priests  in 
the  antique  mysteries. 

The  meetings  are  generally  held  at  night.  The  Worshipful 
Master,  striking  the  altar  with  his  mallet,  ''opens  the  labora,"  and 
after  having  ascertained  that  the  lodge  is  tyled,  i.  e.,  covered 
over  or  guarded  well,  he  turns  to  the  junior  waixlen  and  says: 
''Brother  junior  warden,  your  consttmt  place  in  tlie  lodge?'* 


oS4  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVSRNMEOST. 


**  In  the  soutf 

**  Why  are  you  placed  there  ? 


u 
u 


**"  To  mark  the  sun  at  its  meridian,  to  call  the  brethren  from 
labor  to  refreshment,  and  from  refreshment  to  labor,  that  profit 
and  pleasure  may  be  the  result. ** 

*•  Brother  senior  warden,  your  constant  place  in  the  lodge  ?^ 

'•  In  the  west." 

**Why  are  you  placed  there?*' 

**To  mark  the  setting  sun ;  to  close  the  lodge  by  the  command 
of  the  Worshipful  Master,  after  seeing  that  every  one  has  his  just 

dues." 

Why  is  the  master  placed  in  the  east? 

As  the  sun  rises  in  the  east  to  open  and  enliven  the  day,  so 
the  Worshipful  Master  is  placed  in  the  east  to  open  and  enlighten 
his  lodge,  to  employ  and  instruct  the  brethren." 

"At  what  hour  are  Masons  accustomed  to  begin  their  labors?  ** 

"At  mid-day." 

"What  hour  is  it,  brother  junior  warden?" 

"It  is  niid-dav." 

"Since  this  is  the  hour,  and  all  is  proved  right  and  just,  I 
declare  the  lod^e  open."" 

The  purely  Jistroiiomical  hearing  of  all  this  is  self-evident  to 
any  student  of  Chaldean  lore,  of  the  pymraids,  or  of  the  ruins  of 
Yucatan.  It  is  a  relic  of  astrology,  the  science  or  superstition  of 
the  still's. 

When  a  novice  in  some  societies,  but  not  in  all  (for  initiations 
differ  in  different  places)  is  to  be  initiated  into  the  first  or  appren- 
tice degree,  he  is  led  into  tlie  lodge  building  by  a  stranger  to  him, 
and  introduced  into  ji  remote  chamlx^r,  where  he  is  left  alone 
for  a  few  minutes. 

He  is  tlien  deprived  of  all  metal  he  may  have  about  him ;  his 
right  knee,  and  in  some  lodges  his  left  side,  are  uncovered,  and 
the  heel  of  his  left  shoe,  if  he  wears  a  low  one,  is  trodden  down. 
His  eyes  are  bandaged,  and  he  is  led  into  the  closet  of  reflec- 
tion where  he  is  told  to  stay  without  taking  off  the  bandage,  until 
he  hears  three  knocks. 

signal,  on  uncovering  his  eyes,  he  beholds  on  the  walls 
black  a  variety  of  inscriptions  like  the  following:  "If 


A  GOVERNMENT   OF   MYSTEKV   AND   FBATEBNITV.  685 

idle  curiosity  draw  thee  hither,  depart!  "  "If  thou  be  afraid  of 
being  enlightened  coneeniing  thine  errors,  it  profits  thee  not  to 
»tay  here."  "If  thou  vnhie  human  distinctions,  go  hence;  here 
they  are  not  known," 

After  a  i)iihiver  between  the  brother  who  introduces  tlie  novice 
and  the  master,  the  candidate,  having  his  eyes  again  liaiidiiged 
and  a  rope  pasued  round  hi»  necl:.  Is  introduced  into  tlie  middle 
of  the  bretliren,  his  guide  pointing  a  naked  sword  to  his  breast. 

He  is  then  keenly  questioned  as  to  his  object  in  coming  there, 
and  on  answering  that  he  comes  to  ))e  initiated  into  tlio  secrets 
of  Masonry,  he  is  led  out  of  the  lodge  and  back  again  several 
times  to  confuse  him  on  the  perception  of  distances, 

A  lai^e  square  frame  covered  with  paper,  such  as  circus  riders 
use,  is  then  brought  forward  and  held  by  two  brethren.  The  guide 
then  asks  the  master:  "What  shall  we  do  with  the  profane?" 
To  which  the  master  replies:    "Shut  him  up  in  the  cave." 

Two  brethren  seine  the  postulant  and  throw  him  through  the 
paper  screen  into  the  arms  of  two  other  brethren  whostand  ready 
to  receive  him.  The  folding  doors,  hitherto  left  open,  are  then 
shut  with  noise,  and  by  means  of  an  iron  ring  and  bar  the  closing 
of  massive  locks  is  imitated,  so  timt  the  candidate  fancies  himself 
shut  up  in  a  dungeon.  Some  time  then  passes  in  sepulchral 
silence. 

All  at  once  the  master  strikes  a  quick  blow,  and  orders  the 
candidate  to  be  placed  beside  the  junior  warden  in  a  kneeling 
position.  The  master  then  addresses  several  questions  to  him,  and 
informs  him  of  his  duties  towards  the  Order.  Next  a  leverage  is 
offered  to  the  candidate  with  the  intimation  that,  if  any  treason 
Itirks  in  his  heart,  the  drink  will  turn  to  poison. 

Tlie  bowl  coiitjiining  this  dangerous  drink  has  two  compart- 
ments, the  one  holding  sweet,  the  other  bitter  water,  auch  as  that 
hi  a  cup  of  quassia  wood.  The  candidate  is  then  made  to  re2)eat: 
"I  hind  myself  to  the  strict  and  rigorous  observance  of  the  duties 
prescribed  to  Freemasons,  and  if  ever  I  violate  my  oath  "  —  (here 
his  guide  puts  the  sweet  water  to  liia  lips,  and  having  dnink 
some,  the  candidate  continues)  "  I  consent  that  the  sweetness  of 
this  drink  be  turned  into  bitterness,  and  that  its  salutary  effect 
become  for  me  that  of  a  subtle  poison." 


586  THE   STORY   OF   GOVBRNMBNT. 

The  candidate  is  then  made  to  drink  of  the  bitter  water,  wh^re^ 
upon  the  master  exclaims :  "  What  do  I  see  ?  What  means  the 
sudden  alteration  of  your  features?  Perhaps  your  conscience 
belies  your  words?  Has  the  sweet  drink  already  turned  bitter? 
Away  with  the  profane  one !  This  oath  is  only  a  test;  the  true 
one  comes  after." 

The  candidate  being  then  asked  if  he  pei-sists  in  his  determina- 
tion, and  genemlly  answering  yes,  as  his  curiosity  is  now  well 
whetted,  he  is  led  a  number  of  times  round  the  lodge ;  then  he  is 
dragged  over  broken  chairs,  stools,  and  blocks  of  wood.  This 
trial  over,  he  is  told  to  mount  the  "endless  staii-s,"  and  having, 
as  he  supi)oses,  attained  a  great  height,  he  is  oixlered  to  cast 
himself  down,  in  which  act  he  only  falls  a  few  feet. 

This  ordeal,  wliich  is  imitated  in  other  secret  orders,  and  in 
some  with  an  elaborate  cleverness  well  calculated  to  delude  and 
scare  the  average  candidate,  is  accompanied  by  much  noise,  the 
brethren  striking  on  the  attributes  of  the  oider  they  carry  in  their 
hands,  and  uttering  all  kinds  of  dismal  shouts. 

As  Ji  further  trial,  he  is  then  passed  through  fire,  which  is 
rendered  harmless  by  well-known  conjui'ing  tricks.  Tlien  his 
arm  is  slightly  pricked,  and  a  guri^^ling  noise  l)eing  produced  by 
one  of  the  brethren,  the  novice  sometimes  fancies  that  he  is  losing 
much  blood. 

Finally,  he  takes  the  oath,  tlie  brethren  standing  around  him 
with  di*awn  swords.  The  candidate  is  then  led  between  the  two 
pillars,  and  the  brethren  place  their  swords  against  his  breast. 
The  master  of  the  ceremonies  loosens  the  bandage  without  taking 
it  off.  Another  brother  holds  tetore  him  a  lamp  that  sheds  a 
brilliant  light. 

The    master  speaks;    '' Brother  senior  warden,   deem  you   the 
candidate  worthy  of  forming  part  of  our  society?  " 
les. 

"What  do  y(m  ask  for  liini?  " 

"Light." 

"Then  let  there  l)e  light!" 

Three  blows  with  a  mallet  the  master  gives,  find  at  the  third 
the  bandage  is  tiiken  off,  and  the  candidate  beholds  the  light, 
symbolizing  that  which  is  to  fill  his  undei-standing. 


588  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  brethren  drop  their  swords,  and  the  candidate  is  conducted 
to  the  altar,  where  he  kneels,  whilst  the  master  says:  "In  the 
name  of  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Univerae,  and  by  virtue  of 
the  powers  vested  in  me,  I  create  and  constitute  tliee  a  masonic 
apprentice  and  member  of  this  lodge." 

Then  striking  three  more  blows  with  his  mallet  on  the  blade  of 
the  sword,  he  raises  the  new  brother,  girds  him  with  the  apron 
of  white  lambskin,  gives  him  a  pair  of  white  gloves  to  be  worn 
in  the  lodge,  and  another  to  be  given  to  the  lady  he  esteems 
best.  He  is  then  again  led  between  the  two  pillai-s,  and  received 
by  the  brethren  as  one  of  them. 

The  second  degree  of  symbolic  Freemasonry  is  that  of  Fellow- 
Craft.  The  apprentice,  who  comes  asking  for  an  increase  of 
salary,  —  a  very  natural  formula  for  an  apprentice  —  is  not  con- 
ducted like  the  novice  by  an  unknown  brother,  nor  are  his  eyes 
bandaged,  because  the  light  was  made  for  him,  but  he  moves 
towards  the  lodge  holding  in  his  hand  a  rule,  one  of  whose  ends 
he  rests  on  the  left  shoulder. 

Having  reached  the  door,  he  gives  the  apprentice's  knock,  and 
having  been  admitted  find  declared  the  purpose  for  which  he 
comes,  he  walks  five  times  round  the  lodge,  wheieupon  he  is  told 
by  the  master  to  perform  his  last  Jipprentice's  work.  He  then 
pretends  to  square  the  rough  tishlar.  After  a  deal  of  instruction, 
he  takes  the  oath  in  which  he  swears  to  keep  the  secrets  entrusted 
to  him. 

Then  there  follows  more  lecturing  on  the  part  of  the  master, 
chiefly  on  geometry,  a  science  which  Masons  profess  to  consider 
very  precious  but  of  which  they  know  precious  little,  and  to 
which  the  letter  G  seen  in  the  lodge  within  an  irradiation  or 
star  is  supposed  to  refer,  but  it  more  likely  is  a  relic  of  geo- 
mancy,  an  odd  business  practised  by  Chinese  ^hisons,  especially 
as  to  the  proper  places  in  which  to  build  a  house. 

The  degree  of  Master  Mason  is  more  interesting.  At  tlic 
reception  of  a  master,  the  lodge  or  "middle  chamber"  is  draped 
with  black,  with  death's  heads,  skeletons,  and  cross-bones,  and 
other  cheerful  welcomes  painted  on  the  walls.  A  taper  of  yellow 
wax,  placed  in  the*  east,  and  a  dark  lantern,  formed  of  a  skull 
having  a  light  within,  which  shines  forth  through  the  eye-holes, 


A  GOVEHNMENT   OF   MYSTEIIV   AND   FRATEttNlTV.  589 

placeJ  on  the  altar  of  the  most  Worshipful  Master,  gives  just 
Hufficient  light  to  reveal  n  coffin,  wherein  the  corjise  is  represented 
either  Ijy  a  hiy-lignre,  a  serving  hrotlier,  or  by  the  brother  last 
iniule  a  master. 

On  the  coftin  is  i\  sprig  of  iicacia,  at  iU  head  is  a  square,  and 
at  its  foot,  towanla  the  east,  an  open  compass.  The  masters  are 
clothed  in  black,'  and  wear  large  azure  sashes,  on  which  are 
represented  Masonic  emblems,  the  sun,  moon,  and  seven  stais. 
The  object  of  the  meeting  is  said  to  be  the  finding  of  the  word  of 
the  iiiiisfer,  Hinim  Abiff,   who  was  slain. 

The  postulant  for  admission  is  introduced  aft^r  some  prelimi- 
nary ceremonies,  Iiavinghis  two  arms,  breasts,  and  knees  bare,  and 
both  he«]s  tjllp-sltod.  lie  iii  told  that  the  brethi'eii  assembled  arc 
mourning  the  death  of  their  Grand  Master,  and  itsked  whether 
perhaps  he  was  one  of  tlie  murdei'ers,  and  at  the  same  time  he  is 
shown  the  body  or  figure  in  the  coffin. 

Having  declared  his  innocence  of  any  slinre  in  that  crime,  he  is 
informed  that  he  will  on  this  occasion  have  to  enact  the  part  of 
Hiram,  who  was  slain  at  the  huilding  of  Solomon's  temple,  and 
whose  history  he  is  alwint  to  l>e  told. 

The  brother,  or  figure  in  the  coffin,  has  in  tlie  meantime  lieen 
removed,  so  that  when  the  aspinint  looks  at  it  again,  much  to  his 
surprise  he  finds  it  empty.  The  stor)'  of  the  munler  of  Hiram  is 
then  told  in  a  very  impressive  fashion.  The  dee<l  is  not,  how- 
ever, as  in  tlie  Legend  of  the  Temple  previously  given,  attributed 
to  Solomon's  jealousy,  but  simply  to  Hiram's  refusal  to  com- 
municate the  master's  word  to  three  fellow-crafts.  The  various 
incidents  of  this  story  aie  scenieally  enacted  on  the  postulant  by 
the  brother  Masons,  for  in  every  lodge  there  are  generally  some 
very  fair  actore. 

"Hiram,"  the  master  continues,  "having  entered  the  temple  at 
noon,  the  three  assassins  placed  themselves  at  the  east,  west,  and 
soutli  dof^i'H,  and  Hiram  refusing  to  reveal  the  wriiil,  lie  who  stood 
at  the  east  door  cut  Hii-am  across  the  thi-oat  with  a  twenty-four 
inch  gauge.     Hiram   flew  to  the  south  door,  wliere   he  received 


690  THE   STORY  OP  GOVERNMENT. 

similar  treatment,  and  thence  to  the  west  door,  where  he  was 
struck  on  the  head  with  a  gavel  which  occasioned  his  death.'' 

The  applicant,  at  this  part  of  the  recital,  is  informed  tliat  he, 
too,  must  undergo  trials,  and  must  not  sink  under  the  influence 
of  terror,  though  the  hand  of  death  be  upon  him.  He  is  then 
stinick  on  the  forehead  and  thrown  down. 

Tlie  master  continues :  "  The  ruffians  carried  the  body  out  at 
the  west  door,  and  buried  it  at  the  side  of  a  hill" — here  the 
postulant  is  placed  in  the  coffin  —  "  in  a  grave,  on  which  they 
stuck  a  sprig  of  acacia  to  mark  the  spot.  Hiram  not  making  his 
appearance  as  usual,  Solomon  caused  search  to  be  made  for  him  bj' 
twelve  trusty  fellow-crafts  that  were  sent  out,  three  east,  three 
west,  three  south,  and  three  north.  Of  the  three  who  went  east, 
one  being  wearj',  sat  down  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  to  rest  himself, 
and  in  rising  caught  hold  of  a  twig  "  —  here  a  twig  of  that  plant 
is  put  into  the  hand  of  the  aspirant  lying  in  the  coffin —  *' which 
coming  up  eiisily,  showed  that  the  gi*ound  had  been  recently 
disturl)ed,  and  on  digging  be  and  his  companions  found  the  bodj' 
of  Hiram.     It  was  in  a  mangled  condition,  having  lain  fourteen 

days,    whereupon  one  of    those  present    exclaimed which 

means and  this   became  the   master's  word,   {is  the  former 

one  was  lost  through  Hiram's  death;  for  though  the  other  two 
masters,  Solomon,  and  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  knew  it,  it  could 
only  be  comnninicated  by  the  three  Grand  Miistei's  conjointly. 
The  covering  of  the  grave  being  green  moss  and  turf,  other 
l\ystandei"s  exelainied,  ^ Muhcuh  domus  ^lomino^  dei  f/ratiaP  which 
means,  'Thanks  be  unto  God,  our  master  hath  got  a  mossv 
house : '  " 

This  exclamation  shows  that  the  Hebrew  buildei's  of  Solomon's 
temple  possessed  a  prophetic  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue  I 
The  body  of  Hiram  could  not  i)e  raised  by  the  aj>prentice's  or  fel- 
low-craft's grip,  but  only  by  the  master's,  or  the  lion's  grip,  as 
it  is  called.  All  this  is  then  imitated  by  the  mixster  raising  the 
aspirant  in  the  coffin,  who  is  then  told  the  word,  signs  and  gri})s, 
and  takes  the  oath. 

Taken  liteniUy,  the  story  of  Hiram  would  offer  nothing  so 
extraordinary  as  to  deserve  to  be  connnemomted  after  three  thou- 
sand  years  throughout  the  world  by  solemn  rit^s  jind  ceremonies. 


582  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

ing  triangle  with  the  sacred  name  inscribed  therein,  covers  the 
throne. 

To  the  left  of  the  canopy  is  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  and  to  the 
right  of  the  moon.  Another  ornament  is  the  blazing  star,  and 
the  point  within  a  circle,  symbolizing  the  sun  in  the  universe. 
A  chest  or  ark  also  forms  part  of  the  Masonic  furniture.  To  the 
west,  at  the  sides  of  the  door  of  ingress,  stand  two  pillars  of 
bronze,  whose  capitals  represent  pomegranates,  bearing  on  their 
fronts  the  initials  J.  and  B.  (Jachin  and  Boaz). 

The  senior  and  junior  wardens  sit  near  these  two  columns, 
having  before  them  a  triangular  table,  covered  with  masonic 
emblems.  Around  the  lodge  there  are  ten  other  pillars  connected 
by  an  architrave  with  the  two  pillai-s  above  mentioned. 

On  the  altar  rest  a  Bible,  a  square,  a  pair  of  compasses  and 
swords,  and  three  candelabra  with  long  tapers  are  [)laced,  one  at 
the  east  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  the  second  at  the  west,  near  the 
first  warden,  and  the  third  at  the  south.  Tlje  room  is  surrounded 
with  benches  for  the  membei's. 

In  the  lodges  called  Scotxth,  and  in  Englisli  and  American 
lodges,  the  canopy  that  covers  the  master's  throne  is  of  crimson 
silk.  In  the  United  States,  the  Woi*shipful  Master  wears  a  cap 
adorned  with  black  feathei's  and  a  large  cockade  of  the  same  color. 
The  senior  and  junior  wardens  are  seated  in  niches  with  fringed 
drapeiy,  and  w(»ar,  like  heralds,  staves  of  elK)ny  sculptured  like 
pillai-s. 

Besides  the  master  and  tlie  wardens,  who  are  figuratively  c;alled 
the  three  lu/hts^  the  lodge  has  other  officei*s  —  the  orator,  secre- 
tary, treasurer,  master  of  the  ceremonies,  keeper  of  the  seals, 
architect,  steward,  captain  of  the  host,  princi[)al  sojourner,  inner 
and  outer  guard  or  tyler,  and  othei-s.  Every  official  occupies  a 
place  assigned  to  him,  and  has  his  proper  jewels  and  badges,  just 
as  wjis  the  case  with  the  Egyptian,  llelnew,  and  Greek  priests  in 
the  antique  mysteries. 

The  meetings  are  generally  held  at  night.  The  Worshipful 
Master,  striking  the  altar  with  his  mallet,  ''opens  the  labore,"  and 
after  having  ascertained  that  the  lodge  is  tyled,  i.  e.,  covered 
over  or  guarded  well,  he  turns  to  the  junior  warden  and  says: 
''Brother  junior  warden,  your  constant  place  in  the  lodge?'* 


584  THE   STOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

''  In  the  south." 

"  Why  are  you  placed  there  ?  " 

"  To  mark  the  sun  at  its  meridian,  to  call  the  bretliren  from 
labor  to  refreshment,  and  from  refreshment  to  labor,  that  profit 
and  pleasure  may  be  the  result." 

Brother  senior  warden,  your  constant  place  in  the  lodge  ? 

*^  In  the  west." 

*'Why  are  you  placed  there? 
To  mark  the  setting  sun ;  to  close  the  lodge  by  the  command 
of  the  Worshipful  Master,  after  seeing  that  eveiy  one  has  his  just 
dues." 

"Why  is  the  master  placed  in  the  east? 

"As  the  sun  rises  in  the  east  to  open  and  enliven  the  day,  so 
the  Worshipful  Miister  is  placed  in  the  east  to  open  and  enlighten 
his  lodge,  to  employ  and  instruct  the  brethren." 

"At  what  hour  are  Masons  accustomed  to  begin  their  labors?  " 

"At  mid-day." 

"What  hour  is  it,  brother  junior  warden?" 

"It  is  mid-day." 

"Since  this  is  the  liour,  juid  all  is  proved  right  and  just,  I 
declare  the  lodge  open." 

The  purely  .astronomical  l)earing  of  all  this  is  self-evident  to 
any  student  of  Chaldean  lore,  of  the  pyramids,  or  of  the  ruins  of 
Yucatan.  It  is  a  relic  of  astrology,  the  science  or  superstition  of 
the  stai"s. 

When  a  novice  in  some  societies,  but  not  in  all  (for  initiations 
diflfer  in  different  places)  is  to  he  initiated  into  the  lirst  or  appren- 
ti(*e  degree,  he  is  led  into  the  lodge  building  by  a  stranger  to  him, 
and  introduced  into  a  remote  chaml)er,  where  he  is  left  alone 
for  a  few  minutes. 

lie  is  then  deprived  of  all  metal  he  may  have  about  him ;  his 
right  knee,  and  in  some  lodges  his  left  side,  are  uncovered,  and 
the  heel  of  his  left  shoe,  if  he  weara  a  low  one,  is  trodden  down. 
His  eyes  are  bandaged,  and  he  is  led  into  the  closet  of  reflec- 
tion where  he  is  told  to  stay  without  taking  off  the  bandage,  until 
he  hears  three  knocks. 

At  the  signal,  on  uncovering  his  eyes,  he  beholds  on  the  walls 
hung  with  black  a  variety  of  inscriptions  like  the  following:  "If 


A  GOVEENMENT   OP   MVSTEUY  AND   FBATEBNtTY.  585 

idle  curioBity  draw  thee  hither,  depart!  "  "If  thou  be  afraid  of 
being  enlightened  concerning  thine  errore,  it  iirofits  thee  not  to 
stay  here."  "If  tliou  viilne  human  distinctions,  go  hence;  here 
they  are  not  known." 

After  a  piilavt-r  between  the  bi-other  who  introduces  the  novice 
and  the  master,  the  candidate,  having  his  eyes  again  liandaged 
and  a  ro]je  passeil  round  his  neck,  is  introduced  into  tlie  middle 
of  the  brethren,  liis  guide  pointing  a  naked  sword  to  his  breast. 

He  is  then  keenly  questioned  as  to  his  object  in  coming  there, 
and  oD  answering  that  he  comes  to  be  initiated  into  the  secrets 
of  Masonry,  he  is  led  out  of  the  lodge  and  hack  i^ain  several 
times  to  confuse  him  on  the  perception  of  distances. 

A  large  square  frame  covered  with  paper,  such  as  circus  riders 
use,  is  then  brouglit  forward  and  held  by  two  brethren.  The  guide 
then  asks  the  master:  "What  shall  we  do  with  the  profane?" 
To  which  the  master  replies:    "Shut  him  up  in  the  cave." 

Two  brethren  sei/.e  the  postulant  and  throw  him  thi-ough  the 
paper  screen  into  the  arms  of  two  other  brethren  who  stand  ready 
to  receive  him.  The  folding  doors,  hitherto  left  open,  are  then 
shut  witli  noise,  and  by  means  of  an  iron  ring  and  b)U-  the  closing 
of  massive  Ir)cks  is  imitated,  so  that  the  candidate  fancies  himself 
shut  up  in  a  dungeon.  Some  time  then  passes  in  sepulchral 
iiilence. 

All  at  once  the  master  strikes  a  quick  blow,  and  orders  the 
candidate  to  be  placed  l>eside  the  junior  warden  in  a  kneeling 
position.  Tlie  master  tlien  addresses  several  questions  to  him,  and 
informs  him  of  liis  duties  towards  the  Order.  Next  a  beverage  is 
offered  to  the  candidate  with  the  intimation  that,  if  any  treason 
lurks  in  his  heart,  tlie  drink  will  turn  to  poison. 

The  bowl  containing  this  dangerous  drink  has  two  compart- 
ments, the  one  lioldiag  sweet,  the  other  bitter  water,  such  as  that 
in  a  cup  of  quiissia  wootl.  The  candidate  is  then  made  to  reiieat: 
"I  bind  mj-self  U<  the  strict  and  rigoi-ons  olwervance  of  the  duties 
pi-escribed  to  FreemaBons,  and  if  ever  I  violate  my  oath  "  —  (here 
his  guide  put»  the  sweet  water  to  his  lips,  and  having  drunk 
some,  the  candidate  continues)  "I  consent  that  the  sweetness  of 
this  drink  be  turned  into  bitterne^,  and  that  its  salutary  effect 
become  for  me  that  of  a  subtle  poison." 


686  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  candidate  is  then  made  to  drink  of  the  bitter  water,  wh^re* 
upon  the  master  exclaims :  "What  do  I  see?  What  means  the 
sudden  alteration  of  your  features?  Perhaps  your  conscience 
belies  your  words?  Has  the  sweet  drink  already  turned  bitter? 
Away  with  the  profane  one  !  This  oath  is  only  a  test;  the  true 
one  comes  after." 

The  candidate  l)eing  then  asked  if  he  pei-sists  in  his  determina- 
tion, and  generally  answering  yes,  as  his  curiosity  is  now  well 
whetted,  lie  is  led  a  number  of  times  round  the  lodge ;  then  he  is 
dragged  over  broken  cliaii-s,  stools,  and  blocks  of  wood.  This 
trial  over,  he  is  told  to  mount  the  "endless  stairs,"  and  having, 
«s  he  supposes,  attained  a  great  height,  he  is  oi-dered  to  cast 
himself  down,  in  which  act  he  only  falls  a  few  feet. 

This  ordeal,  which  is  imitated  in  other  secret  orders,  and  in 
some  with  an  elaborate  cleverness  well  calculated  to  delude  and 
scare  the  average  candidate,  is  accompanied  by  much  noise,  the 
brethren  striking  on  the  attributes  of  the  order  they  carry  in  their 
hands,  and  uttering  all  kinds  of  dismal  shouts. 

As  a  further  trial,  he  is  then  ptissed  through  fire,  which  is 
rendered  harmless  by  well-known  conjuring  tricks.  Then  his 
arm  is  slightly  pricked,  and  a  gurgling  noise  being  produced  by 
one  of  the  brethren,  the  novice  sometimes  fancies  that  he  is  lasinjr 
much  blood. 

Finally,  he  takes  tlie  oath,  the  brethren  standing  around  him 
with  drawn  swords.  The  candidate  is  then  led  iH^tween  the  two 
pillars,  and  the  brethren  place  their  swords  against  his  breast. 
The  master  of  tlie  ceremonies  loosens  the  l)an(lage  without  taking 
it  off.  Another  brother  holds  befoie  him  a  lamp  that  sheds  a 
brilliant  light. 

The  master  speaks:  "Hrother  senior  waiden,  deem  you  the 
candidate  worthy  of  fornung  part  of  our  society?  " 

"Yes." 

"What  do  yon  ask  for  him?  " 

"Light." 

"Then  let  there  be  light!  " 

Three  blows  with  a  mallet  the  master  gives,  and  at  the  tliird 
the  bandage  is  taken  off,  and  the  candidate  beholds  the  Hght, 
symbolizing  that  which  is  to  fill  his  undei*standing. 


588  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

The  brethren  drop  their  swords,  and  the  candidate  is  conducted 
to  the  altar,  where  he  kneels,  whilst  the  master  says :  "In  the 
name  of  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Univerae,  and  by  virtue  of 
the  powers  vested  in  me,  I  create  and  constitute  thee  a  masonic 
apprentice  and  member  of  this  lodge." 

Then  striking  three  more  blows  with  his  mallet  on  the  blade  of 
the  sword,  he  raises  the  new  brother,  girds  him  with  the  apron 
of  white  lambskin,  gives  him  a  pair  of  white  gloves  to  be  worn 
in  the  lodge,  and  another  to  be  given  to  the  lady  he  esteems 
best.  He  is  then  again  led  between  the  two  pillai*s,  and  received 
by  the  brethren  as  one  of  them. 

The  second  degree  of  symbolic  Freemasonry  is  that  of  Fellow- 
Craft.  The  apprentice,  who  comes  asking  for  an  increase  of 
salary,  —  a  very  natural  f ommla  for  an  apprentice  —  is  not  con- 
<lucted  like  the  novice  by  an  unknown  brother,  nor  are  his  eyes 
bandaged,  because  the  light  was  made  for  him,  but  he  moves 
towards  the  lodge  holding  in  his  hand  a  rule,  one  of  whose  ends 
he  rests  on  the  left  shoulder. 

Having  reached  tlie  door,  he  gives  the  apprentice's  knock,  and 
having  been  admitted  and  declared  the  purpose  for  wliieh  he 
comes,  he  walks  live  times  round  tlie  lodge,  M'hereu[)on  he  is  told 
by  the  master  to  perform  his  last  a[)prentice's  work.  He  then 
pretends  to  square  the  rough  ashlar.  After  a  deal  of  instruction, 
he  takes  the  oath  in  which  he  swears  to  keep  the  secrets  entrusted 
to  him. 

Then  there  follows  more  lecturing  on  the  part  of  the  mixster, 
chiefly  on  geometry,  a  science  which  ilasons  profess  to  consider 
very  precious  but  of  which  they  know  precious  little,  and  to 
which  the  letter  G  seen  in  the  lodge  within  an  irradiation  or 
star  is  supposed  to  refer,  but  it  more  likely  is  a  relic  of  geo- 
mancy,  an  odd  business  practised  by  Chinese  Miusons,  especially 
as  to  the  proper  j)laces  in  Avliich  to  build  a  house. 

The  degree  of  Master  Mason  is  more  interesting.  At  tlu^ 
reception  of  a  master,  the  lodge  or  "  middle  chamlxir  "  is  draped 
with  black,  Avitli  death's  heads,  skeletons,  and  cross-bones,  and 
other  cheerful  Avel(K>mes  painted  on  the  walls.  A  taper  of  yellow 
wax,  placed  in  tlu*  east,  and  a  dark  lantern,  formed  of  a  skull 

iving  a  light  within,  which  shines  foith  through  the  eye-holes. 


■'i^i^w^^— ^^^-^w 


A   GOVERNMENT    OF    MYSTERY    AND    FRATERNITY.  589 

placed  on  the  ttltur  of  the  moat  Worshipful  Master,  gives  just 
sufficient  light  to  reveal  a  cofliii,  wherein  the  poiiiae  is  i-epreseoted 
either  by  a  l;iy-figure,  a  serving  brotlier,  or  by  the  brother  last 
made  a  raasler. 

On  the  coHin  is  a  sprig  of  acacia,  at  its  head  is  a  square,  and 
at  its  foot,  toivanls  the  east,  an  open  compass.  The  ma-iters  are 
clothed  in  black, ^  and  wear  large  azure  SEishes,  on  which  are 
represented  Masonic  emblems,  the  sun,  moon,  and  seven  stars. 
Tlie  object  of  the  meeting  is  said  to  be  the  finding  of  the  word  of 
the  master,  Hinira  Abiff,   who  wan  wlain. 

The  postulant  for  admission  is  introduced  after  some  prelimi- 
nary ceremonies,  liaviiig  his  two  amis,  breasts,  and  knees  bare,  and 
both  heels  slip-shod.  He  is  told  that  the  bretbi-en  assembled  are 
mourning  the  death  of  their  Grand  Master,  and  lisked  whether 
perhaps  be  w:is  one  of  the  murderers,  and  at  the  same  time  he  is 
shown  the  body  or  figure  in  the  coffin. 

Having  declared  his  innocence  of  any  share  in  that  crime,  he  is. 
informed  that  he  will  on  this  occasion  have  to  enact  the  part  of 
Hiram,  who  was  slain  at  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  and 
whose  history  be  is  about  t*>  Ije  told, 

The  brother,  or  hgure  in  the  coffin,  has  in  the  meantime  been 
removed,  so  that  when  the  aspirant  looks  at  it  again,  much  to  his 
surprise  he  finds  it  empty.  The  story  of  the  mui-der  of  Hiram  is 
then  told  in  a  very  impi-essive  fashion.  The  dee<l  is  not,  how- 
ever, as  in  the  Legend  of  the  Temple  pi'eviously  given,  attributed 
to  Solomon's  jealousy,  but  simply  to  Himni's  refusal  to  com- 
municate the  master's  word  to  three  fellow-crafts.  The  various 
incidents  of  this  stoiy  aie  scenically  enai:ted  on  the  postulant  by 
the  brother  Masons,  for  in  every  lodge  there  are  jjenerally  some 
very  fair  aetora. 

"Hiram,"  the  master  continues,  "having  entered  the  temple  at 
noon,  the  three  assassins  placed  themselves  at  the  east,  west,  and 
south  doora,  and  Hii-am  refusing  to  reveal  the  wnnl,  he  who  stood 
at  the  east  door  cut  Himni  across  the  throat  with  ii  twenty-four 
inch  gauge,     Hii-am  flew  to  the  south  cloor.  wliei'e  be  received 


'In  New  York  Is  aloiiga  comimseil  eniiiel}'  nfactore  wht 
■11  tbg  Misonie  ceremonies  aiclrud  in  gorgeous  costuniea 
tDagDlflcence.  This  ilruoa,  aU  Bluoiilc  wltneuea  asrm.i: 
oaMtnlod  Fawioii  l^ay  a,L  (ibenmnierKU. 


690  THE  8TOBY  OF  GOVEBXMKyT. 

similar  treatment,  and  thence  to  the  west  door,  where  he  was 
stmck  on  the  head  witli  a  gavel  which  occasioned  his  death.** 

The  applicant,  at  this  part  of  the  recital,  is  informed  that  he, 
too,  must  undergo  trials,  and  must  not  sink  under  the  influence 
of  terror,  though  the  hand  of  death  be  uiK)n  him.  He  is  then 
struck  on  the  forehead  and  thrown  down. 

The  master  continues :  "  The  ruffians  carried  the  body  out  at 
the  west  door,  and  buried  it  at  the  side  of  a  hill" — here  the 
postulant  is  placed  in  the  coffin  —  "in  a  gmve,  on  which  they 
stuck  a  sprig  of  acacia  to  mark  the  spot.  Hiram  not  making  his 
appearance  as  usual,  Solomon  caused  search  to  be  made  for  him  by 
twelve  trusty  fellow-crafts  that  were  sent  out,  three  east,  three 
west,  three  south,  and  thi-ee  north.  Of  the  three  who  went  east, 
one  being  weaiy,  sat  down  on  the  brow  of  ^  hill  to  rest  himself, 
and  in  rising  caught  hold  of  a  twig  "  —  here  a  twig  of  that  plant 
is  put  into  the  hand  of  the  aspirant  lying  in  the  coffin  —  **  which 
coming  up  easily,  showed  that  the  ground  had  l)een  recently 
di8turl>ed,  and  on  digging  he  and  his  companions  found  the  body 
of  Ilimni.     It  was  in  a  nuuigled  condition,  having  lain  fourteen 

davs,    whereupon  one  of    those  present    excliiimed which 

means and  this  became  tlu*   master's  wonl,   as  the  former 

one  was  lost  throiit^li  Hiram's  death;  for  though  the  other  two 
mastei's,  Solomon,  and  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  knew  it,  it  could 
only  be  communicated  by  the  three  (irand  Mastei's  conjointly. 
The  covering  of  the  grave  being  green  moss  and  tui-f,  other 
bystandei's   exclaimed,  ^ Mhhcuh  domus  dotnino^  del  yratiaP   which 

means,    ••Thanks   be    unto    God,    our    master    hath  got    a  mossv 

1»  '  »» 
ious(» . 

This  (fxclamatiou  sliows  that  the  Hebrew  buildei*s  of  Solomon's 
temjile  possessed  a  pro[)hetie  knowledge  of  tlie  Latin  tongue  I 
The  body  of  Hiram  could  not  be  laised  by  the  aj)prentice's  or  fel- 
low-craft's gri[),  but  only  by  the  master's,  or  the  lion's  grip,  as 
it  IS  called.  All  this  is  then  imitated  by  the  master  raising  the 
asj)irant  in  the  coffin,  who  is  then  told  the  word,  signs  and  grijis, 
and  takes  the  oath. 

Taken  literally,  the  story  of  Hiram  would  offer  nothing  so 
extraordinary  as  to  deserve  to  be  commemorated  after  three  thou- 
sand  yeai*s  tiiroughout  the  world  In*  solemn  rites  and  ceremonies. 


rUb  CATIIii^UUAL 


592  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  death  of  an  architect  is  not  so  important  a  matter  as  to  have 
more  honor  paid  to  it  than  is  shown  to  the  memory  of  so  many 
philosophers  and  learned  men  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the 
cause  of  human  progress.  History  knows  nothing  of  him.  His 
name,  to  be  sure,  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  but  it  is  simply  said 
that  he  was  a  man  of  understanding  and  cunning  in  brass.  He 
is  remembered  nowhere  except  in  Freemasomy^ ;  the  legend,  in 
fact,  is  purely  allegorical,  and  may  bear  a  twofold  interpreta- 
tion cosmological  and  astronomical. 

Cosmologically,  we  find  represented  therein  the  dualism  of 
two  antagonistic  powers.  Good  and  Evil,  GckI  and  Devil, 
which  is  the  leading  feature  of  all  Eastern  initiations.  The  dra- 
matic portion  of  the  Mj'steries  of  antiquity  is  ahvays  sustained 
by  a  deity  or  man  who  perishes  as  the  victim  of  an  evil  power, 
and  rises  again  into  a  more  glorious  existence.  In  the  ancient 
Mysteries,  i.  e.,  the  Priestly  Plays,  or  the  dramatic  ceremonies  of 
all  nations,  we  constantly  meet  with  the  record  of  a  sad  event,  a 
crime  which  plunges  nations  into  strife  and  grief,  succeeded  by 
joy  and  exultation. 

Astronomically,  again,  the  pai-allel  is  peiieet,  and  is,  in  fact, 
only  another  vei-sion  of  tlie  legend  of  Osiris.  Ilimm  represents 
Osiris,  i.  e.,  the  sun.  The  assassins  place  themselves  at  the 
west,  south,  and  east  doora,  that  is,  the  regions  illuminated  by 
the  sun;  they  bury  the  body,  and  mark  the  spot  with  a  sprig  of 
acacia.  Twelve  persons  play  an  impoi*tant  part  in  the  tragedy, 
viz.,  the  three  murderers  (fellow-crafts),  and  nine  masters.  This 
number  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and 
the  three  inferior  signs  of  winter,  Libm,  Scorpio,  and  Sagittarius. 

Hiram  falls  dead  at  the  west  door,  i.  e.,  the  sun  descends  in  the 
Avest.  Tlie  acacia  of  Freemasonry  is  the  plant  found  in  all  the 
ancient  solar  allegories,  symbolizing  the  new  vegetation  to  Ix* 
antici})ated  by  the  sun's  resurrection.  The  acacia  being  looked 
upon  by  the  ancients  as  incorruptible,  its  twigs  were  preferi-ed  for 
covering  the  body  of  the  god-man  to  the  myrtle,  Inurel,  and  othi^r 
plants  also  mentioned  in  the  ancient  Mysteries. 

Hinim's  lx)dy  is  in  a  state  of  decay,  having  lain  fourteen  days, 
according  to  one  legend;  tlie  body  of  Osiris  was  cut  into  fourteen 
pieces.     But,  according  to  other  statements,  the  lx>dy  was  found 


T" 


A  GOVERNMENT  OF   MVt'TEltV   AND   FRATEIISITV.  593 

on  the  seventh  day;  this  would  allude  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
HUH,  which  iictutilly  takes  place  in  the  seventh  month  after  hii^ 
pastiage  through  the  inferior  sig;n.s,  that  [iiissage  which  is  called 
his  deHceut  into  Iiell. 

Hiram  can  only  he  raised  hy  the  lion's  grij).  It  is  through  the 
instmmentality  of  l.eo,^  the  sign  of  the  lion,  that  Osiris  is  raised; 
it  is  when  the  sun  re-entere  tliiit  sign  tliat  he  regains  hia  former 
strength,  that  his  restoration  to  full  life  takes  place.  Masons  in 
this  degree  call  themselves  the  "children  of  tlie  widow,"  the  sun 
on  descending  into  his  tomb  leaving  nature  —  of  wliom  Masons 
consider  themselves  tlie  pupils — a  widow;  yet  this  appelhition 
may  also  have  its  origin  in  some  reminiscence  of  the  Manichean 
sect,  whose  followera  were  known  as  the  "sons  of  the  widow." 

Tlie  degiee  of  the  Holy  Royal  Arch  is  also  worthy  of  attention. 
Tlie  niemhen*  of  this  are  denominated  "com|>anions."  There  are 
nine  officere,  the  cliief  of  whom  (in  England)  is  Zerubt>abel,  a 
compound  word,  meaning  "the  hriglit  lord,  the  sun."  He 
rehuihls  the  temple,  anil  iherefoi-e  represents  the  sun  risen  again. 
The  next  ofRccr  is  Jeshua,  the  high  priest;  the  thinl,  Haggai, 
the  prophet, 

These  three  compose  the  grand  council.  Princijmls  and  senior 
and  junior  scrihes,  one  on  each  side,  janitor  or  tyler  without  the 
door,  these  companions  assembled  make  up  the  sirles  of  the  arch, 
representing  the  pillara  Jacliin  and  IJojiz.  In  front  of  the  princi- 
pals stands  an  altar,  inscribed  with  the  names  of  Solomon,  Hiram, 
King  of  Tyre,  and  Hii-am  Abiff. 

On  entering  the  chapter,  the  companions  give  the  sign  of  sor- 
i-ow,  in  imitation  of  the  ancients  mourning  for  the  loss  of  Osiris. 
Nine  companions  must  he  present  at  the  opening  of  a  Royal  Arch 
chapter ;  not  more  nor  less  than  three  are  permitted  to  take  this 
Jegree  at  tlie  same  time,  the  two  numbers  making  up  the  twelve, 
the  number  of  zodiacal  signs.  Tlie  candidates  are  prepared  by 
tying  a  bandage  over  their  eyes,  and  coiling  a  rope  seven  times 
round  the  body  of  each,  which  unites  them  together,  with  three 
feet  of  slack  between  them. 


1 


<  SdgarPoe,  tbemMCmysterloiiB  of  moderns,  who  d&bb]«l  In  all  oocultiam 
TrTiUiiK*M«  full  of  MCrologliui]  refereacea,  in  hli  ifelrd  TTIalumB  hasalmllar  Uae 
Caoie  ap  throu^ih  the  lair  of  tbe  Lion 

WithlorelahMlQ 


686  THE   8T0BY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  candidate  is  then  made  to  drink  of  the  bitter  water,  wh^re* 
upon  the  master  exclaims :  *' What  do  I  see?  What  means  the 
sudden  alteration  of  your  features?  Perha^^s  your  conscience 
belies  your  words?  Has  the  sweet  drink  already  turned  bitter? 
Away  with  the  profane  one  !  This  oath  is  only  a  test;  the  true 
one  comes  after." 

The  candidate  being  then  asked  if  he  peraists  in  his  determina- 
tion, and  generally  answering  yes,  as  his  curiosity  is  now  well 
whetted,  he  is  led  a  number  of  times  round  the  lodge ;  then  he  is 
dragged  over  broken  chaii-s,  stools,  and  blocks  of  wood.  This 
trial  over,  he  is  told  to  mount  the  "endless  staii-s,"  and  having, 
iis  he  supposes,  attained  a  great  height,  he  is  oi-dered  to  cast 
himself  down,  in  which  act  he  only  falls  a  few  feet. 

This  ordeal,  which  is  imitated  in  other  secret  orders,  and  in 
some  with  an  elaborate  cleverness  well  calculated  to  delude  and 
scare  the  average  candidate,  is  accompanied  by  much  noise,  the 
brethren  striking  on  the  attributes  of  the  order  they  carry  in  tlieir 
hands,  and  uttering  all  kinds  of  dismal  shouts. 

As  a  further  trial,  he  is  then  passed  through  fire,  which  is 
rendered  harmless  by  well-known  conjuring  tricks.  Then  his 
arm  is  slightly  pricked,  and  a  gurgling  noise  l)eing  produced  by 
one  of  the  brethren,  the  novice  sometimes  fancies  that  he  is  losinor 
much  blood. 

Finally,  he  takes  the  oath,  the  brethren  standing  around  him 
with  drawn  swords.  The  candidate  is  then  led  Ijctween  the  two 
pillars,  and  the  brethren  place  their  swords  against  his  breast. 
The  master  of  the  ceremonies  loosens  the  bandage  without  taking 
it  off.  Another  brother  holds  before  him  a  lamp  that  sheds  a 
brilliant  light. 

The  master  speaks:  "Brother  senior  warden,  deem  you  the 
candidate  worthy  of  forming  part  of  our  society?  " 

"Yes." 

"What  do  you  iisk  for  him?  " 

"Light." 

"Then  let  there  be  light!" 

Three  blows  with  a  mallet  the  master  gives,  and  at  the  third 
the  bandage  is  taken  off,  and  the  candidate  beholds  the  light, 
symbolizing  that  which  is  to  fill  his  undenstanding. 


588  THE   STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  brethren  drop  their  swords,  and  the  candidate  is  conducted 
to  the  altar,  where  he  kneels,  whilst  the  master  says:  "In  the 
name  of  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe,  and  by  virtue  of 
the  powera  vested  in  me,  I  create  and  constitute  thee  a  masonic 
apprentice  and  member  of  this  lodge." 

Then  striking  three  more  blows  with  his  mallet  on  the  blade  of 
the  sword,  he  raises  the  new  brother,  girds  him  with  the  apron 
of  white  lambskin,  gives  him  a  pair  of  white  gloves  to  be  woni 
in  the  lodge,  and  another  to  be  given  to  the  lady  he  esteems 
test.  He  is  then  again  led  between  the  two  pillai-s,  and  received 
by  the  brethren  tis  one  of  them. 

The  second  degree  of  symbolic  Freemasonry  is  that  of  Fellow- 
Craft.  The  apprentice,  who  comes  asking  for  an  increase  of 
salary,  —  a  very  natural  f omiula  for  an  apprentice  —  is  not  con- 
ducted like  the  novice  by  an  unknown  brother,  nor  aie  his  eyes 
bandaged,  because  the  light  was  made  for  him,  but  he  moves 
towards  the  lodge  holding  in  his  hand  a  rule,  one  of  whose  ends 
he  rests  on  the  left  shoulder. 

Having  reached  the  door,  he  gives  the  apprentice's  knock,  and 
having  been  admitted  and  declared  the  purpose  for  which  he 
comes,  he  walks  five  times  round  the  lodge,  wliereupon  he  is  told 
by  the  master  to  perform  his  last  apprentice's  work.  lie  then 
l)retends  to  square  the  rougli  aslilar.  After  a  deal  of  instruction, 
lie  takes  the  oath  in  which  he  swears  to  keep  the  secrets  entrusted 
to  him. 

Then  there  follows  more  lecturing  on  the  part  of  the  master, 
chiefly  on  geometry,  a  science  which  ^lasons  profess  to  consider 
very  precious  but  of  which  they  know  precious  little,  and  to 
which  the  letter  G  seen  in  the  lodge  within  an  irradiation  or 
star  is  supposed  to  refer,  but  it  more  likely  is  a  relic  of  geo- 
mancy,  an  odd  business  practised  by  Chinese  Masons,  especiall}- 
as  to  the  proper  places  in  which  to  build  a  house. 

The  degree  of  Master  Mxson  is  more  interesting.  At  the 
reception  of  a  muster,  the  lodge  or  "middle  chamber"  is  dmped 
with  black,  with  death's  heads,  skeletons,  and  cross-bones,  and 
other  cheerful  welcomes  painted  on  the  walls.  A  taper  of  yellow 
wax,  placed  in  tin*  east,  and  a  dark  lantern,  formed  of  a  skull 
having  a  light  within,  which  shines  forth  through  the  eye-holes. 


A   GOVERNMENT    OF    MVSTERV    AND    FRATEttNITY.  58S 

plocod  on  the  altar  of  the  most  Worshipful  Master,  gives  just 
sufficient  light  to  reveal  a  coffiii,  wherein  the  corpse  is  represented 
eitljer  liy  a  hiy-figure,  a  serving  lirotlier,  nr  by  the  brother  last 
made  a  master. 

On  the  cofhn  is  a  sprig  of  acacia,  at  it^  head  i^i  a  s()uare,  and 
at  its  foot,  towaixls  the  east,  an  open  eoinpass.  The  masters  are 
clothed  in  black, ^  and  wear  large  azure  sashes,  on  which  are 
repreneuted  Alasonio  eaibleius,  the  sun,  moon,  and  seven  stois. 
The  object  of  the  meeting  is  said  to  be  the  finding  of  the  word  of 
the  master,  Himm  Ahiff,   who  was  slain. 

The  postulant  for  admission  is  introduced  after  some  prelimi- 
nary ceremonies,  having  his  two  arms,  breasts,  and  knees  bare,  and 
both  heels  8li|>shod.  He  is  told  that  the  brethien  assembled  are 
mourning  the  death  of  their  Grand  Master,  and  ii^ked  whether 
perhaps  he  was  one  of  the  niunlei'ers,  and  at  the  same  time  he  is 
shown  the  body  or  figure  in  the  coffin. 

Having  declared  liis  innocence  of  any  share  in  that  crime,  he  is 
informed  that  he  will  on  this  occasion  have  to  enact  the  part  of 
Hiram,  who  was  slain  at  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  and 
whose  histi5ry  he  is  al>out  t^i  Ije  told. 

The  brother,  or  figure  in  the  coffin,  has  in  the  meantime  l)een 
removed,  so  that  when  tlie  aspirant  looks  at  it  agitin,  much  to  his 
surprise  he  finds  it  empty.  The  story  of  the  murder  of  Hiram  is 
then  told  in  a  veiy  impressive  fashion.  The  deed  is  not,  how- 
ever, as  ill  the  Legend  of  the  Temple  previously  given,  attributed 
to  Solomon's  jealousy,  but  simply  to  Hiram's  refusal  to  com- 
municate the  master's  word  to  tbi-ee  fellow-ciafts.  The  various 
incidents  of  this  etorj-  aie  scenically  enai^ted  on  the  postulant  by 
the  brother  Masons,  for  in  every  lodge  there  arc  generally  some 
verj-  fair  actnre. 

"Hiram,"  the  master  continues,  "having  entered  the  temple  at 
noon,  the  three  assassins  placed  themselves  at  the  east,  west,  and 
south  doors,  and  Himm  refusing  to  reveal  the  word,  he  who  stood 
at  the  east  door  cut  Himm  across  the  throat  with  a  twenty-four 
inch  gauge.     Hiram  flew  to  the  south  door,  where  he  received 

'  In  New  York  is  a.  lorlge  cominiMil  piulruly  of  actora  wbo  once  e.  jeannoet  ud  go  tbnmsli 
all  tbe  Minoiilc  ceremonlei  Mlirad  In  i.">r^i 
nmcu mucDce.    Thla  rlruna,  aU  HuflDiilc  wii 
MlebnMd  niwtoii  Plkr  u  (ibsnunniprean. 


690  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

similar  treatment,  and  thence  to  the  west  door,  where  he  was 
struck  on  the  head  with  a  gavel  which  occasioned  his  death.^ 

The  applicant,  at  this  part  of  the  recital,  is  informed  that  he, 
too,  must  undergo  trials,  and  must  not  sink  under  the  influence 
of  terror,  though  the  hand  of  death  be  ui)on  him.  He  is  then 
struck  on  the  forehead  and  tlirown  down. 

The  master  continues :  ^  The  ruffians  carried  the  body  out  at 
the  west  door,  and  buried  it  at  the  side  of  a  hill*' — here  the 
postulant  is  placed  in  the  coffin  —  "  in  a  gmve,  on  which  they 
stuck  a  sprig  of  acacia  to  mark  the  spot.  Hiram  not  making  his 
appearance  as  usual,  Solomon  caused  search  to  be  made  for  him  by 
twelve  trusty  fellow-crafts  that  were  sent  out,  three  east,  three 
west,  three  south,  and  three  north.  Of  the  three  who  went  east, 
one  being  wear}'-,  sat  down  on  the  brow  of  -a  hill  to  rest  himself, 
and  in  rising  caught  hold  of  a  twig "'  —  here  a  twig  of  that  plant 
is  put  into  the  hand  of  the  aspirant  lying  in  the  coffin —  **  which 
coming  up  easily,  showed  that  tlie  giound  liad  been  recently 
disturbed,  and  on  digging  he  and  his  companions  found  the  body 
of  Hii-ani.     It  wjis  in  a  mangled  condition,  having  lain  fourteen 

(lays,    whereupon  one  of    those  present    exclaimed which 

means and  tins  became  the  mtuster's  word,   as  the  former 

one  was  lost  through  Ilimm's  death;  for  though  the  other  two 
mastei-s,  Solomon,  and  Ilimm,  king  of  Tyre,  knew  it,  it  could 
only  Ije  commiiniitated  by  the  three  Grand  Masters  conjointly. 
The  covering  of  the  grave  l)cing  green  moss  and  turf,  other 
bystandera  exclaimed,  ^ MmacuH  domus  domino^  dei  gratia P  which 
means,  ^Thanks  be  unto  God,  our  niiister  hath  got  a  mossy 
house ! '  " 

This  exclamation  shows  that  the  Hebrew  builders  of  Solomon^s 
temple  possessed  a  prophetic  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue  I 
The  body  of  Iliinni  could  not  l)e  raised  by  the  a])prentice's  or  fel- 
low-craft's grip,  but  only  by  the  master's,  or  the  lion's  grip,  as 
it  is  called.  All  this  is  then  imitated  by  the  miLster  raising  the 
sispirant  in  the  coffin,  who  is  then  told  the  word,  signs  and  grips, 
and  takes  the  oath. 

Taken  literally,  the  story  of  Himm  would  offer  nothing  so 
extraordinary  as  to  deserve  to  be  coiumemorated  after  three  thou- 
sand years  thi-oughout  the  world  by  solemn  rites  and  ceremonies. 


CATIll^UKAL    AT    IIUEIM: 


^ 


692  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  death  of  an  architect  is  not  so  important  a  matter  as  to  have 
more  honor  paid  to  it  than  is  shown  to  the  memory  of  so  many 
philosophers  and  learned  men  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the 
cause  of  human  progress.  History  knows  nothing  of  him.  His 
name,  to  be  sure,  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  but  it  is  simply  said 
that  he  was  a  man  of  understanding  and  cunning  in  brass.  He 
is  remembered  nowhere  except  in  Freemasonry;  the  legend,  in 
fact,  is  purely  allegorical,  and  may  bear  a  twofold  interpreta- 
tion cosmological  and  a^stronomical. 

Cosmologically,  we  find  represented  therein  the  dualism  of 
two  antagonistic  powers.  Good  and  Evil,  God  and  Devil, 
which  is  the  leading  feature  of  all  Eastern  initiations.  The  di-a- 
matic  portion  of  the  Mysteries  of  antiquity  is  always  sustained 
by  a  deity  or  man  who  perishes  as  the  victim  of  an  evil  power, 
and  rises  again  into  a  more  glorious  existence.  In  the  ancient 
Mysteries,  i.  e.,  the  Priestly  Plays,  or  the  dramatic  ceremonies  of 
all  nations,  we  constantly  meet  with  the  record  of  a  sad  event,  a 
crime  which  plunges  nations  into  strife  and  grief,  succeeded  by 
joy  and  exultjition. 

Astronomically,  again,  the  pamllel  is  perfect,  and  is,  in  fai-t, 
only  another  vei-sion  of  the  legend  of  Osiris.  Hiram  represents 
Osiris,  i.  e.,  the  sun.  The  assassins  place  themselves  at  the 
west,  south,  and  east  doors,  that  is,  the  regions  illuminated  l)v 
the  sun;  they  bury  the  body,  and  mark  the  spot  with  a  sprig  of 
acacia.  Twelve  persons  play  an  impoi^tant  part  in  the  tragedy, 
viz.,  the  three  murderei-s  (fellow-crafts),  and  nine  masters.  This 
number  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and 
the  three  inferior  signs  of  winter,  Libra,  Scorjno,  and  Sagittarius. 

Hiram  falls  dead  at  the  west  door,  i.  e.,  the  sun  descends  in  the 
wTst.  Tlie  acacia  of  Freeniiisoniy  is  the  plant  found  in  all  tlie 
ancient  solar  allegories,  symbolizing  the  new  vegetation  to  1h» 
anticipated  by  the  sun's  resurrection.  The  acacia  being  looke<l 
upon  by  the  ancients  as  incon-uptible,  its  twigs  were  preferred  for 
covering  the  Ix)dy  of  the  god-man  to  the  myrtle,  laurel,  and  other 
plants  also  mentioned  in  the  ancient  Mysteries. 

Hiram's  body  is  in  a  state  of  decay,  having  lain  fourteen  days, 
according  to  one  legend ;  the  body  of  Osiris  was  cut  into  fourteen 
pieces.     But,  according  to  other  statements,  the  body  was  found 


A   GOVEKNMENT   OF   MVSTEltV   AND   FRATEKMTY.  593 

on  the  seventh  day;  this  would  allude  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
HUH,  ^vhifii  actuiilly  takes  place  in  the  seventh  month  after  his 
jioisHage  tiuDugli  the  inferior  signs,  Uiat  passage  which  is  called 
hiH  doKcent  into  hell. 

Hiram  can  only  l>e  raised  by  the  lion's  grip.  It  is  tlirough  the 
insti-umentality  of  Leo,'  the  sigu  of  the  lion,  that  Osiria  is  raised; 
it  is  when  the  sun  re-ent«!i-8  that  sign  that  he  regains  his  former 
strengtli,  that  his  reatoi-ation  to  full  life  takes  place.  Masons  in 
tliis  (iegi-ee  call  themselves  the  "  chi  hlren  of  the  widow, "  the  sun 
ou  descending  into  his  tomb  leaving  nature  —  of  whom  Masons 
consider  themselves  the  pupils  —  a  widow;  yet  this  appelliition 
may  also  have  its  origin  in  some  reminiscence  of  the  Manichean 
nect,  wiiose  follow^eis  were  known  as  tlie  "sons  of  the  widow." 

The  degree  of  the  Holy  Royal  Arch  is  also  worthy  of  attention. 
The  members  of  this  are  denominated  "comjHinions,"  There  are 
nine  officera,  the  chief  of  whom  (in  England)  is  Zenibhahel,  a 
compound  word,  meaning  "the  bright  lord,  the  sun."  He 
rebuilds  the  tfmi)le,  and  therefore  represents  the  sun  risen  again. 
The  next  officer  is  Jeslina,  the  high  priest;  the  thii-d,  Haggai, 
the  prophet. 

These  tliree  compose  tlie  gitind  council.  Principals  and  senior 
and  junior  scribes,  one  on  each  side,  janitor  or  tyler  without  the 
door,  these  companions  assembled  make  up  the  sides  of  the  arch, 
representing  the  pillara  Jachin  and  Hoaz.  In  front  of  the  princi- 
pals stands  an  altar,  inscribed  with  the  names  of  Solomon,  Hiram, 
King  of  Tyre,  and  Hinun  Abiff. 

On  entering  the  chapter,  the  companions  give  the  sign  of  sor- 

i-ow,  in  imitation  of  the  ancients  mourning  for  the  loss  of  Osiris. 

Nine  companions  must  l>e  present  at  the  opening  of  a  Royal  Arch 

chapter ;  not  more  nor  less  tlian  three  are  permitted  to  take  this 

degree  at  the  same  time,  the  two  numbers  making  uj)  the  twelve, 

the  number  of  zodiacal  signs.     Tlie  candidates  are  prepared  by 

tying  a  bandage  over  their  eyes,  and  coiling  a  rope  seven  times 

round  the  body  of  each,  which  unites  them  together,  with  three 

feet  of  slack  between  them. 

■  Edgar  Foe,  tbe  moat  myawrinua  □(  modemi.  irbo  (Isbbled  in  all  occultisms,  and  whose 
iniUDgi  an  full  of  astrolOBicsal  referencas,  In  hlg  velrd  Ulaluma  hu£lmlli.rlliie>: 
Came  ap  throafcl]  the  lali  of  tbe  Don 
WltbloTftinbi   ' 


1 


I 


694  THE  STORY  OF    OOVBBNMENT. 

They  then  pass  under  the  living  arch,  which  is  made  hy  the 
companions  either  joining  their  hands  and  holding  them  upi  or 
by  holding  their  rods  or  swords  so  as  to  resemble  a  gothic  arolu 
This  part  of  the  ceremony  used  to  be  attended  in  some  lodges 
with  much  tomfoolery  and  rough  horse  play.  The  compenions 
would  drop  down  on  the  candidates,  who  were  obliged  to  support 
themselves  on  their  hands  and  knees ;  and  if  they  went  too  slowly, 
it  was  not  unusual  for  one  or  more  of  the  companions  to  apply  a 
sharp  point  to  their  bodies  to  urge  them  on. 

Trials,  such  as  the  candidates  for  initiation  into  the  ancient 
mysteries  had  to  go  through,  were  also  imitated  in  the  royal  arch. 
But  few,  if  any,  lodges  now  practise  these  tricks,  fit  only  for 
clowns  in  vulgar  pantomimes.  The  candidates,  after  takhig  the 
oath,  declare  that  they  come  in  order  to  assist  at  the  rebuilding 
of  Solomon's  temple,  whereupon  they  are  fiumished  with  pickaxes, 
shovels,  and  crowbai-s,  and  retire. 

After  awhile,  during  whicli  they  ai'e  supposed  to  have  been  at 
work  and  to  have  made  a  discovery,  they  return,  and  state,  that 
on  digging  for  the  new  foundation  they  discovered  an  under- 
ground vault,  into  whicli  one  of  them  wiis  let  down,  whei-e  he 
found  a  scroll,  which  on  examination  turns  out  to  be  the  long- 
lost  book  of  the  law. 

They  set  to  work  again,  and  discover  another  vault,  and  under 
that  a  third.  The  sun  having  now  gained  his  meridian  height, 
darts  his  rays  to  the  centre,  and  shines  on  a  white  marble  pedestal, 
on  whicli  is  a  plate  of  gold.  On  this  plate  is  a  double  triangle, 
and  within  the  triangle  some  words  they  cannot  undei*stand;  they 
therefore  take  the  plate  to  Zeniblml)el. 

There  the  whole  mystery  of  Masonry  —  iis  far  as  known  to 
Masons  —  is  unveiled;  what  the  Masons  have  long  been  in  seai*ch 
of  is  found,  for  the  mysterious  writing  in  a  triangular  fonn  is  the 
long  lost  sacred  word  of  the  Miister  Mason  which  Solomon  and 
King  Hiram  deposited  there,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  master's 
degree. 

This  was  no  other  than  the  loffos  of  Plato  and  Saint  John,  tlie 
jewel  in  the  bosom  of  the  lotos  of  Buddha,  Au7ny  the  omnific 
but  another  compound  name,   intended  to  bear  the  same 
is  substituted  by  modem  Masons,  and  is  communicated  to 


596  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVBBNMEKT. 

• 

the  candidates  in  this  way :  The  three  principals  and  each  three 
companions  form  the  triangles ;  each  of  the  three  takes  his  left 
hand  companion  by  the  right-hand  wrist,  and  his  right-hand  com- 
panion by  the  left-hand  wrist,  forming  two  distinct  triangles  with 
the  hands,  and  a  triangle  with  their  right  feet,  amounting  to  a 
triple  triangle ;  then  they  pronounce  the  following  words :  - — 

As  we  three  did  agree, 

In  peace,  love,  and  unity, 

The  sacred  word  to  keep. 

So  we  three  do  agree, 

In  peace,  love,  and  unity. 

The  sacrecl  wonl  to  search, 

Until  we  three, 

Or  three  such  as  we,  shall  agree 

This  royal  arch  chapter  to  close. 

The  right  hands,  still  joined  as  a  triangle,  are  raised  as  high  as 
possible,  and  the  word  given  at  low  breath  in  syllables,  so  that 
each  companion  has  to  pronounce  the  whole  word.  It  is  not  per- 
mitted to  utter  this  omnific  word  above  the  breath.  Zerubbabel 
next  makes  the  new  companions  acquainted  with  the  five  signs 
used  in  this  degree,  and  invests  them  with  the  biulges  of  Royal 
Archil  Masoniy,  the  apron,  sash,  and  jewel. 

Tlie  character  on  the  apron  is  the  triple  Tau,  one  of  the  most 
ancient  of  emblems,  and  Masons  call  it  the  emblem  of  emblems, 
'*with  a  depth  that  reac'hes  to  the  creation  of  the  world  and  all 
tliat  is  therein."  This  triple  Tau  is  a  compound  figure  of  three 
T's,  called  Tau  in  Greek.  Now  this  Tau  or  T  is  the  figure  of 
the  old  Egyptian  Nilometer,  which  was  a  i)ole  crossed  with  one 
or  more  tr<uisvei*se  pieces,  used  to  asceitain  the  lieight  of  the 
inundation. 

As  on  the  Nile's  overflow  depended  the  harvest,  the  life  of 
the  inhabitants,  the  Nilometer  thus  became  the  symbol  of  life, 
health  and  prosperity,  was  accounted  a  talisman  against  evil, 
and  thus,  as  an  amulet,  was  introduced  among  Masonic  emblems. 
Herein  lies  the  gmrid  secret  of  Masonry  which  passes  by  symbols 
from  superstitions  to  science. 

The  influence  of  Masonry  or  the  bearing  of  the  Order  on  great 
in  modem  times  will  be  found  worthy  of  study  by  the 
both  in  and  out  of  the  fold.     A  few  points  only  can  be 


A   QOVEUNMENT    OK    MVSTEBY    AND    FHATEKNITY.  ;")97 

noted  in  one  t^hapter.  Masonry  was  at  its  height  in  France  just 
l>efoi-e,  during,  and  aft<^r  the  Revolution,  and  part  of  tlie  immense 
popularity  of  our  agent,  Benjamin  Franklin,  at  the  French  court, 
is  supposed  to  be  due  to  his  high  Masonic  rank  and  intense 
interest  in  the  society. 

Napoleon  at  firet  meant  to  suppiesa  Masonry.  The  representa- 
tive Bj^steni  of  the  Grand  Orient  clasiied  witli  liis  monarchical  prin- 
ciples, and  the  oligarchic  spirit  of  the  Scotch  rite  aroused  hiti 
suspicious.  The  Parisian  lodges,  however,  practised  in  the  art  of 
flattery,  liumbled  thenistdves  before  the  firet  consul,  prostrat^'d 
themselves  l>efore  the  emperor,  and  sued  for  grace.  The  suspicions 
of  Najicileon  were  not  dissipated;  but  he  perceived  the  ^k;! icy  of 
avoiding  violent  measures,  and  of  conti'olling  a  body  tliat  might 
turn  against  liim. 

After  considerable  hesitation,  he  declared  in  favor  of  the  Grand 
Orient,  and  the  Scotch  rite  lind  to  assume  the  second  place.  A 
single  word  of  Napoleon  had  done  more  to  establish  jteiice  between 
these  rivals  thau  all  former  m:ichinations.  The  Grand  Orient 
Ijecame  a  court  offici.',  and  Masoniy  an  army  of  employees. 

Tlie  Grand  Miistei-sbip  was  olTered  to  Joseph  Napoleon,  who 
accepted  it,  though  never  initiated  into  Frcemiisonry,  with  the 
consent  of  his  brother,  but  Na[H>lcon,  for  greater  security,  insisted 
on  having  his  trusty  arcli-cliancellor  Cambaci^riis  appointed  Grand 
Master  Adjunct,  to  be  in  reality  tlie  only  head  of  the  order. 

Gradually  all  tlie  various  branches  existing  in  France  gave  in 
their  adhesion  to  tho  iiniierial  policy,  electing  Camhac^rtfs  a» 
their  chief  dignitary-,  so  that  be  eventually  possessed  more 
Masonic  titUfs  than  any  other  man  licfore  or  after  hira.  In  1805, 
he  was  made  Grand  Master  Adjunct  ()f  the  Grand  Orient;  in 
1806,  Sovereign  Gnmd  Mjist«rof  the  Supmrne  Gi-and  Council;  in 
the  same  yeJU,  Gmnd  Master  of  the  rite  of  Heroden  of  Kilwin- 
ning; in  1807,  Suju-eme  head  of  the  French  rite;  in  the  same 
year.  Grand  Master  of  the  Philosopliic  Scotch  rite;  in  IS08, 
Grand  Master  < if  the  Oiiler  of  Christ;  in  1809,  National  (ii-and 
Master  of  the  Knights  of  the  Holy  City;  in  the  same  year.  I'l-o- 
tector  of  the  High  Philosophic  Degrees. 

:  But  soon  Masonic  disputes  among  the  branches  again  ran  high. 
The  arch-chancellor,  accustomiil  and  iittaclied  to  the  usages  luid 


M4  THK  BtTAOC  or  i&O 

with   itii  Kiorii   ^jnndinflr  citl^si   aaii   z^^rz^^oa  t:er«iir>aiie».      "Pie 

w^si^  <»f  siKik  fa^neai.  —  h^  who  plarnftd  zran«l  nariocal  'traimw  — 
and  at  ^au^  tia*^  tjt  4#tcenn:ntf^i  on  ar-rfuL^Ll.-itr  tfat^  Order  il:iHr^a«i 

rfj^   d^ntji^TA  that  mig^it   *rjin<^   from   It:*   *Tipc  rftwivc. — Luiii^r* 

liMiiUt^f  ItfAitzuA  th^TU  and  allowed  anr^chfrr  t«>  al&rr  r: 

YfmMj  l\yh  fUAf^tt  re'^rogtixzcd  the  Wif^^witj  in  Fr^sira  *:cij 
of  a  Wlr  /^  men  wli^^  were  free,  at  lea^^t  in  appearanf!e.  as  a  kimi 
of  jjr>ljtir;al  nafetv  valve.  The  French  had  taken  a  liking'  to  CLeir 
lorljfeHf  where  ther  foand  a  phantom  of  independence,  and  mrgfit 
f^nmifhir  tfienwelveM  on  nentral  ground,  for  a.<4  a  Masonic  wriuer  of 
that  era  remarket! :  ^  In  the  hosom  of  ilasonrr  there  circaLui»  a 
little  of  tliat  vital  air  no  neceMarj  to  generooss  minds.^ 

In  1812,  tliere  exinU^l  in  France  one  thousand  and  eighcv-nine 
hff\^^f:n^  all  rlejienrling  on  the  Grand  Orient;  the  armj  had  sixtr- 
ninr?,  anrl  the  hKJjje  wa«  ojjened  and  cUised  with  the  crv.  f7«n? 
V Kmjtt'.ry,ur !  -  Lori;^  live  the  ♦rmj^ror. —  a  piece  of  ofje*w|uiousncss 
of  whiftli,  u(:V('.r  hinrre  that  ^lav,  ha.s  Frcemasrmr\-  lieeri  ^uilrr. 

NafKiIcon,  from  merely  tolerating  it  and  keeping  it  well  in  hand^ 
at  lait  employed  it  in  the  anriy,  in  tli^r  newly  occupies!  territ#>riess 
and  in  miu-Ii  an  b^;  inUrnded  to  fK-r-ufiv.  Imjicrial  prose lyt ism 
tunK'd  tlir?  lodgf'H  into  H^-hool.s  of  Xaj^deonism.  So  that  it 
U;r•r)^M^H  prrilabic,  if  not  c<rrt;iin,  tliat  NajKileon,  by  means  of  the 
Ma-Hoiiir:  Hr»r;i('iy,  fac'ilitJited  or  Hccnred  his  conquests. 

Sjiain,  (ornriany,  and  Itiily  were  covered  with  lodges  —  ante- 
chanilKri-H,  nirjre  than  anything  els*;,  of  prefectures  and  military 
commandH  presided  over  and  governed  by  soldiers.  The  highest 
dignitnrieH  of  Miwonry  at  that  period  were  marshals,  knights  of 
the  h'i^^ion  of  Honor,  nobles  of  ancient  descent,  senators,  coun- 
rillorK,  all  safe  and  trusty  jKirsons;  a  state  that  obeyed  the  orders 
of  ('amba<!<!r(>H,  as  Ikj  oln^yed  the  orders  of  Napoleon. 

OliMecpiiousnc^HH  then  verg(td  on  the  ridiculous.  The  half  yearly 
words  of  command  of  the  (Jnuid  Orient  Lodge  of  that  era  retrace 
the  liiHiory  of  Napoh»oni(;  ju'ogress.  In  1800,  the  lodge  words 
weri',  **Sei(»nce  and  Peace  " ;  in  1802,  after  the  battle  of  Marengo, 


I 
I 


692  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  death  of  an  architect  is  not  so  important  a  matter  as  to  have 
more  honor  paid  to  it  than  is  shown  to  the  memory  of  so  many 
philosophers  and  learned  men  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the 
cause  of  human  progress.  History  knows  nothing  of  him.  His 
name,  to  be  sure,  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  but  it  is  simply  said 
that  he  was  a  man  of  understanding  and  cunning  in  brass.  He 
is  remembered  nowhere  except  in  Freemasonry;  the  legend,  in 
fact,  is  purely  allegorical,  and  may  bear  a  twofold  interpreta- 
tion cosmological  and  astronomical. 

Cosmologically,  we  find  represented  therein  the  dualism  of 
two  antagonistic  powers.  Good  and  Evil,  God  and  DeviU 
which  is  the  leading  feature  of  all  Eastern  initiations.  The  dra- 
matic portion  of  the  Mysteries  of  antiquity  is  always  sustained 
by  a  deity  or  man  who  perishes  iis  the  victim  of  an  evil  power, 
and  rises  again  into  a  more  glorious  existence.  In  the  ancient 
Mysteries,  i.  e.,  the  Priestly  Plays,  or  the  dramatic  ceremonies  of 
all  nations,  we  constantly  meet  with  the  record  of  a  sad  event,  a 
crime  which  plunges  nations  into  strife  and  grief,  succeeded  bj' 
joy  and  exultation. 

Astronomically,  again,  the  parallel  is  perfect,  and  is,  in  fact, 
only  another  vei'sion  of  the  legend  of  Osiris.  Hiram  represents 
Osiris,  i.  e.,  the  sun.  The  assassins  place  themselves  at  the*, 
west,  south,  and  east  dooi-s,  that  is,  the  regions  illuminated  1)V 
the  sun;  they  bury  the  body,  and  mark  the  spot  with  a  sprig  of 
acacia.  Twelve  persons  play  an  important  part  in  the  tragedy, 
viz.,  the  three  murderers  (fellow-crafts),  and  nine  masters.  This 
number  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and 
the  three  inferior  signs  of  winter,  Libra,  Scorpio,  and  Sagittarius. 

Hiram  falls  dead  at  the  west  door,  i.e.,  the  sun  descends  in  the 
west.  Tlie  acacia  of  Freemasonry  is  the  plant  found  in  all  tlie 
ancient  solar  allegories,  symbolizing  the  new  vegetation  to  In- 
anticipated  by  the  sun's  resurrection.  The  acacia  being  looked 
upon  by  the  ancients  as  incorruptible,  its  twigs  were  i:)refen*ed  for 
covering  the  body  of  the  god-man  to  the  myrtle,  laurel,  and  other 
plants  also  mentioned  in  the  ancient  Mysteries. 

Hiram's  body  is  in  a  state  of  decay,  having  lain  fourteen  days, 
according  to  one  legend;  the  body  of  Osiris  was  cut  into  fourteen 
pieces.     But,  according  to  other  statements,  the  body  was  found 


A   tiOVEUNMENT    Of    SIVSTKIIY    AND    FRATERNITY.  OVA 

on  the  seventh  day;  this  would  allude  to  the  resurrection  of  the 
sun,  whk'h  actually  takes  place  in  the  Beveiith  month  after  his 
jiaiisage  througli  the  inferior  signs,  that  (inssage  whicli  is  called 
his  descent  into  hell. 

Tiirani  can  only  be  raised  by  the  lion's  grip.  It  is  thixjugh  the 
instmnieutality  of  Leo,^  the  sign  of  the  lion,  that  Osiris  ia  raised; 
it  is  when  the  sun  re-enters  that  sign  that  he  regains  his  former 
strength,  that  his  restoi'ation  to  full  life  takes  place.  Masons  in 
this  degree  call  themselves  the  "  children  of  the  widow,"  the  sun 
on  descending  into  his  tomb  leaving  nature — ^of  whom  Masons 
consider  themselves  the  pupils  —  a  widow;  yet  this  appellation 
may  nlno  liave  its  origin  In  some  reniinijicezice  of  tliu  Manichean 
sect,  whose  followere  were  known  as  tlie  "sons  of  tlie  widow," 

The  degi-ee  of  tlie  Holy  Royal  Arch  is  also  worthy  of  attention. 
Tlie  members  of  this  are  denominated  "companions."  There  are 
nine  officere,  the  chief  of  whom  (in  England)  is  Zerublmbel,  a 
compound  word,  meaning  "the  briglit  lord,  the  sun."  He 
rebuilds  the  temple,  and  therefore  reiireweiits  the  sun  risen  again. 
Tlie  next  officer  is  Jeshua,  the  high  priest;  the  third,  Ha^^i, 
the  prophet. 

These  three  compose  the  grand  council.  Princiitals  and  senior 
and  junior  scribes,  one  on  each  side,  janitor  or  tyler  without  the 
door,  these  companions  iisaenibled  make  uj)  the  sides  of  tlie  arch, 
representing  the  pillaw  Jachin  and  Boaz.  In  front  of  tlie  princi- 
pals stands  an  altar,  inscribed  with  tlie  names  of  Solomon,  Hiram, 
King  of  Tyre,  and  Hii-ani  Abiff. 

On  entering  the  cliapter,  the  companions  give  the  sign  of  sor- 
mw,  in  imitation  of  the  ancients  mourning  for  the  loss  of  Osiris. 
Nine  companions  must  lie  present  at  the  opening  of  a  Royal  Arch 
chapter;  not  more  nor  less  than  three  are  permitted  to  take  this 
degree  at  the  same  time,  the  two  numbers  making  up  the  twelve, 
the  numlser  of  zodiacal  signs.  Tlie  candidates  are  prepared  by 
tying  a  bandage  over  their  eyes,  and  coiling  a  rope  seven  times 
round  the  body  of  eJich,  which  unites  them  together,  witli  three 
feet  of  slack  between  them. 


■  KdEW  Foe,  the  moM  mf iterlnus  of  modemB.who  dabbled  In  all  oGCaltlBmB,  and  wbou 
iniUnga  an  f ull  of  MtToloElcal  refBrences,  in  hi!  weird  Ulalume  tu 
Caiue  up  UiioQKh  tbo  IaIt  otlt 

With  lore  in  bet  In 


586  THE   STOKY   OF   GOVEANM£NT. 

The  candidate  is  then  made  to  drink  of  the  bitter  water,  where- 
upon the  master  exclaims :  "What  do  I  see?  What  means  the 
sudden  alteration  of  your  features?  Perhaps  your  conscience 
belies  your  words?  Has  the  sweet  drink  already  turned  bitter? 
Away  with  the  profane  one  !  This  oath  is  only  a  test;  the  true 
one  comes  after." 

The  candidate  being  then  asked  if  he  persists  in  his  determina- 
tion, and  generally  answering  yes,  as  his  curiasity  is  now  well 
whetted,  he  is  led  a  number  of  times  round  the  lodge;  then  he  is 
dragged  over  broken  chaii-s,  stools,  and  blocks  of  wood.  Tliis 
trial  over,  he  is  told  to  mount  the  "endless  stairs,"  and  having, 
as  he  supposes,  attained  a  great  height,  he  is  ordered  to  cast 
himself  down,  in  which  act  he  only  falls  a  few  feet. 

Tliis  ordeal,  which  is  imitated  in  other  secret  orders,  and  in 
some  with  an  elaborate  cleverness  well  calculated  to  delude  and 
scare  the  average  candidate,  is  accompanied  by  much  noise,  the 
brethren  striking  on  the  attributes  of  the  order  they  carry  in  their 
hands,  and  uttering  all  kinds  of  dismal  shouts. 

As  a  further  trial,  he  is  then  jjassed  through  fire,  which  is 
rendered  harmless  by  well-known  conjuring  tricks.  Then  his 
arm  is  slightly  pricked,  and  a  gurgling  noise  l>eing  produced  by 
one  of  tlie  brethren,  the  novice  sometimes  fancies  tliat  he  is  losin<r 
much  blood. 

Finally,  he  takes  the  oath,  the  bretliren  standing  around  him 
with  drawn  swords.  Tlie  candidate  is  then  led  Ijetween  the  two 
pillars,  and  tlie  brethren  place  their  swords  against  his  breast. 
The  master  of  the  ceremonies  loosens  the  bandage  without  taking 
it  off.  Another  brother  holds  before  him  a  lamp  that  sheds  a 
brilliant  light. 

The  master  speaks:  "Brother  senior  warden,  deem  ynu  the 
candidate  worthy  of  forming  part  of  our  society?  " 

"Yes." 

"Wliat  do  you  ask  for  him?  " 
Light." 
Then  let  there  be  light  I  " 

Three  blows  with  a  mallet  the  master  gives,  and  at  the  third 
the  bandage  is  tiiken  off,  and  the  candidate  beholds  the  light, 
symbolizing  that  which  is  to  fill  his  undei"standing. 


^i. 


fcfc 


588  THE   STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  bretliren  drop  their  swords,  and  the  candidate  is  conducted 
to  the  altar,  where  he  kneels,  whilst  the  master  says :  '*  In  the 
name  of  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe,  and  by  virtue  of 
the  powers  vested  in  me,  I  create  and  constitute  thee  a  masonic 
apprentice  and  member  of  this  lodge." 

Then  striking  three  more  blows  with  his  mallet  on  the  blade  of 
the  sword,  he  raises  the  new  brother,  girds  him  with  the  apron 
of  white  lambskin,  gives  him  a  pair  of  white  gloves  to  be  worn 
in  the  lodge,  and  another  to  be  given  to  the  lady  he  esteems 
best.  He  is  then  again  led  between  the  two  pillai*s,  and  received 
by  the  brethren  as  one  of  them. 

The  second  degree  of  symbolic  Freemasonry  is  that  of  Fellow- 
Craft.  The  apprentice,  who  comes  asking  for  an  increase  of 
salary,  —  a  very  natural  formula  for  an  apprentice  —  is  not  con- 
<lucted  like  the  novice  by  an  unknown  brother,  nor  jire  his  eyes 
bandaged,  because  the  light  was  made  for  him,  but  he  moves 
towards  the  lodge  holding  in  his  hand  a  rule,  one  of  whose  ends 
he  rests  on  the  left  shoulder. 

Having  reached  the  door,  he  gives  the  apprentice's  knock,  and 
having  been  admitted  and  declared  the  purpose  for  which  he 
comes,  he  walks  live  times  round  the  lodge,  whereupon  lie  is  told 
by  the  master  to  perform  his  last  apprentice's  work.  He  tlieu 
pretends  to  square  the  rough  luslilar.  After  a  deal  of  instruction, 
he  takes  the  oath  in  which  he  swears  to  keep  the  secrets  entrusted 
to  him. 

Then  there  follows  more  lecturing  on  the  part  of  the  mivster, 
chiefly  on  geometry,  a  science  which  Masons  profess  to  consider 
veiy  precious  but  of  which  they  know  i)recious  little,  and  to 
which  the  letter  G  seen  in  the  lodge  within  an  irradiation  or 
star  is  supposed  to  refer,  but  it  more  likely  is  a  relic  of  geo- 
mancy,  an  odd  bitsiness  i)nictised  by  Chinese  ^Lisons,  especially 
as  to  the  proper  places  in  which  to  build  a  hoitse. 

The  degree  of  Master  Mivson  is  more  interesting.  At  the 
reception  of  a  master,  the  lodge  or  "middle  chamber"  is  dmped 
with  black,  with  death's  heads,  skeletons,  and  cross-l)ones,  and 
otlier  cheerful  welcomes  i)ainted  on  the  walls.  A  taper  of  yellow 
wax,  placed  in  Uu*  ciist,  and  a  dark  lantern,  formed  of  a  skull 
having  a  light  within,  which  shines  forth  through  the  eye-holes, 


A  GOVEKNMENT  OF  MVRTEUV  AND  FKATBBNITY.    589 

placed  on  the  altar  of  the  moat  Worshipful  Master,  gives  just 
sufficient  light  to  reveal  a  coffin,  wheruin  the  rniitse  is  represented 
either  by  a  lay-figui-e,  a  serving  hrothcr,  or  liy  the  brother  last 
made  a  miLster. 

On  the  coliin  is  a  sprig  of  Jiciicia,  at  itJi  head  is  a  square,  and 
at  its  foot,  towanls  the  east,  an  open  compass.  The  masters  are 
I'lotlipd  in  black,'  and  wear  large  azure  siiahes,  on  which  are 
i«pri!acnted  Mosonla  embli;ni;d,  tht:  sui),  inoou,  and  seven  stars. 
The  object  of  the  meeting  is  said  to  be  the  finding  of  the  word  of 
the  master,  Hiram  Abiff,   who  was  slain. 

The  postulant  for  admission  is  introduced  after  some  prelimi- 
nary ceremonies,  having  his  two  arms,  breaKts,  and  knees  bare,  and 
both  heels  slip-shod.  He  is  told  that  tlie  brethren  assembled  are 
mourning  tlie  death  of  their  Grand  Master,  and  asked  whether 
perhaps  he  wiis  one  of  the  murdei-ers,  and  at  tlie  same  time  he  is 
shown  the  body  or  figure  in  the  coffin. 

Having  declared  his  innocence  of  any  share  in  that  crime,  he  ir 
informed  that  he  will  on  this  occasion  have  to  enact  the  i»art  of 
Hiram,  who  was  slain  at  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  and 
whose  historj-  lie  is  alxiut  to  Iw  told. 

The  brother,  or  figure  in  the  coffin,  has  in  the  meantime  been 
removed,  so  that  when  the  aapii-ant  looks  at  it  again,  much  to  his 
surprise  he  finds  it  empty.  The  story  of  the  munler  of  Himm  is 
then  told  in  a  very  impressive  fashion.  The  deed  is  not,  how- 
ever, as  in  the  Legend  of  the  Temple  previously  given,  attributed 
to  Solomon's  jealousy,  but  simply  to  Hinun's  i-efusal  to  com- 
miniicate  the  master's  word  to  thi-ee  fellow-cmfts.  The  various 
incidents  of  this  storj-  aie  scenically  enacted  on  the  |>ostulRnt  by 
the  brother  Masons,  for  in  every  lodge  there  are  generally  some 
very  fair  actors, 

"Hiram,"  the  master  continues,  "having  entered  the  temple  at 
noon,  the  three  assassins  placed  themselves  at  the  east,  west,  and 
south  dooi-s,  and  Hiram  refusing  to  reveal  the  w<»t1,  he  who  stood 
at  the  east  door  cut  Hii-ani  across  the  throat  with  u  twenty-four 
inch  gauge.     Hiram  flew  to  the  south  door,  where  he  received 

'  In  New  York  Is  a  loileecoiriniBe.lpnllrBlyof  »ctor»  wliDorice  aytarinwt  unci  go  tliniiiBli 
kllclieManonio  ceremoulHs  atlircd  In  e°T)^oii>  cotiumeB  at  inily  onenlnl  unil  Snlomonlo 
niaenltli^eDce.  Thli  druua.sll  Hasuntc  wltuaBua  a«ne,i>  equal  m  iniiirPssiVeneM  to  tlie 
oelBbnted  rutlim  IIb;  at  oiwnuamergau. 


690  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

similar  treatment,  and  thence  to  the  west  door,  where  he  was 
struck  on  the  head  with  a  gavel  which  occasioned  his  death/' 

The  applicant,  at  this  part  of  the  recital,  is  informed  tliat  he, 
too,  must  undei-go  trials,  and  must  not  sink  under  the  influence 
of  terror,  though  the  hand  of  death  be  uix)n  him.  He  is  then 
stnick  on  the  forehead  and  thrown  down. 

The  master  continues :  '^  The  ruffians  carried  the  body  out  at 
the  west  door,  and  buried  it  at  the  side  of  a  hill"  —  here  the 
postulant  is  placed  in  the  coffin  —  "  in  a  grave,  on  which  they 
stuck  a  sprig  of  acacia  to  mark  the  spot.  Hiram  not  making  his 
appearance  as  usual,  Solomon  caused  search  to  be  made  for  him  by 
twelve  trusty  fellow-crafts  that  were  sent  out,  three  east,  three 
west,  three  south,  and  three  north.  Of  the  three  who  went  east, 
one  being  weaiy,  sat  down  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  to  rest  himself, 
and  in  rising  caught  hold  of  a  twig  "  — here  a  twig  of  that  plant 
is  put  into  the  hand  of  the  aspirant  lying  in  the  coffin —  ^' which 
coming  up  easily,  showed  that  the  gix)und  had  l)een  recently 
disturbed,  and  on  digging  he  and  his  companions  found  the  body 
of  Himni.     It  was  in  a  mangled  condition,  having  lain  fourteen 

days,    whereu[)()ii  one  of    those  present    exclaimed which 

means and  this  became  the   muster's  word,   as  the  former 

one  was  lost  throui^h  Hinvnrs  death;  for  though  the  other  two 
masters,  Solomon,  and  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  knew  it,  it  could 
only  l)e  eonnnunicatcd  by  th(?  three  Grand  Mastei's  conjointly. 
The  covering  of  the  grave  l)eing  green  moss  and  turf,  other 
bystandei*s  exehiiined,  '' Muhcuh  domui*  dcnnino^  del  gratia P  which 
means,  'Tiiaiiks  he  unto  God,  our  nuuster  hath  got  a  mossy 
house : '  " 

This  exclamation  shows  that  the  Hebrew  Imildei^  of  Solomon's 
temple  i)ossesse(l  a  prophetic  knowledge  of  the  Latin  tongue  I 
The  body  of  Hiram  could  not  be  raised  by  the  a])prentice's  or  fel- 
low-craft's gri[),  but  only  by  the  master's,  or  the  lion's  grip,  as 
it  is  called.  All  this  is  then  imiUited  by  the  master  raising  the 
jispimnt  in  the  cofiin,  who  is  then  told  the  word,  signs  and  grips, 
and  takes  the  oath. 

Taken  litemlly,  the  story  of  Hiram  would  offer  nothing  so 
extraordinary  as  to  deserve  to  be  commemorated  after  three  thou- 
sand  yeai-s  throughout  the  world  by  solenni  rites  and  ceremonies. 


692  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  death  of  an  architect  is  not  so  important  a  matter  as  to  have 
more  honor  paid  to  it  than  is  shown  to  the  memory  of  so  many 
philosophers  and  learned  men  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the 
cause  of  human  progress.  History  knows  nothing  of  him.  His 
name,  to  be  sure,  is  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  but  it  is  simply  said 
that  he  was  a  man  of  understanding  and  cunning  in  brass.  He 
is  remembered  nowhere  except  in  Freemasonry;  the  legend,  in 
fact,  is  purely  allegorical,  and  may  bear  a  twofold  interpreta- 
tion cosmological  and  astronomical. 

Cosmologically,  we  find  represented  therein  the  dualism  of 
two  antagonistic  powers.  Good  and  Evil,  God  and  Devil, 
which  is  the  leading  feature  of  all  Eastern  initiations.  The  di-a- 
matic  portion  of  the  Mysteries  of  antiquity  is  always  sustained 
by  a  deity  or  man  who  perishes  as  the  victim  of  an  evil  power, 
and  rises  again  into  a  more  glorious  existence.  In  the  ancient 
Mysteries,  i.  e.,  the  Priestly  Plays,  or  the  dramatic  ceremonies  of 
all  nations,  we  constantly  meet  with  the  record  of  a  sad  event,  a 
crime  which  plunges  nations  into  strife  and  grief,  succeeded  bj- 
joy  and  exultation. 

Astronomically,  again,  the  pamllel  is  perfect,  and  is,  in  fact, 
only  another  vei"sion  of  the  legend  of  Osiris.  Hiram  represents 
Osiris,  i.  e.,  the  sun.  The  tissassins  place  themselves  at  the 
west,  south,  and  east  dooi"s,  that  is,  the  regions  illuminated  by 
the  sun;  they  burj^  the  body,  and  mark  the  spot  with  a  sprig  of 
acacia.  Twelve  persons  play  an  important  part  in  the  tragedy, 
viz.,  the  three  murderers  (fellow-crafts),  and  nine  masters.  This 
number  is  a  plain  allusion  to  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and 
the  three  inferior  signs  of  winter,  Libra,  Scorpio,  and  Sagittarius. 

Hiram  falls  dead  at  the  west  door,  i.e.,  the  sun  descends  in  the 
west.  Tlie  acacia  of  Freemasonry  is  the  plant  found  in  all  tlie 
ancient  solar  allegories,  symbolizing  the  new  vegetation  to  In* 
anticipated  bv  the  sun's  resurrection.  The  acacia  being  looke<l 
upon  by  the  ancients  as  incorruptible,  its  tw^igs  were  preferred  for 
covering  the  lx)dy  of  the  god-man  to  the  myrtle,  Inurel,  and  other 
plants  also  mentioned  in  the  ancient  Mysteries. 

Hiram's  body  is  in  a  state  of  decay,  having  lain  fourteen  days, 
according  to  one  legend;  the  body  of  Osiris  wa,s  cut  into  fourteen 
pieces.     But,  according  to  other  statements,  the  body  was  found 


A    GOVERNMENT    l)F    MV.STEP.Y    AND    FRATERNITY.  593 

on  the  eeventh  day;  this  would  allude  to  the  resun'ectioii  of  the 
Kuii,  which  actuiilly  takea  [ilaee  in  the  seventh  muiith  after  hi« 
passage  through  the  inferior  signs,  that  [ la usage  whii^h  is  called 
his  descent  into  hell. 

Himm  can  only  be  i-aised  by  the  lion's  griji.  It  is  thi-ough  the 
instmiuentality  of  Leo,^  the  sign  of  the  lion,  that  Osiris  is  raised; 
it  is  when  the  sun  re-enters  that  sign  that  he  regains  his  former 
strength,  that  his  restoration  to  full  life  takes  place.  Masons  in 
this  degree  call  themselves  the  "children  of  the  widow,"  the  «un 
on  descending  into  his  tomb  leaving  nature  —  of  whom  Masons 
consider  themselves  the  pupils  — a  widow;  yet  this  appellation 
may  also  have  its  origin  in  some  reminiscence  of  the  Manicheail 
seet,  whose  followei-s  were  known  as  the  "sons  of  the  widow." 

Tlie  degree  of  the  Holy  Royal  Arch  is  also  wortliy  of  attention. 
The  memhei-3  of  this  are  denominated  "companions."  There  are 
nine  officei-8,  the  chief  of  whom  (in  England)  is  Zenibbabel,  a 
compound  woitl,  meaning  "the  bright  lord,  the  sun."  He 
rebuilds  the  temi)le,  and  liierefore  representu  the  sun  risen  again. 
The  next  oificer  is  Jeshua,  the  high  priest;  the  third,  Haggai, 
the  prophet. 

These  three  compose  the  gnmd  council.  PrincijMils  and  senior 
and  junior  scribes,  one  on  each  side,  janitor  or  tyler  without  the 
door,  tliese  companions  assembled  make  up  the  sides  of  the  arch, 
representing  the  pillars  Jachin  and  B<kiz.  In  fnnit  of  the  princi- 
pals stJinds  an  altar,  inscribed  with  the  names  of  Solomon,  Hintm, 
King  of  Tyiv,  and  Hii-am  Abiff. 

On  entering  the  cliapter,  the  companions  give  tlie  sign  of  sor- 
row, in  imitation  of  the  ancients  mourning  for  the  loss  of  Osiris. 
Nine  comi)anions  niustl^e  present  at  the  opening  of  a  Royal  Arch 
chapter ;  not  more  nor  less  tlian  three  are  permitted  to  take  this 
degree  at  the  same  time,  the  two  numbers  making  up  the  twelve, 
the  number  of  zodiacal  signs.  The  candidates  are  prepared  by 
tying  a  bandage  over  their  eyps,  and  coiling  a  rope  seven  times 
round  the  body  of  each,  which  unites  them  together,  with  three 
feet  of  slack  between  tlieni. 

<  EdgKT  Foe,  tbe  moat  mrstciinuB  ot  muilcing.  who  liabbled  In  &11  Dcc^ukiBms,  and  whose 
wriUngtan  lull  of  utroloElcal  retercDCW.  in  liln  weird  Ulnluue  tuusliulliir  llneii 
Cuue  up  tbroujtb  the  iRir  of  the  Lion 
With  loTB  In  liBr  lumlnoui  ejoik 


594  THE  STORY  OF    60VBBNMENT. 

They  then  pass  under  the  living  arch,  which  is  made  fay  the 
companions  either  joining  their  hands  and  holding  them  up,  or 
hy  holding  their  rods  or  swords  so  as  to  resemble  a  gothic  arch. 
This  part  of  the  ceremony  used  to  be  attended  in  some  lodges 
with  much  tomfoolery  and  rough  horse  play.  The  companions 
would  drop  down  on  the  candidates,  who  were  obliged  to  support 
themselves  on  their  hands  and  knees ;  and  if  they  went  too  slowly, 
it  was  not  unusual  for  one  or  more  of  the  companions  to  apply  a 
sharp  point  to  their  bodies  to  ui-ge  them  on. 

Trials,  such  as  the  candidates  for  initiation  into  the  ancient 
mysteries  had  to  go  through,  were  also  imitated  in  the  royal  arch. 
But  few,  if  any,  lodges  now  practise  these  tricks,  fit  only  for 
clowns  in  vulgar  pantomimes.  Tlie  candidates,  after  taking  the 
oath,  declare  that  they  come  in  order  to  assist  at  the  rebuilding 
of  Solomon's  temple,  wliereupon  they  are  furnished  with  pickaxes, 
shovels,  and  crowlmrs,  and  retire. 

After  awhile,  during  whicli  they  ai-e  supposed  to  have  been  at 
work  and  to  have  made  a  discovery,  they  return,  and  state,  that 
on  digging  for  the  new  foundation  they  <liscovei*ed  an  under- 
ground vault,  into  whicli  one  of  them  was  let  down,  whei*e  lie 
found  a  scroll,  whicli  on  examination  turns  out  to  be  the  long- 
lost  book  of  the  law. 

They  set  to  work  again,  and  discover  another  vault,  and  under 
that  a  third.  The  sun  having  now  gained  his  meridian  height, 
darts  his  rays  to  the  centre,  and  shines  on  a  white  marble  pedestal, 
on  which  is  a  plate  of  gold.  On  this  plate  is  a  double  triangle, 
and  within  the  triangle  some  words  they  cannot  underatand ;  they 
therefore  take  the  plate  to  Zerubljabel. 

There  the  whole  mystery  of  Masonry  —  lus  far  as  known  to 
Masons  —  is  unveiled ;  what  the  Masons  have  long  been  in  search 
of  is  found,  for  the  mysterious  waiting  in  a  triangular  fonu  is  the 
long  lost  sacred  word  of  the  Master  Mason  which  Solomon  and 
King  Hiram  deposited  there,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  master^s 
degree. 

This  was  no  other  than  the  logos  of  Plato  and  Saint  John,  the 
jewel  in  the  bosom  of  the  lotos  of  Buddha,  -4^^,  the  omnific 
word;  but  another  compound  name,  intended  to  bear  the  same 
import,  is  substituted  by  modem  Masons,  and  is  communicated  to 


596  THE  8T0BY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

• 

the  candidates  in  this  way :  The  three  principals  and  each  three 
companions  form  the  triangles ;  each  of  the  three  takes  his  left 
hand  companion  by  the  right-hand  wrist,  and  his  right-hand  com- 
panion by  the  left-hand  wrist,  forming  two  distinct  triangles  with 
the  hands,  and  a  triangle  with  their  right  feet,  amounting  to  a 
triple  triangle ;  then  they  x)ronoiince  the  following  words :  — 

Ah  we  three  did  agree, 

In  peace,  love,  and  unity, 

The  sacred  word  to  keep. 

So  we  three  do  agree, 

In  peace,  love,  and  unity, 

Tlie  sacred  word  to  search. 

Until  we  three, 

Or  three  sucli  as  we,  shall  agree 

This  royal  arch  chapter  to  close. 

The  right  hands,  still  joined  as  a  triangle,  are  raised  as  high  as 
{K)ssible,  and  the  word  given  at  low  breath  in  syllables,  so  that 
each  conipiinion  has  to  pi-onounce  the  whole  worti.  It  is  not  per- 
mitted to  utter  this  omnific  word  above  the  breath.  Zerubbabel 
next  makes  the  new  companions  acquainted  with  the  five  signs 
used  in  this  degree,  and  invests  them  with  the  badges  of  Royal 
Arch  Masonry-,  the  apron,  sash,  and  jewel. 

Tlie  character  on  the  apron  is  the  triple  Tau,  one  of  the  most 
ancient  of  emblems,  and  Masons  call  it  the  emblem  of  emblems, 
'^wiih  a  depth  that  reaches  to  the  creation  of  the  world  and  all 
that  is  therein."  This  triple  Tau  is  a  compound  figure  of  three 
T's,  called  Tau  in  Greek.  Now  this  Tau  or  T  is  the  figure  of 
the  old  Egyi)tian  Nilometer,  which  was  a  pole  crossed  with  one 
or  more  tmnsvei'se  pieces,  used  to  ascei-tain  the  height  of  the 
inundation. 

As  on  the  Nile's  overflow  depended  the  harvest,  the  life  of 
the  inhabitants,  tlie  Nilometer  thus  became  the  symbol  of  life, 
health  and  prosperity,  was  accounted  a  tJilisman  against  evil, 
and  thus,  as  an  amulet,  was  introduced  among  Masonic  emblems. 
Herein  lies  the  grand  secret  of  Masonry  which  passes  by  symbols 
from  superstitions  to  science. 

Tlie  influence  of  Masonry  or  the  bearing  of  the  Order  on  gi'eat 
events  in  mcnlern  times  will  be  found  worthy  of  study  by  the 
curious  both  in  and  out  of  the  fold.     A  few  points  only  can  be 


^ 


A   GOVERNMENT    OV    MVSTEBY    AND    FRATEKKITY.  o97 

noted  ia  one  cliapWr.  Musoniy  was  at  its  height  in  France  just 
before,  during,  and  after  the  Revolution,  and  part  of  the  immense 
popularity  o£  our  agent,  lienjaraiii  Franklin,  at  tlie  Fi-eiic-h  omrt, 
is  supposed  to  I>e  due  tn  his  high  MaMoiiie  rank  and  iiit^-iise 
interest  in  the  society- 
Napoleon  at  first  meant  to  suppreys  Masoiny.  The  representa- 
tive sjntem  of  the  Grand  Orient  ehislied  witlihis  monarchical  prin- 
ciples, and  the  oligarchic  spirit  of  the  Scotch  rite  aroused  his 
suspicions.  The  Parisian  lodges,  however,  practised  in  the  art  of 
flatteiy,  humbled  themselves  before  the  fii-st  consul,  prostrated 
themselves  before  the  emperor,  and  sued  for  grace.  The  suspicions 
of  Napoleon  were  not  dissipated;  but  lie  jierceived  the  policy  of 
avoiding  violent  measures,  and  of  conti-olling  a  body  tliat  might 
torn  against  him. 

After  considerable  hesitation,  lie  declared  in  favor  of  the  (rraiid 
Orient,  and  tlie  Scotch  rite  had  to  assume  the  second  place.  A 
single  word  of  Napoleon  hail  done  ntore  to  establish  peace  between 
these  rivals  than  all  former  nuichinations.  The  Gi-and  Orient 
became  a  court  office,  and  Mjisonry  an  army  of  employees. 

The  Grand  Mastership  was  offered  to  Joseph  Xapoleon,  who 
accepted  it,  tiiough  never  initiated  into  Freemasonry,  with  the 
consent  of  hi.s  brother,  hut  Napoleon,  for  greater  security,  insisted 
on  having  liis  tnisty  arch-chance  Ho  i-  CamlKVCfSres  appointed  Grand 
Master  Adjunct,  to  be  in  reality  the  only  head  of  the  order. 

Gradually  all  the  various  branches  existing  in  France  gave  in 
their  adhesion  to  the  inijterial  policy,  electing  Camlxicerds  as 
their  chief  dignitary-,  so  that  he  eventually  possessed  more 
Masonic  titias  tlmn  any  otiier  man  l>efore  or  after  him.  In  1805, 
he  was  made  Grand  Master  Adjunct  of  tlie  Grand  Orient;  in 
1806,  Sovereign  (hiind  Master  of  the  Supreme  Grand  Council;  in 
the  same  year.  Grand  Master  of  the  riti-  of  Herodeii  i>f  Kilwin- 
ning; in  ISO",  Su]n-eme  head  of  tlie  French  rite;  in  tlie  same 
year,  Grand  Master  of  the  I'hihisophic  Scotch  rite;  in  IMOH, 
Grand  Master  of  the  Order  of  Christ;  in  1809,  National  (initid 
Master  of  the  Knights  of  tlie  Holy  City;  in  the  same  year.  I'lii- 
t«ctor  of  the  High  Philosophic  Degrees. 

;   But  soon  Masonic  disputes  among  the  branchirs  again  ran  high. 
The  arch-chancellor,  accustomed  ami  attached  to  the  iiiMiges  and 


pfimiM   of  cooTQ.    iecreciv   save  oreceremre    ro    ciie  Scocch    rite 
*^ltfa   itR  high.  jonnrfTng  cirlis*  '^^•^   2»}rwi.»a»  ceremoaies.      The 
Oran#i  Orient  ihea  '^arrieti  is  «M3iiicu]iiic»  ro  Xapt?le<?n^  who  grew 
'ir**sUj'  "It  ^Jittti  cizY!es«  —  he  who  ^Zjimeti  -xr^ui'l  canooal  dramas  — 
«wi  'tt  one  rime  he  liecermineii  on  Ab«jkli;*hi:i:r  the  <>rfer  altoeether, 
int  C^unbsi^^res  ^ucceeiied  in  arre?riii:r  hi:?  purp«>se,  showing^  him 
:he   'ianov^ni  diat  might   enane    rr»:ni   iu*   5upcressi'>n  —  danirers 
Thij*h  miisit  havi*  appeared  gr^dc  <ijic^  Xipt.Heoc*  who  hiul  never 
hfnitated.  he^titated  then*  and  allowed  iia*.^ther  to  alter  his  views. 
PonHihlj  the  despot  reoognized  the  nectftjsity  in  French  society 
of  a  hridj  of  men  who  were  free,  at  least  in  appearance*  as  a  kind 
of  political  safety  valve.     The  French  ha>l  uiken  a  liking  to  their 
IrylqpF»ir  where  thev  found  a  phantom  of  independence,  and  might 
confiider  themselves  on  neutral  ground,  for  ;l>  a  ^^lasonic  writer  of 
that  era  remarked :  **  In  the  bosom  of  Masonrv  there  circulates  a 
little  of  that  vital  air  so  necessary  to  generous  minds. ^ 

In  1912,  there  existetl  in  France  one  thousand  and  eighty-nine 
lodges,  all  depending  on  the  Grand  Orient :  the  army  had  sixty- 
nine,  and  the  lo*lge  was  opened  and  cl».^sed  with  the  cn%  live 
r Emp*>r'',ur  ! — Long  live  the  t*m;»er^r, —  ;i  pieiv  of  olic^eijuiousness 
of  which,  never  jjince  that  lLiv.  h^is  FreeiiuisiMirv  l»eeii  'j^uiltv. 

Na[*r,leon,  frr>m  m«^rely  tolerating  it  and  keepini:  it  well  in  hand, 
at  la.-t  emijloved  it  in  the  amiv.  in  the  uewlv  tX'oiii>ied  territories, 
and  in  siu.h  a.s  ke  intended  t«>  oeiu[»y.  Ini[x^^rial  prose lytism 
tamed  thf*  Indsres  into  schtx^ls  of  X;uHiletwiism.  So  that  it 
Urcoiries  proljahle,  if  not  certain,  tluit  Xa;H>leon,  l>y  means  of  the 
Masonid  .s^Kriety,  far ili tilted  or  secured  his  conquests. 

Spain,  Germany,  and  Italy  were  ci>vered  with  kxlges  —  ante- 
chanilir;rs,  more  than  anything  else,  of  prefectiuv^s  and  militarj 
commands  —  presided  over  and  governed  by  soldiers.  The  highest 
dignitaries  of  Masonry  at  tliat  period  were  marshals,  knights  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  nobles  of  ancient  descent,  senators,  coun- 
eillors,  ail  safe  and  trusty  persons;  a  state  that  obeyed  the  orders 
of  (!aml>ar;^r^8,  as  he  obeyed  the  orders  of  Xaiwleon. 

OljHerjuioasness  then  verged  on  the  ridiculous.  The  half  yearly 
Wfjrd.H  of  command  of  tlie  Grand  Orient  Lodge  of  that  era  retrace 
llie  history  of  Na|K)leonic  progress.  In  1800,  the  lodge  words 
were,  **  Science  and  Peace  " ;  in  1802,  after  the  battle  of  Marengo, 


n 


698  THE  BTOBY  OF  GOVEBNMENT. 

pomps  of  courts,  secretly  gave  preference  to  the  Scotch  rite 
with  its  high  sounding  titles  and  gorgeous  ceremonies.  The 
Grand  Orient  then  carried  its  complaints  to  Napoleon,  who  grew 
weary  of  such  farces,  —  he  who  planned  grand  national  dramas  — 
and  at  one  time  he  determined  on  abolishing  the  Order  altogether, 
but  Cambac^r^  succeeded  in  arresting  his  purj)ose,  showing  him 
the  dangers  that  might  ensue  from  its  suppression  —  dangers 
which  must  have  appeared  great,  since  Napoleon,  who  had  never 
hesitated,  hesitated  then,  and  allowed  another  to  alter  his  views. 

Possibly  the  despot  recognized  the  necessity  in  French  society 
of  a  body  of  men  who  were  free,  at  least  in  appearance,  as  a  kind 
of  political  safety  valve.  The  French  had  taken  a  liking  to  their 
lodges,  where  they  found  a  phantom  of  independence,  and  might 
consider  themselves  on  neutral  ground,  for  jis  a  Masonic  writer  of 
that  era  remarked :  "  In  the  bosom  of  Masonry  there  circulates  a 
little  of  that  vital  air  so  necessary  to  generous  minds. ^* 

In  1812,  there  existed  in  France  one  thousand  and  eighty-nine 
lodges,  all  depending  on  the  Grand  Orient ;  the  army  had  sixty- 
nine,  and  the  lodge  was  opened  and  closed  with  the  cry,  J^ve 
VEmpereur! — Long  live  the  emperor, —  apiece  of  obsequiousness 
of  which,  never  since  that  day,  has  Freemasoniy  been  guilty. 

Napoleon,  from  merely  tolerating  it  and  keeping  it  well  in  hand, 
at  last  employed  it  in  the  army,  in  the  newly  oecui)ied  territories, 
and  in  such  as  ke  intended  to  occuin'.  Imperial  proselytism 
turned  the  lodges  into  schools  of  Napoleonisni.  So  that  it 
becomes  probable,  if  not  certain,  that  Napoleon,  by  means  of  the 
Alasonic  society,  facilitated  or  secured  his  conquests. 

Spain,  Germany,  and  Itiily  were  covered  with  lodges  —  ante- 
chambers, more  than  anything  else,  of  prefectures  and  military 
commands  —  presided  over  and  governed  by  soldiei"s.  The  highest 
dignitaries  of  Masonry  at  that  period  were  marshals,  knights  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  nobles  of  ancient  descent,  senators,  coun- 
cillors, all  safe  and  trusty  persons;  a  state  that  obeyed  the  orders 
of  Cambac^r^s,  as  he  obeyed  the  orders  of  Napoleon. 

Obsequiousness  then  verged  on  the  ridiculous.  The  half  yearly 
words  of  command  of  the  Grand  Orient  Lodge  of  that  era  retrace 
the  history  of  Napoleonic  progress.  In  1800,  the  lodge  words 
were,  "Science  and  Peace  " ;  in  1802,  after  the  battle  of  Marengo, 


698  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

pomps  of  courts,  secretly  gave  preference  to  tlie  Scotch  rite 
with  its  high  sounding  titles  and  gorgeous  ceremonies.  The 
Grand  Orient  then  carried  its  complaints  to  Napoleon,  who  grew 
weary  of  such  farces,  —  he  who  planned  grand  national  dramas  — 
and  at  one  time  he  determined  on  abolishing  the  Order  altogether, 
but  Cambac^rds  succeeded  in  arresting  his  purpose,  showing  him 
the  dangers  that  might  ensue  from  its  suppression  —  dangers 
which  must  have  appeared  great,  since  Napoleon,  who  had  never 
hesitated,  hesitated  then,  and  allowed  another  to  alter  his  views. 

Possibly  the  despot  recognized  the  necessity  in  French  society 
of  a  body  of  men  who  were  free,  at  least  in  appearance,  as  a  kind 
of  political  safety  valve.  The  French  had  taken  a  liking  to  their 
lodges,  where  they  found  a  phantom  of  independence,  and  might 
consider  themselves  on  neutral  ground,  for  as  a  Masonic  writer  of 
that  era  remarked:  ^^In  the  bosom  of  Masonry  there  circulates  a 
little  of  that  vital  air  so  necessary  to  generous  minds." 

In  1812,  there  existed  in  France  one  thousand  and  eighty-nine 
lodges,  all  depending  on  the  Grand  Orient ;  the  army  had  sixty- 
nine,  and  the  lodge  was  opened  and  closed  with  the  cry,  l^ve 
VEmpereur! — Long  live  the  emperor, —  apiece  of  obsequiousness 
of  which,  never  since  that  day,  has  Freemasonry  been  guilty. 

Napoleon,  from  merely  tolerating  it  and  keeping  it  well  in  hand, 
at  last  employed  it  in  the  army,  in  the  newly  occupied  territ<)ries, 
and  in  such  as  ktj  intended  to  occupy.  Imperial  proselytism 
turned  the  lodges  into  schools  of  Napoleonism.  So  that  it 
becomes  probable,  if  not  certain,  that  Napoleon,  by  means  of  the 
Masonic  society,  facilitated  or  secured  his  conquests. 

Spain,  Gennany,  and  Ittily  were  covered  with  lodges  —  ante- 
chambers, more  than  anything  else,  of  prefectures  and  military 
commands  —  presided  over  and  governed  by  soldiei's.  The  highest 
dignitaries  of  Masonry  at  that  period  were  marshals,  knights  of 
the  Legion  of  Honor,  nobles  of  ancient  descent,  senators,  coun- 
cillors, all  safe  and  trusty  persons;  a  state  that  obeyed  the  orders 
of  Cambac^rSs,  as  he  obeyed  the  orders  of  Napoleon. 

Obsequiousness  then  verged  on  the  ridiculous.  The  half  yearly 
words  of  command  of  the  Grand  Orient  Lodge  of  that  era  retrace 
the  history  of  Napoleonic  progress.  In  1800,  the  lodge  words 
were,  "Science  and  Peace  " ;  in  1802,  after  the  battle  of  Marengo, 


I 


A    liOVKRNMENT    OK    MVSTRliV    AND    FIlATKRXrTY.  603 

" Unity  and  Success  " ;  in  1804,  after  the  coronation,  "Content- 
ment and  Greatness";  after  the  battle  of  Friedland,  "Emperor 
and  Confidence ; "  after  the  suppression  of  the  tribune,  "  Fidelity  " ; 
at  the  birth  of  Napoleon's  son,  styled  the  King  of  Rome,  "Pob- 
terity  and  Joy " ;  at  the  departure  of  the  army  of  Russia, 
"Victory  and  Return." 

Frightful  victory!  Melancholy  return!  Napoleon  fell  and 
Masonry  rose  again  from  the  dust  of  servility  to  her  true  stature 
and  proper  attitude.  Some  scholars  incline  to  the  opinion  that 
in  spite  of  the  truckiing  of  French  Maaons  to  Napoleon,  Masons 
elsewhere  were  so  active  against  him  that  his  fall  should  be  ac- 
credited more  to  Masonry  than  to  Muscovite  weather  and  his  own 
headlong  confidence  in  his  "star."  They  claim  that,  dating 
from  his  retreat  at  Leijtsic,  of  which  a  picture  photogiaphic  in  its 
realism  is  given  here,  the  influence  of  Masonry  was  thrown 
i^inst  liim  into  that  scale  of  Destiny  in  which  he  was  weighed 
and  found  human. 

Of  course.  Masonry  offered  an  excellent  field  to  adventurers 
and  skilful  impostoi-s  to  cultivate  a  crop  of  credulity  by  professing 
to  introduce  new  rites  discovered  or  recovered  by  themselves  from 
the  dusty  crypts  of  tradition.  It  would  take  up  too  much  space 
to  recount  all  the  impostures  which  in  the  name  of  Masonry  have 
been  foisted  on  the  public.  Let  Cagliostro,  with  his  Egyptian 
Masonry,  suffice  as  a  specimen. 

Joseph  Balsamo,  the  disciple  ami  successor  of  Saint  GeiTnain, 
who  pretended  at  tlie  court  of  Louis  XV.  to  have  been  the  con- 
temporary of  Charles  V.,  Francis  L,  and  Christ,  and  to  jKJSSess 
the  elixir  of  life  and  many  other  secrets,  had  vaster  designs  and  a 
loftier  ambition  than  his  teacher,  and  was  one  of  the  most  active 
agents  of  Freemasonry  in  France  and  the  rest  of  Europe. 

Balsamo  was  bom  at  Palermo  in  1743,  and  educated  at  two 
convents  in  that  city,  where  he  acquired  some  chemical  knowl- 
edge. As  a  young  man,  he  fell  in  with  an  Armenian,  or  Greek, 
or  Spaniard,  called  Althotas,  a  kind  of  adventurer  who  professed 
to  possess  the  philosopher's  stone,  with  whom  he  led  a  roving 
life  for  a  number  of  years.  What  finally  became  of  Althotaa  is 
not  positively  known,  but  Balsamo  found  his  way  to  Roma, 
where  he  married  the  beautiful   Lorenza  Feliciana,  whom  he 


604  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

treated  so  badly  that  she  ran  away  from  him ;  but  he  recovered 
her  and  acqubed  still  greater  influence  over  her  by  magnetically 
operating  upon  her.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  he  was  a 
remarkable  magnetizer. 

Visiting  Germany,  he  was  initiated  into  Fi-eemasonry  in  whidi 
he  soon  began  to  take  a  prominent  part.  He  also  assumed  <liflFer- 
ent  titles,  such  as  that  of  Marquis  of  Pellegrini,  but  the  one  he  i» 
best  known  by  is  that  of  Count  Cagliostro;  and  by  his  astuteness, 
impudence,  and  some  lucky  hits  at  prophesying,  he  acquired  a 
European  notoriety  and  made  many  dupes,  including  j)er8on8  of 
the  highest  rank,  especially  in  France,  where  he  founded  many 
new  Masonic  lodges. 

He  was  the  author  of  a  book  called  ''  The  Kite  of  Egyptiuu 
Masoniy,"  which  rite  he  established  first  in  Courland,  and  aftei*^ 
wards  in  Germany,  France,  and  England.  -Vfter  having  been 
banished  from  France,  in  consequence  of  his  implication  in  a 
matter  concerning  the  queen,  and  driven  from  England  by  his 
creditoi-s,  he  was  induced  by  liis  wife,  who  was  weary  of  her  wan- 
dering life,  and  anxious  once  more  to  see  her  relations,  to  visit 
Rome,  where  he  wiis  arrested  on  the  charge  of  attempting  to  found 
a  Masonic  lodge,  against  wliich  a  papal  bull  had  recently  been 
promulgated,  and  was  thrown  into  the  castle  of  Saint  Angelo,  in 
1789.  He  was  condemned  to  death,  but  the  punishment  was 
(•ommuted  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  His  wife  was  shut  up  in 
a  convent,  and  died  soon  after.  Having  been  transferred  to  the 
Castle  of  San  Leo,  he  attempted  to  strangle  the  monk  who  hjid 
been  sent  to  confess  him,  in  the  hope  of  escaping  in  his  gown; 
but  the  attempt  failed,  and  it  is  supposed  he  died,  a  prisoner,  in 
1795. 

The  Egyptian  rite  invented  by  Cagliostro  is  a  mixture  of  the 
sacred  and  profane,  of  the  serious  and  laugliable;  charlatanism  is 
its  prevailing-  feature.  Having  discovered  a  MS.  of  Geoi-ge 
Cofton,  in  which  was  propounded  a  singular  scheme  for  the  ix^fonn 
of  Freemasonry  in  an  alchymistic  and  fantastic  sense,  Cagliostit) 
succeeded  in  gaining  many  follower  and  much  wealth,  by  means 
of  this  rite  which  he  appeai-s  to  have  borrowed  from  Cofton. 
He  gave  his  dupes  to  undei-stand  that  the  scope  of  Egyptian 
Masonry  was  to  conduct  men  to  i)erfection  by  means  of  physical 


A    GOVERNMENT    OF    MYilTERY    AND    PllATliRNlTY.  605 

and  moral  regeneration;  aBserting  that  ttie  fotiner  was  cei'tain 
through  the  use  »f  prima  materia^  and  the  philosopher's  stone, 
which  assured  to  man  the  strength  of  youth  and  immortality,  and 
that  the  second  was  to  be  achieved  by  the  discovery  of  a  pentagon 
that  would  restore  man  to  his  primitive  innoeence. 

This  rite  indeed  is  a  tissue  of  fatuities  it  would  not  l>e  worth 
while  t«  allude  to,  did  it  not  offer  matter  for  study  to  the  philoso- 
pher and  moralist.  Cagliostro  pretended  that  the  rit«  had  been 
first  founded  by  Enoch,  remodelled  by  Eliatj,  and  finally  restored 
by  the  Grand  Copt.  Both  men  and  women  —  this  latter  an 
exception  to  Ma.soiiic  cu.Htnms  —  \vpi-e  admitted,  though  tlic  crcjv- 
monies  for  each  were  slightly  different,  and  the  lodges  for  their 
reception  entirely  distinct. 

In  the  reception  of  women,  among  other  formalities  there  was 
that  of  breatliing  into  the  face  of  the  neophyte,  saying,  "I  bi-eathe 
upon  you  this  breath  to  cause  to  germinate  in  you  and  groiv  in 
your  heart  the  truth  we  possess;  I  breathe  it  into  you  to 
strengthen  in  you  good  intentions,  and  to  confinn  you  in  the 
faith  of  your  bi'othei-s  and  sisters.  We  constitute  you  a  legiti- 
mate daughter  of  true  Egyptian  adoption  and  of  this  worsliipful 
lodge." 

One  of  the  lodges  was  called  "Sinai,"  where  the  mast  secret 
rites  were  perfonned;  another  "Amrat,"  to  symlxtlize  the  rest 
reserved  for  Masons  only.  Concerning  the  pentagon,  Cagliostro 
taught  that  it  would  be  given  to  the  masters  aftt;r  forty  days  of 
intercourse  with  the  seven  primitive  angels,  and  that  its  possessore 
would  enjoy  a  pliysical  regeneration  for  5557  years,  after  which 
they  would,  through  gentle  slee[),  jiass  into  heaven. 

The  pentagon  had  as  much  .success  with  the  upper  ten  thousand 
of  London,  Paris,  and  St.  Petersburg,  as  the  pliilosopher's  stone 
ever  enjoyed;  and  large  sums  were  given  for  a  few  grains  of  the 
rejuvenating  joWma  materia.  There  exists  yet  between  Basle  and 
Strasburg  a  sumptuous  Chinese  temple,  where  the  famous  penta- 
gon was  worshipped ;  and  the  lodge  "  Sinai "  at  Lyons  was  as 
gorgeous  as  a  palace.  i 

But  besides  Masonic  delusions,    Cagliostro  made  use  of   the 

I  Prima  matorla  —  Primal  (or  orlgliial)  mktter,  mppOMd  to  codUId  b  condenntion  of 


604  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

treated  so  badly  that  she  ran  away  from  him ;  but  lie  recovered 
her  and  acquired  still  greater  influence  over  her  by  magnetically 
operating  upon  her.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  Uiat  he  was  a 
remarkable  magnetizer. 

Visiting  Germany,  he  was  initiated  into  Fi-eemasonry  in  which 
he  soon  began  to  take  a  prominent  part.  He  also  assumed  differ- 
ent titles,  such  as  that  of  Mai-quis  of  Pellegrini,  but  the  one  he  is 
best  known  by  is  that  of  Count  Cagliostro;  and  by  his  astuteness, 
impudence,  and  some  lucky  hits  at  prophesying,  he  acquired  a 
European  notoriety  and  made  many  dujjcs,  including  persons  of 
the  highest  rank,  especially  in  France,  where  he  founded  many 
new  Masonic  lotlges. 

He  was  the  author  of  a  lx>ok  called  *'The  Kite  of  Egyptian 
Masoniy,"  which  rite  he  established  first  in  Courland,  and  after- 
wards in  Germany,  France,  and  England.  After  having  been 
banished  from  France,  in  consequence  of  his  implication  in  a 
matter  concerning  the  queen,  and  driven  from  England  by  his 
creditoiw,  he  was  induced  by  his  wife,  who  was  weary  of  her  wan- 
dering life,  and  anxious  once  more  to  see  her  relations,  to  visit 
Rome,  where  he  was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  attempting  to  found 
a  Masonic  lodge,  against  which  a  papal  hull  had  recently  lieen 
2)ronnilgate(l,  and  wius  thrown  into  the  castle  of  Saint  Angelo,  in 
1789.  He  wiis  condemned  to  death,  but  the  punishment  was 
commuted  to  perpetual  im})risonnient.  His  wife  was  shut  up  in 
a  convent,  and  died  soon  after.  Having  l)een  transfen-ed  to  the 
Ciistle  of  San  Leo,  he  attempted  to  sti-angle  the  monk  who  h«id 
been  sent  to  confess  him,  in  the  hope  of  escaping  in  his  gown; 
but  the  attempt  failed,  and  it  is  supposed  he  die<l,  a  prisoner,  iu 
1705. 

The  Egyptian  rite  invented  by  Cagliostro  is  a  mixtui-e  of  the 
sacred  and  profane,  of  the  serious  and  laughable;  charlatanism  is 
its  prevailing*  feature.  Having  discovered  a  MS.  of  George 
Cofton,  in  which  was  propounded  a  singular  scheme  for  the  itifonn 
of  Freemasonry  in  an  alchJ^nistic  and  fantastic  sense,  Cagliostit) 
succeeded  in  gaining  many  followers  and  much  wealth,  by  means 
of  this  rite  which  he  appeal's  to  have  l)orrowed  from  Cofton. 
He  gave  his  dupes  to  underetand  that  the  scope  of  Egyptian 
Masonry  wjis  to  conduct  men  to  perfection  by  means  of  physical 


A  GOVERNMENT  OP   MYSTERY   AND   FHATEUNITV.  605 

anil  moral  regeiipration ;  asserting  that  the  former  was  certain 
through  the  nse  iif  prima  materia^  &nd  the  phihjsopher's  stone, 
which  assured  to  man  the  strength  of  youth  and  immortality,  and 
that  the  second  was  to  be  achieved  by  the  discovery  of  a  pentagon 
tliat  -.vould  restore  man  to  his  primitive  innocence. 

This  rite  indeed  ia  a  tissue  of  fatuities  it  would  not  he  worth 
while  to  allude  to,  did  it  not  offer  matter  for  study  to  the  philoso- 
pher and  moralist.  Cagliostro  pretended  that  the  rite  had  lieen 
first  founded  hy  Enoch,  remodelled  by  Etias,  and  finally  restored 
by  the  Grand  Copt.  Both  men  and  women  —  this  latter  an 
exception  to  Masonic  customs —  were  admitted,  though  tlie  eere- 
monioa  for  each  werv  slightly  diSurvnt,  and  the  lodgo:*  for  titcir 
reception  entirely  distinct. 

In  the  reception  of  women,  among  other  formalities  there  was 
that  of  breathing  into  the  face  of  the  neophyte,  saying,  "  I  breathe 
upon  you  this  breath  to  cause  to  germinate  in  you  and  grow  in 
your  heart  the  truth  we  possess;  I  breathe  it  into  you  to 
strengthen  in  you  good  intentions,  and  to  confinn  you  in  the 
faith  of  your  brothei-s  and  sistera.  We  coiLstitute  you  a  legiti- 
mate daughter  of  true  Egyptian  adoption  and  of  this  worsliipful 
lodge." 

One  of  the  lodges  ^vas  called  "Sinai,"  where  the  mast  secret 
rites  were  performed;  another  "Ararat,"  to  symlxjlize  the  i-est 
reserved  for  Masons  only.  Concerning  the  pentagon,  Cagliostro 
taught  that  it  would  be  given  to  the  masters  aft<'r  forty  <lays  of 
intercourse  \vith  the  seven  primitive  angels,  and  that  its  possessors 
would  enjoy  a  physical  regeneration  for  5557  years,  after  which 
they  would,  thiough  gentle  slee[),  [miss  into  heaven. 

The  pentagon  had  as  much  success  with  the  upper  ten  thousand 
of  London,  Paris,  and  St.  Petei-sburg,  as  the  philosopher's  stone 
ever  enjoyed;  and  large  sums  were  given  for  a  few  grains  of  the 
rejuvenating  jorsma  materia.  There  exists  yet  between  Basle  and 
Strasburg  a  sumptuous  Chinese  temple,  where  the  famous  penta- 
gon was  worshipped ;  and  the  lodge  "  Sinai "  at  Lyons  was  as 
gorgeous  as  a  palace.  > 

But  besides  Masonic  delusions,    Cagliostro  made  use  of   the 

<  Prima  motorla— Piiuut  (or  orlgliia])  mMUr,  Buppond  to  coduId  a 


1 


606  THB  STOBY  OF    GOVERNMENT. 

then  little  underBtood  wonders  of  magnetism  to  attract  adherents; 
and,  as  many  persons  are  wrecked  by  the  wine  cup,  so  he  made 
dupes  of  many  by  means  of  the  water  bottle,  which  trick,  as 
might  be  shown,  was  very  ancient,  and  consisted  in  divination 
by  hydromancy. 

A  child,  generally  a  little  gfirl,  was  made  to  look  into  a  bottle 
of  water,  and  see  therein  events,  past,  present,  and  to  come,  the 
child  having,  of  course,  been  well  tutored  beforehand ;  and,  as 
Cagliostro  was  really  a  man  of  observation,  he  made  many  shrewd 
guesses  as  to  the  future,  and  sometimes  fortune  favored  him  —  as 
in  the  case  of  Schiefifort,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  lUuminati,  who 
refused  to  join  the  Egyptian  rite,  at  which  Cagliostro  was  so 
incensed  that  he  caused  the  little  girl  to  see  in  the  decanter  the 
exterminating  angel,  who  declared  that  in  less  than  a  month 
Schieffort  would  be  punished. 

Now  it  so  happened  that  within  that  period  Schieffort  committed 
suicide,  which,  of  course,  gave  an  immense  lift  to  Cagliostro  and 
his  bottle.  In  this  respect  indeed,  Cagliostro  was  a  forerunner 
of  some  of  our  modern  spiritualists;  and  as  he  did  not  keep  his 
occult  power  a  seci'et  from  all,  but  freely  communicated  it,  magical 
practices  were  thus  introduced  into  the  lodges,  which  well  served 
the  purposes  of  the  astute,  and  brought  discredit  on  the  institu- 
tion. 

According  to  one  of  the  fundamental  laws  of  Masonry  —  and 
a  inile  prevailing  in  the  greater  mysteries  of  antiquity  —  women 
cannot  be  received  into  the  order.  Women  cannot  keep  secrets, 
at  least  so  Milton  says  through  the  mouth  of  Dalila.  But  we 
have  already  seen  that  Cagliostro  admitted  women  to  the 
Egyptian  rite;  and  when  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury similar  associations  sprang  up  in  France,  which  in  their 
external  aspect  resembled  Freemasonry,  but  did  not  exclude 
women,  the  ladies  naturally  were  loud  in  their  praise  of  such 
institutions,  so  that  the  Masonic  brotherhood,  seeing  it  was 
becoming  popular,  had  recourse  to  the  stratagem  of  establishing 
"adoptive  "  lodges  of  women,  so  called  because  every  such  lodg^ 
had  finally  to  be  adopted  by  some  regular  Masonic  lodge. 

The  Grand  Orient  of  France  framed  laws  for  their  government, 
and  the  fii'st  lodge  of  adoption  was  opened  in  Paris,  in  1775,  in 


608  THE  8TOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

■ 

which  the  Duchess  of  Bourbon  presided,  and  was  initiated  as 
Gmnd  Mistress  of  the  rite.  The  Revolution  checked  the  progress 
of  this  rite,  but  it  wiis  revived  in  1805,  when  the  Empress  Jose- 
phine presided  over  the  ^Loge  Imperiale  d^ Adoption  de»  Franas- 
C/ievalier»j**  at  Strasburg.  Similar  lodges  spread  over  Europe, 
Great  Britain  excepted;  but  they  soon  declined  and  are  at  present 
confined  to  the  place  of  their  origin,  except  that  lately  in  America 
there  has  been  instituted  for  women  the  Adoptive  Masonic  Order 
of  the  Extern  Star. 

The  adoptive  rite  consists  of  the  same  degrees  as  those  of 
genuine  Masonry.  Every  sister  being  a  dignitary  has  beside  her 
a  Masonic  brother  holding  the  corresponding  rank.  Hence  the 
officers  are  a  Grand  Master  and  a  Grand  Mistress,  an  Inspector 
and  Ins{>ectress,  a  Depositor  and  a  Depositrix,  a  Conductor  and  a 
Conductress.  The  business  of  the  lodge  is  managed  by  the  sis- 
terhood, the  brethren  only  acting  as  their  assistants ;  but  the 
Grand  Mistress  has  very  little  to  say  or  to  do,  she  being  only  an 
honorary  companion  to  the  Grand  Master. 

The  first,  or  apprentice's  degree,  is  only  introductory;  in  the 
second,  or  companion,  the  scene  of  the  temptation  in  Eden  is 
emblematically  repi'eseuted:  the  building  of  the  Tower  of  Baliel 
is  the  subject  of  the  mistress'  degree;  and  in  the  fourth,  or  that 
of  perfect  mistress,  the  officers  represent  Moses,  Aaron,  and  their 
wives,  and  the  ceremonies  refer  to  the  i){issage  of  the  Israelites 
through  the  wilderness,  as  a  symbol  of  the  passage  of  men  and 
women  through  this  to  another  and  better  life. 

Tlie  lodge  room  is  tastefully  decorated,  and  divided  by  eur- 
tiiins  into  four  compartments,  each  repivsenting  one  of  the  fou/ 
quai-tere  of  the  globe,  the  eastern,  or  furthermost,  representing 
.Vsia,  where  then*  are  two  splendid  thrones,  decorated  with  g(d<l 
fringe  for  the  Grand  Master  and  the  Grand  Mistress.  The  mem- 
bera  sit  on  each  side  in  straight  lines,  the  sisters  in  front,  and  the 
brothel's  Ixjhind  them,  the  latter  having  swords  in  their  hands. 

All  this  pretty  playing  at  Masonry  is  natumlly  followed  in 
France  by  a  banquet,  and  on  many  0(!casions  by  a  ball,  very  proper 
sequels  to  private  theatricals  I  At  the  banquets  the  members  use 
a  syml)olical  language;  thus  the  lodge  room  is  called  "Eden,*' 
th(^  dooi-s   "baiTiere,"  a  glass  is  called  a  "lamp,"  water  "white 


oil,"  wine  "red  oil";  to  fill  your  glass  is  "to  trim  yonr  lamp," 
etc. 

The  Jesuits,  who  according  to  the  French  proverb  have  to  poke 
their  nose  into  all  things,  soon  poked  it  into  Adoptive  Masonry  — 
—  and  so  they  founded  new  lodges,  or  modified  existing  ones  of 
that  rite  to  further  their  own  purposes.  Thus  it  was  that  a  truly 
monkish  asceticism  was  introduced  into  some  of  these  lodges,  which 
by  the  Jesuits  were  divided  into  ten  degrees ;  and  we  find  such 
passages  in  the  catechism  as  these:  "Are  you  prepared,  sister,  to 
sacrifice  life  for  the  good  of  the  Catholic,  Apostolic  Roman 
Church?"  The  tenth  or  last  degree  Was  called  the  "Princess  of 
the  Crown,"  and  a  great  portion  of  the  ritual  treats  of  the  Queen 
of  Sheba.     This  rite  was  established  in  Saxony  in  1779. 

But  whether  or  not  Masoniy  descended  from  the  ancient  reli- 
gious mysteries,  its  modern  and  practical  value,  from  a  religious 
point  of  view,  can  hardly  be  doubted  by  a  candid  mind,  for  what- 
ever tends  to  break  down  the  barriers  of  national  and  racial 
antipathy,  and  to  produce  unity  and  a  sense  of  essential  oneness 
among  men,  paves  the  way  fur  a  just  appreciation  of  human  life 
as  a  whole,  and  hastens  the  coming  of  a  true  civilization.  Aa 
excellent  example  of  that  joint  inculcation  of  the  Fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  Bi'otherhood  of  man  which  is  the  distinctive  mark 
of  the  teaching  of  Masonry,  is  furnished  by  the  following 
anecdote :  — 

A  Jew  entered  a  Paraee  temple  and  beheld  the  sacred  fire. 
"What!  "  said  he  to  the  priest,  "do  you  worship  the  fire?  " 

"  Not  the  fire, "  answered  the  priest,  '*  it  is  to  us  only  an  emblem 
of  the  sun  and  of  his  genial  heat." 

"Do  you  then  worship  the  sun  as  your  God?  "  asked  the  Jew. 
"Know  ye  not  that  this  luminary  also  is  but  a  work  of  the 
Almighty  Creator?" 

"We  know  it,"  replied  the  priest,  "but  the  uncultivated  man 
requires  a  sensible  sign  in  order  to  form  a  conception  of  the  Most 
High,  and  is  not  the  sun,  the  incomprehensible  source  of  light, 
an  image  of  that  invisible  being  who  blesses  and  preserves  all 
things?" 

"Do  your  people,  then,"  rejoined  the  Israelite,  "distinguish 
die  type  from  the  original  ?     They  call  the  sun  their  God,  and. 


610  THB  STOBY  OF  60VEBNMENT. 

descending  even  from  this  to  a  baser  object,  they  kneel  before  an 
earthly  flame !  Ye  amuse  the  outward,  but  blind  the  inward  eye ; 
and  while  ye  hold  to  them  the  earthly,  ye  draw  from  them  the 
heavenly  light  I  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thyself  any  image  or 
likeness.** 

^How  do  you  designate  the  Supreme  Being?'*  asked  the 
Parsee. 

^We  call  him  Jehovah  Adonai;  that  is,  the  Lord  who  is, 
who  was,  and  who  will  be,"  answered  the  Jew. 

^Your  appellation  is  grand  and  sublime,**  said  the  Parsee, 
"but  it  is  too  awful  and  far  away.** 

A  Mason  then  drew  nigh  and  said,  '^  We  call  him  Father  I  *' 
The  Parsee  and  the  Jew  looked  at  each  other  and  exclaimed, "  Here 
is  at  once  an  image  and  a  reality;  it  is  a  word  of  the  heart.** 

Therefore  they  all  raised  their  eyes  to  heaven,  and  said,  with 
reverence  and  love,  '*Our  Father,**  and  they  took  each  other  by 
the  hand,  and  all  three  called  one  another  ^^ brother.*' 

At  the  same  time  that  recent  research  by  Masonic  students 
compels  us  to  doubt  any  absolute,  direct  connection  between 
modem  Masonry  and  the  ancient  attempts  at  fraternal  alliance, 
the  idea  that  Philosophical,  Ritualistic  Masonry  sprang  from  that 
great  craft  of  Operative  Masonry  which  built  so  many  wonderful 
edifices  in  the  Middle  Ages  all  over  Europe,  must  also  be  aban- 
doned. The  history  of  these  guilds  and  great  mediaeval  corpora- 
tions has  been  repeatedly  published,  and  all  that  can  be  safely 
said  is  that  the  present  Masonic  lodge  system  is  perhaps  due  to 
these  corporations,  but  that  Speculative  or  Philosophical  Masonry, 
as  it  has  been  developed  since  1725,  when  ritualism  commenced, 
derived  any  of  its  principles  from  Operative  Masonry,  is  inadmis- 
sible. 

It  has  never  been  demonstrated  that  in  all  the  guilds,  cor- 
porations, and  other  associations  of  the  eighteenth,  seventeenth, 
and  precedent  centuries,  there  was  anything  whatever  that  could 
serve  as  a  foimdation  for  the  philosophy  of  Masonry,  as  it  has 
since  been  imderstood.  For  it  has  been  well  settled  by  such 
famous  writers  on  Masonry  as  W.  J.  Hughan,  A.  F.  A.  Woodford, 
R.  F.  Gould,  in  England,  and  D.  Murray  Lyon,  in  Scotland,  that 
as  early  as  1725  there  was  no  ritual  of  the  degrees;  nor  is  there 


A  GOVEKNMENT   OF   MYSTEKY  AND   FRATBKNITy.  611 

any  reliable  evidence  that  in  1717  there  was  anything  more  than 
B.  "Mason  wortl"  whereby  MasoiLS  could  recognize  one  another. 
The  Master  Mason  waa  so  called  after  he  became  the  presiding 
officer  of  his  lodge; '  and  when  an  apprentice  was  to  be  "  Crqfted," 
two  apprentices  should  be  present  to  witness  the  ceremony. 

George  Eliot,  the  famous  English  novelist,  whom  some  critics 
consider  to  have  sounded  the  deeps  of  the  human  lieart  and  brain 
more  profomidly  and  truly  than  any  other  English  writer,  makes 
one  of  her  humorous  characters  remark  that  the  Masons  are  mad, 
because  they  haven't  more  to  conceal,  and  it  is,  indeed,  true  that 
the  mystery  of  JVIasoitiy  is  i-ather  the  micit  which  envelopij  ita  origin 
and  its  spread  than  anything  else,  since  a  few  secret  forms  of  initia- 
tion and  communication  can  hardly  be  deemed  oE  much  moment, 
inasmuch  &a  numerous  other  organizations  have  similar  character- 
istics. What  chiefly  strikes  the  general  student  who,  like  the 
present  writer,  does  not  happen  to  be  a  Mason,  is  the  historic  uncer- 
tainty in  which  Masonry  has  been  enshrouded ;  perhaps  the  devout 
Mason  would  add  —  enshrined.  For  no  man  can  tell  whence  it 
originated,  nor  can  any  man  trace  accurately  the  manner  in  which, 
it  was  transmitted  from  one  to  the  other,  until  it  has  reached  all 
parts  of  the  civilized  world.  How  came  it  to  America?  Who 
brought  it  here  ?  The  brother  who  did  must  have  found  here,  or 
brought  with  him,  a  kindred  spirit  ready  to  give  and  Itkemse  to 
receive. 

There  is  no  need  to  reiterate  what  has  already  been  written  as 
to  its  early  history  in  the  old  country.     There  were,  no  doubt, 
many  Freemasons  among  the   early   immigrants  ^m   England.  . 
Prior  to  the  formation  of  the  first  Grand  Lodge  at  London,  in 
1717,  Masons  assembled  annually,  at  least,  at  some  central  point, 

iTbe  cit;  ot  ToTk,  In  the  north  of  England,  is  Mlebnted  lorltB  traditional  connectfon  with 
IfUoni7  in  tliat  Idngdom.  No  topic  Id  tbe  blatocj  ot  Frecmosoni?  bM  bo  mucb  engaged  tb« 
attention  of  modem  Maaanlo  Bcbalan,  oritlren  occasion  to  more  dlsconlon,  tbon  tbe  alleged 
fact  of  tbe  eitsWnce  ot  Masonry  In  the  tenth  ceutur?  at  the  dt;  of  York  aa  a  prominent 
point,  of  tbe  calling  of  a  cangreRAtlon  of  tbe  craft  tbere  in  the  fear  ^.  D.  t>20,  ot  tbe  organii*. 
tion  of  a  general  aeaembly  and  the  adoption  of  a  constitution.  Dntlng  tbe  whole  of  tbe  last 
and  the  greater  part  of  tbe  present  centary,  the  Fraternity  in  general  have  accepted  ail  of 
thrae  itatemenUaegenalnepartlona  of  authentic  hl>tor>';  Ami  ihb  Adveisarli-!-  <ir  ilii>  nril«r 
bate,  with  tlieaame  want  of  dlscrlmi nation,  rejected  tbein  .ill  as  mytbe;  while  a  fewearueat 
■eakera  after  troth  have  lieen  at  a  loss  to  determine  whi-t  i>art  vox  hlBtorlcal  and  what  part 
lagendary.  Becsntly.  the  discovery  ot  many  old  maniuc7i]itH  hu  directed  Ibe  latiorH  of  unoli 
aobolan  am  Hnglian,  Woodford,  Lyon,  and  otbere,  to  tbi>  ''rliical  piamlnatlon  of  the  early 
Ustoiy  Of  Muoniy,  and  tbM  ot  Tork  baa  pMtloiUarly  ensaged  their  attention. 


612  THE  STORY  OF  GOVEBXMENT. 

and  met  in  lodge,  selecting  the  oldest  master  present  as  Chief 
Master  to  preside  over  their  deliberations.  There  were  different 
classes  of  Masons,  —  the  Operative  Mason,  the  Speculative  Mason 
who  was  free  of  the  craft,  the  Apprentice,  the  Fellow  or  Ciafts- 
man,  the  Masters,  the  Wardens,  and  the  Masters  of  the  Work. 
Elach  one  had  his  allotted  task  to  do,  and  all  disputes  were  settled, 
intricate  problems  solved,  and  the  designs  on  the  trestle  board 
were  studied  with  advantage  to  all. 

History  is  silent  as  to  what  led  to  the  coming  together  of  the 
Masons  of  the  four  lodges  or  assemblies  in  London,  at  the  Apple 
Tree  Tavern.  It  may  have  been  that  the  Operative  brethren  were 
tired  of  their  wandering  life,  and  wanted  a  fixed  place  of  meeting. 
It  may  have  been  that  a  lull  had  come  in  the  building  of  old 
minsters,  cathedrals,  and  abbeys,  and  that  a  period  of  idleness 
was  upon  the  craft.  Or  it  may  have  been  that  the  sun  shone 
brightly  on  the  fame  of  the  great  architect.  Sir  Christopher  Wren, 
whose  sole  monument  is  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  in  London,  and 
like  our  hero  worshippers  of  the  present  time,  they  selected  him 
as  the  Grand  Master  of  the  craft. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  a  wonderful  change  came  over  Freemasonry 
in  1717,  and  the  spinning-wheel  of  fancy  then  began  the  gathering 
together  of  the  fibres  of  old  Masonic  history ;  and  as  it  turned 
slowly  at  first,  these  fibres  were  wound  and  twisted  together, 
making  a  homely  thread,  and  these,  gathered  by  cunning  hands 
and  constantly  expanding  minds,  in  time  formed  that  which  now 
forms  the  basis  of  a  beautiful  piece  of  work,  —  the  Masonic  historj- 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

These  old  Masons  were  not  warmnted  to  meet  by  any  legal 
paper;  they  were  never  duly  constituted  into  a  lodge.  We  can 
imagine  them  meeting  on  the  highest  hill  or  in  the  deepest  valley, 
whei'e  eavesdroppera  could  not  intrude,  and  note  the  crude  work 
of  the  Master,  with  the  roll  of  the  Old  Charges  of  Freemasons  in 
his  hand,  reading  therefrom  to  the  candidate,  and  his  affirmation 
thereto,  and  the  vow,  "So  help  me  God  and  halidom,**  which 
made  him  a  Freemason. 

The  name  "  Freemason  "  appears  for  the  first  time  in  Statute 
25,  of  Edward  I.,  of  England,  A.  d.  1350.  "X^  statute  (Farti- 
ficer  et  servants^^'  and  from  the  original  French  text  of  the  statute 


A    GOVlillNMKNT    HF    .MVSTKUV    AND    FUATEUSITV.  613 

the  word  signifies  a  "Free-stone  Mason, "  one  who  works  in  free- 
stone, as  distinguished  from  the  rough  mason  who  merely  built 

^  Mm 


Willi  n(  mii^'li  siijiiex.      Tlie  mmloni  acceptation  of  the  word  gives 
it  its  line  wlui  is  "  Kivo  of  th«  finilds  of  the  Cnift,"  i.  e.,  endowed 


614  THE  STORY  OF   60VERNMBNT. 

with  the  freedom  of  these  bodie84  In  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth centuiy,  persons  who  were  not  Operative  Masons  began  to 
unite  with  the  Freemasons,  and  were  distinguished  from  the 
regular  working  Masons  by  the  denomination  of  "Accepted.*' 

It  is  certain  that  many  noblemen,  gentlemen,  military  officers, 
clergymen,  and  others,  attracted  by  the  moral  principles  of  the 
Fraternity,  joined  the  existing  lodges,  and  to  them  may  be 
ascribed  the  radical  changes  that  afterward  took  place  in  the 
reconstruction  of  the  Order.  It  is  well  known  that  some  of  those 
earlier  and  most  prominent  Masons  were  men  of  learning,  and 
prone  to  push  forward  abstract  theories,  as  well  as  to  mix  them- 
selves up  with  matters  philosophical.  It  is,  therefore,  easy  to 
suppose  that  to  such  minds  the  dogmas  of  the  ruling  church  would 
be  distasteful. 

By  the  year  1702,  the  Speculative  lodges  in  England  began  to 
decay  and  fall  into  oblivion,  becoming  so  degenerated  as  to  be 
applied  to  purposes  of  gain  and  self-interest;  appearing  to  the 
minds  of  the  credulous  and  superstitious  merely  as  a  mysterious 
secret  society,  useful  to  mariners  and  travellers  visiting  different 
parts  of  the  world,  as  a  safe  introduction  among  strangers.  It  is 
recorded  in  the  publications  of  that  day,  that  it  was  a  common 
thing,  when  passing  along  the  streets  of  London  and  Liverpool, 
particularly  by  the  riverside,  to  see  large  painted  signs  over  the 
doors  of  ale  houses  and  sailoi-s'  lodgings:  "''Masons  viade  here  for 
12^." 

It  was  when  the  ancient  forms  had  commenced  to  decay  and  tlie 
true  comprehension  of  the  meaning  of  ceremonials,  usages,  and 
discijiline  was  dying  out,  that  the  Fraternity  felt  the  necessity  of 
preventing  its  total  extinction  by  re-establishing  the  Ancient 
Landmarks  and  reinstating  the  Order.  The  year  1717  saw  a 
complete  change,  at  the  hands  of  James  Anderson,  D.  D.,  l)om 
in  Edinburg  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  centurj'-,  a  minister  of 
the  Scottish  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Piccadilly,  London,  and  John 
Theophilus  Desaguliers,  LL.  D.,  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  the 
son  of  a  French  Protestant  clergyman,  who  came  to  England  after 
the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  assisted  by  other  old  mem- 
bers chosen  for  their  ability  and  knowledge  of  the  Fraternity. 

They  were  desired,  by  the  rulers  of  the  Order,  to  peruse  and 


A   GOVEBNMKST   OF   MYSTEUY   AND   FRATERSITY. 


615 


digest  into  a  n«w  and  better  method  "The  Histoi^',  Charges,  and 
Regulations  of  the  Ancient  Fraternity."  This  was  accordingly 
done,  which  points  distinctly  to  the  fact  that  the  true  character  of 
Freemasonry  is  only  the  history  of  the  operative  sodalities  and 
aaecessive  ages  of  architects. 

These  clergj-men  were,  no  doubt,  actuated  by  a  spirit  of  t<ilei^ 
ation.  and  desirous  of  introducing  a  code  of  morals  without  the 
aid  of  theology,  and  they  therefore  ei-adicat^d  the  sectarian  ele-  ' 
ment   of   Christianity,    substituting   the    apocryphal     li;gend    nf 
"Hiram  "    and    "Symbolism 
of  Solomon's  Temple,"  ti-ans- 
fonuing  it  into  whnt  we  now 
find     "Free    and     Accepted 
Masonry,"  by  converting  the 
old  Stone -masons'    allegory, 
U]x>n  which  the  legend  of  the 
thinl   degree   and    death   of 
Hiram  Abiff  is  founded,  into 
what  anciently  was  the  expo- 
sition of  the  stoiyof  the  fall 
of    mankind,    the   sacrificial 
redemption    of     the     human 
race,  and  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection. 

It  would  seem  that  Doctor 
Andereon  and  his  colleagues, 
in  fulfilling  the  duty  con- 
fided to  them,  may  have  exceeded  tlieir  authority  and  made  radi- 
cal changes  quite  unknown  before,  in  reorganizing  the' institution, 
which,  aft«rsome  amendments,  was  formally  approved  and  accepted 
A.  n.  1723,  which  became  known  as  the  "New  Constitution,"  and 
is  the  Freemasonry  of  the  present  day. 

They  adopted  a  univerml  creed  to  suit  the  ideas  of  such  mem- 
bers as  preferred  a  philosophical  interpretation  of  Christianity 
rather  than  one  that  inculcated  the  tenets  of  a  particular  form  of 
religious  belief  inconsistent  with  toleration  and  universality. 
The  adoption  of  a  universal  creed,  on  the  plan  of  the  Fatherhood 
of  God  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Mankind,  was  to  admit  men  of  all 


BHOTIIBB  OEOItOE  WASHIKOTON'S 


616  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

religions,  nationalities,  and  stations  in  life,  —  not  to  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  an  English,  Scottish,  Irish,  or  Protestant  philosophy, 
but  a  philosophy  of  the  world. 

There  does  not  seem  to  exist  a  doubt  that  Doctor  Anderson,  as 
a  Christian  minister  of  the  Gosi>el,  was  faithful  to  his  trust.  He 
was  actuated  only  by  a  desire  to  correct  existing  abuses,  by 
changing  the  system  of  Freemasonrj-,  as  he  found  it,  into  a  cos- 
mopolitan philosophical  society.  But  although  the  teachings  of 
Ancient  Freemasonr}-,  foi-merly  distinctly  Christian,  are  now  cos- 
mopolitan, it  does  not  prevent  or  interfere  with  the  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment  and  conviction,  there  being  room  for  the  admission 
of  the  Christian,  as  well  as  the  universal,  exposition  of  the  symlx)l8 
and  ritual,  which,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  liberal  and  broad  prin- 
ciples of  the  craft,  should  never  he  matle  the  subject  of  strife, 
but  held  in  fraternal  peace  and  good-will  by  all. 

It  was  years  before  the  authority  or  prerogative  of  a  Grand 
Lodge  was  understood  or  recognized.  How  all  is  changed !  A 
lodge  cannot  be  lawful  now,  unless  duly  wan-anted  and  coniiti- 
tuted.  At  first,  the  brethen  met  and  agreed  to  form  a  lodge,  then 
the  power  of  assembling  the  brethren  iis  a  lodge  was  vested  in 
a  Grand  Master,  who  authorized  the  meeting ;  afterwai-d,  the 
Grand  Master  deputed  this  power  to  his  Deputy  or  Provincial 
Grand  Master,  and  he  authorized  or  recognized  the  meeting  of  a 
lodge.  First  a  deputation,  afterward  a  warrant;  and  this  was 
followed  by  the  solemn  ceremonies  of  constituting  into  a  regular 
lodge. 

During  all  the  time  from  1717  to  the  Revolution,  Masonry  wa« 
spreading  in  the  colonies  of  England,  perhaps  as  ittpidly  in  pi-o- 
portion  to  population  jus  in  the  British  Isles,  and  nearly  all  the 
prominent  men  who  wrote  their  names  large  on  the  early  history 
of  this  country  were  membei's  of  the  craft.  And  in  the  mother 
country  the  adherents  of  the  four  Gmnd  Lodges,  viz. :  England, 
"Modern"  and  "'Ancient,"  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  were  active 
workei-s,  in  the  various  (juestions  then  agit^iting  the  colonies, 
which  brought  with  them  unrest  and  discortl. 

Tlie  craft  was  divided  between  their  loyalty  to  the  king,  luid 
their  sympathy  for  and  fidelity  to  the  colonies.  The  suggestions 
made   by  Daniel  Coxe,  in  his  plan  for  a  union  of  the  colonies. 


A   GOVEUNMENT    OI''    MYWTKRV    AND    FliATKKNITV,  (ilT 

which  were  advocated  afterward  by  Franklin,  and  which  finally 
led  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776,  were  gradually 
permeating  the  craft.  The  feelings  of  the  Fraternity  had  never 
been  taken  on  thia  subject,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  colonies' 
friends  were  found  in  the  greatest  numbers  in  the  lodges  under  the 
"Ancients"  and  the  Grand  Lodges  of  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
while  a  large  percentage  of  the  Royalists  or  Tories  were  to  be 
found  In  the  adherents  of  the  old  Grand  Lodge  or  "Moderns," 

The  Revolution  came  with  all  its  bitterness,  its  devastation,  its 
bloodshed,  its  sufferings,  its  sorrows.  Brother  was  truly  in  arms 
against  brother;  but,  amid  the  most  terrible  scenes  of  the  strife, 
the  touch  of  Masonry  was  felt  to  [lenetrate  through  the  picket- 
line,  past  the  sentinels,  the  guards,  the  camps  of  the  privates,  to 
the  marque-tents  of  the  commanding  officeiis,  and  the  exemplifica- 
tion of  Masonic  teachings  was  the  one  bright  and  redeeming  star 
of  that  ^var.  In  adversity,  in  sorrow,  it  was  Masoniy ;  in  pros- 
perity, in  happiness,  it  was  Masonry  still. 

With  ihe  ending  of  the  war  and  the  return  of  peace  came  to 
Americans  the  longing  for  independence  in  all  matters.  The 
independence  of  the  colonies  must  be  followed  closely  by  that  of 
the  Masonic  Frdternity.  In  this  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachu- 
setts took  the  lead,  followed  closely  by  Pennsylvania  and  others. 
Then  came  the  attempt,  which  was  repeated  more  than  once,  to 
make  Freemasonry  like  unto  the  government,  a  union  of  States 
and  a  union  of  Giiiiid  Lodges.  Brother  Gen.  George  Washington 
was  the  first  and  only  one  suggested  for  Grand  Master;  but  the 
action  taken,  by  the  several  Grand  Lodges,  a<Iverse  thereto, 
resulted  in  its  abandoment  before  much  pmgress  had  been  made. 

The  following  facsimile  of  Washington's  reply  to  a  farewell 
address  of  Brother  Masons  on  his  retirement  to  private  life  will 
be  read  with  profound  interest  and  revei-ential  i-egard  by  all 
j»atriotic  Americans. 

With  the  death  of  Washington  the  proposed  General  Grand 
Lodge  fell  through,  only  to  be  revived  a  few  years  later,  with 
still  less  chance  of  success,  and  Grand  Lodges  became  more 
jealous  of  their  jurisdictional  rights,  which  are  now,  happily,  so 
strong  that  they  are  respected  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  our 
land.     A  Grand  Lodge  tenitoiy  is  sacied  from  invasion.     Within 


6I(t^  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 


«w  liuut^  it  U  supreme.  The  State  can  do  no  wrong,  neither  can 
.1  ^.iituul  LiKlji^t'.  Its  authority  is  respected  by  political  power, 
.uut  v*i\il  luw  Hnds  no  cause  for  interference.  It  judges  it  by  its 
owu  ooiiistitution  and  landmarks  which  are  unchangeable  and 
which  ai\^  founded  on  equal  justice  to  all. 

bhwuuisonry  contains  within  itself  the  divine  law  of  doing  unto 
olhvrH  as  i>eople  would  that  othera  should  do  unto  them.  In  peace 
it  iH  prosiH»ix)US,  in  strife  it  is  sympathetic,  in  adversity  it  is  sub- 
iiiissivt^  In  this  countiy  it  has  had  its  times  of  prosperity  and 
mlvorsity.  The  ending  of  the  Revolution  marked  a  period  of 
tlttUikfulness  for  delivery  from  bondage  and  an  almost  worship  for 
tho  deliverer,  Gen.  George  Washington,  whose  death  was  mourned 
)U«  noiu)  other  but  Lincoln's  has  been  mourned  in  this  country. 
Thou  came  the  mj^terious  disappearance  of  Morgan  and  the 
utt^U'k  upon  the  institution,  by  some  fanatics  and  politicians, 
whic*h  gave  a  temporary  setback  to  Masonry,  ai}d  which  to  this 
day  still  niises  in  some  minds  an  unwarrantable  prejudice 
agaiuHt  the  Order. 

Tlien  followed  the  cioiel  Civil  War,  or  that  of  the  Rebellion, 
tlu»  most  unfortunate  and  sorrowful  of  all,  in  which  attempts 
wcnci  made  to  involve  Masoniy;  but  the  wise  counsel  of  the 
ItMU lei's  of  the  craft  in  the  several  Stiites  prevented  the  mixing  up 
of  Masonry  and  the  State,  and  while  Miusonry  did  not  go  forth 
in  the  advance  with  the  flag  to  avert  the  blow,  it  wiis  found 
among  the  sick  and  wgunded,  the  suffering  and  the  dying,  and  in 
phinted  the  sprig  of  acacia  at  the  head  of  many  a  brother's  gi'ave, 
on  lx)th  sides  of  the  lines. 

Then  came  another  and  better  em,  purely  Masonic,  that  in 
which  we  are  now  living.  The  cjire  of  the  aged  brother,  his  wife, 
Avidow,  and  oqihans,  enlists  the  sympathies  of  the  craft  every- 
where. Throughout  the  land  there  are  springing  up  the  homes^ 
the  asylums,  and  Masonic  establishments  for  the  care  of  poor  and 
need3\     This  may  be  tenued  the  golden  era  of  Freemasonry. 

A  few  notes  of  the  most  impoi-tant  Masonic  events  in  American 
history  will  be  of  interest  to  any  reader  who  desires  to  be  well 
infonned,  whether  approving  of  Masoniy  or  not.  On  June 
27,  1835,  Masonry  laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill 
Monument.     Geneitd  Lafayette  was  present,  and  assisted  at  the 


A    GOVERNMENT    OF    MYSTEllli    ASD    FUATKItNlTY.  blU 

Special  convocation  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Masaaehusetts  and  the 
ceremonies  of  laying  the  comer-stoTie.  Tho  monument  was  dedi- 
cated with  Miisonic  cereninnies,  in  1845. 


f  WABmNGTOS'a   KEl'l. 


The  Anti-Masonic  excitement,  caused  by  the  mysterious  dis- 
apDearance  of  Morgan,  raged  long  and  bitterly  in  Massachusetts. 
Many  of  the  smaller  lodges  suspended  work  until  the  storm  was 


620  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

spent,  while  a  few  surrendered  their  warrants.  In  the  midst  of 
the  excitement,  the  Grand  Lodge,  finding  itself  without  a  home, 
purchased,  in  1830,  a  lot  of  ground,  and  arranged  to  lay  the 
comer-stone  of  a  new  hall.  Amid  the  hooting  and  yelling  of 
a  crazy  crowd,  the  Grand  Lodge  and  brethren,  numbering  two 
thousand,  with  Boston  Encampment  of  Knights  Templars  at  their 
head,  marched  from  Faneuil  Hall  to  the  place  where  the  corner- 
stone was  duly  and  truly  laid. 

On  December  81,  1831,  the  Masons  of  Boston  published  tlie 
famous  "Declaration,"  prepared  by  Charles  W.  Moore,  which  did 
more  to  halt  the  public  excitement,  cool  off  the  hot-headed,  and 
restoi^e  reason  to  the  doubting,  than  any  other  document  issued  in 
this  country.  This  declaration  was  affirmed  and  re-affirmed  by  all 
the  Grand  Lodges  of  the  New  England  States.  But  the  legislature, 
this  same  year,  led  by  the  Anti-Masons,  had  notified  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  appear  and  show  cause  why  the  act  of  incorporation 
granted  in  1817  sliould  not  be  repealed,  and  the  Grand  Lodge,  on 
December  27,  1833,  placing  all  its  property  in  the  hands  of 
trustees,  surrendered  in  a  formal  and  legal  manner,  through  its 
committee,  the  said  act  of  incorpoi^tiou  to  the  legislature, 
together  with  a  "Memorial  "  setting  forth  their  action  in  suiTen- 
deriiig  their  chailer.  Seventeen  years  after,  this  Grand  Lodge 
was  incorpoi-ated  a  second  time  by  the  legislature,  in  an  act  which 
allows  the  holding  of  real  estate  not  exceeding  the  value  of 
$500,000,  and  personal  estate  not  exceeding  the  value  of 
$50,000. 

Tlie  legislature  of  Massachusetts  hjxs  also  incorporated  the 
"Masoiiitt  Education  and  Charity  Trust,"  the  whole  amount  of 
funds  and  property  authorized  to  be  held  by  the  corporation  not 
to  exceed  $1,000,000.  While  the  Grand  Lodge  is  itself  incor- 
porated, it  lias  j)rohibited  its  sulx)r(linate  lodges  from  accepting 
a  charter,  under  an  act  of  incorjwration,  from  "any  legishiture  or 
l)olitical  govcninient." 

The  Temple  is  situated  in  the  lieait  of  Boston  facing  the 
Common,  on  the  comer  of  Boylston  and  Ti-emont  Streets,  half 
a  stone's  throw  from  the  old  Public  Librarj-.  Large,  com- 
modious, built  of  gmy  granite,  it  has  ample  accommodations 
for  the  Grand  and  subordinate  lodges,  the  officers  of  the  Grand 


A  GOVEIRNMBNT   OF   MYSTERY   AND   FKATEKNITV.  621 

Lodge,  and  the  library  of  the  Grand  Lodge.  The  property  is 
valued  at  about  half  a  million.  The  Grand  Charity  Fund 
amounts  to  about  860,000.  A  teiupomry  appropriation  of  $2,000 
annually  is  maile  from  the  general  funds  of  the  Grjind  Lodge, 
UBtil  the  income  of  the  Grand  Charity  Fund  ^hall  bo  available. 
Relief  is  granted  by  a  committee  of  three,  to  worthy  brethren, 
their  widows  and  orphans  in  distress. 

Thia  Grand  Lodge  retains  in  activity  many  of  its  oldest  lodges. 
The  Srst  lodge.  Saint  John's,  July  30,  1733,  is  the  oldest  on 
this  continent;  Saint  Andrew's,  1756,  Boston,  is  the  oldest 
under  Scottish  constitution,  and  there  are  thirty-three  others, 
all  dating  prior  to  1799.  The  minimum  fee  for  the  degree  is 
|>25;  the  annual  dues  generally  from  $2  to  $3,  with  some  lodges 
at  910  and  $15.  In  this  temple  is  a  tine  and  valuable  library, 
rich  in  rare  Masonic  books,  proceedings,  and  magazines.  It  has 
been  fortunate  in  those  who  have  been  called  to  preside  over 
it,  many  of  whom  have  been  distinguished  above  their  brethren, 
in  public  and  political  life,  local.  State,  and  National. 

The  Masonic  Temple  in  Philadelphia,  the  finest  and  largest 
Masonic  building  in  the  world,  is  devoted  exclusively  to  Free- 
masonry. One  of  its  halls,  the  Egyptian  Hall,  lately  decorated 
by  "the  Art  Association  of  the  Masonic  Temple,"  is  unique  in 
ornamentation  and  is  said  to  be  the  finest  specimen  of  Egyptian 
decoration  outside  of  Eg3-pt.  This  i-oom  is  known  as  the  "Wil- 
liam J.  Kelly  testimonial  to  his  brother,  Thomas  R.  Patton," 
and  was  paid  for  by  Brother  Kelly  as  a  testimony  of  a  brother's 
regard  for  a  brother. 

In  1890  there  was  laid  the  foundation  stone  in  Chicago  of  an 
immense  building  eighteen  stories  high,  the  upper  portion  of 
which  (the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  stories),  is  to  be  used  by 
the  Fraternity.  The  grounds  cost  $1,100,000,  and  the  structure 
when  completed,  not  less  than  $2,000,000.  It  is  to  be  fire-proof 
throughout  and  finished  in  marble,  alabaster,  and  onyx,  with 
mosaic  floors.  The  prineij)al  entrance  to  the  building  will  be 
through  an  archway  opening  forty-two  feet  high  and  twentj--eight 
feet  wide.  The  main  rotunda  will  occupy  3,700  square  feet. 
This  court  will  be  supplied  with  fourteen  elevators  in  a  semi- 
circle facing  the  main  entrance.     These  will  have  facilities  for 


622  THB  8TOBY  OF  GOVEBKMENT. 

lifting  between  30,000  and  36,000  people  per  day.  Instead  of 
numbering  the  different  stories  1,  2,  3,  4,  etc,  they  will  be 
called  by  names  as  of  streets  This  order  of  affairs  continues 
until  the  seventeenth  story,  when  the  Masonic  apartments  are 
reached.  The  roof  is  to  be  laid  out  like  a  garden,  with  plants 
and  flowers  during  the  summer,  and  the  view  from  this  point 
will  be  unquestionably  the  finest  in  Chicago. 

But  these  local  and  national  demonstrations  of  Masonic  glory 
in  a  material  way  are  but  symbols  of  its  nobler  and  larger  life, 
for  Masonry  may  be  considered  to  have  developed  from  a  simple 
secret  society  into  a  great  international  bond  —  a  means  to 
mitigate  the  jealousy  of  nations,  soften  the  asperities  of  war,  and 
hasten  the  day  when  the  Laureate  Tennyson's  dream  shall  be 
realized  by  "a  parliament  of  man  —  a  federation  of  the  world." 

Yet  Masonry  may  also  be  called  a  government  within  govern- 
ment, for  it  takes  cognizance  of  certain  acts  of  its  members  in  a 
fashion  supplementaiy  to  the  action  of  the  State  authority.  For 
instance,  in  a  Southern  State  where  duelling  was  countenanced  to 
a  great  degree  by  public  opinion,  in  1814,  the  bearer  of  a  chal- 
lenge, tliat  passed  between  two  Master  Masons,  to  fight  a  duel, 
was  tried  and  suspended  for  one  year  by  his  lodge.  On  appeal  to 
the  Grand  Lodge,  at  the  recommendation  of  the  committee,  to 
whom  the  matter  was  referred,  the  sentence  was  set  aside,  and 
that  of  reprimand  substituted.  Some  few  years  later  the  Grand 
Master,  William  H.  Richardson,  emboldened,  doubtless,  by  this 
leniency,  fought  a  duel  with  a  member  of  his  own  lodge.  At  the 
1818  communication,  the  Grand  Master  and  his  opponent,  Ben- 
jamin W.  Dudley,  were  cited  to  appear  before  the  Grand  Lodge 
for  having  engaged  in  a  duel.  It  was  then  resolved  that  the 
Grand  Lodge  had  jurisdiction  to  inquire  into  the  charge,  and 
on  motion  of  Brother  Henry  Clay,  a  committee  was  appointed 
''to  produce  a  reconciliation  between  them."  The  next  day  the 
committee  reported,  recommending,  as  a  substitute  for  the  resolu- 
tion of  expulsion  then  pending,  suspension  from  the  privileges  of 
Masonry  for  one  year;  which  recommendation  was  adopted. 

The  real  glorv'  of  Masonry  lies  in  its  being  a  pure  democracy. 
In  the  lodge  all  men  are  one.  The  emperor  and  the  ^^easant 
meet  with  that  perfect  equality  in  which  men  are  bom  and  in  which 


A   (iOVERNMEST  OF   MY8TBKY   AND   t'RATEKNlTY.  623 

they  die.  More  than  this,  if  a  MaHon  were  passing  by  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  or  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  for  insbince,  who  ai-e  two 
of  the  highest  Masons  in  the  world,  and  should  moke  the  sign  of 
distress,  and  these  high  dignitaries  .'should  pay  no  heed  to  the 
appeal,  they  could  be  and  would  be  summoned  before  their  lodges 
on  information  of  the  same,  and  unless  they  could  give  a,  satisfac- 
toiy  reason  for  their  neglect,  they  would  he  punished  therefor. 

Another  great  point  of  the  Masonic  Fniteniity  is  that  one  of 
its  most  binding  oaths  and  obligations  is  to  watch  over  and  guard 
the  chastity  of  the  women  of  Masonic  brothers.  It  might  be 
objected,  imssibly,  by  some  doubter  of  the  value  of  Masonry,  that 
it  in  juHt  an  luuiili  a  mau'tt  duty,  da  a  member  of  tlie  bi-otlierhood 
of  humanity,  to  protect  a  woman's  chastity  and  to  preserve  his 
own  for  the  one  to  whom  he  should  belong  in  that  ideal  govern- 
ment, which  goes  under  the  triune  name  of  home,  wife,  and  chil- 
dren, and  therefore  that  Masonry  can  lay  no  special  claim  to 
honor  on  this  score. 

But  it  may  he  answered  that  whatever  tends  to  emphasize  in 
men's  minds  the  value  as  well  as  the  beauty  of  chastity  is  a  great 
help  in  hastening  that  day  when  the  social  evil  shall  no  longer 
show  its  sorrowful,  hideous,  pestilential,  unnecessary  face  in  this 
bright  world,  which  men  and  women  could  make  still  brighter,  if 
they  would  only  listen  more  faithfully  to  the  voice  of  their 
higher  self. 

Up  to  the  year  1826,  the  growth  of  Masonry  in  this  country 
had  been  very  rapid,  and  lodges  had  been  instituted  rather  care- 
lessly without  that  regard  for  perpetuity  and  solidity  which  is  a 
Tttal  element  in  the  welfare  of  an  institution.  Nor  this  alone, 
but  there  was  a  laxity  in  regard  to  the  material  accepted  and,  at 
the  first  reverse  in  the  onward  march  of  Masonry,  the  ranks  were 
largely  depleted  in  certain  sections.  This  reverae  was  of  so 
remarkable  a  character  that  it  bade  fair  to  destroy  the  institution 
in  this  country.  Its  effects  were  felt  in  the  New  England  States, 
Pennsylvania,  and  more  particularly  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
where  the  trouble  arose. 

In  reviewing  the  history  of  those  times,  and  weighing  the 
cause,  a  candid  conclusion  would  seem  to  be  that,  in  a  large 
degree,  its  effects  were  attributable  to  the  lack  of  judgment  and 


624  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

unnecessary  alarm  on  the  part  of  a  few  over-zealous  members  of 
the  craft,  which,  combined  with  other  causes,  —  notably  of  a 
political  character,  —  fanned  the  flame  into  a  raging  fire. 

The  various  accounts  published  at  the  time  are  so  colored  by 
the  personal  interest  of  the  writers  that,  as  in  many  matters  of 
history,  certainty  is  out  of  the  question  and  a  reasonable  proba- 
bility is  all  that  any  student  can  expect  to  evolve.  It  would 
seem  that  the  supposed  mystery  of  Masonry  tempted  one  William 
Morgan  (who  had  deceitfully  entered  a  lodge  and  obtained  some 
degrees,  and  who  felt  vindictive  for  some  rebuffs  he  had  received 
among  his  associates)  to  believe  that  if  he  published  an  exposure 
of  the  secrets  of  Masonry,  he  could  count  on  the  curiosity  of  the 
public  to  buy  his  publication  and  thus  lay  the  foundation  of  a 
fortune.  We  have  the  same  kind  of  people  to-day  in  the  shape 
of  "escaped nuns"  and  "reformed  monks,"  detailing  in  lurid  and 
lugubrious  lectures  to  empty-headed  people  the  imaginary  horrors 
of  the  religious  institutions  in  which  they  have  been  living. 

The  politicians  who  engineered  the  crusade  against  Free- 
masonr}'  in  this  country,  boasted  that  they  had  not  left  one  stone 
above  another  in  the  walls  of  the  Masonic  temples,  and  that  they 
had  driven  the  plow-share  of  ruin  through  the  foundations,  so 
destroying  the  mystic  keystones  that  the  inscriptions  on  them 
could  not  be  deciphered.  But  the  "ancient  landmarks"  re- 
mained ;  the  time-honored  temples  were  again  gradually  re-dedi- 
cated: good  and  true  men  were  initiated,  and  Freemasonry,  with 
recruited  ranks,  resumed  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  There  is 
now  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  in  every  State  of  the  Union,  each 
with  Its  subordinate  lodges,  having  593,164  regularly  affiliated 
Master  Masons  on  their  rolls. 

Royal  Arch  Masonry,  which  exists  in  English-speaking  coun- 
tries, is  supplementary  to  the  universal  three  first  degrees  — 
Entered  Apprentice,  Fellow-craft,  and  Miister-raason.  The 
degrees  of  Mark  Master,  Past  Master,  Most  Excellent  Master, 
and  Royal  Arch  Mason,  are  conferred  in  Cliaptei's.  Delegates 
from  the  Chapters  in  each  State  constitute  a  Grand  Chapter,  and 
the  representatives  of  the  Grand  Chapter  constitute  the  General 
Grand  Chapter  of  the  United  States,  Avhich  was  organized  in  1816. 
There  are  now  in  the  different  States  forty-four  Grand  Chapters, 


626  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

with  140,960  regularly  aifiliated  companions  on  the  rolls  of  sub- 
ordinate chapters. 

Templar  Masonry  is  a  semi-military  organization,  based  on  the 
*' valiant  and  magnanimous  order"  of  the  Knights  Templar,  who 
are  believed  to  have  been  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  Free- 
masonry. The  Templar  degrees  are  only  conferred  upon  Master 
Masons  who  have  also  taken  the  Royal  Arch  degrees,  and  Templar 
Masoniy  is  affiliated  with,  although  totally  independent  of,  those 
organizations.  The  only  distinction  is,  that  while  Hebrews  can 
take  those  degrees,  Knights  Templar  must  believe  in  the  divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

Does  it  not  strike  the  thoughtful  reader  as  a  rather  curious 
thing  that  the  only  affiliated  order  of  modern  Masonry  which  is 
sacred  to  Christians  alone  is  the  one  wliich  is  warlike  in  its  origin 
and  reminiscence  and  which  in  its  ceremonial  is  almost  as  much 
military  as  Masonic  ?  Strange  illustration  at  this  late  day  of  the 
truth  contained  in  the  words,  "  I  come  not  to  bring  peace  but  a 
sword,"  uttered  by  the  Gralilean  Dreamer  and  Disturber,^  nearly 
nineteen  hundred  years  ago  ! 

Yet  wlien  we  reflect  how  many  roses  of  romance  have  clustered 
around  the  shining  arms  of  the  Knights  Templar  since  those 
days  in  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century,  when  Godfrey  de 
Bouillon  rescued  tlie  Holy  Sepulchre  irom  the  Turks,  we  cannot 
wonder  much  that  men  in  whom  the  religious  and  militant  in- 
stincts are  still  strong  should  take  delight  in  belonging  to  such  an 
organization. 

The  age  of  chivalry  unquestionably  tended  to  foster  the  Masonic 
spirit  and  to  color  with  it  the  conduct  of  men,  especially  such  as 
had  enrolled  themselves  Knights  of  the  Temple,  with  a  strange 
mixture  of  monasticism,  mysticism,  and  ultra-philosophic  freedom 
of  thouglit. 

Walter  Scott,  a  more  profound,  because  more  sympathetic,  stu- 
dent of  life  than  either  Carlyle  or  Buckle  (one  of  whom  thought 
that  the  currents  of  history  were  determined  by  the  lives  of  single 
great  men,  or  the  other  that  they  were  determined  by  the  courses 
of  single  great  rivei*s),  shows  in  his  character  of  Brian  de  Bois 

*  **  •  Disturber  and  Dreamer*  the  Philistines  cried,  when  he  preached  an  ideal  creed. 

Knowing;;  not  that  the  men  who  have  changed  the  world  with  the  world  have  disagreed  " 

—  Boyle  (yjieUlt/spoemon  Wendell  PhUlips, 


A.  FEMALE  CBD8AIIZB  SATlSa  A  KKIOHT-TEMPLAS.  '^ 


628  THE  STORY  OP  GOVBBNMBNT. 

Guilbert  in  Ivanhoe  what  was  pix>bably  a  typical  Knight  Templar 
of  the  early  period,  when  individualism  was  at  a  premium,  and 
before  the  Masonic  spirit  of  true  fraternity  had  begun  to  permeate 
the  mass  of  that  fanatic  soldiery  who  called  themselves  Templars. 

It  is  likely,  however,  that  their  constant  contact  through  conflict 
with  the  Saracens  acquainted  them  finally  with  the  broader  ideas  of 
that  civilization,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  thence  were  derived 
many  of  the  rites,  customs,  and  oddly  astrologic  ceremonies  which 
afterwards  produced  or  were  grafted  upon  the  Speculative  Masonry, 
whose  authentic  origin  is  apparently  so  recent. 

The  Crusades,  after  a  loss  of  six  million  lives  and  incalculable 
treasure,  failed  in  the  original  aim  of  dislodging  the  infidel  pos- 
sessors of  Palestine.  But  what  the  Crusaders  failed  to  gain  in 
the  way  of  gratifying  their  religious  instincts  was,  perhaps,  more 
than  compensated  by  the  advance  in  science  which  came  to  Europe 
from  contact  with  the  Saracens. 

The  cross  is  embroidered  on  the  banners  of  Knights  Templar, 
and  under  that  "sign  "  they  march  shoulder  to  shoulder,  to  com- 
bat intolerance,  error,  and  infidelity.  The  local  commanderies  of 
Knights  Templar  are  dedicated  to  Saint  John  the  Almoner,  and 
in  them  are  conferred  the  orders  of  Knight  of  the  Red  Cixxss, 
Knight  Templar,  and  Knight  of  Malta.  There  is  a  Grand  Com- 
mandery  in  almost  every  State,  and  its  delegates  form  the  Grand 
Encampment,  originally  organized  in  1816,  which  meets  eveiy 
three  years.  The  Knights  Templar  always  appear  in  public, 
either  mounted  or  on  foot,  in  uniform  and  armed.  They  have 
a  distinctive  system  of  tiictics,  and  since  the  war  of  1861-05  they 
have  received  into  their  ranks  so  many  old  soldiers  that  they 
mjirch  and  drill  like  veterans.  There  are  in  the  United  States  725 
commanderies,  with  68,226  regularly  affiliated  Sir  Knights. 

The  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Freemasonry,  which  is 
entirely  independent  of  the  organizations  of  the  York  rite  already 
mentioned,  consists  of  thirty-three  degrees,  commencing  with  the 
Entered  Apprentice,  and  ending  with  that  of  Sovereign  Grand 
Inspector-General.  In  some  countries  a  Supreme  Council, 
formed  of  nine  Inspectors  General,  constitute  the  Grand  Masonic 
Tribunal  of  the  rite,  and  there  are  two  Supreme  Councils.  That 
of    the    Southern    Jurisdiction,    the    "Mother   Council    of    the 


A    GOVKUNMKNT    IIF    MVHTKKV    AM)    FRATKIJNITY.  620 

World,"  esteblislied  in  1801,  whicli  lias  its  see  at  Washington, 
exercises  jurisdiction  over  the  States  south  of  Miison  and  Dixon's 
line,  and  the  states  and  ten-itories  west  oF  Uie  Mississippi  River. 
We  presented  at  tlie  beginning  of  thl»  chapter  a  likeness  of  the 
late  Albert  Pike  f<ir  many  yeara  tlie  head  of  this  Couneil  aud 
one  of  the  moat  august  Masons  in  t^ie  world. 

The  other  States  are  under  the  Supi-enie  Council  of  the  Korthem 
Jurisdiction,  organized  in  1807,  which  has  its  see  at  Kew  York. 
TTiere  have  been  several  schisms  in  the  Northei-n  Supreme  Council 
at  different  times,  and  tltere  is  now  a  Supreme  Council  which 
claims  authority  from  a  body  oi^nized  by  Joseph  Cenieau,  in 
1813,  as  "  the  Supreme  Council  for  the  United  States  of  America, 
its  Territories  and  r>e[>endencies."  The  number  of  Scottish  Rite 
bodies  is  about  13,000,  of  whom  iilx)ut  10,000  are  included  in 
the  northern  jurisdiction. 

In  addition  to  the  degrees  and  rites  above  mentioned  there  Iiave 
been  others  invented  from  time  to  time  to  gratify  those  who  have 
desired  Masonie  novelties.  Among  these  have  been  the  "Rite  of 
Memphis,"  with  niuety-five  degrees,  the  "Rite  of  Misraim,"  with 
over  one  hundred  degrees,  and  a  variety  of  offshoots  from  the 
Scottish  Rite.  There  is  also  a  Supreme  Council,  a  Grand 
Epcampment,  and  a  Grand  Lodge  of  Freemasons  of  African 
Descent,  claiming  to  derive  legitimate  authority  from  gi-and 
bodies  in  Great  Britain  and  France. 

What,  then,  in  its  true  essence  is  this  order  which  has  survived 
so  great  a  storm  bi-ought  upon  it  by  its  own  indiscreet  champions, 
and  which  flourishes  to-day  in  spite  of  the  hostility  of  an  ot^ani- 
zation  far  gi-eater  in  extent,  and  a  power  which  may  be  called  the 
accomulatinii  of  ages,  namely,  the  Catholic  Church,  which  has 
ever  been  the  foe  of  secrecy*'  This  Older  of  Freemasonry  is  a 
comprehensive  system  of  government  founded  upon  the  rights  of 
man,  and  exercised  and  enjoyed  in  the  perfection  of  loyalty, 
union,  efficiency,  and  hai-mon}-. 

Its  mission  is  peace,  progress,  and  prosperity.  It  contains  the 
antecedent  ideals,  the  germs  and  models  of  the  best  forms  of 
human  government.  It  demonstrates  the  unnumbered  mutual 
benefits  and  blessings  flowing  from  the  alliance  of  sovereignties 
co-equal  in  status,   rights,   privileges,  and  prerogatives;  and  it 


630  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

ix)ints  out,  and  leads  the  way  among  free,  enlightened,  and  pro- 
gressive peoples,  to  the  friendly  federation  of  the  world. 

Not  a  religion  or  a  system  of  religion,  it  is  the  handmaid  of 
all  seeking  truth,  and  light,  and  right.  A  centre  of  union  for 
good  and  true  men  of  every  race  and  tongue,  who  believe  in  God 
and  practise  morality,  it  knows  no  politics,  no  sect,  no  hierarch, 
no  Caesar.  Without  claiming  total  exemption  from  the  errors 
and  frailties  incident  to  all  things  human,  or  the  entire  absence 
of  Iscariot  betrayers,  or  of  emissaries  seeking  to  destroy,  and 
without  pretensions  to  unattainable  perfection,  it  ever  strives,  by 
spreading  the  light  of  science  and  moral  truth,  by  increasing  the 
power  of  knowledge,  to  make  the  whole  realm  of  nature  subser- 
vient to  the  best  interests,  the  highest  hopes,  and  the  loftiest 
aims  of  man. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  human  philosophy,  a  school  of 
learning,  a  college  of  builders,  a  home  of  brethren.  To  the 
artist  and  the  artisan;  to  the  poet  and  the  philosopher;  to  the 
theorist  and  the  utilitarian ;  to  the  speculative  and  the  operative ; 
to  the  man  of  business  and  the  sage ;  to  the  prince  and  the  peas- 
ant; to  the  old,  the  middle-aged,  and  the  youth,  Freemasonry  is 
alike  congenial,  instructive,  and  beneficent.  Therein  all  meet 
upon  the  Level,  work  by  the  Plumb,  and  part  upon  the  Square. 

Freemasonry  is  based  upon  immutable  truth  and  right.  It 
knows  not  the  changes  and  shifts  of  expediency  and  opportunism. 
It  is  as  moveless  as  the  silent  rock  on  which  the  storm -tossed  ocean 
rolls  in  wrath.  Firm  as  the  mystic  pyramids,  it  stands,  benign 
and  placid  as  the  musing  Sphinx.  It  survives  the  commotions 
and  downfall  of  empires ;  and  of  it,  in  substance  and  essence,  the 
truth  proclaims,  semper  eadem.  It  lacks  only  one  element  to 
make  it  a  true  fraternity:  it  does  not  admit  women  into  its  magic 
circle. 


THE  French  republic,  like  that  of  the  United  States,  is 
the  offapring  of  revolution.  It  was  bom  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  century  amid  the  wildest  social  con- 
vulsions which  the  world  has  ever  witnessed.  Like 
Pallas  Athene,  the  fabled  Goddess  of  Wisdom,  from  the  braiu  of 
Jove  it  sprang,  armed  and  equipped,  into  the  arena  of  conflict 
with  the  allied  monarchs  of  Europe,  who  joined  their  forces  to 
stamp  out  the  young  giant  that  was  proclaiming  Liberty,  Equality, 
and  Fraternity  to  all  the  people.  In  place  of  the  ancient  super- 
stition of  the  divine  right  of  kings  to  rule,  France  promulgated 
the  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty  and  maintained  it  success- 
fully f^fainst  the  roj^l  coalition  in  a  desperate  stru^le  lasting 
many  years  and  only  now  appearing  to  have  achieved  a  per- 
manent victory. 

The  causes  which  produced  the  French  Revolution  of  1789 
were  manifold,  but  they  may  be  summed  up  in  a  simple  state- 
ment: long  continued  oppression  of  the  masses  of  the  French 
people.  A  brief  epitome  of  the  condition  of  the  people  prior  to 
the  Revolution  will  be  necessary  in  order  to  understand  the  cause 
of  the  great  upheaval.  The  peasantry  who  constituted  the  great 
maaa  had  no  voice  in  either  the  local  or  national  government  from 
the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  or  for  more  than  a  century  prior  to  the 
Revolution.  They  were  merely  beasts  of  burden,  producer  of 
wealth  for  the  king,  nobility  and  aristocratic  clergy. 


682  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Louis  XIV.  had  absorbed  in  his  own  person  all  the  powers  of 
government;  he  became  the  absolute  master  of  France;  he  made 
and  annulled  laws  and  levied  taxes  at  his  pleasure.  His  cele- 
brated declaration,  ^^I  am  the  State/'  made  in  reply  to  the  request 
that  he  should  call  the  States-General  or  ancient  parliament 
together,  summarizes  his  ideas  of  the  rights  of  sovereigns;  ideas 
not  peculiar  to  him  alone,  but  which  at  the  time  prevailed  gen- 
erally throughout  Europe. 

Louis  XIV.  appointed  eighteen  councillors  of  State  to  aasist 
him  in  governing  tlie  kingdom  and  its  dependencies,  and  his 
successors  continued  this  form  of  government  imtil  Louis  XVI., 
through  necessity,  found  it  indispensable  to  convoke  the  States- 
General  in  1789.  During  this  period  liberty  of  speech  and 
liberty  of  the  press  did  not  exist. 

The  penal  law  allowed  the  application  of  torture  before  trial, 
permitted  the  most  atrocious  punishments,  mutilations,  and 
death  without  according  to  the  accused  the  right  of  having  a 
lawyer  to  manage  his  case  and  plead  for  him,  and  the  judge  who 
imposed  sentence  was  not  even  required  to  state  a  reason  for  the 
sentence  which  he  pronounced.  The  criminal  code  did  not  press 
on  all  persons  alike.  A  noble  was  not  punished  as  severely  as 
a  peasant  for  a  similar  offence. 

There  wei*e  three  general  classes  or  orders  of  beings  in  the 
kingdom:  the  nobility,  clergy  and  plebeians.  These  were  again 
divided  into  other  distinct  classes.  Among  the  nobility  there 
were  the  greater  and  the  lesser ;  the  former  living  at  the  court  in 
splendor  on  the  taxes  which  came  into  the  national  treasury,  the 
latter  in  the  provinces  on  their  estates  on  the  rents  and  services 
wrung  from  their  tenants. 

There  were  also  among  the  clergy  the  very  rich  who  enjoyed 
the  wealthy  benefices,  and  the  very  poor  who  ministered  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  masses.  Among  the  plebeians  the  cotnmer- 
cial  and  professional  class  looked  down  with  contempt  upon 
the  artisan,  and  the  latter  scorned  the  peasant  who  lay  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ladder  in  poveity  and  ignorance  supporting  the 
whole  social  supei-structure. 

There  was  inequality  in  the  family  itself;  the  custom  of  primo- 
geniture gave  to  the  younger  sons  of  the  nobles  only  an  oppor- 


ilAPOI.EOW    CROSHINO    THE    ALPS. 


684  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVBRNKENT. 

tunity  to  enter  the  church  or  army,  and  to  many  of  the  daughters 
the  only  refuge  was  the  convent.  In  addition  to  these  general 
classes  were  the  serfs  bound  to  certain  estates,  the  Jews  and  the 
Protestants,  who  had  no  civil  rights  whatever  until  after  the 
death  of  Louis  XIV.,  which  occurred  in  1715. 

The  taxes  which  were  levied  by  the  king  and  his  eighteen  royal 
councillors  were  placed  in  such  a  way  that  they  were  practically 
all  paid  by  the  peasantry  and  artisans.  According  to  the  official 
report  of  M.  Bailly,  Inspector-General  of  Finance  under  Louin 
XVI.,  in  1786,  there  was  paid  into  the  treasury  for  the  benefit  of 
the  king  the  sum  of  558,172,000  livres;  for  the  benefit  of  indi- 
viduals, corporations,  and  communities  280,895,000  livres;  for  the 
benefit  of  the  provinces  41,448,000,  making  a  total  of  880,015,- 
000  livres.  1 

Of  this  enormous  sum  the  clergy  who,  besides  the  revenue 
derived  from  their  immense  property,  received  tithes  of  the  prod* 
ucts  of  the  lands,  paid  little  or  nothing;  they  were  expected  to 
make  ^^ gratuitous  donations''  to  the  national  exchequer.  The 
nobility  were  subject  to  the  payment  of  a  poll  tax  and  one 
twentieth  of  their  income,  but  they  generally  found  means  to 
evade  the  payment  of  the  latter.  They  owned  nearly  all  the  land 
of  France,  but  paid  none  of  the  land  tax  or  taille^  as  it  was 
termed. 

The  common  people  who  possessed  only  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  soil  paid  the  whole  land  tax  amounting  to  91,000,000  livres; 
also  the  tithe,  which  in  one  portion  of  the  kingdom  was  one 
fortieth  and  in  another  was  one  fourth  of  the  gross  product,  and 
cost  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  inhabitants  the  sum  of  133,- 
000,000,  the  seigniorial  dues  amounting  to  35,000,000  and  the 
corvees  or  manual  service  due  the  lords  estimated  at  20,000,000 
livres.  In  addition  to  this  gigantic  burden  the  peasants  were  sub- 
ject to  multifarious  restrictions  for  the  benefit  of  the  owners  of 
the  soil. 

Under  these  cnishing  burdens  the  people  of  France  groaned  for 
more  than  a  century.  The  misery  of  the  common  people  during 
the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  was  frightful.  In  years  of  fair  harvests 
they  had  barely  sufficient  to  keep  body  and  soul  together;  in 

1 A  livre  id  equal  to  16}i  cents. 


EXPERIMESTAI,    KEPrBLIOANlaM.  6S5 

yeara  of  scarcity  they  were  destitute  and  died  of  starratioii  by 
thousanrls.  In  many  places  there  was  almost  a  relapee  to  sav- 
agery. The  ]>easants  of  fertile  Normandy  lived  chiefly  on  oats,  and 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  beasts.  In  Beauce,  iiie  very  granary  of 
Paris,  the  faiTnere  lived  by  begging  duriug  a  portion  of  the  year. 
Ill  a  large  number  of  thei  provinces  most  of  the  people  did  not 
know  the  taste  of  animal  food. 

Vauban  infonns  us  that  in  the  whole  of  France  not  more  than 
t«n  thousand  families  were  in  comfortable  circumstances.  The 
amount  of  articles  of  fooil  consumed  ^vas  between  two  and  three 
times  less  per  head  of  the  population  than  at  the  present  time. 
La  Bruy(*re,  writing  in  tbe  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  calls  these 
peasants  "Certain  ferocious  animals,  male  and  female,  scattered 
over  tbe  countrj',  biack,  livid,  and  bui-ned  by  the  sun,  attached 
to  the  land  which  they  dig  and  work  upon  with  incomprehensible 
obstinacy ;  they  have  an  articulate  voice,  and  when  they  rise  on 
their  feet  they  exhibit  a  human  facej  and  in  fact  they  are  men. 
At  night  they  retire  to  their  dens  where  they  live  upon  black 
bread,  water,  and  roots ;  they  spare  other  men  the  trouble  of  sow- 
ing, cultivating  and  gathering  articles  of  food." 

In  the  mi<ist  of  this  horrible  suffering  the  king,  nobility,  and 
aristocratic  clergy  rioted  and  revelled  at  the  expense  of  the 
plundered  masses.  In  debauchery  and  licentiousnesa  the  plun- 
derers dissipated  tbe  wealth  produced  by  the  workers.  Immorality 
became  the  prevailing  fashion  riidiating  from  the  royal  court  out- 
ward.    Moral  ideas  had  lost  all  practical  force  among  the  upper 


As  an  illustration  of  the  depth  to  which  morality  had  fallen 
the  Marquis  d'Ai^enson,  a  very  estimable  man,  considering  the 
times,  and  one  of  the  royal  ministers,  writing  in  a  matter-of-fact 
way  regarding  marriage,  said:  "Marriage,  that  monstrous  obliga- 
tion which  will  surely  go  out  of  fashion!  "  And  continuing  he 
declared  that  the  proper  marriage  contract  should  be  "  like  a  lease 
contract  which  could  be  entered  into  in  October  and  given  up  in 
January,  free  unions  being  much  more  favorable  to  the  race," 

This  was  the  view  of  marriage  entertained  and  acted  upon  by 
the  leaders  of  society,  from  tbe  king  downward,  as  the  contem- 
porary writeix  abiiiitliintly  show.     Kever  since  the  linif  of  Nen», 


686  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Caligula,  and  the  other  monsters  of  the  Roman  empire  liad 
morality  fallen  so  low,  or  had  corruption  become  so  geneml  and 
brazen  as  in  the  kingdom  of  France  before  the  Revolution. 

But,  while  this  long-continued  Belshazzar  orgy  proceeded,  new 
forces  antagonistic  to  this  unnatural  order  of  things  entered  the 
field.  The  frightful  abuses,  the  gross  inequality  among  men,  and 
the  great  disorder  and  intense  poverty,  provoked  criticism  among 
the  few  who  had  not  lost  every  spark  of  decency  and  honesty. 
F^nSlon  demanded  reform  from  a  religious  and  political  point  of 
view,  while  Vauban  and  others,  confronted  by  a  constantly 
increasing  national  debt,  demanded  it  from  an  economic. 

The  Marquis  d'Argenson,  in  his  work  "Considerations  on  the 
Government  of  France,"  declared  for  municipal  and  cantonal 
self-government,  freedom  of  trade  at  home  and  abroad,  the  election 
of  royal  officers  by  ballot,  and  fearlessly  asserted  that  "  Two  things 
were  chiefly  to  be  desired  for  the  good  of  the  State:  one  that  all 
citizens  should  be  equal,  and  the  other  that  each  should  be  the 
son  of  his  own  works." 

The  men  of  letters,  genemlly  the  children  of  the  niiddlt*  class, 
or  bourgeois,  assailed  with  Avit,  ridicule  and  satire  the  fuil)les  and 
vices  of  the  aristocrats.  The  former  were  warmly  welcomed  to 
the  salons  of  tlie  great,  for,  singular  as  it  may  seem,  the  frivolou-i, 
sensual,  egoistic  society  of  the  eighteenth  century  carried  on  even 
amid  its  vices  the  cult  of  ideas. 

It  laughed  at  a  well-polished  hon  mot  even  at  its  own  ex[)ense. 
Voltaire,  Montesquieu,  Jlousseaii,  and  the  Kncyclo[)edists,  [)liil(>so- 
pliized  on  government  and  flung  their  multifarious  shafts  at  the 
existing  order  in  Church  and  State  with  a  skill  and  force  whi(fh 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  multitude  of  minds,  and  their  ideas 
even  found  their  way  among  tlie  dense  mass  wliicli  lived  but  to 
furnish  wealth  for  tJK*,  frivolous  and  vicious. 

Tlie  tremendous  political  influence  of  these*  three  men  on  the 
thought  of  their  age  can  l)e  clearly  traced  in  the  three  great 
epochs  wliich  made  up  the  Revolution;  tliat  of  Voltaire  wide- 
spread and  general  in  the  univei-sal  enthusiasm  of  1789;  that  of 
Montesquieu,  calm  and  statesmanlike  in  the  attempts  of  the 
National  Assembly  to  devise  and  i)erj)etuate  a  constitutional  gov- 
mment,  and  of  Rousseau  in  the  thcmght  and  action  of  the  savage 


EXPBBIMENTAL  REJUBLICilHIBM.  63T 

leaders  who  took  the  helm  in  the  Reign  of  Terror  until  they  were 
themselveii  swallowed  up  in  the  maelstrom  which  they  helped  to 
create. 

Many  strange  stories  ave  told  of  the  era  just  preceding  this 
ReTolution  in  France,  stories  which  the  sober  historian  is  perhaps 
too  ready  to  reject,  forgetting  the  wisdom  embodied  in  Hamlet's 
speech:  "There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy."  One  of  these  legends  is 
that  just  before  the  crash  in  a  gay  salon  the  aged  poet  and 
humorist,  Cazotte,  had  a  vision.  The  polished  company  had 
been  talking  with  volubility  and  eloquence  of  the  wonderful 
change  which  was  going  to  be  wrought  in  the  condition  of  the 
commoii  people  by  the  educational  force  of  the  fraternal  doctrines 
which  Diderot,  Voltaire,  and  the  other  social  philosophers  who 
were  styled  Encyclopaedists  had  been  industriously  disseminating. 

In  the  midst  of  this  brilliant  company  who  were  discussing  all 
sorts  of  condescending  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the  masses, 
plans  which  might  have  been  well  enough,  had  they  not  been  too 
late,  the  old  poet  Cazotte  was  smitteh  with  clairvoyance.  The 
room  swam  red  around  him,  and  in  a  voice  that  seemed  to  labor 
up  from  a  vast  distance,  but  which  every  one  heard  with  thrilling 
distinctness,  he  cried  aloud:  "I  see  the  end.  The  Revolution, 
whose  advent  you  so  joyously  prophesy,  will  come;  hut  it  will 
come,  not  as  a  feast  of  roses,  but  a  flood  of  blood." 

The  lords  and  ladies,  wits  and  philosophers,  laughed  loudly 
and  one  gay  dame  exclaimed:  "Bravo!  How  humorous  the 
dear  old  Cazotte  is  to-night;  how  well  he  acts  it,  like  the 
Jew  before  Belsliazzar !"  Then  the  Marquis  de  Condorcet  spoke 
up:  "Why  not  tell  us  our  separate  fates,  Cazotte?  Can  you  not 
prophesy  by  retail  as  well  as  by  wholesale  V  "  And  the  ancient 
poet  answered:  "Many  lovely  women  and  many  brilliant  and 
noble  men  in  the  days  of  the  impending  Revolution  will  come 
under  the  hands  of  the  headsman,  but  you.  Marquis  de  Condorcet, 
though  perishing  in  prison,  will  not  be  profaned  by  the  vile  fingers 
of  the  executioner,  for  in  those  days  wise  men  like  you  will  carry 
poison  about  them  as  a  preventive.  And  you,"  he  continued, 
pointing  from  one  to  another  in  rapid  succession,  "your  virtues 
will  not  help  you  then,  (ait  dame.     And  you,  your  venemble 


638  THE   STOKY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

age  will  be  no  safeguaiti.  And  you  your  learning  and  your 
g(;nius  will  not  save.  Tour  trunkless  heads  now  stare  me  in  the 
face." 

Such  was  the  restrained  and  evidently  repressed  intensity  of 
the  speaker  that  an  uncanny  thrill  ran  tlirough  the  crowd,  but  La 
Harpe,  the  disciple  of  Voltaire,  La  Harpe,  the  aggressive  atheist, 
feeling  his  neck  with  his  taper  fingers,  as  if  fearful  that  his  head 
was  already  going,  said  quizzically:  ^^Cazotte,  what  about  me? 
Tliis  gory  drama  of  your  dream,  why  am  I  not  in  it?  I  want  to 
1x5  a  star!"  **  And  so  you  shall,"  Cazott€  replied,  "for  you  shall 
live  through  that  tempest  and,  strangest  of  all,  when  the  calm 
has  come,  you,  yes,  you,  La  Harpe,  shall  become  a  Christian." 

How  they  roared  at  this  I  It  seemed  the  crowning  joke. 
Cazotte  ill  all  his  life,  some  said,  had  never  been  so  finely  fan- 
tastic as  that  night.  Then  one  in  the  crowd  cried  out:  "O 
prophet,  prophesy  of  thyself,"  and  in  the  hush  tliat  followed 
Cazotte  said:  "It  is  writ  in  history  that  for  seven  days  prior  to 
the  siege  of  JeiOLsalem  by  the  Romans,  a  man  ran  about  the  walls 
of  that  city  Avhcreof  not  one  stone  was  to  be  left  upon  another, 
rendinjLT  his  garments  and  ciying  aloud:  *Woe  unto  thee,  Jeiii- 
saleml  Woe  unto  thee  and  niel'  and  on  the  seventh  day,  at  the 
very  Ix^ginni ng  of  the  siege,  a  stone  from  a  Roman  catiipult  made 
that  man  the  firet  of  the  dead."  Cazotte  boAved  liis  head  and  left 
\\\i\  ^ray  salon.  Some  shivered  a  little  but  most  of  them  tried  to 
laujifh  it  awav. 

A  similar  story  is  told  of  the  wizard  Cagliostro  mention  of 
whoso  remarkable  powei*s  has  been  nuule  in  our  chapter  on 
^liisonrv.  It  is  said  that  Cagliostro,  sitting  at  dinner  with  a 
nunilKu-  of  promintMit  nobles  and  foreign  anilxissadoi's  just  on  the 
evtj  of  the  French  l^evolution,  Wiis  asked  to  look  into  the  futui-e. 
Shading  his  eyes  with  liis  heavily  jeweled  hand,  he  sjxike  in  a 
strange  voice  full  of  fearful  intonations,  giving  a  similar  picture 
of  tjie  Lon\)rs  to  come,  and  [)rophesying  that  oertixin  Frenchmen 
in  tlie  cohlpiwiy  would  meet  with  sudden  and  frightful  ends. 

One  man,  a  foreign  nobienian,   asked  laughingl}*  if  there  were 
no  special  dish  fov  him  at  such  a  feiist  of  horroi's;  and  the  wizard, 
leaning  forward  and  looking  deep  into  his  eyes,  answered:   "Not 
in  P^nince,  dear  Count,  but  further  on.     I  do  not  see  quite 


I 


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few-1-^ 

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Iwl^^   ^  S 

Im 

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■™" 

EXl'KKIMKNTAL   REI-UBLICANISM.  ciS 


how;  tilt'  scene  is  dim,  as  if  clouded  witli  smoke,  but  Iwware  of 
masks! "  One  nf  the  wits  present  exclaimed:  "A  veiy  suife  und 
s^e  advii-e,  for  Itehind  them  is  often  some  fiice  too  fair  for  a 
man's  jipace."  The  foreign  count  replied  that  lie  did  not  fear;  he 
was  too  ohl  a,  soldier  in  that  kind  of  warfare  to  do  aught  but  love 
tlie  dangei'.  Some  yeare  aftenvards  this  jirophecy  or  guess  of 
Cagliostm  was  stai'tlingly  verified.  The  foitign  nobleman  had 
become  (iustuvus  111.  of  Sweden,  and  he  was  a-ssassinated  from 
behind  with  a  pistol  at  a  masked  ball  iw  is  faithfully  portrayed  in 
our  illnstiiiticui. 

The  Urnes  had  more  tlian  doubled  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
XV.,  who  died  in  1774,  and  yet  thei-e  Wiis  a  lai^e  annual  deficit. 
Louis  XV.  foresaw  quite  clearly  that  a  day  of  terrible  reckoning 
was  close  at  hand,  but  in  liis  utter  selfishness  and  moi-al  degrada- 
tion he  consoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that  the  storm  would 
descend  upon  another  head  than  his  own.  Ou  one  occasion  he 
said:  "Matters  will  go  on  as  they  are  as  long  as  I  live;  my  suc- 
cessor may  get  out  of  the  difficulty  ajj  well  as  lie  can."  And  his 
favorite,  Miulame  de  Pompadour,  who  ruled  France  through  her 
turpitude,  re^wated  with  him  "After  us  the  deluge." 

When  Louis  XVL  ascended  the  throne,  on  the  death  of  his 
grandfather,  he  was  only  twenty  yeai's  of  age.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  excellent  morals,  loving  the  riglit,  and  desirous  of  doing 
justice  to  all.  He  immediately  commenced  to  alxiHsh  the  abuses 
that  surrounded  him,  l)eginuing  with  the  royal  residence,  entrance 
to  which  was  denied  to  the  titled  courtesans  who  had  fi-equented 
its  corridors  and  occupied  the  highest  pliiees  at  the  fetes  in  its 
a[Mirtmenta  during  the  reign  of  his  predecessor. 

He  called  to  his  aid  as  advisers  two  of  the  best  and  most 
eminent  l"i«uchnun  living,  Malcsherbes  and  Turgot,  making  the 
former  minister  of  the  royal  household,  and  the  latter  minister  of 
finance.  Tui^ot,  from  the  very  moment  of  his  api)ointment,  in 
1774,  the  year  preceding  the  opening  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, urged  upon  Louid  XVI,  "Xo  hankruptcv,  no  increase  of 
t^ixatioii,  no  IwiTowing." 

He  planned  extensive  reforms  in  varioiLs  directions,  a  gradual 
development  of  the  principle  of  local  self-government  in  the 
munici]>aliti68   and    communes,    the    alMlitiou    of   the    eotiiee   or 


634  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

tunity  to  enter  the  church  or  army,  and  to  many  of  the  daughters 
the  only  refuge  was  the  convent.  In  addition  to  these  general 
classes  were  the  serfs  bound  to  certain  estates,  the  Jews  and  the 
Protestants,  who  had  no  civil  rights  whatever  until  after  the 
death  of  Louis  XIV.,  which  occurred  in  1715. 

The  taxes  which  were  levied  by  the  king  and  his  eighteen  royal 
councillors  were  placed  in  such  a  way  that  they  were  practically 
all  paid  by  the  peasantry  and  artisans.  According  to  the  official 
report  of  M.  Bailly,  Inspector-General  of  Finance  under  Louis 
XVI.,  in  1786,  there  was  paid  into  the  treasury  for  the  benefit  of 
the  king  the  sum  of  558,172,000  livres;  for  the  benefit  of  indi- 
\'iduals,  corporations,  and  communities  280,395,000  livres;  for  the 
benefit  of  the  provinces  41,448,000,  making  a  total  of  880,015,- 
000  livres.i 

Of  this  enormous  sum  the  clergy  who,  besides  the  revenue 
derived  from  their  immense  property,  received  tithes  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  lands,  paid  little  or  nothing;  they  were  expected  to 
make  "gratuitous  donations"  to  the  national  exchequer.  The 
nobility  were  subject  to  the  payment  of  a  poll  tax  and  one 
twentieth  of  their  income,  but  they  generally  found  means  to 
evade  the  payment  of  the  latter.  They  owned  nearly  all  the  land 
of  France,  but  paid  none  of  the  land  tax  or  taille^  as  it  was 
termed. 

The  common  people  who  possessed  only  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  soil  paid  the  whole  land  tax  amounting  to  91,000,000  livres; 
also  the  tithe,  which  in  one  portion  of  the  kingdom  was  one 
foiiieth  and  in  another  was  one  foiulli  of  the  gross  product t,  and 
cost  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  inhabitants  the  sum  of  138,- 
000,000,  tlie  seigniorial  dues  amounting  to  35,000,000  and  the 
corvees  or  manual  service  due  the  lords  estimated  at  20,000,000 
livres.  In  addition  to  this  gigantic  burden  the  peiisants  were  sub- 
ject to  multifarious  restrictions  for  the  benefit  of  the  owners  of 
the  soil. 

Under  thes(j  criLshing  burdens  the  peoj)le  of  Fmnce  groaned  for 
more  than  a  century.  The  misery  of  the  common  people  during 
the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  was  fric^litful.  In  years  of  fair  harvests 
they  had  barely  sufficient  to  keep   body  and  soul  together;  in 

'  A  livre  1:1  equal  to  ISJ-^  cents. 


EXPERIMENTAL   BEPUBLICAJdSM.  685 

je.irs  of  scarcity  they  weie  destitute  and  died  o£  etanration  by 
thousands.  In  many  places  there  was  almost  a  relapse  to  sav- 
agery. The  peasants  of  fertile  Normandy  lived  chiefly  on  oata,  and 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  beasts.  In  Beauce,  the  very  granary  of 
Paris,  the  farmera  lived  by  begging  during  a  portion  of  the  year. 
In  a  large  number  of  the  provinces  most  of  the  people  did  not 
know  the  taste  of  animal  food. 

Vauhan  informs  us  that  in  the  whole  of  France  not  more  than 
ten  thousand  families  wei'e  in  comfortable  circumstances.  The 
amount  of  articles  of  food  consumed  was  between  two  and  three 
times  less  per  head  of  the  population  than  at  the  present  time. 
La  Eruy&re.  wi'iting  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV,,  calls  these 
peasants  "Certain  ferocious  animals,  male  and  female,  scattered 
over  the  country,  black,  livid,  and  burned  by  the  sun,  attached 
to  the  land  wliich  they  dig  and  work  upon  witli  incomprehensible 
obstinacy ;  they  have  an  articulate  voice,  and  when  they  rise  on 
their  feet  they  exhibit  a  human  face;  and  in  fact  they  are  men. 
At  night  they  retire  to  their  dens  where  they  live  upon  black 
bread,  water,  and  roots ;  they  spare  other  men  the  trouble  of  sow- 
ing, cultivating  and  gathering  articles  of  food." 

In  the  midst  of  this  horrible  suffering  the  king,  nobility,  and 
aristocratic  clergy  rioted  and  revelled  at  the  expense  of  the 
plundered  masses.  In  debauchery  and  licentiousness  the  plun- 
derers dissipated  the  wealth  produt^ed  by  the  workers.  Immorality 
became  the  prevailing  fashion  radiating  from  the  royal  court  out- 
ward.    Jlora!  ideas  had  lost  all  practical  force  among  the  upper 


As  an  illustration  of  the  depth  to  which  morality  had  fallen 
the  Manjuis  d'Ai^enson,  a  very  estimable  man,  considering  the 
times,  and  one  of  the  royal  ministers,  writing  in  a  matter-of-fact 
way  regarding  marriage,  said:  "Marriage,  that  monstrous  obliga- 
tion which  will  surely  go  out  of  fashion!  "  And  continuing  he 
declared  that  the  proper  marriage  contract  should  be  "  like  a  lease 
contract  which  could  be  entered  into  in  October  and  given  up  in 
January,  free  unions  being  much  more  favorable  to  the  race." 

This  was  the  view  of  marriage  entertained  and  acted  upon  by 
the  leaders  of  society,  from  the  king  downward,  as  the  contem- 
poraiy  writers  ahumliiuLly  show.     Never  since  the  time  nf  Nero, 


636  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Caligula,  and  the  other  monsters  of  the  Roman  empire  had 
morality  fallen  so  low,  or  had  corruption  become  so  general  and 
brazen  as  in  the  kingdom  of  France  before  the  Revolution. 

But,  while  this  long-continued  Belshazzar  orgy  proceeded,  new 
forces  antagonistic  to  this  unnatural  order  of  things  entered  the 
field.  The  frightful  abuses,  the  gross  inequality  among  men,  and 
the  great  disorder  and  intense  poverty,  provoked  criticism  among 
the  few  who  had  not  lost  every  spark  of  decency  and  honesty. 
F^ndlon  demanded  reform  from  a  religious  and  political  point  of 
view,  while  Vauban  and  others,  confronted  by  a  constantly 
increasing  national  debt,  demanded  it  from  an  economic. 

The  Marquis  d'Argenson,  in  his  work  "Considerations  on  the 
Government  of  France,"  declared  for  municipal  and  cantonal 
self-government,  freedom  of  trade  at  home  and  abroad,  the  election 
of  royal  officers  by  ballot,  and  fearlessly  asserted  that  *'Two  things 
were  chiefly  to  be  desired  for  the  good  of  the  State :  one  tliat  all 
citizens  should  be  equal,  and  the  other  that  each  should  be  the 
son  of  his  own  works.*' 

The  men  of  letters,  generally  the  children  of  the  middle  class, 
or  bourgeois,  assailed  with  wit,  ridicule  and  satiri'  tlie  foibles  and 
vices  of  the  aristocrats.  The  former  were  warmly  welcomed  to 
the  salons  of  the  great,  for,  singular  as  it  may  seem,  the  frivolous, 
sensual,  egoistic  society  of  the  eighteenth  century  earned  on  even 
amid  its  vices  the  cult  of  ideas. 

It  laughed  at  a  well-polished  hon  mot  even  at  its  own  expense. 
Voltaire,  Montesquieu,  Rousseau,  and  the  Eiieyelopedists,  pliilosi)- 
pliized  on  government  and  flung  their  multifarious  shafts  at  the 
existing  order  in  Church  and  State  with  a  skill  and  foree  which 
attracted  the  attention  of  a  multitude  of  minds,  and  their  ideas 
even  found  their  way  among  the  dense  mass  which  lived  ])ut  to 
furnisli  wealth  for  the  frivolous  and  vicious. 

The  tremendous  j)()litical  influence  of  these  three  men  on  the 
thought  of  their  age  can  be  clearly  traced  in  the  three  great 
epochs  wliich  made  up  the  Revolution;  that  of  Voltaire  wide- 
Si)read  and  general  in  the  univei*sal  enthusiiusm  of  1789;  that  of 
Montesquieu,  calm  and  stiitesuianlike  in  the  JittemptiS  of  the 
National  Assembly  to  devise  and  i)er[)etuate  a  constitutional  gov- 
ernment, and  of  Rousseau  in  the  thought  and  action  of  the  savage 


EXPERIMENTAL   EEPTTBLICAWISM.  DST 

leaders  who  Uwk  tlie  helm  in  the  Keign  of  Ten'oi-  until  they  were 
theiuHelves  swallowed  up  in  the  maelsti^om  which  they  helped  to 
create. 

Many  strange  .stories  are  told  of  the  era  just  preceding  this 
ReTolution  in  France,  stories  which  the  sober  historian  is  perhaps 
too  ready  to  reject,  foi^etting  the  wisdom  embodied  in  Hamlet's 
speech:  "'There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy."  One  of  these  legends  is 
that  just  before  the  crash  in  a  gay  salon  the  aged  poet  and 
humorist,  Cazotte,  had  a  vision.  The  polished  company  had 
been  talking  with  volubility  and  eloquence  of  the  wonderful 
change  which  was  going  to  be  wrought  in  the  condition  of  the 
common  people  by  the  educational  force  of  the  fraternal  doctrines 
which  Diderot,  Voltaire,  and  the  other  social  philosophers  who 
were  styled  Encyclopjedists  had  been  industriously  disseminating. 

In  the  midst  of  this  brilliant  company  who  were  discussing  all 
sorts  of  condescending  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the  masses, 
plans  which  might  have  been  well  enough,  had  they  not  been  too 
late,  the  old  [X)et  Cazotte  was  smittei.  with  clairvoyance.  The 
room  swam  red  around  him,  and  in  a  voice  that  seemed  to  labor 
up  from  a  vaat  distance,  but  which  every  one  heard  with  thrilling 
distinctness,  he  cried  aloud:  "I  see  the  end.  Tlie  Revolution, 
whose  advent  you  so  joyously  prophesy,  will  come;  but  it  will 
come,  not  as  a  feast  of  roses,  but  a  flood  of  blood." 

The  lords  and  ladies,  wits  and  philosophers,  laughed  loudly 
and  one  gay  dame  exclaimed:  "Bravo!  How  humorous  the 
dear  old  Cazotte  is  to-night;  how  well  he  acts  it,  like  the 
Jew  before  Belshazzar!"  Then  the  Marquis  de  Condorcet  spoke 
up:  "Why  not  tell  us  our  separate  fates,  Cazotte?  Can  you  not 
prophesy  by  retail  as  well  as  by  wholesale  ? "  And  the  ancient 
poet  answered:  "Many  lovely  women  and  many  brilliant  and 
noble  men  in  the  days  of  the  impending  Revolution  will  come 
under  the  hands  of  the  headsman,  but  you,  Marquis  de  Condorcet, 
though  perishing  in  prison,  will  not  be  profaned  by  the  vile  fingers 
of  the  executioner,  for  in  those  days  wise  men  like  you  will  carry 
poison  about  them  as  a  preventive.  And  you,"  he  continued, 
pointing  from  one  to  another  in  rapid  succession,  "your  virtues 
will  not  help  yoa  then,  &ir  dame.     And  you,  your  venerable 


630  THE   STORY  OP  GOVERNMENT. 

points  out,  and  leads  the  way  among  free,  enlightened,  and  pro- 
gi-essive  peoples,  to  the  friendly  federation  of  the  world. 

Not  a  religion  or  a  system  of  religion,  it  is  the  handmaid  of 
all  seeking  truth,  and  light,  and  right.  A  centre  of  union  for 
good  and  true  men  of  every  race  and  tongue,  who  believe  in  God 
and  practise  morality,  it  knows  no  politics,  no  sect,  no  hierarch, 
no  Casar.  Without  claiming  total  exemption  from  the  errors 
and  frailties  incident  to  all  things  human,  or  the  entire  absence 
of  Iscariot  betrayers,  or  of  emissaries  seeking  to  destroy,  and 
without  pretensions  to  unattainable  perfection,  it  ever  strives,  by 
spreading  the  light  of  science  and  moral  truth,  by  increasing  the 
power  of  knowledge,  to  make  the  whole  realm  of  nature  subser- 
vient to  the  best  interests,  the  highest  hopes,  and  the  loftiest 
aims  of  man. 

Freemasonry  is  a  system  of  human  philosophy,  a  school  of 
learning,  a  college  of  builders,  a  home  of  brethren.  To  the 
artist  and  the  artisan;  to  the  poet  and  the  philosopher;  to  the 
theorist  and  the  utilitarian ;  to  the  speculative  and  the  operative ; 
to  the  man  of  business  and  the  sage ;  to  the  prince  and  the  peas- 
ant; to  the  old,  the  middle-aged,  and  the  youth,  Freemasonry  is 
alike  congenial,  instructive,  and  beneficent.  Therein  all  meet 
upon  the  Level,  work  by  the  Plumb,  and  part  upon  the  Square. 

Freemasonry  is  based  upon  immutable  truth  and  right.  It 
knows  not  the  changes  and  shifts  of  expediency  and  opportunism. 
It  is  as  moveless  as  the  silent  rock  on  which  the  storm-tossed  ocean 
rolls  in  wrath.  Firm  as  the  mystic  pyramids,  it  stands,  benign 
and  placid  as  the  musing  Sphinx.  It  survives  the  commotions 
and  downfall  of  empires ;  and  of  it,  in  substance  and  essence,  the 
truth  proclaims,  semper  eadem.  It  lacks  only  one  element  to 
make  it  a  true  fraternity:  it  does  not  admit  women  into  its  magic 
circle. 


THE  French  republic,  like  that  of  the  United  States,  is 
the  ofEspriag  of  revolution.  It  was  bom  towards  the 
close  of  the  last  centuiy  amid  the  wildest  social  con- 
vulsions which  the  world  has  ever  witnessed.  Like 
Pallas  Athene,  the  fabled  Goddess  of  Wisdom,  from  the  brain  of 
Jove  it  sprang,  armed  and  equipped,  into  the  arena  of  conflict 
with  the  allied  monarchs  of  Eui-ope,  who  joined  their  forces  to 
stamp  out  the  young  giant  that  was  proclaiming  lAherty,  Equality, 
and  Fraternity  to  all  the  people.  In  place  of  the  ancient  super- 
stition of  the  divine  right  of  kings  to  rule,  France  promulgated 
flie  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty  and  maintained  it  success- 
fully against  the  royal  coalition  in  a  desperate  struggle  lasting 
many  years  and  only  now  appearing  to  have  achieved  a  per- 
manent victory. 

The  causes  which  produced  the  French  Revolution  of  1789 
were  manifold,  but  they  may  be  summed  up  in  a  simple  state- 
ment: long  continued  oppression  of  the  masses  of  the  French 
people.  A  brief  epitome  of  the  condition  of  the  people  prior  to 
the  Revolution  will  be  necessary  in  order  to  understand  the  cause 
of  the  great  upheaval.  The  peasantry  who  constituted  the  great 
mass  had  no  voice  in  either  the  local  or  national  government  from 
the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  or  for  more  than  a  century  prior  to  the 
Revolution.  They  were  merely  beasts  of  burden,  producei-s  of 
wealth  for  the  king,  nobility  and  aristocratic  clergy. 


682  THE  8TOBY  OF  OOVEBNBiENT. 

Louis  XIV.  had  absorbed  in  his  own  person  all  the  powers  of 
government;  he  became  the  absolute  master  of  France;  he  made 
and  annulled  laws  and  levied  taxes  at  his  pleasure.  His  cele- 
brated declaration,  ^*I  am  the  State/'  made  in  reply  to  the  request 
that  he  should  call  the  States-General  or  ancient  parliament 
together,  summarizes  his  ideas  of  the  rights  of  sovereigns;  ideas 
not  peculiar  to  him  alone,  but  which  at  the  time  prevailed  gen- 
erally throughout  Euroj)e. 

Louis  XIV.  appointed  eighteen  councillors  of  State  to  assist 
him  in  governing  die  kingdom  and  its  dependencies,  and  his 
successors  continued  this  form  of  government  until  Louis  XVI., 
through  necessity,  found  it  indispensable  to  convoke  the  States- 
Greneral  in  1789.  During  this  period  liberty  of  speech  and 
liberty  of  the  press  did  not  exist. 

The  penal  law  allowed  the  application  of  torture  before  trial, 
permitted  the  most  atrocious  punishments,  mutilations,  and 
death  without  according  to  the  accused  the  right  of  having  a 
lawyer  to  manage  his  case  and  plead  for  him,  and  the  judge  who 
imposed  sentence  was  not  even  required  to  state  a  reason  for  the 
sentence  which  lie  pronoimced.  The  criminal  code  did  not  press 
on  all  persons  alike.  A  noble  was  not  punished  as  severely  as 
a  peasant  for  a  similar  offence. 

There  were  three  general  classes  or  orders  of  beings  in  the 
kingdom :  the  nobility,  clergy  and  plebeians.  These  were  again 
divided  into  other  distinct  classes.  Among  the  nobility  there 
were  the  greater  and  the  lesser ;  the  former  living  at  the  court  in 
splendor  on  the  taxes  which  came  into  the  national  treasurj^  the 
latter  in  the  provinces  on  their  estates  on  the  rents  and  services 
wnmg  from  their  tenants. 

There  were  also  among  the  clergy  the  very  rich  who  enjoyed 
the  wealthy  l)enefices,  and  the  very  poor  who  ministered  to  the 
spiritual  wants  of  the  masses.  Among  the  plebeians  the  colnmer- 
cial  and  professional  class  looked  down  with  contempt  upon 
the  artisan,  and  the  latter  scorned  the  peasant  who  lay  at  the 
bottom  of  the  ladder  in  poverty  and  ignorance  supporting  the 
whole  social  superstructure. 

There  was  inequality  in  the  family  itself;  the  custom  of  primo- 
geniture gave  to  the  younger  sons  of  the  nobles  only  an  oppor- 


NAPOLEON   CltOSSINU    THE    ALPS. 


634  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

tunity  to  enter  the  church  or  army,  and  to  many  of  the  daughters 
the  only  refuge  was  the  convent.  In  addition  to  these  general 
classes  were  the  serfs  bound  to  certain  estates,  the  Jews  and  the 
Protestants,  who  had  no  civil  rights  whatever  until  after  the 
death  of  Louis  XIV.,  which  occurred  in  1715. 

The  taxes  which  were  levied  by  the  king  and  his  eighteen  royal 
councillors  were  placed  in  such  a  way  that  they  were  practically 
all  paid  by  the  peasantry  and  artisans.  According  to  the  official 
report  of  M.  Bailly,  Inspector-General  of  Finance  under  Louis 
XVI.,  in  1786,  there  was  paid  into  the  treasury  for  the  benefit  of 
the  king  the  sum  of  558,172,000  livres;  for  the  benefit  of  indi- 
viduals, corporations,  and  communities  280,395,000  livres;  for  the 
benefit  of  the  provinces  41,448,000,  making  a  total  of  880,015,- 
000  livres.i 

Of  this  enormous  sum  the  clergy  who,  besides  the  revenue 
derived  from  their  immense  property,  received  tithes  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  lands,  paid  little  or  nothing;  they  were  expected  to 
make  "gratuitous  donations"  to  the  national  exchequer.  The 
nobility  were  subject  to  the  payment  of  a  poll  tax  and  one 
twentieth  of  their  income,  but  they  generally  found  means  to 
evade  tlie  payment  of  the  latter.  They  owned  nearly  all  the  land 
of  France,  but  paid  none  of  the  land  tax  or  taille^  as  it  wi\s 
termed. 

The  conmion  people  who  possessed  only  a  very  small  portion  of 
the  soil  paid  the  wliole  land  tax  amounting  to  91,000,000  livres; 
also  the  tithe,  which  in  one  portion  of  the  kingdom  was  one 
fortieth  and  in  another  was  one  fourth  of  the  gross  product,  and 
cost  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  inhabitants  the  sum  of  133,- 
000,000,  the  seigniorial  dues  amounting  to  35,000,000  and  the 
corvees  or  manual  service  due  the  lords  estimated  at  20,000,000 
livres.  In  addition  to  this  gigantic  burden  the  peasants  were  sub- 
ject to  multifarious  restrictions  for  the  benefit  of  the  ownei's  of 
the  soil. 

Under  these  crusliing  burdens  the  people  of  France  groaned  for 
more  than  a  century.  Hie  misery  of  the  common  people  during 
the  reic^n  of  Louis  XIV.  was  fricrhtful.  In  yeai's  of  fair  harvests 
they  had  barely  sufficient  to  keep   body  and  soul  together;  in 

'  A  livre  is  equal  to  18J4  cents. 


HXPERLMENTAL   BBPtJhUCAKISM.  635 

years  of  scarcity  they  were  destitute  and  died  o£  starratioD  by 
thousiuidii.  In  many  places  there  was  almost  a  relapse  to  sav- 
agery- The  peasants  of  fertile  Normandy  lived  chiefly  on  oats,  and 
dressed  in  the  skins  of  beasts.  In  Beatice,  the  very  granaiy  of 
Paris,  the  faiTnera  lived  by  begging  during  a  portion  of  the  year. 
In  a  large  number  of  the  provinces  most  of  the  people  did  not 
know  the  taste  of  animal  food. 

Vaiiban  informs  ua  that  in  the  whole  of  France  not  more  than 
ten  tliousand  families  were  in  comfortjible  circumstances.  The 
amount  of  artieica  of  food  consumed  \vas  between  two  and  three 
times  less  per  head  of  the  population  than  at  the  present  time. 
La  Bruy^re,  writing  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.,  calls  these 
peasants  "Certain  feroi-ious  animals,  male  and  female,  scattered 
over  the  country,  black,  livid,  and  burned  by  the  sun,  attached 
to  the  land  whi<;h  they  dig  and  work  upon  with  incomprehensible 
obstinacy;  tbey  have  an  articulate  voice,  and  when  they  rise  on 
their  feet  they  exhibit  a  human  face;  and  in  fact  they  are  men. 
At  night  they  retire  to  their  dens  where  they  live  upon  black 
bread,  water,  and  roots ;  they  spare  other  men  the  trouble  of  sow- 
ing, cultivating  and  gathering  articles  of  food." 

In  the  midst  of  this  horrible  suffering  the  king,  nobility,  and 
aristocratic  clergy  rioted  and  revelled  at  the  expense  of  the 
plundered  masses.  In  debauchery  and  licentiousness  the  plun- 
derers dissipated  the  wealth  produced  by  the  workers.  Immorality 
became  the  prevailing  fashion  radiating  from  the  royal  court  out- 
ward. Moral  ideas  had  lost  all  practical  force  among  the  upper 
classes. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  depth  to  which  morality  had  fallen 
the  Marquis  d'Argenson,  a  very  estimable  man,  considering  the 
times,  and  one  of  the  royal  ministers,  writing  in  a  matter-of-fact 
way  regarding  marriage,  said:  "Marriage,  that  monstitms  obliga- 
tion which  will  surely  go  out  of  fashion!  "  And  continuing  he 
declared  that  the  proper  marriage  contract  should  be  "like  a  lease 
contract  which  could  Ije  entered  into  in  October  and  given  up  in 
January,  free  unions  being  much  more  favorable  to  the  race." 

This  was  the  view  of  marriage  entertained  and  acted  upon  by 
the  leaders  of  society,  from  the  king  downward,  as  the  contem- 
porary writers  abundantly  show .     Kever  siute  the  tinii;  of  Xci-o, 


686  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Caligula,  and  the  other  monsters  of  the  Roman  empire  liad 
morality  fallen  so  low,  or  had  corruption  become  so  general  and 
brazen  as  in  the  kingdom  of  France  before  the  Revolution. 

But,  while  this  long-continued  Belshazzar  orgy  proceeded,  new 
forces  antagonistic  to  this  unnatural  order  of  things  entered  the 
field.  The  frightful  abuses,  the  gross  inequality  among  men,  and 
the  great  disorder  and  intense  poverty,  provoked  criticism  among 
the  few  who  had  not  lost  every  spark  of  decency  and  honesty. 
F^ndlon  demanded  reform  from  a  religious  and  political  point  of 
view,  while  Vauban  and  others,  confronted  l)y  a  constantly 
increasing  national  debt,  demanded  it  from  an  economic. 

The  Marquis  d'Argenson,  in  his  work  "Considerations  on  the 
Government  of  France,"  declared  for  municipal  and  cantonal 
self-government,  freedom  of  trade  at  home  and  abroad,  the  election 
of  royal  oflBcers  by  ballot,  and  fearlessly  asserted  that  "Two  things 
were  chiefly  to  be  desired  for  the  good  of  the  State :  one  that  all 
citizens  should  be  equal,  and  the  other  that  each  should  be  the 
son  of  his  own  works.'* 

The  men  of  letters,  generally  the  children  uf  the  middle  chiss, 
or  l)Ourgeois,  assailed  with  wit,  ridicule  and  sat  in*  the  foibles  and 
vices  of  the  aristocrats.  The  former  were  warmly  welcomed  to 
the  salons  of  the  great,  for,  singular  as  it  may  seem,  tlie  frivolous, 
sensual,  egoistic  society  of  the  eigliteentli  century  carried  on  even 
amid  its  vices  the  cult  of  ideas. 

It  laughed  at  a  well-polished  hnn  mot  even  at  its  own  expense. 
Voltaire,  Montesquieu,  Rousseau,  and  tlie  Encyclopedists,  pliiloso- 
phized  on  government  and  flung  their  nnilti Carious  sliafts  at  tlie 
existing  order  in  C'liurch  and  State  with  a  skill  and  force  wliicli 
attracte(l  the  attention  of  a  multitude  of  minds,  and  their  ideas 
even  found  their  way  among  the  dense  mass  whicli  lived  but  to 
furnisli  wealth  for  tlie  frivolous  and  vicious. 

Tlie  tremendous  jHjlitical  influence  of  tluise  three  men  on  the 
thou<ifht  of  their  a<re  can  be  clearlv  traced  in  tlie  three  irreat 
ej^ochs  wliich  made  up  the  Revolution;  that  of  Voltaire  wide- 
si)read  and  general  in  the  iniivei-sal  enthusiasm  of  1789;  that  of 
Montes(piieu,  calm  and  statesmanlike  in  the  attempts  of  tlie 
National  Assembly  to  devise  and  perpetuate  a  constitutional  gov- 
ernment, and  of  Rousseau  in  the  tliought  and  action  of  the  savjige 


EXPEBtMENTAL  BEPUBLICAHTaM.  DdT 

leaders  who  took  the  helm  in  the  Reign  of  Terror  until  they  were 
themselves  swallowed  up  in  tlie  maelstrom  which  they  helped  to 
create. 

Many  strange  stories  are  told  of  the  era  just  preceding  this 
Revolution  in  France,  stories  which  the  sober  historian  is  perliaps 
too  ready  to  reject,  forgetting  the  wisdom  embodied  in  Hamlet's 
apeech:  "There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
tlian  ore  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy. "  One  of  these  legends  is 
that  just  before  the  crasli  in  a  gay  aalon  the  aged  poet  and 
humorist,  Cazotte,  had  a  vision.  The  polished  company  had 
been  talking  with  volubility  and  eloquence  of  the  wonderful 
change  whirh  was  going  to  be  wrought  in  the  condition  of  the 
common  people  by  the  educational  force  of  the  fraternal  doctrines 
which  Diderot,  Voltaire,  and  the  other  social  philosophers  who 
were  styled  EncyelopEedists  had  been  industriously  disseminating. 

In  the  midst  of  this  brilliant  company  who  were  discussing  all 
sorts  of  condescending  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the  masses, 
plans  which  might  have  been  well  enough,  had  they  not  been  too 
late,  the  old  poet  Cazotte  was  smittei.  with  clairvoyance.  The 
room  swam  red  around  him,  and  in  a  voice  that  seemed  to  labor 
up  from  a  vast  distance,  but  which  every  one  heard  with  thrilling 
distinctness,  he  cried  aloud:  "I  see  the  end.  The  Revolution, 
whose  advent  you  so  joyously  prophesy,  will  come;  but  it  will 
come,  not  as  a  feast  of  roses,  but  a  flood  of  blood." 

The  loids  and  ladies,  wits  and  philosophers,  laughed  loudly 
and  one  gay  dame  exclaimed:  "Bravo!  How  humorous  the 
dear  old  Cazotte  is  to-night;  how  well  he  acts  it,  like  the 
Jew  before  Belsbazzar!"  Then  the  Marquis  de  Condorcet  spoke 
up:  "Why  not  tell  us  our  separate  fates,  Cazotte?  Can  you  not 
prophesy  by  retail  as  well  as  by  wholesale?"  And  the  ancient 
poet  answered:  "Many  lovely  women  and  many  brilliant  and 
noble  men  in  the  days  of  the  impending  Revolution  will  come 
under  the  hands  of  the  headsman,  but  you,  Marquis  de  Condorcet, 
though  perishing  in  prison,  will  not  be  profaned  by  the  vile  fingers 
of  the  executioner,  for  in  those  dajra  wise  men  like  you  will  cany 
poison  about  them  as  a  preventive.  And  you,"  he  continued, 
pointing  from  one  to  another  in  rapid  succession,  "your  virtues 
will  not  help  you  then,  fair  dame.     And  yoUi  your  venerable 


688  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

age  will  be  no  safeguard.  And  you  your  learning  and  your 
genius  will  not  save.  Your  trunkless  heads  now  stare  me  in  the 
face.*' 

Such  was  the  restrained  and  evidently  repressed  intensity  of 
the  speaker  that  an  uncanny  thrill  ran  through  the  crowd,  but  La 
Harpe,  the  disciple  of  Voltaire,  La  Harpe,  the  aggressive  atlieist, 
feeling  his  neck  with  his  taper  fingers,  as  if  fearful  that  his  head 
was  already  going,  said  quizzically:  "Cazotte,  what  about  me? 
This  goiy  drama  of  your  dream,  why  am  I  not  in  it  ?  I  want  to 
be  a  star!"  "And  so  you  shall,"  Cazotte  replied,  "for  you  shall 
live  through  that  tempest  and,  strangest  of  all,  when  the  calm 
has  come,  you,  yes,  you,  La  Harpe,  shall  become  a  Christian." 

How  they  roared  at  this!  It  seemed  the  crowning  joke. 
Cazotte  in  all  his  life,  some  said,  had  never  been  so  finely  fan- 
tastic as  that  night.  Then  one  in  the  crowd  cried  out:  "O 
prophet,  prophesy  of  thyself,"  and  in  the  hush  that  followed 
Cazotte  said:  "It  is  writ  in  history  that  for  seven  days  prior  to 
the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans,  a  man  ran  about  the  walls 
of  that  city  whereof  not  one  stone  was  to  be  left  upon  another, 
rending  his  garments  and  erjnng  aloud:  *Woe  imto  thee,  Jeru- 
salem! Woe  unto  thee  and  me!'  and  on  the  seventh  day,  at  the 
very  Ijeginning  of  the  siege,  a  stone  from  a  Roman  catapult  made 
that  man  the  firat  of  the  dead."  Cazotte  bowed  his  head  and  left 
the  gay  salon.  Some  shivered  a  little  but  most  of  them  tried  to 
laugh  it  away. 

A  similar  stor}'  is  told  of  the  wizard  Cagliostro  mention  of 
whose  reinarka])le  powei*s  litus  been  made  in  our  chapter  on 
^Masonry.  It  is  said  tliat  Cagliostro,  sitting  at  dinner  with  a 
nunilMM"  of  prominent  nol)le3  and  foreign  anib:issadoi*s  just  on  the 
eve  of  the  Frencli  Revolution,  was  asked  to  look  into  the  futui'e. 
Shading  his  eves  with  his  heavily  jeweled  hand,  he  sj>oke  in  a 
strange  voice  full  of  fearful  intonations,  giving  a  similar  picture 
of  tjie  LojToi-s  to  come,  and  jirophesying  that  certain  Frenchmen 
in  tlie  eohiinwiy  would  meet  with  sudden  and  frightful  ends. 

One  man,  a  foreign  nol)ieman,  asked  laughingly  if  there  were 
no  sjjeeial  dish  fov  him  at  such  a  feitst  of  liorroi^;  and  the  wizanl, 
leaning  forward  and  looking  deep  into  his  eyes,  answered:  "Xot 
here  in  Fnince,  dear  Count,  but  further  on.     I  do  not  see  quite 


EXHBKIMI11KT.&L  RKPtTULlCANlSM.  643 

how;  tin:  scfiif  is  dim,  ius  if  (rlomteil  with  MUtnki-.  Imt  litnviiii-  i.f 
masks '.  "  One  of  the  wiu  present  exclaimed :  "  A  very  safe  and 
sage  advice,  for  betiind  them  is  often  some  face  too  fair  for  a 
man's  i>eace."  The  foreign  count  replied  that  he  did  not  fear;  he 
was  too  olil  a  soldier  in  tliat  kind  of  warfare  to  do  auglit  but  love 
the  dangei'.  Some  years  afterwards  this  propliecy  or  guesH  of 
Caglioatio  was  startlingly  verified.  The  foi-eign  nobleman  had 
become  Gustavus  III.  of  Sweden,  and  he  was  assassinated  from 
behind  with  a  pistol  at  a  masked  l«ll  as  is  faithfully  [wrtrayed  in 
our  illustration. 

The  taxes  had  more  tlian  doubled  during  the  reign  of  Louis 
XV.,  who  died  in  1774,  and  yet  there  w;i3  a  large  annual  deficit. 
Louis  XV.  foresaw  quite  clearly  that  a  day  of  terrible  reckoning 
was  close  at  hand,  but  in  his  utter  selfishness  and  moral  degrada- 
tion he  ponsoled  himself  with  the  reflection  that  the  storm  would 
descend  upon  another  head  than  his  own.  On  one  occasion  he 
said :  "  Mattein  will  go  on  as  they  are  m  long  as  1  live ;  my  suc- 
cessor may  get  out  of  the  difficulty  as  well  as  he  can."  And  his 
favorite,  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who  ruled  Fiunee  through  her 
turpitude,  rejjeated  with  him  "After  us  the  deluge." 

When  Louis  XVL  ascended  the  throne,  on  the  death  of  his 
grandfather,  he  was  only  t^venty  years  of  age.  He  was  a  young 
man  of  excellent  morals,  loving  the  right,  and  desirous  of  doing 
justice  to  all.  lie  immediately  commenced  to  aljolish  the  abuses 
that  surrounded  him,  Ijeginning  with  the  royal  residence,  entmnce 
to  which  was  denied  to  the  titled  courtesans  who  had  frequented 
its  corridors  and  occupied  the  highest  places  at  the  fetes  in  its 
apartments  during  the  reign  of  his  predecessor. 

He  called  to  bis  aid  iis  ad\'isers  two  of  the  best  and  most 
eminent  Krenchnitu  living,  Malesherbes  and  Tui^ot,  making  the 
fonner  minister  of  the  royal  household,  and  the  latter  minister  of 
finance.  Tnrgot,  from  the  very  moment  of  his  appointment,  in 
1774,  the  year  preceding  the  opening  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, urged  upon  Loui;j  XVI.  "Xo  Iiankruptcy,  no  increase  of 
taxation,  no  bonowing." 

He  planned  extensive  reforms  in  various  directions,  a  gradual 
dcvolnpmcnt  of  the  principle  of  local  ar  If -government  in  the 
mnnii'ipiilitii'H   and    conununt-.t,    the    abolition    of    thi-    corim-   or 


m 


644  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

manual  service  tax  on  the  pea8antr}%  the  imposition  of  a  land 
tax  on  the  clergy  and  nobility,  the  suppression  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  monasteries,  the  equalization  of  the  land  tax  by  a  national 
land  survey,  liberty  of  conscience  including  the  abolition  of  the 
penal  code  against  Protestants,  a  national  code  of  laws,  and  a 
uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures  for  the  whole  kingdom, 
with  several  other  beneficent  mesisures  which,  could  they  have 
been  carried  out,  might  have  averted  the  awful  catastrophe  which 
some  years  later  burst  like  a  cyclone  over  France,  astounding  the 
world  with  its  destructive  violence. 

But  the  privileged  classes,  the  nobility  and  many  of  the  clergy 
whose  selfish  interests  were  threatened  by  Turgot's  prapositions 
made  bitter  war  on  the  minister,  and  opposed  his  every  effort  to 
carry  his  reforms  into  practical  operation.  His  progress  was  slow 
and  partial.  Almost  the  entire  nobility  opposed  the  removal  of 
the  corvee  tax  on  the  peasants  for  a  sum  equivalent  to  it  laid  on 
the  landowners,  but  the  minister,  backed  up  by  the  king,  suc- 
ceeded in  abolishing  this  hoary  wrong. 

He  also  freed  industries  from  the  control  of  the  seigneurs  or 
landlords  on  whose  estattis  tliey  were  carried  on,  and  by  so  doing 
increased  the  numl^er  of  his  enemies.  All  the  selfishness  of  the 
ancient  regime  formed  a  conspii-acy  against  him.  The  young 
king  was  beleaguered  by  his  enemies  and  finally,  growing  weary 
of  the  mental  strain  to  which  lie  was  subjected  l)y  Turgot  on  the 
one  side  holding  up  to  his  view  vast  designs  which  were  beyond 
his  capacity,  and  the  importunities  and  wliispered  suspicions  of 
the  conspirators  on  the  otlier,  he  asked  the  minister  to  resign. 

In  May,  1776,  after  two  yeai*s  of  service,  Turgot  sent  in  his 
resignation  in  writing,  saying:  ''My  only  desii*e  is  that  you  will 
always  be  able  to  believe  tliat  I  have  l)een  mistaken,  and  that  I 
have  warned  you  of  fancied  dangers.  I  hoptj  that  time  will  not 
justify  my  fears  and  that  your  reign  may  l>e  as  happy  and  as 
peaceful  as  your  i)eoi)le  have  expected  from  your  principles  of 
justice  and  benevolence." 

Malesherbes,  the  other  upright  minister,  was  also  forced  to 
resign.  Thirteen  yeai-s  later  he  volunteered  to  defend  his  i-oyal 
master  before  the  National  Convention  which  thirsted  for  his 
blood.     Both  ministers  were  succeeded  by  temporizing  and  incom- 


w 

^ 

EXI'EKIMENTAI.    UK!*UBt 

!4!RM 

S45 

petent 

lueQ. 

Four  months 

afterwHrds 

(ill 

the  i-efoi-m 

measures 

liad  bee 

■n  rei)eftletl,  and  the  privilegL-d  clasaet 

1  reinstated 

ill  wniiifr- 

doing. 

But 

Fmiiot   liad   iin 

AV  imunu'd  i 

iiiie 

w  fiimiiL-i:il  l.mdeii  l.y 

her  war  with  England,  as  an  ally  of  our  colonies  during  the  war 
for  independence.  In  order  to  meet  this  great  emergency  it  was 
necessary  to  call  to  the  assistance  of  the  incompetent  minister  of 
finance  some  one  capable  of  devising  ways  and  means  to  support 
the  army  and  navy. 

This  person  was  found  in  a  celebrated  Geneva  linker  named 
Neckar,  who  acquitted  himself  with  honor  in  a  position  made 
difficult  by  the  jealousy  of  the  ministers,  and  tlie  ill-concealed 
hostility  of  the  courtiei-s.  He,  too,  was  forced  to  resign  after 
five  years  of  aniuous  service. 

The  cause  of  his  fall  was  the  publication  of  his  famoiis 
"Account  Rendered,"  or  itjiwrt  on  the  state  of  the  French 
finances,  which  he  gave  to  the  public  in  1781.  In  this  i-eport 
the  receipts  as  set  forth  appeared  to  be  10,000,000  livres  more 
than  the  expenses,  but  there  was  no  account  of  the  money  bor- 
rowed, nor  of  the  toUil  expenditures  for  war  purposes.  The 
public  applauded  the  Hnancier  and  his  report,  and  the  capitalists, 
on  the  strength  of  it,  lent  the  minister  of  finance  an  additional 
286,000,000  livi-es. 

The  court,  however,  and  all  the  noble  placemen  and  pensioners 
decried  the  publication  as  a  monstrous  innovation,  a  decided 
breach  of  privilege.  It  was  an  appeal  to  the  public  opinion  of 
France,  something  hitherto  unheard  of  anil  not  to  be  tolerated. 
What  would  become  nf  the  pensions  an<I  the  customary  robbery 
carried  on  in  secret,  if  the  national  accountji  were  to  be  submitted 
to  the  public  scrutiny;* 

Neckar's  fate  was  decided  by  his  celebrated  Cumpte  Jtemlu. 
Maurepas,  the  first  minister  of  tlie  king,  engineered  the  attack, 
and  the  assault  which  had  been  successful  agaijist  Turgot  pn)ved 
auccessful  against  his  successor.  Louis  gave  way  to  the  clamor 
of  the  courtiers,  and  Neckar  was  deposed  for  daring  to  lay  before 
the  jieople  even  a  partial  report  of  the  amount  of  money  which 
diey  paid  into  the  royal  treasury,  and  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  expended. 

Thus  things  drifted  from  year  to  year,  the  treasury  becoming 


644  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

mauual  service  tax  on  the  peasaiitr}%  the  imjx)sition  of  a  land 
tax  on  the  clergy  and  nobility,  the  suppression  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  monasteries,  the  equalization  of  the  land  tax  by  a  national 
land  survey,  liberty  of  conscience  including  the  abolition  of  the 
j>enal  code  against  Protestants,  a  national  code  of  laws,  and  a 
uniform  system  of  weights  and  measures  for  the  whole  kingdom, 
with  several  other  beneficent  measures  which,  could  they  have 
been  carried  out,  might  have  averted  the  awful  catastrophe  which 
some  years  later  burst  like  a  cyclone  over  France,  astounding  the 
world  with  its  destructive  violence. 

But  the  privileged  classes,  the  nobility  and  many  of  the  clergy 
whose  selfish  interests  were  threatened  by  Turgot's  propositions 
made  bitter  war  on  the  minister,  and  opposed  his  every  effort  to 
carry  his  reforms  into  practical  operation.  His  progiess  was  slow 
and  partial.  Almost  the  entire  nobility  opposed  the  removal  of 
the  corvee  tax  on  the  peasants  for  a  sum  equivalent  to  it  laid  on 
the  landowners,  but  the  minister,  backed  up  by  the  king,  suc- 
ceeded in  abolishing  this  hoary  wrong. 

He  also  freed  industries  from  the  control  of  the  seigneurs  or 
landlords  on  whose  estates  they  were  carried  on,  and  by  so  doing 
increased  the  number  of  his  enemies.  AH  the  selfishness  of  the 
ancient  regime  formed  a  coiispii-acy  against  him.  The  young 
king  was  beleaguered  by  his  enemies  and  finally,  growing  weary 
of  the  mental  strain  to  wliich  lie  was  subjected  by  Turgot  on  the 
one  side  holding  up  to  his  view  vjist  designs  which  were  beyond 
his  capacity,  and  the  importunities  and  wliispered  suspicions  of 
the  consi)irators  on  the  otlier,  he  asked  tlie  minister  to  resign. 

In  May,  1776,  after  two  years  of  service,  Turgot  sent  in  his 
resignation  in  writing,  saying:  '^My  only  desire  is  that  you  will 
always  be  able  to  believe  that  I  have  been  mistaken,  and  that  I 
have  warned  you  of  fancied  dangei^s.  I  hoptj  that  time  will  not 
justify  my  fears  and  that  your  reign  may  l)e  as  happy  and  as 
peaceful  as  your  i>eople  have  expected  from  your  principles  of 
justice  and  benevolence." 

Malesherbes,  the  other  upright  minister,  was  also  forced  to 
resign.  Thirteen  yeai-s  later  he  volunteered  to  defend  his  royal 
niiister  before  the  National  Convention  wliich  thirsted  for  his 
blood.     Both  ministers  were  succeeded  by  temporizing  and  incom- 


EXHEIUMENTAI,    KErUBI.IfANISM  646 


pettiitt  men.  Four  monthij  afterwards  all  the  refoiin  ineasiuvs 
hatl  been  reijealed,  anil  the  privileged  closes  reinstated  in  wrong- 
doing. But  Ftimce  had  now  assumed  a  new  financial  hurden  liy 
her  war  wiUi  England,  jis  an  ally  of  our  colonies  during  the  war 
fur  -ndeiiendence.  In  urder  to  meet  this  great  emergency  it  ivtis 
necessary  to  call  to  the  assistance  of  the  incompetent  minister  of 
finance  some  one  capable  of  devising  ways  and  means  to  support 
the  army  and  navy. 

This  peraon  was  found  in  a  celebrated  Geneva  biinker  named 
Neckar,  who  acquitted  himself  with  honor  in  a  position  made 
difficult  by  the  jealousy  of  the  ministers,  and  the  ill-concealed 
hostility  of  the  courtiers.  He,  too,  was  forced  to  resign  after 
five  years  of  arduous  service. 

The  cause  of  his  fall  was  the  publication  of  his  famous 
"Account  Rendered,"  oi-  i-eport  on  the  state  of  the  French 
finances,  which  he  gave  to  the  piiblic  in  1781.  In  this  i-eport 
the  receipts  as  set  forth  appeared  to  be  10,000,000  livres  more 
than  the  expenses,  but  there  wiis  no  account  of  tlie  money  bor- 
rowed, nor  of  the  total  exyenditures  for  war  purposes.  The 
public  applauded  the  financier  and  his  report,  and  the  capitalists, 
on  the  strength  of  it,  lent  the  minister  of  finance  an  additional 
286,000,000  livi-es. 

The  court,  liowever,  and  all  the  noble  jdacemen  and  pensioners 
decried  the  publication  as  a  monsti-ous  innovation,  a  decided 
breach  of  privilege.  It  was  an  appeal  to  the  public  opinion  of 
France,  something  hitherto  unheard  of  and  not  to  be  tolerated. 
What  would  become  of  the  pensions  and  the  customary  robbery 
carried  on  in  secret,  if  the  national  accounts  were  to  be  submitted 
to  the  public  scrutiny  V 

Neckar's  fate  was  decided  by  his  celebrated  Compte  Rendu. 
Maurepas,  the  first  minister  of  the  king,  engineered  the  attack, 
and  the  assault  which  had  been  successful  gainst  Turgot  proved 
successful  against  his  successor.  Louis  gave  way  to  the  clamor 
of  the  courtiers,  and  Neckar  was  deposed  for  daring  to  lay  before 
the  jwople  even  a  pai-tial  report  of  the  amount  of  money  which 
they  paid  into  the  royal  treasury,  and  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  expended. 

Thus  things  drifted  from  year  to  year,  the  treasury  liecoming 


646  THE    STORY    OF    CJOVEHNMEXT. 

more  deeply  involved  in  debt  at  enonnoiis  rates  of  interest,  desti- 
tution among  the  masses  growing  more  intense,  while  profound 
fermentation  of  thought  gained  in  power  among  the  middle 
classes,  permeating  even  to  the  peasantry,  who  git)wled  like 
Caliban  in  restlessness  and  misery.  Calonne,  who  was  appointed 
Comptroller-General  of  Finance  in  1788,  had  little  or  no  ability 
for  the  difficult  iX)sition  wliicli  he  occupied,  but  he  managed  to 
boiTow  and  expend  500,000,000  francs  over  and  abovt*  the 
ordinary  taxes  in  three  yeai*s  with  tlie  country  at  peace. 

On  his  disclosing  to  tlie  king  this  staU?  of  affaii-s  it  was  deter- 
mined to  stop  further  borrowing  and  to  reform  the  whole  system 
of  taxation.  Calonne  now  proposed  to  adopt  in  great  part  the 
plan  laid  down  by  Turgot;  lie  Avould  subject  the  privileged 
classes  to  a  tax  and  the  payment  of  a  subsidy  ba^sed  on  land ;  he 
woukl  diminish  the  land  tiix  and  tluis  lighten  the  burden  of  the 
peasants;  grant  fi*eedom  of  trade  in  grain,  and  abolisli  other 
annoying  restrictions  whicli  the  common  people  were  loudly  cry- 
ing out  against. 

To  effect  these  poimlar  rt^forms  it  was  necessary  to  have  recoui-se 
to  the  nation.  The  kiny:  and  Calonne  were  in  favor  of  summon- 
ing  the  States-Clenend,  or  parliament,  of  all  France,  which  had 
not  been  convened  for  over  a  centurv.  Hut  tliti  veiy  name  of  the 
States-General  excited  alarm  in  the  breast  of  every  pensioner  and 
(iouilier,  and  the  king  did  not  venture  to  do  more  tlian  convene 
a  meeting  of  the  notiibles. 

Tlujv  met  on  Febniarv  1-,  1787,  to  tht^  number  of  one  hundred 
and  fortv-four  membtM-s,  of  whom  twentv-seven  were  set  down  as 
rcin-esenting  the  third  estate  or  bourgeois,  although  in  fact  there 
were  ()nly  six  or  seven  of  the  latter  among  them.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  tlu^  Third  Estate  approved  the  2)lans  of  reform  set 
forth  bv  Calonne,  but  the  nibbles  refused  their  assent  to  burden 
their  class  with  a  tax  on  land  which  they  preferred  should  con- 
tinue to  1h*.  2)aid  by  the  peasantry. 

The  discussion  on  this  i)()int  waxed  warm;  the  king  took  a 
heading  part  in  it,  growing  angry  at  the  stolid  opposition  to  the 
measures  which  he  endoi*sed,  and  he  informed  them  that  thev 
should  (-online  their  deliberation  to  the  manner  in  which  the  tiixes 
should  be  laid,  and  not  to  th(^  ]>rinciple  of  them.      Rut  the  nobles 


EXPERIMENTAI,   REPUBLICANISM. 


647 


were  almost  unanimously  adverse,  and  finally  the  king  wm  foi-ced 
to  give  way  and  send  Calonne  info  exile  in  Lorraine. 

A  year  later  Neckar  was  recalled  to  office  as  fimt  minister  by 
the  king.  His  return  to  power  was  hailed  by  acclamations  of 
welcome.  Confidence  revived  and  the  public  securities  immedi- 
ately adviinced  thirty 
per  cent.  He  found 
only  500,000  livies 
in  the  treasury,  while 
the  claims  upon  it 
were  very  lai^e  and 
m^nt.  No  triviil 
remedy  would  me(,t 
the  n:(inirement«  if 
the  situation.  Xeckii 
proposed,  a  n  d  the 
king  sanctioned  th 
convocation  of  the 
StatfN-General  ;  the 
nobility  strenuousU 
resiHted,  Imt  the  king 
hacked  up  by  his  ahit 
minister,  was  inflesi 
ble,  and  the  States 
General  wa-^  onleiel 
to  assemble  at  Vli 
sailles  on  tlif  liii^t  d  i\ 
of  May,  1T8'.>.  I*i  • 
found  e\citenitnt 
pi-evailed  tlinni<;hout 
the    country    anionfj 

all  classes  on  receipt  '<•'*  't  iavhion     t  Tin   ui 

(it  this  news. 

l>emocnitic  chilis  sfiran^'  into  i-xistonce  In  all  the 
towns,  wliich  were  harangued  niglitlyby  imi>assioned  orators  who 
declaimed  against  tlio  wrongs  the  people  suffered.  The  follow- 
ing platform  of  principles  was  adopted  by  the  Tliii-d  Estate 
whicli  the  deputies  to  the  States-General  were  instructed  to  sup[iort. 


and 


648  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

1.  Political:  that  sovereignty  emanating  from  the  people 
should  be  exercised  only  by  the  agreement  of  the  national  repre- 
sentatives with  the  hereditary  chief  of  the  state;  the  urgency  of 
establishing  a  constitution  for  France ;  the  exclusive  right  of  the 
States-General  to  make  the  laws  which,  before  being  promulgated, 
should  obtain  the  royal  sanction,  to  control  public  expenses  and 
to  vote  taxes.  The  abolition  of  financial  immunities  and  per- 
sonal privileges  of  the  clergy  and  the  nobility;  the  suppression  of 
the  last  remnants  of  serfdom;  the  admissibility  of  all  citizens  to 
public  employment;  the  responsibility  of  the  agents  of  executive 
power. 

2.  Moral:  liberty  of  worship  and  of  the  press;  edtusatian  of  poor 
and  abandoned  ehUdren  by  the  state. 

3.  Judicial:  imiformity  of  legislation  and  of  jurisprudence ;  the 
suppression  of  exceptional  jurisdictions;  the  publicity  of  debates; 
the  amelioration  of  penal  laws;  the  reform  of  procedure. 

4.  Administrative:  the  creation  of  provincial  assemblies;  unity 
of  weights  and  measures ;  a  re-division  of  the  kingdom  according 
to  population  and  revenue. 

5.  Economic:  liberty  of  industries;  the  suppression  of  internal 
customs  duties;  the  replacing  of  the  various  taxes  by  a  real 
estate  and  personal  tax  which  would  reach  the  products  but  never 
the  capital. 

On  the  second  of  May  all  the  deputies  were  assembled  and 
formally  presented  to  the  king.  On  the  fifth  day  Louis  opened 
the  proceedings,  seated  on  his  throne  surrounded  by  the  princes 
of  the  blood  royal.  The  court  occupied  the  steps  of  the  throne. 
On  the  right  of  the  king  sat  the  clergy  numbering  291  members, 
comprising  48  archbishops  and  bishops,  35  abb&  or  canons,  204 
curates,  and  3  monks.  On  the  left  were  seated  the  nobility 
numbering  270  members,  consisting  of  one  prince  of  the  blood, 
the  Duke  of  Orleans,  240  gentlemen,  and  28  magistrates  of  the 
superior  courts ;  while  directly  in  front  of  the  king  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  hall  sat  the  Tliird  Estate  consisting  of  584  members, 
of  whom  12  were  gentlemen,  2  priests,  18  mayors  or  consuls  of 
large  cities*  162  magistrates,  212  lawyers,  16  physicians,  162 
merchants  or  land-owners  and  fanners. 

The  king  addressed  the  assemblage  in  a  l)rief  speech  which  was 


'ERIMENTAI.    l:iil'UHLU;AI.'ISM.  649 


wannly  applauded.  Neckar  preseiiteJ  an  extensive  rupoit  on  tiie 
istat«  o£  the  treasmy,  iu  which  he  showed  that  there  existed  an 
annual  deficit  of  56,000,000  livrea  and  260,000,000  of  anticipated 
TeCttipts,  and  he  declared  that  the  t^ing  desired  the  states  to  assist 
him  in  drvnlnpinn;  the  indnsti-ies  of  tlje  kingdom  and  placing  its 
prosperity  upon  a  lasting  hasis. 

The  assemblage  on  proceeding  to  organize  for  business  encoun- 
tered the  first  difficulty  on  the  question  of  who  should  1«  entitled 
to  pronounce  judgment  on  the  credentials  of  the  members.  The 
clergy  and  nobility  claimed  that  each  order  should  jiass  upon  its 
own  members,  while  the  members  of  the  Third  Estate  unani- 
mously insisted  that  the  verification  of  the  credentials  of  each 
member  to  the  States-General  should  be  by  the  vote  of  all  taken 
together. 

Inasmuch  as  the  future  method  of  voting  upon  iiU  questions 
depended  on  this  matter  as  a  precedent,  a  hitter  struggle  ensued 
which  continued  for  five  weeks.  If  the  vote  was  to  be  tJiken  by 
orders  or  classes  the  clergy  and  nobility  were  certain  of  a  majority 
as  against  the  Third  Estate  or  plebeian  order,  while  if  it  was  taken 
by  members  the  latter  had  a  good  working  majority.  Hence  the 
importance  of  the  contest. 

A  number  of  democratic  priests  from  among  the  clergy  joined 
the  Third  Estate  in  a  separate  hall  which  they  occupied.  ^Vt 
length,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1789,  the  Abb^  Sieyes  ai-ose  among 
the  benches  of  the  Third  Estate  and  moved  that  it  lesolve  itself 
into  a  national  asBembly,  "inasmuch  as  this  assembly  is  already 
composed  of  representiitives  sent  directly  by  at  least  ninety-six 
hundredths  of  the  nation,"  etc. ;  and  afterwards,  by  another  reso- 
lution, the  word  "constituent"  was  added,  thus  giving  to  the 
assemblage  its  oificial  designation  "  National  Constituent  Assem- 
bly "  of  France. 

The  order  of  the  clergy  by  a  small  majority  voted  on  the  19th 
of  June  to  act  with  the  assembly,  Tlie  court,  the  nobility,  and 
some  of  the  aristocratic  clei^y  pressed  the  king  to  disperse  the 
Aaaembly  by  force.  On  the  20th  of  June  soldiera  jtatrolled  the 
vicinage  of  their  place  of  meeting  and  guarded  the  doors  of  their 
hall,  keeping  them  closed,  whereupon  the  president  of  the  Assem- 
bly, M.  Bailly,  convened  the  members  in  a  tennis  court  where 


660  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

they  took  a  solemn  oath  before  God  and  their  fellow  members  not 
to  separate,  whatever  the  consequences,  until  they  had  adopted  a 
written  constitution  for  the  people  of  France. 

The  majority  of  the  clergy  now  joined  the  Third  Estate,  and 
on  June  21st,  in  the  Church  of  Saint  Louis,  the  Assembly  pro- 
ceeded formally  to  hold  its  first  session.  The  king  held  a  royal 
sitting  on  the  following  day,  June  22d,  and  he  warned  the 
deputies  to  refrain  from  laying  violent  Iiands  on  the  ancient  and 
constitutional  rights  of  the  three  orders  of  the  States-General. 

"I  will  work  out  the  welfare  of  my  people  alone  if  you  abandon 
me,"  continued  the  king.  He  then  requested  the  three  orders  to 
retire  to  the  respective  places  of  meeting  assigned  them.  The 
nobility  and  some  of  the  clergy  obeyed,  but  the  deputies  of  the 
Third  Estate  remained  in  their  seats.  The  Marquis  de  Breze, 
the  king's  high  chamberlain,  retui-ned  to  the  hall  and  addressed 
them,  saying,  "Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  orders  of  the  king.** 
The  Count  do  Mirabeau,  one  of  the  popular  deputies  from  Pro- 
vence, rebuked  the  king's  messenger  for  daring  to  intimidate  the 
representatives  of  the  people  in  the  performance  of  their  duty, 
and  told  hiiu  amid  the  plaudits  of  his  colleagues,  "Go  and  tell 
your  master  that  we  are  here  by  the  will  of  the  people,  and  that 
we  will  l)e  sent  awav  only  at  the  i)oint  of  the  bayonet." 

On  the  next  day  the  Assembly  solemnly  proclaimed  the  inviola- 
bility of  its  members.  Forty-seyen  niembei-s  of  the  nobility  and 
a  majority  of  the  clergy  novy  unit<»d  with  the  ineml)ei«  of  the 
Third  Estat<?  and  finally  the  king  deemed  it  the  wisest  course  to 
pei'suade  all  of  the  two  orders  to  join  the  third,  which  tliey  did 
on  Juno  27th.  The  Assembly  then  organized  its  committees  for 
business. 

Meantim(j  it  was  generally  believed  that  the  coxxrt  was  prepar- 
ing to  use  force  against  tlu;  National  Assembly.  Thiily  thou- 
sand troi^ps  were  drawn  around  Paris,  among  them  some  foreign 
regiments  in  the  king's  pay,  on  the  pretext  of  protecting  the 
representatives  during  their  del ilu^mt ions.  The  people  of  Paris 
were  nmch  excited  oyer  this  unealled-for  militaiy  display,  and 
the  Assembly,  by  a  large  majority,  demanded  th«at  the  soldiers  be 
remoyed  from  the  city. 

The  royal  reply  to  tliis  demand  was  the  dismissal  and  exile  of 


652  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Neckar  on  July  11th.  The  anger  of  the  populace  became  un- 
bounded. Several  collisions  between  groups  of  citizens  and  sol- 
diers immediately  took  place.  The  people  turned  out  into  the 
streets  en  masse,  selected  their  officers,  made  fifty  thousand  pikes 
in  thirty-six  hours,  seized  thirty  thousand  muskets  with  cannon 
and  sabres  which  wei-e  stored  in  the  Hotel  des  Jnvalides^  of  which 
historic  place  we  present  a  picture,  and  on  the  13th  of  July 
marched  upon  the  Bastile  which  they  stormed  after  severe  loss, 
and  put  to  death  every  one  of  its  garrison,  refusing  quarter  to 
any.  The  Revolution  was  thus  baptized  in  blood,  the  forerunner 
of  rivers  yet  to  flow. 

The  Revolutionary  flame  spread  to  the  i-emote  countiy  districts. 
Within  a  few  weeks  after  the  storming  of  the  Bastile  the  peas- 
antry arose  in  many  places  aimed  with  scythes,  axes,  and  other 
instruments  of  husbandry,  and  set  fii'e  to  castles  and  convents,  to 
destroy  the  old  title  deeds  to  the  soil^  believing  that  by  their  destruc- 
tion they  would  become  the  owners  of  the  land  which  they  and 
their  fathers  had  cultivated  for  the  benefit  of  the  lords. 

Lives  were  lost  in  the  conflict  which  took  place  between  the 
retainers  of  the  castles  luul  the  ignorant,  maddened  i)easants  who, 
just  aroused  to  a  dim  realization  of  their  position  and  strength, 
struck  out  blindly  and  brutally.  It  was  Caliban  awakening. 
To  meet  the  threatening  stoim  which  lowered  all  round  the  hori- 
zon, wholesale  refomis  became  urgent  even  in  the  mind  of  the 
nobility.  The  nobles  in  the  Assembly,  thei*efore,  moved  to 
abolish  all  the  exclusive  privileges  which  they  had  hitherto 
I)OSsessed,  and  also  ecclesiastical  tithes,  municipal  and  provincial 
privileges.  Thus  feudalism  was  abolished  in  the  nation,  and 
the  fii-st  plank  in  the  platfonn  of  the  Third  Estate  — the  equality 
of  man  —  had  l)ecome  a  reality. 

Lafayette,  the  friend  of  Wjushington,  was  appointed  general  of 
the  citizen  militia  of  Paris.  The  pi*estige  which  he  had  gained  in 
the  war  for  American  independence  led  to  his  selection  by  tlu» 
king  with  the  assent  of  the  Assembly.  He  endeavored  to  conti-ol 
the  eddies  and  whirlpools  of  ptission  that  seethed  and  foamed 
along  the  revolutionary  cun-ent,  and  for  a  time  he  partially  suc- 
ceeded, but  eventually  was  forced  to  retire,  impotent  in  the  fac;e 
of  the  gigantic  upheaval  which  flung   to  the  surface  of  society 


KXI'KRIMKXTAI.    IIV.IT  IST.rCAN 


conflicting  elements  inflamed  with  passion  and  filled  with  vanity 
at  their  suddenly  acquired  power.  The  conservative  leadeis 
were  gradually  pushed  aside  by  the  more  radical  and  violent  as 
the  Revolution  progressed.  Many  of  the  nobility  and  clergy 
fled  the  country. 

Meantime  the  National  Constituent  Assembly  passed  many 
beneficent  laws.  It  adopted  a  constitution  which  among  other 
things  decreed  absolute  toleration  in  matters  of  religious  faith, 
liberty  of  speech,  press,  industry  and  commerce.  It  alx)lished 
the  feudal  la^vs  of  primogeniture  and  entail  of  estates  and  confis- 
cation of  property,  and  decreed  the  division  of  projierty  among  all 
the  children  of  a  deceased  pereon,  Protestants  and  Jews  were 
admitted  to  all  civil  rights,  the  fomici-  were  reinstated  in  such 
j>ortions  of  theii'  estates  as  hiis  been  added  to  the  projwrty  of  the 
state,  an<l  the  colored  people  nf  the  French  i-olonie»  acquired  all  the 
civil  rightu  of  the  whites.  All  titles  of  nobility  were  abolished; 
all  the  people  without  distinction  were  simply  citizens  of  France, 
and  the  king  was  declared  chief  officer  of  the  state  for  life. 

From  the  opening  of  the  Assembly  in  1789,  to  the  day  of  its 
dissolution  on  Se]iteinber  30,  17P1,  two  jwwerful  opposing  forces 
Itattleil  for  supremitcy,  not  only  in  the  hall  of  the  Assembly, 
liut  throujjfhout  France;  tlie  one  desirous  of  .seeing  the  country 
governed  by  a  constitutional  monarch  under  a  written  constitu- 
tion, after  the  British  plan,  the  other  intolenint  of  any  govern- 
ment sjive  that  of  a  republican  fonn,  which  they  purposed  to 
model  in  their  own  way- 

The  constitution  which  had  been  adopted  also  provided  that 
the  legislalivc  power  of  the  nation  should  l>e  exercised  by  one 
{lermauent  chaml>er,  the  niemlwi-s  of  which  should  be  elected 
every  two  years.  It  alone  possessed  the  right  to  initiate  Ia\vs 
and  to  declare  war.  A  limited  veto  power  was  allowed  the  king  and 
the  right  to  vote  was  conferrcl  on  two  millions  of  Frenchmen,  a 
verj-  radical  innovation  in  those  daj-s  of  limited  suffrage.  The 
Assembly,  l)efore  closing  its  t«'o  years  term  of  office  as  prescribed 
by  the  constitution,  passed  a  general  amnesty  law,  pardoning  all 
political  offendei-s  with  the  view  of  recalling  all  those  who  had 
fled  the  country-.     It  then  dissolved. 

The   J^egialative  Assembly  tliat  succeeded  had  new  and  for- 


654  THK   STOBY   OF   GOVEBKHSNT. 

• 

miclable  difficulties  to  meet.  The  monarchs  of  Europe  boldly 
announced  that  they  purposed  by  force  of  arms  to  restore  Louis 
XVI.  to  all  his  fonner  rights,  and  the  Emperor  Leopold  of 
Austria  and  the  King  of  Prussia  published  a  declaration  to  that 
effect  on  August  27,  1791.  To  this  threat  the  Assembly  replied 
on  November  29,  1791,  saying:  "That  if  the  princes  of  Germany 
continued  to  favor  preparations  directed  against  France,  the  French 
would  carry  uito  their  lands^  not  fire  ami  sword^  but  liberty.  It 
was  for  them  to  estimate  what  would  be  the  consequences  of  tliis 
awakening  of  the  nations."  The  kings,  however,  perfected  their 
coalition,  moved  their  armies  towards  the  French  frontier,  and 
a  war  commenced  which  continued  for  twenty-three  years. 

The  radical  element  now  assumed  the  direction  of  affairs. 
Lafayette  was  proscribed  and  forced  to  leave  France.  There  was 
no  longer  room  for  such  republicans.  The  mob  of  Paris  dictated 
terms  both  to  the  king  and  the  Assembly.  It  attacked  and  sacked 
the  Tuileries,  after  murdering  the  Swiss  guards  and  nobles.  The 
king  took  refuge  in  the  midst  of  the  Assembly,  but  the  mob 
marehed  into  the  members'  hall  demanding  that  the  king  should 
1)6  deposed,  and  that  a  national  convention  should  be  convoked 

immediatelv- 

The  Assembly  was  powerless  in  the  i)resence  of  armed  men 
fiesh  from  the  sacking  of  the  Tuileries;  it  ordered  the  king  to  be 
imprisoned  and  autliorized  a  call  for  a  national  convention.  In 
Septem])er,  1702,  the  mob  broke  open  the  prisons  and  muixiered 
about  one  thousand  prisoners  chiefly  confined  for  political  offences. 
The  lielpless  Assembly  looked  on  in  terrer,  but  was  powerless, 
even  if  it  desired,  to  offer  effective  opposition.  The  Reign  of 
Terror  had  begun. 

While  these  sanguinary  deeds  were  occurring  in  Paris,  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick,  at  the  head  of  a  Prussian  and  Imperialist 
army  of  one  hundred  and  sixt}-^  thousand  men,  invaded  France. 
He  proclaimed  that  he  c^anie  to  reinstate  Louis  XVI.,  and  to  visit 
with  (condign  punishment  all  who  offered  opposition.  These 
threats  of  the  invader  bi-ought  the  French  masses  to  their  feet 
almost  as  one  man. 

Their  undisciplined  levi(\s  marched  to  the  frontier  singing  the 
famoiLS  Oa  Ira^  and  on  the  hill  of  Valmy,  with  vastly  inferior 


KXPKKXMEKTAL    BEPUBLTCANIS.M.  655 


force  in  point  of  numbers,  in  a  battle  which  iiiged  for  several 
houiB,  they  taught  the  Prussians  a  lesson  which  dampened  the 
ai-dor  of  the  Duke  of  Bmnswick.  Tlie  latter  offeied  to  negotiate) 
but  the  National  Convention  which  had  assembled  on  the  very 
next  day  (September  21)  after  the  victory  at  Valmy  and  pi'o- 
claimed  the  republic,  refused  to  listen  tn  any  of  his  propositions 
under  the  circumstances,  resolving  "that  the  French  Republic  can 
listen  to  no  proposition  until  the  Prussian  troops  have  entirely 
evacuated  the  French  territory."  The  FrussiauB  retreated  across 
tlie  frontier  on  October  1.  On  the  6th  of  November  an  Aus- 
trian army  of  the  coalition  was  defeated  at  Jemmapes  with  great 
loss,  which  gave  the  republican  forees  possession  of  the  Nether- 
lands with  Brussels  as  headquarters.  On  the  southeastern  fron- 
tier other  decisive  victories  were  won  by  the  French. 

The  bitterness  against  royalty  and  all  its  surroundings  increased 
in  the  convention.  The  radicals  were  growing  more  radical  day 
by  day,  and  the  direction  of  everything  passed  into  the  control  of 
the  most  violent  among  them.  Louis  XVI.  was  led  from  prison 
to  be  tried  for  his  life,  notwithstanding  that  the  constitution 
declared  him  inviolable,  and  that  no  penalty  could  be  legally  pro- 
nounced against  him  save  deposition,  which  had  already  taken 
place. 

But  he  was  tried,  sentenced,  and  guillotined  within  twenty- 
four  hours  after  sentence  was  pronounced,  January  21,  1793. 
This  unfortunate  monarch,  courageous,  just  and  generous,  9uf- 
fei'ed  for  the  crimes  of  his  predecessore.  ".\fter  us  the  deluge," 
Madame  de  Pompadour  had  said,  laughing,  to  sliow  her  pearly 
teeth,  and  slmigging  her  nacreous  shoulders.  The  deluge  bad 
come.  The  king's  accusera  who  were  his  judges  put  him  to 
death,  they  said,  to  ensure  the  public  safety.  It  was  a  huge, 
political  blunder,  for  hia  death  aroused  all  the  kings  to  a  new 
coalition  against  the  republic.  England  with  her  money  and 
navy,  and  Spain  with  her  army  now  joined  the  other  nations. 

It  was  a  royal  crusade  against  the  principles  of  Liberty, 
Equalitj-,  and  Fraternity  which  the  republic  had  proclainie<l  in 
the  face  of  Europe.  The  convention  appointed  a  committee  of 
public  safety,  consisting  of  nine  persons,  who  controlled  all 
public  authority  to  render  it  more  effective  in  defence  against 


1 


656  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

external  enemies.  It  also  appointed  a  committee  of  public  se- 
curity to  ferret  out  all  persons  suspected  of  disaffection,  and  a 
revolutionary  tribunal  to  punish  them,  as  a  means  of  protection 
against  domestic  enemies.  The  Reign  of  Terror  was  thus  legal- 
ized, and  the  guillotine  commenced  its  sanguinary  work,  first 
with  the  nobility  and  clergy,  and  a  little  later  with  members  of 
the  convention  itself  who  had  rendered  themselves  obnoxious  to 
the  faction  in  power  for  the  time  being. 

A  murderous  mania  seemed  to  have  seized  France.  As  the 
marvellous  revolutionary  poet  of  the  age,  Byron,  wrote,  with  a 
sort  of  sublime  coarseness,  "  So  France  got  drunk  with  blood  to 
vomit  crime."  To  be  suspected  was  to  be  sentenced  and  exe- 
cuted by  the  revolutionary  committee.  Hundreds  of  the  best 
citizens  in  all  the  cities  were  put  to  death  as  "suspects"  without 
any  evidence  adduced  against  them  other  than  that  of  the  basest 
wretches. 

In  Paris,  the  Queen,  M.  Bailly,  the  tii-st  president  of  the  Third 
Estate,  Lavoisier,  the  famous  chemist,  Malesherbes,  the  octogena- 
rian advocate  and  ex-minister  who  defended  Louis  XVI.,  Gen- 
eral Custine,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  over  a  thousand  others, 
notable  in  the  literary  or  professional  world,  were  executed  in 
the  niontli  of  October,  1793. 

At  kMii»:th,  fortunately  for  the  lives  of  many  othei's,  the  blood- 
thirsty extremists  in  the  convention,  the  fiiction  designated  as 
the  Mountain,  commenced  to  (piarrel  among  themselves.  The 
(juairel  developed  into  a  trial  of  strength,  with  the  result  that  the 
defeated  parti(?s  were  ordered  to  the  guillotine  by  Robespierre 
and  his  a.sso(!iates  on  the  pretext  that  the  i)ublie  safety  wsis  endan- 
gered by  their  existence.  In  forty-seven  days  of  May  and  June, 
1794,  fourteen  hundred  pei'sons  were  executed  in  the  city  of  Paris 
alone  under  the  rule  of  Robespierre. 

Another  tuni  of  the  wheel  and  Robespierre  and  his  confreres 
were  sent  to  the  scaffold,  July  28,  1794,  amid  the  jeers  of  a 
mob  which  had  become  satiated  with  blood.  Thus  culminated 
the  period  known  as  the  Reign  of  Terror,  which  had  lasted  for 
four  hundred  and  twenty  days;  during  which  time  2,GG9 
sentences  of  death  had  been  carried  out  in  Paris,  without  speak- 
ing of  the  much  larger   number  put  to  death  in    the  provinces. 


EXPKBIMENTAL    KEFUBLICANISM. 


65T 


The  outrajjeB  and  oppression  of  the  French  kings  and  nobility  hiid 
brought  forth  a  bloody  issue  in  which  the  innocent  suffered  as 
well  an  the  guilty. 

The  clergy  of  that  time  shared  with  the  nobility  the  bitter  har- 
vest of  popular  hate  which  they  had  helped  to  sow,  and  in  some 
[Milts  of  France  it  was  as  unsafe  to  be  a  priest  or  be  connected 
with  ii  monastery  in  any  way  as  it  was  to  be  suspected  of  aristo- 
cratic  blood  or  royalist    tendencies.     Yet  some  of  the   monastic 


houses  Murvived  the  stflnn,  by  bending  txi  it  gracefully,  like  the 
humble  lily  of  tlie  meadow,  instead  of  trying  to  brave  it  off,  like 
the  haughty  oak  of  the  mountain.  Oiu-  illustration  shows  the 
head  of  a  monasteiy  calmly  receiving  orders  from  a  republican 
general  to  disperse  his  hrothcihood  and  close  his  gates. 

The  imagination  of  those  in  power  grew  prodigal  of  lion-ors. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  ingenuity  of  hate  sought  to  snqjass  all  pre- 
vious exhibitions  of  fiendishness  in  celebrating  the  revenge  of  the 


658  THE  8TOB7  OF  GOVEBKMBNT. 

common  people  on  tiie  aristocrats,  who  for  so  many  years  Iiad 
trampled  them  in  the  dust  and  reduced  them  to  a  condition  really 
worse  than  that  of  animals ;  for  horses  and  dogs  and  the  game 
creatures  of  the  forest  were  treated  with  an  amount  of  attention 
to  which  the  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  lower  classes  of 
France  were  strangers.  And  yet,  the  infliction  of  these  horrors 
produced  at  times  scenes  of  dramatic  beauty  that  brought  out  the 
finer  and  tenderer  sides  of  French  human  nature  in  colors  as  clear 
as  its  fiercer  passions  were  showing  themselves. 

One  of  the  most  striking  incidents,  and  an  excellent  example 
of  the  times,  occurred  when  Carrier,  a  republican  general,  arrived 
at  a  small  place  on  the  River  Loire  which  was  strongly  suspected 
of  having  royalist  sympathies.  Hei'e  in  his  lust  for  vengeance 
he  seized  young  men  and  maidens,  and  stripping  them  stark,  tied 
them  together  in  pairs,  attaching  to  each  pair  a  cannon  ball,  and 
then  flung  them  into  the  river,  which  he  called  instituting  the 
ceremony  of  republican  marriage. 

As  one  of  these  young  men  and  a  beautiful  girl  were  brought 
before  him,  and  sentenced  to  this  dreadful  end,  the  man  ex- 
claimed :  "  O  Judge,  I  thank  thee !  and  at  the  day  of  judgment, 
when  thy  sins  shriek  against  thee,  if  I  were  in  the  deepest  deep  of 
hell,  I  would  spring  to  thy  side  and  plead  thy  cause  with  the  Most 
High;  for  this  doom  to  which  thou  hast  adjudged  me  is  most 
sweet,  since  I  have  loved  this  woman  all  my  life,  and  as  there 
was  no  chance  of  her  becoming  my  wife,  next  to  the  sweetness  of 
living  with  her  is  the  bliss  of  dying  with  her.*' 

Such  is  the  story,  a  legend  possibly,  yet  probably  having  some 
foundation  iu  fact,  since  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  ruthless  Car- 
rier did  throw  young  men  and  niaidcjns  into  the  river  in  the 
manner  mentioned. 

While  this  carnival  of  blood  was  going  on  within  the  republic, 
its  frontier  was  defended  by  the  bravest  armies  that  ever  marched 
to  battle.  The  disciplined  forces  of  the  allied  kings  were  con- 
fronted by  twelve  hundred  thousand  fresh-levied  republican 
recruits,  officered  by  men  who  knew  little  or  nothing  of  military 
manceuvi-es,  and  yet  the  latter,  in  almost  every  instance,  defeated 
their  opponents.  Carnot,  the  head  of  the  French  militarj"  office, 
**  the  orgimizer  of  victory,"  as  he  was  flatteringly  styled,  instructed 


BXPEKtMENTAL  BK  PUBLIC  AS  ISU.  .  659 

his  newly  made  geiieralti  to  strike  the  enemy  rapid  Ijinws,  to  march 
their  troops  right  on  with  the  bayonet,  regardless  of  the  number 
opposed  to  them,  and  these  tactics  were  carried  out  to  the  letter 
successfully.  Tliey  exactly  suited  the  raw  but  enthusiastic 
republican  soldiers  who  sung  their  celebrated  Calra  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  battles,  and  then  ruslietl  impetuously  to  close  quaiieis 
with  the  hirelings  of  Europe's  kings. 

But  in  spite  of  repeate<l  victories  of  such  hea<]long  valor,  at  the 


end  iif  August,  17!)3,  France  was  invaded  by  still  larger  annies 
from  ovi-ry  direction,  while  its  coast  line  was  blockaded  by  the 
British  fleet,  Tlie  situation  looked  desiicrate.  but  within  four 
months  the  rejmbliran  soldiers  hiid  sti-mnit-d  the  assault,  Iicaten 
thi-  English  :iiid  Dutch  in  the  north,  bni'led  the  Auatviaiis  across 
the  Khine,  compelled  the  Prussians  to  retreat,  held  the  Pied- 
montese  along  the  line  of  the  Al[ia  and  fallen  back  slowly  before 
the  Spaniards  from  the  base  of  tlie  Pyrenees,  J.yons  and  Toulon 
in  the  south  were  n'oaptured  by  the  republicians,  the  latter  city 


660  •  THS  8T0BT  OF  GOYEBNMENT* 

in  December,  1793,  chiefly  through  the  skill  of  a  certain  Ci^tuii 
Bonaijarte  of  the  artillery. 

The  conflict  with  the  kings  continued  during  1794-5.  The 
republican  generals  and  their  troops,  growing  inured  to  wmnEaze, 
now  began  to  take  the  initiative  and  carried  the  war  into  tbe 
enemies'  countries.  They  established  the  Batavian  Republic  in 
Holland,  invaded  Spain,  and  prepared  to  enter  Prussia  and  Aus- 
tria. Prussia  and  Spain,  fearful  of  the  result,  asked  for  peace. 
This  \vi\s  granted  on  certain  terms  favorable  to  the  Republic, 
which  was  thus  officially  recognized  for  the  first  time  by  two  of 
the  monarchs  of  Europe. 

The  Republic  was  now  definitively  established,  and  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Revolution  vindicated  by  the  French  people  against  the 
royal  conspirators.  Those  principles  have  never  since  heenforgaUmk 
hy  the  French  masses^  whatever  temporary  aberrations  have  oeeurred 
in  their  governmental  forms.  Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity 
liuve  been  more  than  glittering  generalities  to  the  Gallic  mind 
since  the  fateful  period  when  tliey  first  rang  out  over  Europe 
like  a  trumpet  blast,  calling  the  people  to  arms  against  the  divine 
pretensions  of  the  kings. 

The  military  dictatorehip  of  the  successful  general,  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  succeeded  the  Revolution.  It  was  inevitable  under 
the  circumstances,  just  as  inevitable  as  was  the  assumption  by 
Julius  C'jesar  of  the  supreme  power  in  Rome,  when  the  patricians 
had  begun  to  qnairel  over  their  prey,  the  people. 

And  just  as  Ciesar  was  assassinated  by  patrician  conspirators 
in  an  actual  way,  so  was  Ncajwleon  assassinated  metaphorically 
by  the  conspiracy  of  kings  against  him.  Yet,  had  he  not  been 
overcome  from  without,  it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  perished 
in  the  sanuj  physical  way  as  did  the  greater  Roman  whose  fall 
at  the  foot  of  the  statue  of  his  rival,  Pompey,  is  one  of  the  laige 
pictures  of  liistory,  si^cond  only,  perhaps,  in  its  importance  and 
influence  on  that  epoch  to  the  nobler  death-scene  which  we  have 
shown  in  our  chapter  on  Tlieocracy. 

Na[)oleon  was  a  necessity  to  Fmnce  just  then.  Chaos  demands 
a  creator.  Royal  enemies  threatened  France  from  the  outside, 
and  internal  disordei-s  i)ievaile(l.  Tlie  country,  to  secure  the 
social  equality  which  the  Revolution  had  won,  threw  herself  at 


662  THE   STORY  OF  QOTERKMENT. 

the  feet  of  the  man  who  wielded  the  conquering  sword.  She 
postponed  political  liberty  for  a  time  to  preserve  equality.  The 
Kevolution  abdicated  in  favor  of  the  military  power  but  its  prin- 
ciples lived  on  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  were  spread  over 
Europe  with  the  victories  of  the  French  armies  under  the  con- 
sulate and  the  empire. 

The  faults  of  the  French  Revolution  were  many;  they  have 
been  vividly  blazoned  in  the  pages  of  history  by  worshippers  of 
kingly  power,  but  the  American  student  should  give  due  con- 
sideration to  the  other  side  of  the  picture  so  truthfully  sketched 
by  the  Abbd  Mignet,  a  broad-minded  Catholic  scholar,  where  he 
says:  ^lu  moral  affairs  it  secured  tolerance,  sought  for  justice, 
proclaimed  rights,  demanded  civil  equality,  recommended  human 
fraternity,  abolished  cruelty  in  penal  institutions,  did  away  with 
tlie  arbitrary  administration  of  public  affairs,  endeavored  to  make 
reason  the  guide  of  intellect,  liberty  the  guide  of  governments, 
progress  the  ambition  of  peoples,  and  law  t&e  sovereign  of  the 
whole  world." 

Tlie  history  of  France  from  1799  until  the  fall  of  the  Emi)ei'or 
at  Waterloo  is  the  history  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  first  the  victor 
at  Rivoli  and  Areole,  llieii  fii-st  consul  for  ten  years,  next  first 
consul  for  life,  and  finally  emperor.  It  should  not  he  J^orgotten^ 
however^  thut  tJu'tue  titles  with  the  powers  given  him  were  the  expressed 
will  of  the  nation.  After  the  French  Senate  proclaimed  him 
emperor  the  votei-s  of  the  country  ratified  the  choice  by  3,572,329 
votes  against  2,5G9.  Tliey  chose  him  as  their  leader  at  the  ballot 
box.  On  his  defeat  in  1815,  the  monarchs  of  Europe  re-estab- 
lished Louis  XVIII.  on  the  tlu^one  without  consulting  the  votera 
of  Franco.  Individual  libeity  was  curtailed,  a  rigid  censoi-ship 
of  the  press  put  into  operation,  and  the  political  powers  of  the 
great  landed  jnoprietors  were  increased.  The  republicans  con- 
spired in  secret  to  overthrow  the  rule  imposed  upon  them  with- 
out their  consent,  but  failed. 

Charles  X.,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1824,  was  a  true 
tyi)e  of  the  Bourbon  prince.  He  was  one  of  the  fii-st  emigrants 
who  fled  the  countrj'  during  the  Revolution  of  1793.  He  had 
learned  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing.  He  believed  he  was  in 
dutv  bound  to  restore  the  ancient  hionarchv  in  all  its  ancient  pre- 


w 


EXPERIMKSTAL    REPUBLICANISM.  663 


rogiitives,  notwitlistandiiig  the  constitution  and  the  ]ienple  who 
elected  the  Chainl)er  ut  Deputies. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  1830,  he  issued  a,  scries  nf  ordinances 
Buppresaing  the  liberty  of  the  press,  annulling  the  elections  of  all 
the  niemhfw  to  the  legislature  which  hud  just  been  held,  and 
creating  a  new  method  of  election.  The  people  flew  to  arms, 
defeated  the  royal  guards,  and  in  a  conflict  lasting  three  days 
drove  Charles  from  tlie  throne. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  then  selected  Louis  Philippe  as  king, 
who  reigned  until  1848,  when  his  ministry,  attempting  to  sup- 
press political  meetings  in  the  February  of  that  year,  were 
opposed  by  force;  an  insurrection  broke  out,  the  national  guards 
sympathized  with  the  insurgents,  and  Louis  abdicated  tlie  throne, 
whereupon  the  Republic  was  proclaimed  and  re-establiahed  after 
the  lapse  of  half  a  century. 

Universal  suffrage  was  immediately  decreed  by  the  National 
Assembly.  The  electorate  of  France  numlieied  nine  millions  of 
citizens.  Louis  Napoleon  Bonajiarte  was  elected  president  for 
four  years,  but  afterwards  by  cunning,  duplicity,  and  gross  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  which  he  had  solemnly  sworn  to  obseiTe,  be  suc- 
ceeded in  having  himself  pi-oijosed  as  Emperor  of  the  French  by 
bis  adhei-ents,  which  proposition  he  submitted  to  the  votere,  who 
adopted  it  by  7,839,552  affirmative  votes  agiiinst  254,501  in  the 
negative. 

He  took  the  title  of  Napoleon  III,,  and  governed  France  witb 
considerable  discretion  until  his  downfall  and  capture  by  the 
Prussians,  which  occurred  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  Sedan, 
September  2,  1870.  When  the  news  fi-oni  Sedan  reached  Paris, 
the  Cliiimber  of  Dei)uties  formally  deposed  the  Emperor  and  pro- 
claimed the  Kepublif,  which  has  existed  since  and  gives  fair 
promise  of  continuance  as  the  permanent  form  of  government  in 
that  countrj'. 

The  constitution  of  Fi-ance  diffei'S  in  many  particulars  from 
that  of  the  United  States.  Tlie  following 'are  its  outlines:  The 
legislative  jiower  is  exercised  by  two  assemblies,  the  Senate  and 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  Senate  consists  of  three  hundred 
members,  each  of  whom  must  be  at  least  forty  years  old.  They 
are  elected  by  the  departments,  the  electoral  body  in  each  depart- 


664  THE   8TOBY  OF   GOVBBNMENT. 

ment  for  that  purpose  consisting  of  its  deputies,  the  general 
council,  the  councils  of  the  arro7idissements  or  subdivisions,  and 
delegates  elected  by  each  commune.  The  senators  serve  for  a 
term  of  nine  years,  one  third  retiring  by  rotation  everj-  three 
years. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  consists  of  members  chosen  for  a  teim 
of  four  years  by  universal  suffrage  under  the  arrangement  called 
the  scrutin  de  liste^  which  means  that  each  department  being 
entitled  to  a  number  of  deputies  proportioned  to  the  number  of  its 
citizens,  the  deputies  for  each  are  voted  for  on  a  general  or 
departmental  ticket. 

The  executive,  or  president  of  the  republic,  is  elected  for  a 
term  of  seven  years  by  the  Senate  and  Chaml)er  of  Deputies 
united  in  a  single  body  called  the  National  Assembly.  The 
president  is  eligible  for  re-election;  he  has  the  initiative  of  legis- 
lation concurrently  with  the  two  chambers,  the  execution  of  the 
laws,  control  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  power  of  appoint- 
ment to  all  civil  and  militaiy  offices.  With  the  assent  of  the 
Senate  he  can  dissolve  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  before  the  end  of 
its  four  years'  term  and  order  a  new  general  election  of  members 
of  the  lower  house.  A  law  liiis  been  passed  declaring  ineligible 
to  the  office  of  president  any  prince  of  the  families  formerly 
reigning  in  France. 

The  present  Republic,  the  offspring  of  1793,  appears  to  rest  on 
a  solid  basis.  The  recent  conciliatory  attitude  of  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
towards  it,  as  evidenced  by  his  advice  to  the  French  bisho{>s  to 
cordially  accept  and  work  with  it  in  all  things  which  do  not 
conflict  with  their  spiritual  jurisdiction,  is  a  harbinger  of  g^-eat 
promise.  The  standing  aloof  of  French  Catholics  in  opposition, 
aj  many  have  stood  in  the  past,  had  weakened  the  Republic  ma- 
terially. All  signs  point  now  to  a  new  era  of  better  feeling  in 
this  respect.  The  Republic  deserves  well  of  France.  £sto 
perpetxiaJ 


nVERY  secret  society  of  a  political  character  which  has 
appeared  in  history  may  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  re- 
flection, therefore  of  conscience.  For  is  not  conscience 
in  the  individual  generally  a  cumulation  and  crystalli- 
zation of  reflection? 

A  sonietliiiig  alive  and  vivid  in  nearly  every  thinking  aelf,  yet 
outside  of  self.  Conscience  is  the  true  tjTant  of  the  world. 
Intangible,  no  stiletto  can  touch  it,  no  axe  behead  it.  Tlie 
oh&rnis  of  woman  cannot  lull  it  long,  no  prayers  can  mollify,  no 
menace  fright  it. 

Remorse  makes  u-s  feel  witliin  ourselves  the  constant  duel  of 
a  dualism.  There  are  two  selves  within  us  —  one  accusing,  the 
other  defending.  Virtue  or  soundness  is  peaceful,  at  one  with 
iteelf,  a  calm  unit,  a  henltliy  atom  adjusted  to  the  harmony  of  the 
universe,  making  and  feeling  music  in  the  soul. 

Yet  there  may  be  such  a  (hing  as  a  collective  conscience,  and 
every  secret  society  with  a  political  aim  may  be  called  tlie 
expression  on  a  grand  scale  of  the  reflection  and  remorse  of  the 
governed  —  an  avenging  and  purifying  remorse  which  moves 
onward  through  destruction  and  death  to  regeneration  and  a  saner 
life. 

But  the  collective  conscience  which  has  its  expression  in  secret 
01x1618  for  the  promotion  of  change  differs  from  personal  rancor, 


666  THE  STOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

or  from  the  action  of  individual  conscience,  in  that  it  wishes  to 
punish  institutions,  not  persons,  to  decapitate  ideas,  not  men. 

Such  organizations,  when  they  apimiently  perish,  nevertheless 
leave  a  pious  legacy  of  hate,  a  superb  malediction  of  indormant 
and  indomitable  justice  which  enlarges  the  I'esjx^nsibility  and 
character  of  the  man  "or  the  people  that  inherit  the  reforming  or 
rebellious  impulse.  A  legitimate  hatred  of  evil  is  the  salvation 
of  nations.     Woe  to  a  race  that  knows  not  how  to  liate  I 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  some  of  the  secitit  govern- 
ments within  government  which  have  been  and  still  flourish  in 
the  world,  while  having  a  scientific  excuse  for  existence  by  foi-ce 
of  the  social  conditions  that  have  produced  them,  are  nevertheless, 
in  their  general  scope,  simply  a  brigandage,  such  as  might  more 
fitly,  perhaps,  have  been  classified  under  our  third  chapter  of  Gyp- 
sies, Brigands,  and  Thieves. 

We  shall  Ijegin,  therefore,  by  depicting  briefly  a  secret  society 
of  murder,  torture,  and  robbery,  called  the  Chauffeurs,  which 
flourished  in  France  at  the  beginning  of  this  centuiy,  and  we 
shall  close  by  giving  an  account  of  the  famous  Tammany  Society 
of  New  York,  whose  methods  are  regarded  by  its  opponents 
as  exemplifying  the  art  of  political  brigandage  on  a  colossal 
scale.  Between  these  two  we  sliall  consider  the  Carlx)naii  of 
Itiily,  the  Fenians,  and  the  Nihilists. 

The  Chauffeurs  or  Burnei-s,  so-called  on  account  of  their  apply- 
ing fire  to  their  victims  to  wring  revelations  of  the  hiding-places 
of  secret  treasure,  were  a  secret  society  existing  in  Fi-ance 
before  and  during  the  Revolution,  and  they  were  only  finally 
extmguished  in  the  beginning  of  this  century. 

The  Chauffeurs  constituted  a  compact  body,  governed  by  a  sin- 
gle head.  They  had  tlieir  own  religion,  and  a  code  of  civil  and 
criminal  laws,  which,  though  only  handed  down  omlly,  was  none 
the  less  observed  and  respected.  They  received  into  their  frater- 
nity all  who  chose  to  claim  admission,  but  preferred  to  emboli  such 
as  had  already  distinguished  themselves  by  criminal  deeds. 

Whole  families  belonged  to  this  Order  of  Disorder,  and  the 
children  were  early  taught  how  to  act  as  spies,  commit  small  thefts, 
and  similar  crinu»s,  wliich  were  n^warded  more  or  less  liberally,  as 
thev  were  executed  with  more  or  less  daring  or  adroitness.     Want 


668  THB   8TOKY   OF   GOVSBNMKNT. 

of  success  brought  proportionate  punishment  with  it,  veiy  severe 
corporeal  castigation,  which  was  administered  not  merely  as  pun- 
ishment, but  also  to  teach  the  young  members  to  bear  bodily  pain 
with  fortitude. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  the  boy  was  initiated  into  the 
first  degree  of  the  society.  At  a  kind  of  religious  consecration 
he  took  an  oath,  calling  down  on  his  OAvn  head  the  lightning  and 
wrath  of  heaven,  if  ever  he  failed  in  his  duty  towards  the 
order.  The  initiation  of  a  grown-up  candidate  into  this  curious 
company  was,  according  to  one  writer,  a  most  singular  combina- 
tion of  a  monkish  penance  by  flagellation,  and  an  orgy  afterwards 
such  as  the  wildest  of  wild  Indians  might  have  envied. 

Our  illustration  of  this  whip  dance  by  torch-light  in  the  face  of 
a  rude  cross  is,  perhaps,  a  fair  picture  of  the  beginning,  the  pri- 
mary object  being,  no  doubt,  to  see  if  the  candidate  for  danger 
could  bear  pain,  and  to  show  off  the  endurance  of  the  past-masters 
in  iniquity.  The  orgy  that  followed  can  be  easily  imagined  by 
anyone  who  has  ever  witnessed  a  Commencement  Day  at  some  of 
our  leading  colleges. 

The  master  had  almost  unbounded  authority  ;  he  kept  the  com- 
mon purse,  and  distributed  the  booty  according  to  his  own  discre- 
tion. Tlieft  from  the  profane,  as  outsidei-s  were  called,  was  the 
fundamental  law,  and,  indeed  the  support  of  the  society,  but  tlieft 
from  a  brother  was  punished,  the  first  time,  by  a  fine  throe  times 
the  amount  stolen.  When  repeated,  the  fine  was  heavier,  and 
sometimes  tlie  thief  was  put  to  deatli. 

Each  brother  was  bound  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  another 
when  in  danger.  Their  mode  of  administering  justice  was 
rational,  i.  e.,  summary.  The  accused  i)erson  was  called  before 
the  general  assembly  of  the  membei-s,  informed  of  the  charge 
against  him,  confronted  with  the  witnesses  and,  if  found  innocent, 
acquitted ;  but  if  guilty  he  had  either  at  once  to  pay  the  fine 
imposed,  receive  the  number  of  blows  allotted,  or  submit  to  hang- 
ing on  the  nearest  tree,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  sentence. 

The  religious  woi'ship  of  the  Chauffeui-s  was  a  jmrody  on  tliat  of 
the  church.  The  sermons  of  their  preachei"s  were  chiefly  directed 
to  instructing  them  how  most  profitably  to  pursue  their  profession, 
and  how  to  evade  the  pursuit  of  the  profane.     On  fete-dajrs  the 


GOVKRNMEST    AMONG    KKfUET    OlillKKS.  1)69 

priest  celebrated  Mass,  and  especially  invoked  the  heavenly  bless- 
ing OQ  the  object  and  designs  of  the  society. 

Their  marriage  ceremony  was  unique.  On  the  wedding-day 
ihe  bridegroom  and  bride,  accompanied  by  the  best  man  and  chief 
bridesmaid,  presented  themselves  before  the  priest  who,  after 
having  read  some  ribald  nonsense  from  a  dirty  old  book,  took  a 
stick,  which  he  sprinkled  with  holy  water,  and  after  having 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the  two  chief  witnesses,  who  held  it  up 
between  them,  he  invited  the  bridegroom  to  leap  over  it,  while 
the  bride  stood  on  the  other  side  awaiting  him. 

She  received  him  in  her  arms,  and  held  him  up  for  a  few  mo- 
ments before  setting  him  down  on  the  ground.  The  bride  then 
went  in  front  of  the  stick,  and  took  her  leap  over  it  into  tliw 
bridegroom's  arms,  whose  pride  it  was  to  liold  her  up  in  the  air  as 
long  as  possible,  before  letting  her  down.  Both  seated  them- 
selves on  the  stick,  and  the  priest  put  on  tlie  bride's  finger  the 
wedding-ring. 

Divorces  were  gmnted  not  only  for  proved  or  suspected  infidel- 
ity, but  also  on  account  of  incompatibility  of  temper  —  which 
proves  the  Chauffeurs  U*  have  been,  in  this  respect  at  least,  verj- 
sensible  people.  The  divorce  was  pronounced  in  public,  and  its 
principal  feature  wiis  the  breaking  of  the  stick  on  which  the  pair 
had  been  married,  over  the  wife's  head.  After  that,  each  was  at 
liberty  to  marry  again. 

This  sect  was  spi-ead  over  a  large  part  of  northwestern 
France  ;  raailo  use  of  a  j)eculiar  patois,  understood  by  the  initiated 
only,  and  had  its  signs,  grips,  and  passwords  like  all  other  secret 
societies.  It  comprised  many  tliousand  members.  Its  existence 
and  history  first  became  jmblioly  known  through  the  judicial 
proceedings  taken  against  it  by  the  courts  of  Cliaitres,  during  tlxe 
last  decade  of  the  last  century.  Many  mystei-ious  robberies,  fires, 
and  murders  were  then  brought  home  to  the  Chauffeurs.  Its  Grand 
Master  at  the  time  was  Francis  the  Fair,  so  called  on  account  of 
his  singular  personal  beauty. 

But  it  was  chiefly  during  the  Reign  of  Terror  that  the  Chauffeurs 
committed  their  greatest  ravages.  At  night  large  bands  of  them 
invaded  isolated  houses  and  the  castles  of  the  nobility,  robbing 
the  rich  and  poor  alike.     During  the  day  children  and  old  women. 


662  THB   STOBY   OF   GOVBRNMXINT. 

the  feet  of  the  inan  who  wielded  the  conquering  sword.  She 
postponed  political  liberty  for  a  time  to  preserve  equality.  The 
Revolution  abdicated  in  favor  of  the  military  power  but  its  prin- 
ciples lived  on  in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  were  spread  over 
Europe  with  the  victories  of  the  French  armies  under  the  con- 
sulate and  the  empire. 

The  faults  of  the  French  Revolution  were  many;  they  have 
been  vividly  blazoned  in  the  pages  of  history  by  worshippers  of 
kingly  power,  but  the  American  student  should  give  due  con- 
sideration to  the  other  side  of  the  picture  so  truthfully  sketched 
by  the  Abb^  Mignet,  a  broad-minded  Catholic  scholar,  where  he 
says:  ^^In  moral  affairs  it  secured  tolerance,  sought  for  justice, 
proclaimed  rights,  demanded  civil  equality,  recommended  human 
fraternity,  abolished  cruelty  in  penal  institutions,  did  away  with 
the  arbitrary  administration  of  public  affairs,  endeavored  to  make 
reason  the  guide  of  intellect,  liberty  the  guide  of  governments, 
progress  the  ambition  of  peoples,  and  law  t&e  sovereign  of  the 
whole  world." 

The  history  of  France  from  1799  until  the  fall  of  the  Emi>ei-or 
at  Waterloo  is  the  history  of  Nai)oleon  Bonaparte,  first  the  victor 
lit  Rivoli  and  Areole,  tlien  fii-st  consul  for  ten  yeai-s,  next  first 
consul  for  life,  and  finally  empemr.  It  should  7wt  he  Jorgotten^ 
however^  that  theae  titles  with  the  powers  given  him  were  the  expressed 
will  of  the  nation.  After  the  French  Senate  proclaimed  him 
emperor  the  votei-s  of  the  countiy  ratified  the  choice  by  3,572,329 
votes  against  2,569.  They  chose  him  as  tlieir  leader  at  the  ballot 
box.  On  his  defeat  in  1815,  the  monarchs  of  Europe  re-estab- 
lished Louis  XVIII.  on  the  throne  without  consulting  tlie  votera 
of  France.  Individual  lilwi'ty  was  curtailed,  a  rigid  censoi-ship 
of  the  i>ress  put  into  operation,  and  the  political  powers  of  the 
great  liuuled  proprietors  were  increased.  The  republicans  con- 
spired in  secret  to  overtlirow  the  rule  imposed  upon  them  with- 
out their  consent,  but  failed. 

Charles  X.,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne  in  1824,  was  a  true 
type  of  the  Bourbon  prince.  He  was  one  of  the  fii-st  emigrants 
who  fled  the  countr}*-  during  the  Revolution  of  1793.  He  had 
learned  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing.  He  believed  he  was  in 
duty  })ound  to  restore  the  ancient  hionarchy  in  all  its  ancient  pre- 


w 


KXPEBI^rENTAI.    RKPUHLICANISM.  663 


rogatives,  notwitlistandiiig  the  constitution  and  tlie  jieople  who 
elected  the  Cliamliev  of  Deputies, 

On  the  Sfith  of  June,  1830,  lie  issued  ii  series  oE  onliDances 
suppressing  liic^  liberty  vl  the  pre^^  suuulliiig  tlie  electiojis  of  all 
the  members  to  the  legislature  which  had  just  been  held,  and 
creating  a  neiv^  method  of  election.  The  people  flew  to  arms, 
defeated  the  royal  guards,  and  in  a  conflict  lasting  three  days 
drove  Charles  from  the  throne. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  then  selected  Louis  Philippe  as  king, 
who  reigned  until  1848,  when  his  ministry,  attempting  to  sup- 
pi'ess  political  meetings  in  the  February  of  that  year,  were 
opposed  by  force;  an  insurrection  broke  out,  the  national  guards 
sympathized  with  the  insurgents,  and  Louis  abdicated  the  throne, 
whereupon  the  Republic  was  jn-oclaimed  and  re-established  after 
the  lapse  of  half  a  century. 

Universal  suffrage  was  iimnwliately  decreed  by  the  National 
Assembly.  The  electorate  of  France  numbei-ed  nine  millions  of 
citizens.  Louis  Napoleon  Ron:iparte  was  elected  president  for 
four  years,  but  aftenvards  hy  cunning,  duplicity,  and  gross  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  which  lie  had  solemnly  sworn  to  observe,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  having  himself  proj>osed  as  Emperor  of  the  French  by 
his  adherents,  wliich  ]iroposition  he  submitted  to  the  votere,  who 
adopted  it  by  7,8S9,.552  affirmative  votes  against  254,S01  in  the 
negative. 

He  took  the  title  of  Napoleon  III.,  and  governed  France  with 
considerable  discretion  until  his  downfall  and  capture  by  the 
Prussians,  whicli  occurred  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  Sedan, 
September  2,  1870.  When  the  news  from  Sedan  reached  Paris, 
the  Chamber  of  Deimties  formally  dei)Oscd  the  Emperor  and  pro- 
claimed the  Republic,  which  has  existed  since  and  gives  fair 
promise  of  continuance  as  the  permanent  form  of  government  in 
that  countrj'. 

The  constitution  of  France  differs  in  many  particulars  from 
that  of  the  United  States.  The  following  "are  its  outlines:  The 
legislative  power  is  exercised  by  two  assemblies,  the  Senate  and 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  Senate  consists  of  three  hundred 
members,  each  of  whom  must  be  at  least  forty  years  old.  They 
are  elected  by  the  departments,  the  electoral  body  in  each  depart^ 


664  THE   STOBY  OP   GOVBENMENT. 

ment  for  that  purpose  consisting  of  its  deputies,  the  general 
council,  the  councils  of  the  arrondissements  or  subdivisions,  and 
delegates  elected  by  each  commune.  The  senators  serve  for  a 
term  of  nine  years,  one  third  retiring  by  rotation  every  three 
years. 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  consists  of  members  chosen  for  a  teim 
of  four  years  by  universal  suffrage  under  the  arrangement  called 
the  scrtUin  de  liste^  which  means  that  each  department  being 
entitled  to  a  number  of  deputies  proportioned  to  the  number  of  its 
citizens,  the  deputies  for  each  are  voted  for  on  a  general  or 
departmental  ticket. 

The  executive,  or  president  of  the  republic,  is  elected  for  a 
term  of  seven  years  by  the  Senate  and  Chamlxjr  of  Deputies 
united  in  a  single  body  called  the  National  Assembly.  The 
president  is  eligible  for  re-election;  he  has  the  initiative  of  legis- 
lation concurrently  with  the  two  chambers,  the  execution  of  the 
laws,  control  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  power  of  appoint- 
ment to  all  civil  and  military  offices.  With  the  assent  of  the 
Senate  he  can  dissolve  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  before  the  end  of 
its  four  years'  term  and  order  a  new  general  election  of  members 
of  the  lower  house.  A  law  liiis  been  passed  declaring  ineligible 
to  the  office  of  president  any  prince  of  the  families  formerly 
reigning  in  France. 

The  present  Republic,  the  offspring  of  1793,  appears  to  rest  on 
a  solid  basis.  The  i*ecent  conciliatory  attitude  of  Pope  Leo  XIII. 
towards  it,  as  evidenced  by  his  advice  to  the  French  bishojKS  to 
cordially  accept  and  work  witli  it  in  all  things  which  do  not 
conflict  with  their  spiritual  jurisdiction,  is  a  harbinger  of  great 
promise.  The  standing  aloof  of  French  Catholics  in  opposition, 
aj  many  have  stood  in  the  past,  had  weakened  the  Republic  ma- 
terially. All  signs  point  now  to  a  new  em  of  better  feeling  in 
this  respect.  The  Republic  deserves  well  of  France.  JEitfo 
perpetua  / 


nVERY  secret  society  of  a  polititivl  character  which  has 
appeared  in  history  may  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  re- 
flection, therefore  of  conscience.  For  is  not  conscience 
in  the  individual  genei-aliy  a  cumulation  and  crystalli- 
zation of  reflection? 

A  something  alive  and  vivid  in  nearly  every  thinking  self,  yet 
outside  i)f  self.  Conscience  is  the  true  tjTant  of  the  world. 
Intangible,  no  stiletto  can  touch  it,  no  axe  behead  It,  Tlie 
charnis  of  woman  cannot  lull  it  long,  no  prayers  can  mollify,  no 
menace  fright  it. 

Remorse  makes  us  feel  witliin  ourselves  the  constant  duel  of 
a  dualism.  There  are  two  selves  within  us  —  one  accusing,  the 
other  defending.  Virtue  or  soundness  is  peaceful,  at  one  with 
itself,  a  calm  unit,  a  healthy  atom  adjusted  to  the  harmony  of  the 
universe,  making  and  feeling  music  in  the  soul. 

Yet  there  may  l>e  such  a  thing  as  a  collective  conscience,  and 
every  secret  society  with  a  political  aim  may  be  called  the 
expression  on  a  grand  scale  of  the  reflection  and  reniorae  of  the 
governed  —  an  avenging  and  purifying  remorse  which  moves 
onward  through  destniction  and  death  to  regeneration  and  a  saner 
life. 

But  the  collective  conscience  which  has  its  expression  in  secret 
oixleis  for  the  promotion  of  change  differs  from  personal  rancor, 


666  THE   STOBY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

or  from  the  action  of  individual  conscience,  in  that  it  wishes  to 
punish  institutions,  not  persons,  to  decapitate  ideas,  not  men. 

Such  organizations,  when  they  apimi-ently  perish,  nevertheless 
leave  a  pious  legacy  of  hate,  a  suj>erb  malediction  of  indormant 
and  indomitable  justice  which  enlarges  the  responsibility  and 
cliaracter  of  the  man  or  the  people  that  inherit  the  reforming  or 
rebellious  impulse.  A  legitimate  hatred  of  evil  is  the  salvation 
of  nations.     Woe  to  a  race  that  knows  not  how  to  liate  I 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  some  of  the  secret  govern- 
ments within  government  which  have  been  and  still  flourish  in 
the  world,  while  having  a  scientific  excuse  for  existence  by  force 
of  the  social  conditions  that  have  produced  them,  are  nevertheless, 
in  their  general  scope,  simply  a  brigandage,  such  as  might  more 
fitly,  perhaps,  have  been  classified  under  our  third  chapter  of  Gyp- 
sies, Brigands,  and  Thieves. 

We  shall  begin,  therefore,  by  depicting  briefly  a  secret  society 
of  murder,  torture,  and  roblxfry,  called  the  Chauffeurs,  which 
flourished  in  France  at  the  beginning  of  this  centurj-,  and  we 
shall  close  by  giving  an  account  of  the  famous  Tammany  Society 
of  New  York,  whose  methods  ai-e  regarded  by  its  op{>onents 
as  exemplifying  the  art  of  political  brigandage  on  a  colossal 
scale.  Between  these  two  wt»  shall  consider  the  Carbonari  of 
Italy,  the  Fenians,  and  the  Nihilists. 

The  Chauffeurs  or  Burnei-s,  so-called  on  account  of  their  apply- 
ing fire  to  their  victims  to  wring  revelations  of  the  hiding-places 
of  secret  treasure,  were  a  secret  society  existing  in  France 
before  and  during  the  Revolution,  and  they  were  only  finally 
extinguished  in  the  l>eginning  of  this  century. 

The  Chauffeurs  constituted  a  compact  body,  governed  by  a  sin- 
gle head.  They  had  their  own  religion,  and  a  code  of  civil  and 
criminal  laws,  which,  though  only  handed  down  orally,  was  none 
the  less  observed  and  resi>ected.  They  received  into  their  frater- 
nity all  who  chose  to  claim  admission,  but  preferred  to  enmll  such 
as  had  already  distinguished  themselves  by  criminal  deeds. 

Whole  families  belonged  to  this  Order  of  Disoi-der,  and  the 
childi-en  were  early  taught  how  to  act  as  spies,  commit  small  thefts, 
and  similar  crimes,  which  were  rewarded  more  or  less  liberally,  as 
they  were  executed  Avdth  more  or  less  daring  or  adroitness.     Want 


668  THB   STORY   OF   GOVBRNMKNT. 

of  success  brought  proporidonate  punishment  with  it,  ver}'  severe 
corporeal  castigation,  which  was  administered  not  merely  as  pun- 
ishment, but  also  to  teach  the  young  members  to  bear  bodily  pain 
with  fortitude. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  the  boy  was  initiated  into  the 
first  degree  of  the  society.  At  a  kind  of  religious  consecration 
he  took  an  oath,  calling  down  on  his  own  head  the  lightning  and 
wrath  of  heaven,  if  ever  he  failed  in  his  duty  towards  the 
order.  The  initiation  of  a  grown-up  candidate  into  this  curious 
company  was,  according  to  one  writer,  a  most  singular  combina- 
tion of  a  monkish  penance  by  flagellation,  and  an  orgy  afterwards 
such  as  the  wildest  of  wild  Indians  might  have  envied. 

Our  illustration  of  this  whip  dance  by  torch-light  in  the  face  of 
a  rude  cross  is,  perhaps,  a  fair  picture  of  the  beginning,  the  pri- 
mary object  being,  no  doubt,  to  see  if  the  candidate  for  danger 
could  bear  pain,  and  to  show  off  the  endurance  of  the  past-masters 
in  iniquity.  The  orgy  that  followed  can  be  easily  imagined  by 
anyone  who  has  ever  witnessed  a  Commencement  Day  at  some  of 
our  leading  colleges. 

The  master  had  almost  unbounded  authority  ;  he  kept  the  com- 
mon purse,  and  distributed  the  booty  according  to  his  own  discre- 
tion. Theft  from  the  profane,  as  outsiders  were  called,  was  the 
fundamental  law,  and,  indeed  the  support  of  the  society,  but  theft 
from  a  brother  was  punished,  the  first  time,  by  a  fine  thi-ee  times 
the  amount  stolen.  When  repeated,  the  fine  was  heavier,  and 
sometimes  the  thief  was  put  to  death. 

Each  brother  was  bound  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  another 
when  in  danger.  Their  mode  of  administering  justice  was 
rational,  i.  e.,  summary.  The  accused  person  was  called  before 
the  general  assembly  of  the  membei's,  informed  of  the  charge 
against  him,  confronted  with  the  witnesses  and,  if  found  innocent, 
acquitted ;  but  if  guilty  he  had  eitlier  at  once  to  pay  the  fine 
imiK>sed,  receive  the  number  of  blows  allotted,  or  submit  to  hang- 
ing on  the  nearest  tree,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  sentence. 

The  religious  woi-ship  of  the  Chauffeurs  was  a  parody  on  that  of 
the  church.  The  sermons  of  their  preachers  were  chiefly  directed 
to  instructing  them  how  most  pi*ofitably  to  pursue  their  profession, 
and  how  to  evade  the  pursuit  of  the  profane.     On  fete-dajrs   the 


tiUVKUNMKST    AMON)!    SKCliKT    01!I»KUS.  ti69 

priest  celebrated  Mass,  and  especially  invoked  the  heavenlj  bless- 
ing on  the  object  and  designs  o£  the  society. 

Their  marriage  ceremony  was  unique.  On  the  wedding-day 
the  bridegroom  and  bride,  accompanied  by  the  best  man  and  chief 
bridesmaid,  presented  themselves  before  the  priest  who,  after 
haying  read  some  ribald  nonsense  from  a  dirty  old  book,  took  a 
stick,  which  he  sprinkled  with  holy  water,  and  after  having 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  the  two  chief  witnesses,  who  held  it  up 
between  them,  he  invited  the  bridegroom  to  leap  over  it,  while 
the  bride  stood  on  the  other  side  awaiting  him. 

She  received  him  in  her  arra»,  and  held  him  up  for  a  few  mo- 
ments before  setting  him  down  on  the  ground.  The  bride  then 
went  in  front  of  the  stick,  and  took  her  leap  over  it  into  the 
bridegroom's  arms,  whose  pride  it  was  to  hold  her  up  in  the  air  as 
long  as  possible,  before  letting  her  down.  Both  seated  them- 
selves on  the  stick,  and  the  priest  put  on  the  l)ride's  finger  the 
wedding-ring. 

Divorces  were  grj.iited  not  only  for  proved  or  suspected  infidel- 
ity, but  also  on  account  of  incompatibility  of  temper  —  which 
proves  the  Chauffeurs  to  have  been,  in  this  respect  at  least,  verj- 
sensible  people.  The  divorce  was  pronounced  in  public,  and  its 
principal  feature  wiis  the  breaking  of  the  stick  on  wliich  the  pair 
had  been  married,  over  the  wife's  head.  After  that,  each  was  ai. 
liberty  to  marry  again. 

This  sect  was  spread  ()ver  a  large  part  of  northwestern 
France  ;  made  use  of  a  peculiar  patois,  understood  by  the  initiated 
only,  and  had  its  signs,  grips,  and  passwords  like  all  other  secret 
societies.  It  comprised  many  tliousand  members.  Its  existence 
and  history  first  became  pulilicly  known  thi-ough  the  judicial 
proceedings  taken  against  it  by  the  courts  of  Chartres,  during  tlie 
last  decade  of  the  last  century.  Many  mysterious  robberies,  fires, 
and  murders  were  then  brought  home  to  the  Chauffeurs.  Its  Grand 
Master  at  the  time  was  Francis  the  Fair,  so  called  on  account  of 
his  singular  personal  beauty. 

But  it  was  chiefly  during  the  Reign  of  Terror  that  the  Cliauffeurs 
committed  their  greatest  nwagus.  At  night  lai'ge  bands  of  them 
invaded  isolated  houses  and  the  castles  of  the  nobility,  robbing 
the  rich  and  poor  alike.     During  the  day  children  and  old  women. 


670  THE  STORY   OF   GOVEBNMENT. 

under  yarious  disguises  and  pretences,  penetrated  into  places 
where  property  worth  carrying  off  might  be  expected  to  exist,  and 
on  their  reports  as  a  basis  the  society  laid  its  plans. 

Sometimes  disguised  as  national  guards,  they  demanded  and 
obtained  admission  in  the  name  of  the  law.  Sometimes  disguised 
as  wandering  musicians,  as  represented  in  our  illustration,  they 
sought  information  from  servants.  If  they  met  ^dth  resistance 
they  employed  violence ;  if  not,  they  contented  themselves  with 
robbery.  But  sometimes  they  suspected  that  the  inmates  of  the 
dwelling  they  had  invaded  concealed  valuables ;  in  which  case  they 
would  tie  their  hands  behind  their  backs,  and  casting  them  on 
the  ground  apply  fire  to  their  feet  —  whence  the  name  chauffeurs^ 
"burners,"  until  they  revealed  the  hiding-places  of  their  treas- 
ures, or  died  in  frightful  agony.  Such  as  survived  this  treatment 
were  generally  crippled  for  life. 

A  young  man«  who  had  suffered  from  some  of  the  members  of 
the  society,  determined  to  be  revenged  on  them  by  betraying 
them  into  the  hands  of  justice.  He  revealed  his  plan,  which  was 
very  simple,  to  the  authorities  of  Chartres,  and  then  set  about  its 
execution.  In  broad  daylight  in  the  market-place  of  Chartres  he 
picked  the  pocket  of  a  gendarme  or  policeman.  The  gendarme, 
having  his  instructions,  of  course,  saw  nothing,  but  a  chauffeur^ 
some  of  whom  were  always  prowling  about,  noticed  the  apparently 
daring  deed,  and  rej)orted  it  to  his  fellows  and  to  his  chief.  Tliat 
so  clever  and  bold  a  thief  should  not  belong  to  the  brotherhood 
seemed  unnatural ;  very  soon,  therefore,  he  wius  sought  out  and 
very  sidvantageoiLs  offei*s  were  made  to  him  if  he  would  join  them. 
At  fii-st,  lie  seemed  disinclined  to  do  so,  but  eventually  yielded, 
and  then  sliowed  all  the  zeal  usual  with  ne<)ph}i«s.  He  attended 
all  the  meetings  of  the  society,  and  si)eedily  made  himself  ac- 
([uainted  with  all  their  secrets,  their  signs,  passwords,  modes  of 
action,  hiding-places,  etc. 

Tlieir  safest  retreat  and  great  depot,  where  the  Ixwty  was 
stored,  was  a  wildwood  in  the  neicrhlx)rho(>d  of  Chartres.  When 
ihe  false  brother  had  made  these  discoveries,  and  had  also  ascertained 
a  cl^iy  wl>en  nearly  all  the  chief  nieml)tM*s  of  the  society  would  be 
iissembled  on  the  spot  for  phinnin;;'  an  expedition,  he  managed  to 
evade  their  vigilauoe,  and  hastened  to  the  authorities,  who  had  held 


I 


i 


Jl--.'' 


OOVKKNMEST   AMONG   SECRET   OHDERS.  676 

a  large  force  of  men  reudj-  in  tlie  expectation  of  this  cLance. 
These  wei-e  at  onco  despatched  io  the  locality  indicated  by  the 
guide,  the  wood  wiLs  siinoiindi'd  i^iid  thi?  Chauffeurs,  Ixjing  taken 
unawares,  either  perished  fighting  or  were  taken  pnsonera.  After 
this  blow,  which  was  the  almost  total  extinction  of  their  leaders, 
the  common  herd  of  Chauffeurs  eitlier  dispersed,  or  emigrated. 

The  Society  of  the  Carbonari,  wliich  came  to  light  about  the 
same  epoch,  was  much  more  jwwerf  ul  and  equally  picturesque.  It 
would  seem  in  some  parts  of  its  career  like  an  odd  blend  of 
Masonry  and  Catholicism  fermenting  into  political  action.  Piet- 
isn]  appeared  as  tlic  baae,  hut  patriotism  grew  to  be  the  bulk  of  the 
building.  Some  of  its  ceremonies  may  be  of  interest,  especially 
to  compare  with  those  desorilHid  in  our  Masonry  chapter. 

The  Lodge  of  the  Carbonari,  or  Good  Cousins,  as  they  were 
called,  was  a  i-oom  of  wood  shaped  like  a  barn,  the  pavement  of 
brick,  the  interim'  furnished  with  lynches  without  backs.  At  the 
end  was  a  three-legged  block  where  sat  the  Grand  Master;  on 
each  side  was  a  blotk  of  similar  size  for  the  or;itor  and  secretaiy. 

On  the  Grand  Miister's  seat  were  the  following  symbols^  a 
linen  cloth,  water,  salt,  a  cross,  leaves,  sticks,  fire,  earth,  a  crown 
of  white  thorns,  a  ladder,  a  ball  of  thread,  and  three  ribbons,  one 
blue,  one  red,  and  one  black;  an  illuminated  triangle  with 
the  initial  lettera  of  tlie  jMvssword  of  the  second  rank  in  the  mid- 
dle ;  on  the  left  h;iiid  a  triangle,  with  the  arms  of  the  lodge 
painted,  and  on  the  right  three  tnmsparent  triangles,  each  with 
the  initial  letters  of  the  sacred  woixls  of  the  first  rank. 

The  Gnmd  Miister.  and  lirst  and  second  assistants,  who  also  sat 
before  a  large  wiHideu  block,  liehl  hatchets  in  their  hands.  The 
miisters  wei-e  ninged  along  the  wall  of  one  side  of  the  lodge,  the 
apprenti<^es  oil  the  other.  The  (Inxiid  Master,  having  opened  the 
lodge,  sjMke  as  follows :  — 

"Fii-st  Aasistjint,  wlicic  is  the  fii'st  degree  conferred?" 

A.     In  the  hnt  of  a  (iood  Cousin,  in  the  lodge  of  the  Carbonari. 

G.  M.     How  is  the  first  degree  conferred? 

A.  A  cloth  is  stretched  over  a  block  of  wood,  on  which  are 
arranged  the  bases ;  firstly,  the  cloth  itself,  water,  fire,  salt,  the 
crucifix,  a  drj'  sprig,  a  green  sprig.     At  least  three  Good  Cousina 


(iOVI-lENMENT   AMONU   SECRET   OltDBRB.  675 

a  large  force  of  men  ready  in  tlie  expectation  o£  this  chance. 
These  were  at  once  despatched  to  the  locality  indicated  by  the 
guide,  the  wood  was  surrounded  and  the  Chauffeura.  being  taken 
unawares,  either  perished  fighting  or  were  taken  prisoners.  After 
this  blow,  which  was  the  almost  total  extinctioo  of  their  leadetSi 
the  common  hei'd  of  Cltauffeurs  either  dispersed,  or  emigrated. 

The  Society  of  the  Carbonari,  which  came  to  light  about  the 
same  epoch,  was  much  more  i>owerful  and  equally  picturesque.  It 
would  seem  in  some  parts  of  its  career  like  an  odd  blend  of 
Masonry  and  Catholicism  fermenting  into  political  action.  Piet- 
ism appeared  as  tlie  baae,  but  patriotism  grew  to  be  the  bulk  of  the 
building.  Some  of  its  ceremonies  may  be  of  interest,  especially 
to  compare  with  those  described  in  our  Ma  ionry  chapter. 

The  Lodge  of  the  Carbonari,  or  Good  Cousins,  as  they  were 
called,  was  a  loom  of  wood  shaped  like  a  bam,  the  pavement  of 
brick,  the  interior  furnished  with  lynches  without  backs.  At  the 
end  was  a  three-legged  block  where  sat  the  Grand  Master;  on 
each  side  was  a  block  of  similar  size  for  the  orator  and  secretary. 

On  the  Grand  Master's  seat  were  the  following  symbols:  a 
linen  cloth,  water,  salt,  a  cross,  leaves,  sticks,  fire,  earth,  a  crown 
of  white  tliorns,  a  ladder,  a  hall  of  thread,  and  three  ribbons,  one 
blue,  one  red,  and  one  hlack;  an  ilhiniinated  triangle  with 
the  initial  lettei-s  of  (lie  piissword  of  the  second  mnk  in  the  mid- 
dle ;  on  the  left  hand  a  triangle,  with  the  arms  of  the  lodge 
painted,  and  on  tlie  right  tln-ee  tniiisparent  ti^iangles,  each  with 
the  initial  letiei-s  of  the  sacred  words  of  the  first  rank. 

Tlie  (inmd  ^bister,  and  tirsl  and  second  assistants,  who  also  sat 
befoi-e  a  larfje  wooden  block,  lielil  hatchets  in  their  hands.  The 
masters  wei*  niiiged  alonj;;  the  wall  of  one  side  of  the  lodge,  the 
apjirentii-es  on  tiie  other.  Tlii>  (ii-aiid  Miister,  having  opened  the 
lodge,  spoke  as  follows :  — 

"Fii-st  Assistant,  where  is  tlie  fii-st  degree  confen'ed?  '' 

A.     In  the  Imt  of  a  Good  Cousin,  in  the  lodge  of  tlu'  Oijliiiiuiri. 

G.  M,     How  is  the  first  degree  conferred? 

A.  A  cloth  is  stretched  over  a  block  of  wood,  mi  whicli  are 
arranged  the  bases ;  tuutly,  the  cloth  itself,  water,  lire,  salt,  the 
crucitix,  a  dry  sprig,  a  gieen  sprig.     At  least  three  Gciml  ('oiihiim 


676  THE   8T0EY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

must  be  present  for  an  initiation ;  the  introducer,  always  accom« 
panied  by  a  master,  who  remain  outside  the  place  where  are  the 
bases  and  the  Good  Cousins." 

The  master  who  accompanied  the  introducer  then  gave  three 
taps  with  his  foot  and  cried:  "Masters,  Good  Cousins,  I  need 
succor."  The  Good  Cousins  suiTounded  the  block  of  wood, 
against  which  they  struck  their  waist  cords  and  made  the  sign, 
carrying  the  right  hand  from  the  left  shoulder  to  the  right  side, 
one  of  them  exclaiming,  ''I  have  heanl  the  voice  of  a  Good 
Cousin  who  needs  help.  Perhaps  he  brings  wood  to  feed  the  fur- 
naces." The  introducer  was  then  brought  in.  The  assistant 
became  silent,  and  the  Grand  Master  addressed  the  new-comer :  — 

**My  Good  Cousin,  whence  come  you?" 

I.     From  the  wood. 

G.  M.     Whither  go  you? 

I.  Into  the  Chamber  of  Honor,  to  conquer  my  passions,  submit 
my  will,  and  be  instructed  in  Carbonarism. 

G.  M.     What  have  you  brought  from  the  Avood? 

I.       Wood,  leaves,  earth. 

G.  M.     Do  you  bring  anything  elst^? 

I.     Yes;   faith,  hope,  and  charity. 

(i.  M.     Who  is  he  whom  you  bring  liither? 

I.     A  man  lost  in  the  wood. 

G.  M.     What  does  he  seek? 

I.     To  enter  our  order. 

G.  M.     Introduce  him. 

The  neophjiie  wius  then  brought  in.  The  Gi-and  Master  put 
several  questions  to  him  regaining  his  morals  and  religion,  and 
tlien  bade  him  kneel,  holding  the  crucifix,  and  pronounce  the 
oath,  repeating  it  with  solemn  slo>vness  after  the  Grand  Master: 
''I  promise  and  bind  myself  on  my  honor  not  to  reveal  tlie  secrets 
of  the  Good  Cousins;  not  to  attack  the  virtue  of  their  wives  or 
daughtei's,  and  to  afford  all  tlie  helji  in  my  i)Ower  to  every  Good 
Cousin  needing  it.      So  help  me  God  I  " 

After  some  preliminary  questioning  the  Grand  Master  tlien 
addressed  the  novice  who  had  lx»en  drillcMl  l)efoi-elmnd :  "Wliat 
means  the  block  of  wood  ?  " 

N.      Heaven  and  the  roundness  of  the  earth. 


J   •.    . 


'    . 


GOVERNMENT   AMONG   SECRET   ORDERS.  1)77 

G.  M.     Wlmt  means  tlio  cloth" 

N.     That  which  hides  itself  on  beiug  born. 

G.  M.     The  water? 

N.     That  which  serves  to  wash  and  purify  from  original  sin. 

G.  M.     The  fire? 

N.     To  show  us  our  higliest  duties. 

G.  M.     Tliesiilt? 

N,     That  we  are  Cliristians. 

G.  M.     Tlie  enicifix? 

X.     It  reminds  lis  of  our  redemption. 

G,  M.     Whiit  does  the  thread  eommemonite ? 

N.     Tlie  MotliLT  of  God  that  spun  it. 

G.  M.     What  means  the  crown  of  white  thorns? 

N.     The  troubles  and  struggles  of  Good  Cousins. 

G.  M.     What  is  the  furnace? 

N.     The  school  of  Good  Cousins, 

G.  M.     What  means  the  tree  with  its  roots  up  in  the  air? 

N.  If  all  the  trees  were  like  that,  the  work  of  the  Good 
Cousins  would  not  be  needed. 

This  catechism  is  much  longer,  but  enough  lias  been  given  to 
show  its  quality.  Lacking  explanations,  one  would  be  tempted 
to  fancy  that  this  were  modelled  after,  if  it  were  not  the  prototype 
of  the  forms  used  to-day  by  many  secret  societies  in  America  that 
seek  by  their  fantasy  to  stir  from  the  start  the  imagination  of  the 
aspirant  for  secret  degrees. 

But,  as  in  other  societies,  like  that  of  the  Illuminati,  the  object 
was  not  at  the  outset  to  alarm  the  neophyte,  for  his  disposi- 
tion had  first  to  l)e  tested  before  the  real  meaning  of  the  ritual 
was  revealed  to  him.  Still,  some  of  the  figures  betray  themselves, 
though  studiously  concealed. 

The  furnace  was  the  ciiUective  work  at  which  the  Carlwnari 
labored.  The  sacred  fire  they  kept  alive  was  Liberty's  flame  with 
which  they  aspired  to  illumine  the  world.  They  did  not  care- 
lessly choose  coal  for  their  symbol;  for  coal  is  the  dark  fountain 
of  light  and  warmth  that  puiifies  the  air.  The  forest  represented 
Italy,  the  wild  wood  of  Dante,  infested  with  wild  beasts,  that  is  at 
that  time  thronged  with  foreign  oppressore.  The  tree  with  the 
roots  in  the  air  typified  kingdoms  dustioytjd  and  tlu'oucs  overthrown. 


678  THE  STORV  OF   GOVKBNMBNT. 

Catholic  mysticism  constantly  came  to  the  surface  thiongh 
these  ceremonies,  the  highest  honors  being  given  to  Christy  who 
was  indeed  the  Good  Cousin  of  all  men.  Carbonarism  did  not  in 
its  infancy  openly  assail  religious  belief,  but  made  use  of  it,  en* 
deavoring  to  simplify  and  reduce  it  to  first  principles,  just 
Freemasonry  does.  The  candidate,  as  in  the  last-named  order, 
supposed  to  perform  journeys  through  the  forest  and  through  firOf 
to  each  of  which  a  mystical  meaning  was  attached. 

But  the  true  meaning  was  not  told  in  this  degree.  In  fact,  for 
all  who  wished  to  gain  an  insight  into  the  real  objects  of  CSar- 
bonarism,  this  degree  could  not  suffice.  It  was  necessaiy  to  pro* 
ceed  to  the  second  degree,  nearly  the  whole  of  which  was  occupied 
with  the  martyrdom  of  Christ,  imparting  to  the  catechism  a 
tristful  character,  calculated  to  surprise  and  terrify  the  candidate. 

The  former  figures  were  here  invested  with  new  and  unexpected 
meanings,  touching  the  minutest  points  of  the  crucifixion  of  the 
Good  Cousin  Jesus,  which  more  and  more  led  the  initiated  to 
believe  that  the  unusual  and  whimsical  forms  were  simply  stu* 
{>endous  aitifices  framed  to  confound  the  ideas  and  suspicions  of 
thoir  enemies,  and  cause  them  to  lose  the  traces  of  the  funda- 
mental idea. 

In  this  constant  Carbon arian  recurrence  to  the  martyrdom  of 
Christ  two  aims  are  discernible, —  the  one  essentially  educational, 
to  familiarize  the  new  Cousin  with  the  idea  of  sacrifice,  even  of 
life,  if  necessary;  the  other,  chiefly  political,  intended  to  gain 
proselytes  among  the  superstitious,  the  mystics,  the  souls  loving 
Christianity  —  the  souls  fiiudamentally  good,  however  prejudiced, 
because  loving  —  who  constituted  the  greater  number  in  a  Roman 
Catholic  country  like  Italy. 

Thus,  the  furnace  signified  the  Holy  Sepulchre;  the  rustling  of 
the  leaves  symbolized  the  flagellation  of  the  Good  Cousin,  the 
Grand  Master  of  the  Universe,  and  so  on.  Tlie  candidate  for 
initiation  into  this  degree  had  to  undergo  further  trials.  He 
represented  Christ,  while  the  Grand  Master  took  the  name  of 
Pilate;  the  first  councillor  that  of  Caiaplias;  the  second  that  of 
Herod ;  the  Good  Cousins  generally  were  called  the  people. 

The  candidate  was  led  bound  from  one  officer  to  the  other,  and 
finally  condemned  to  be  crucified;  but  he  was  pardoned  on  taking 


V 


i 


680  THE  STORY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

a  second  oath,  more  binding  than  the  first,  consenting  to  have  his 
body  cut  in  pieces  and  burnt,  as  in  the  former  degree.  But  still 
even  then  the  true  secret  of  the  order  was  not  revealed  till  the 
degree  of  Grand  Elect,  which  degree  was  only  conferred  with  the 
greatest  precautions,  secretly,  and  to  Carbonari  known  for  their 
prudence,  zeal,  courage,  and  devotion  to  the  order. 

Besides,  the  candidates  introduced  into  the  grotto  of  reception 
had  to  be  true  friends  of  popular  liberty,  and  ready  to  fight  against 
tyrannical  governments.  The  admission  of  the  candidate  took 
place  .by  voting,  and  three  black  balls  sufficed  for  his  rejection. 
He  had  to  be  thirty-three  years  and  three  months  old,  the  sup- 
posed age  of  Christ  on  the  day  of  his  death. 

The  religious  drama  now  merged  into  a  political  one.  The 
lodge  was  held  in  a  remoter  and  more  secret  place,  only  known  lo 
the  Grrand  Masters  already  received  into  the  degree  of  Grand 
Elect.  The  lodge  was  triangular,  truncated  at  the  eastern  end. 
The  Grand  Master  Grand  Elect  was  seated  upon  a  throne.  Two 
guards,  from  the  shape  of  their  swords  called  Flames,  stood  at  the 
entrance.  The  assistants  were  named  Sun  and  Moon.  Three 
lamps,  in  the  shape  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars  hung  at  the  three 
angles  of  the  grotto  or  lodge. 

The  cathechism  now  revealed  to  the  candidate  that  tlie  real 
object  of  the  association  was  politicial,  and  aimed  at  the  overthrow 
of  all  tyrants,  and  the  establishment  of  nnivei-sal  liberty,  the  time 
for  which,  according  to  their  dreams,  had  amved.  To  each 
prominent  member  a  station  and  duties  in  the  coming  conflict 
were  assigned,  and  the  ceremony  concluded  by  all  present  kneel- 
ing and  pointing  their  sword  at  their  breast,  while  the  Grand 
Elect  pronounced  the  following  formula  : — 

"I,  a  free  citizen  of  Ausonia,^  swear  before  the  Gmnd  Master 
of  the  Univei'se,  and  the  Grand  Elect  Good  Cousin,  to  devote  mv 
whole  life  to  the  triumph  of  the  principles  of  Liberty,  Equality, 
and  Progress,  which  are  the  soul  of  all  the  secret  and  public  acts 
of  Carbonarism.  I  promise  that,  if  it  be  impossible  to  restore 
the  reign  of  Liberty  without  a  struggle,  I  will  fight  to  the  death. 
I  consent,  should  I  prove  false  to  my  oath,  to  be  slain  by  my 
Good  Cousins   Grand  Elect:    to  be  fastened  to  the  cross  in  a 


>  Ausonia  was  the  ancient  name  for  Italy. 


GOVERNMENT   AMONG   BEUKET   OEDER8.  681 

lodge,  naked,  crowned  with  thoms ;  to  have  my  belly  torn  open,  the 
entrails  and  heart  taken  out  and  scattered  to  the  ivinda.  Such  are  our 
conditions.   SWEAR!"  The  Good  Couainareplied:  "Weswear," 

This  ilegree  of  Graiitl  Master  Gi'and  Elect,  the  highest  o£  Car- 
bonarisin,  was  only  accessible  to  those  who  had  given  proofs  of 
great  intelligence  and  resolution.  Tlie  Good  Cousins  being 
assembled  in  the  lodge,  the  candidate  wiw  brought  in  blindfold. 
Two  meinhow,  representing  the  two  thieves,  carried  a  cross,  which 
WW8  finnly  planted  in  the  ground.  One  of  the  two  pretended 
thieves  wa^  then  addressed  as  a  traitor  to  the  cause,  and  con- 
demned to  die  on  the  cross. 

He  ivsigried  himself  to  his  fate,  as  fully  deserved,  and  was  tied 
to  the  cross  with  silken  cords;  and,  to  delude  the  candidate, 
whose  eyes  were  still  bandaged,  he  uttered  loud  groans.  The 
Gifind  Master  pronounced  the  same  doom  on  the  other  robber,  but 
he,  i-epresenting  the  non-repentant  one,  exclaimed :  "  I  sliall 
undergo  my  fate,  cureing  30U,  and  consoling  myself  with  the 
thought  that  I  shall  be  avenged,  and  that  strangers  shall  exter- 
minate you  to  the  last  Carbonaro.  Know  that  I  have  pointed  out 
jrour  retreat  to  the  chiefs  of  the  hostile  army,  and  that  within  a 
short  time  you  shall  fall  into  their  hands.     Do  your  worst.'" 

The  Grand  Elect  then  turned  to  the  candidate  and,  alluding  to 
the  punishment  awai-ded  to  tr.vit«rs  as  shown  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, informed  him  tliat  he  also  must  be  fastened  to  the  cross,  if 
he  persisted  in  his  intention  to  pmceed,  and  must  receive  on  his 
body  the  sacred  marks,  whereby  the  Grand  Masters  Grand  Elect 
of  all  the  lodges  are  known  to  each  other,  and  must  also  pronounce 
the  oath,  whereupon  the  bandage  \vould  lie  removed,  he  would 
descend  irom  the  cross,  and  be  clothed  with  the  insignia  of  the 
Grand  Master  Elect, 

He  was  then  firmly  tied  to  the  cross,  and  pricked  three  times 
on  the  right  arm,  seven  times  on  the  left,  and  three  times  under 
the  left  breast.  Tlie  cross  being  erected  in  the  middle  of  the 
oave,  that  the  membei's  might  see  the  marks  on  the  body,  on  a 
given  sign,  the  bandage  being  removed,  the  Cousins  encircled  tlie 
ouididate,  pointing  their  swords  and  daggera  at  his  bieast,  and 
threatening  hira  with  even  a  worse  death,  should  he  turn  traitor. 
They  also  watohed  his  demeanor  to  see  if  he  betrayed  any  fear. 


682  THE  STORY  OP  GOVERNMENT. 

Seven  ^  toasts  in  his  honor  were  then  drunk,  and  the  Grand 
£lect  explained  the  real  meaning  of  the  symbols,  which  were 
never  printed,  but  were  only  written  down  and  jealously  guarded, 
the  owner  promising  to  bum  or  swallow  them,  rather  than  let 
them  fall  into  other  hands.  The  Grand  Master  concluded  by 
si)eaking  in  praise  of  the  revolution  which  had  then  begun,  and 
exclaimed :  *'  Very  soon  the  nations,  weary  of  tyranny,  shall  cele- 
bmte  a  victoiy  over  the  tyrants ;  very  soon.   ..." 

Here  the  wicked  thief  exclaimed:  "Very  soon  all  ye  shall 
perish! "  and  suddenly  was  heard  outside  the  grotto  the  clash  of 
weapons  and  shouts  of  struggling  men.  One  of  the  doorkeepers 
cried  out  that  the  door  was  on  the  point  of  being  broken  through, 
and  a  battering  on  it  was  heard  directly  after.  The  Good  Cousins 
rushed  to  another  door  which  was  behind  the  crosses,  and  there- 
fore unseen  by  the  candidate ;  the  noise  then  grew  louder,  and 
the  cries  of  Austrian  soldiery  nearer.  The  Cousins  returned  in 
great  disorder,  as  if  overpowered  by  superior  numbers,  said  a  few 
words  of  encouragement  to  the  candidate  fastened  to  the  cross,  and 
disappeared  through  the  floor,  which  opened  beneath  them. 

Cousins,  dressed  in  the  hated  uniform  of  the  foreigner,  entered 
and  expressed  wonder  at  the  mysterious  disappeai-ance  of  the  Car- 
bonari. Perceiving  the  pei'sons  on  the  crosses  and  finding  them 
still  alive,  they  proposed  to  put  an  end  to  their  misery.  They 
charged  their  guns  and  prepared  to  shoot,  when  suddenly  a  num- 
ber of  balls  rattled  into  the  cave,  the  soldiers  fell  as  if  struck, 
and  the  CousiiLs  re-entered  through  manj^  openings,  closing  at 
once  behind  them,  while  they  shouted:  '"Victory I  Death  to 
t}TannyI  Long  live  the  republic  of  Ausonial  Long  live  liberty  I 
Long  live  the  government  established  by  the  brave  Carbonari!  " 

In  an  instant  the  apparently  dead  soldieis  and  the  two  thieves 
were  carried  out  of  the  cave;  and  the  candidate  having  l)een 
helped  down  from  the  cross,  was  proclaimed  by  the  Grand  Master, 
who  struck  seven  blows  with  his  axe,  a  Gi-and  Master  Grand 
Elect. 

The  Carbonari  played  no  small  pa't  in  geneml  Eurofiean  poli- 
tics outside  of  Italy,  and  when  the  lurid  star  of  the  Coi-sican  was 


>  Seven  \*^  the  mystic  nural)er  and  Heein»  to  rule  ver>'  Htmngly  through  men's  most  practi- 
cal ariftociatioiiii  as  it  does  in  tlielr  most  fantastic  speculations. 


GOVERNMENT   AMONG    SECRET    ORDERS.  (i83 

declining  tliey  were  bargaining  with  Kitgliind  for  a  guaranty  of 
the  oomjilete  independence  of  Italy,  with  Rome  for  its  capital, 
and  for  its  boundaries  the  tlu«e  stjas  and  the  Alps;  Corsica,  Sar- 
dinia, Sicily,  the  seven  ialaiids  and  those  on  the  coasts  of  the  Med- 
iterraDcan,  Adriatic,  and  loniiin  Seas  to  be  integml  portioim  of  the 
new  Roman  Empire^ a  superb  dream  of  nationality  which  has 
now  partially  materialized. 

This  project,  liowever,  fell  thi'ough  at  the  time,  although  the 
bait  held  out  to  England  wiis  exceedingly  tempting.  But  the 
ambition  of  the  Cail>onari  to  obtain  a  constitutional  government 
for  thfir  LOuntiT  iK-gan  to  l^ar  fruit  in  other  countries  which,  of 
coui'80,  by  reactioM  stirred  up  the  original  society. 

In  1819  took  place  the  rising  at  Cadiz,  hy  which  the  King  of 
Spain,  Ferdinand  VII,,  wa;  compelled  to  give  Spain  constitu- 
tional privileges.  This  ai-oused  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Carbonari 
to  the  point  of  ardency,  but  there  was  no  unanimity  in  their 
counsels,  and  their  intrigues  only  led  to  many  being  imprisoned 
and  others  banished. 

An  attempt  made  in  1820,  however,  with  the  Abbe  Menichini 
for  their  leader,  extorted  a  constitution.  The  influence  of  the  Car- 
bonari now  increased;  lodges  were  established  everywhere.  Even 
women  now  became  connected  with  the  sect,  and  female  lodges 
with  the  title  of  "the  Garden  Women"  (^e  Gtardinierey  were 
formed,  each  sister  taking  the  name  of  a  flower.  The  secrets  of 
Carbonarism,  its  signs,  words,  and  symbols  were  openly  pro- 
claimed, and  blessed  in  the  churches.  But  the  triumjih  did  not 
last  long.  Austrian  influence,  the  disloyalty  of  the  king,  and 
treason  in  the  sect  itself,  put  an  end  to  it  in  1821. 

The  Carbonari  in  the  Roman  States  about  this  time  aimed  at 
the  overthrow  of  the  pajial  power,  and  chose  tlie  moment  when 
the  Pope  was  expected  to  die  to  carry  out  their  scheme.  They 
had  collected  large  forces  and  provisions  at  Macerata,  but  the 
sudden  recovery  of  tlie  Poi)e  put  a  stop  to  the  enter[>ri3e.  The 
leaders  were  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  the  government,  and  some 
of  them  condemned  to  death  and  others  to  peipetual  imprisonment; 
though  the  Pope  aftenvards  commuted  tlie  sentences.  Up  to  this 
point  Carbonarism  had  been  an  ally  of  Catholicism,  but  after^vai-ds, 
as  Carbonarism  degenerated  in  its  i>ower,  its  membemge  grew 


684  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

vicious  and  its  methods  so  unholy,  that  even  a  travelling  cardinal 
in  some  parts  of  Italy,  if  his  horses  shied  at  the  lightning  of  a 
summer  storm,  would  fmioy  at  first  that  the  stopping  of  his  car- 
riage might  be  due  to  the  Carbonari,  and  that  he  would  be  robbed. 

Carbonarism  was  introduced  into  France  in  1820  by  Joubert 
and  Dugier,  who  had  taken  part  in  revolutionary  movements  in 
their  own  country,  and  after  having  for  some  time  found  refuge 
in  Italy,  where  they  had  joined  the  Carbonari,  brought  their  prin- 
ciples to  France  on  their  return  from  exile.  The  sect  made 
rapid  progress  among  the  French ;  all  the  students  at  the  different 
universities  became  members,  and  Lafayette  was  chosen  its  chief. 
Lodges  existed  at  La  Rochelle,  Poitiers,  Niort,  Bordeaux,  Colmar, 
Neuf-Brisach,  and  Belfort,  where  in  1821  an  unsuccessful  rise 
took  place  against  the  government. 

The  insun-ections  fomented  by  this  order  in  other  places  were 
surface  failures;  still,  though  they  missed  their  mark  temporarily, 
it  is  clear  that  they  caused  subsequent  concessions  on  the  part  of 
politic  rulers  to  the  principles  they  promulgated.  But,  apart  from 
any  si)ecific  results,  Carbonarism  is  of  special  historic  interest,  for 
it  marks  a  transition  period  in  the  evolution  of  secret  societies. 

From  secret  societies  occupied  with  religion,  pliilosophy,  and 
politics  in  the  abstract,  it  led  up  to  the  secret  societies  whose 
objects  were  more  immediately  and  practically  political.  And 
thus  in  Fi-ance,  Italy,  and  otlier  states,  it  gave  rise  to  numerous 
and  various  sects,  wherein  we  find  the  men  of  thouglit  and  men 
of  action,  dreamei's  and  doei*s,  combining  for  one  common  object 
—  tln3  progress,  as  they  understand  it,  of  human  society. 

Carbonarism,  in  fact,  was  i-evived  about  the  year  1825,  and 
some  ten  yoare  after  combined,  or  rather  coalesced,  with  the 
soi'iety  known  as  Youn^  Italy,  whose  aims  were  identical  with 
those  of  the  Carbonari  —  the  expulsion  of  the  foreigner  from 
Italian  soil,  and  the  unification  of  Italy.  The  Carbonari  suc- 
ceeded, in  1831,  in  driving  the  Duchess  of  Parma,  Maria  Louise, 
into  exile.  One  of  her  most  trusted  councilloi*s  was  a  Carbonaro, 
who,  when  she  entered  her  carriage,  coolly  wished  her  a  happy 
journey,  to  which  she  replied  by  saying  to  the  lady  of  honor  who 
accompanied  her,  "  Wliat  a  Judas !  "  This  triumph  of  the  Car- 
bonari, however,  lasted  only  twentj'-eiglit  days;  for  the  duchess 


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at  the  end  of  that  period  re-entered  her  capital,  Austi-ia,  having 
by  force  of  arms  effected  her  restoration. 

Another  Italian  society  merits  a  passing  word  from  its  singular 
name  and  the  singular  man  whom  gossip  connected  with  it,  and 
that  is  the  society  of  the  "American  Hunters,"  which  was  founded 
at  Ravenna  shortly  after  the  prosecution  at  Macerata,  and  the 
measures  taken  by  the  Austrians  in  1818,  against  the  Carbonari. 

Tlie  famous  poet.  Lord  Byron,  whose  love  of  Italy  seems  to 
have  been  a  genuine  passion,  was  said  to  be  at  the  head  of 
this,  and  his  absence  from  Italy  was  ardently  desired  by  the 
Austrian  authorities,  who  on  one  occasion  tried  to  provoke  a  per- 
sonal encounter  with  the  poet.  Tlien  was  witnessed  the  beautiful 
scene  of  his  brother  poet,  the  incomparable  Shelley,  throwing 
himself  between  the  Austiiiin  officer  and  the  haughty  Byron  to 
receive  the  swordatroke  himself.  How  far  Byron  was  mixed  up 
in  the  subterranean  politics  of  tliat  epoch  is  a  conundrum  that 
has  never  been  guessed,  but  his  vast  popularity  to  this  day  among 
the  common  people  of  Italy  is  a  fact  that  seems  more  traceable  to 
his  personality  and  his  deep-felt  sympathy  with  Italian  wrongs 
tha]i  to  the  tragic  magic  of  his  verse. 

Tliis  Society  of  American  Hunters  was  said  to  be  extremely 
ethical  as  well  as  practical,  and  to  have  some  intention  of  attemi)t- 
ing  to  revive  the  Delphic  mysteries.  They  exjjected  a  sort  of 
Saviour  who  was  to  come  from  America.  It  was  asserted  at  one 
time  that  Joseph  Bonaparte,  the  ex-King  of  Spain,  was  a  member 
of  the  American  Iluiitere,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  Italian 
partisans  of  Napoleon,  of  whom  there  were  many,  gathered  new 
hopes  after  the  events  of  181.5.  A  sonnet,  of  which  the  firet 
quatrain  is  here  given,  was  at  that  time  very  popular  in  Central 
Italy,  and  8ho^vs  the  direction  of  the  political  wind:  — 

"  Scandalized  by  groaning  nndcr  kings  so  fell, 
FilUng  EuroiHi  with  dismay  In  ev'ry  part. 
Wo  ure  driven  to  solicit  Bonapwte 
To  return  from  Saint  Helena  or  from  liell." 

The  secret  revolutionary  society  of  Nihilists,  discovered  in 
Russia  about  a  generation  ago,  so  many  membera  of  which  have 


690  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

been  seized  and  condemned  to  various  horrible  punishments,  is 
stronger  now  than  ever,  and  will  unquestionably  succeed  before 
long,  at  least,  in  part  of  its  aims.  It  has  for  its  object  the  over- 
throw of  Imperialism  and  the  establishment  of  universal  philo- 
sophic Anarchism.  The  following  articles,  taken  from  a  document 
produced  at  an  early  trial,  and  containing  the  progmmme  of  what 
these  root-and-branch  reformers  intend,  will  show  that  they  belong 
to  the  most  advanced  school  of  revolutionism :  — 

1.  The  revolutionist  is  a  man  condemned.  He  can  have  no  inter- 
ests, nor  business,  nor  feelings,  nor  attachments,  nor  property,  nor  even 
a  name.  Everything  in  him  is  absorbed  in  one  sole  and  exclusive 
interest,  in  one  single  idea,  in  one  solitary  passion  —  the  Revolution 

8.  The  Revolutionist  despises  all  doctrines,  and  has  renounced  all 
science  of  this  world,  which  he  leaves  to  future  generations.  He  knotcs 
but  one  science^  that  of  destruction. 

6.  Severe  towards  himself,  he  must  be  severe  towards  others.  All 
tender  feelings  of  family,  friendship,  love,  gratitude,  and  even  of  honor, 
must  often  be  stifled  in  his  breast  by  the  one  cold  passion  of  Revolution. 
For  him  there  is  but  one  repose,  but  one  consolation,  but  one  recom- 
pense, but  one  satisfaction^  the  success  of  the  Hevolutio^i, 

This  society,  at  its  Ijegiiming,  as  it  does  now,  embraced  men 
of  every  rank  of  life,  the  leading  spirit  being  Netc^haiev,  who 
escaped.  Dolgow,  the  next  in  importance,  was  the  sou  of  a 
councillor,  and  these  two  succeeded  in  tMi lightening  with  their 
opinions  the  minds  of  many  of  the  students  at  the  Petrovsky 
University.  They  were  seconded  in  their  efforts  by  Rippona, 
the  son  of  a  militjiry  officer,  and  Prince  Cherk(isoff,  who  on 
several  occasions  supi)lied  the  funds  required.  Their  plans  wei'e 
secretly  nmde  known  to  the  friends  of  the  movement  by  means 
of  a  paper  entitled  ''From  the  United  to  the  Isolated,"  which 
called  on  the  Russians  to  revolt  against  the  government. 

The  sentences  on  these  early  prisoners,  who  wei*e  all  found 
guilty,  were  comparatively  mild,  the  severest  being  that  on  Prince 
Cherk^soff,  who  was  deprived  of  his  rights  and  privileges  and 
ordered  to  take  up  his  abode  in  the  province  of  Towsk  for  the 
si)ace  of  five  yeai's.  The  other  conspirators  wei'C  condemned  to  pe- 
riods of  imprisonment  varying  from  a  year  and  a  half  to  three  weeks. 

Since  tlien,  however,  the  sufferings  of  political  prisoners  amid 


GOVEHNMENT   AMONG   SECRET   OKDEKS.  691 

the  mines  of  Siberia  liave  been  so  frightful  that  Engliah  and 
American  civilization,  forgetting  the  more  frequent  slow  and  in- 
sidious murdei-s  pcrpDti-atfd  by  cuiuiiiig  corjiorations  under  forms 
of  English  and  American  law,  has  often  of  late  cried  out  aghast 
and  held  public  meetings  of  protestation  against  Russian  enormities. 

Our  picture  of  political  exiles  in  Siberia  is  one  that  will  appeal 
to  every  heart  with  any  throb  of  humanity,  for  it  tells  the  story 
of  tyranny  more  vividly  than  any  printed  words  could  do.  It  is 
not  merely  life-like,  it  is  life,  life-in-death,  which  many  generous- 
hearted  Russians  are  enduring  to-day  for  the  sake  of  the  men, 
and  women,  and  cliildren  of  the  future  unto  whom  shall  belong 
the  earth  and  the  fulness  tliereof.  For  the  old  superstition  that 
the  many  were  created  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  few —  the 
divine  right  of  Dives  to  be  rich  by  reason  of  the  labors  of  Lazarus 
—  is  beginning  to  die  out  of  the  minds  of  men,  though,  like  all 
things  of  darkness,  it  dies  bard. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  feared,  liowever,  that  this  old  fetish,  so  fatal 
to  human  happiness,  will  not  utterly  perish  and  be  happily  buried 
until  a  few  cities  like  Boston,  New  York,  Chicago,  Paris,  or 
London  have  been  burned  to  the  ground  as  warnings  to  the  world 
at  large,  or  to  serve  na  toi-ehes  that  shall  light  man's  onward 
steiis  a  little  taster  to  tliat  true  state  of  progress  in  which  the 
wealth  of  a  nation  shall  be  found  to  consist  in  an  even  distribu- 
tion of  all  its  products,  based  on  equal  efforts  demanded  of  all 
able-bodied  men  and  women  in  an  industrial  republic  of  organized 
common -sense. 

One  of  the  most  active  of  political  secret  societies  of  recent 
times  was  that  of  the  Fenians,  and  tliere  are  indications,  every 
now  and  then,  that  this  association  is  not  extinct,  but  is  only 
a  slumbering  volcano,  waiting  for  a  chance,  when  England  shall 
be  involved  in  some  war  of  magnitude  (say  with  the  Russians  in 
Europe  and  in  India  simultaneously)  to  pour  forth  such  a  flood  of 
lava  as  would  drive  the  hat  Englishman  out  of  Ireland  and  possi- 
bly cause  some  of  the  Australian  colonies,  where  Irish  blood  is 
thick,  to  declai-e  themselves  independent  republics. 

Fifteen  yeara  ago,  the  writer  of  this  history  was  living  in  Mel- 
bourne, -which  is  one  of  the  handsomest  and  most  civilized  cities 


692  THE  STORY  OP  GOVERNMENT. 

in  the  world,  and,  happening  to  render  some  slight  but  deeply 
appreciated  service  to  an  Irish  gentleman,  was  introduced  as  an 
honorary  or  courtesy  member  to  an  Irish  Musical  Club. 

The  members  all  had  music  in  their  souls,  but,  contrary  to  the 
often  quoted  lines  of  Shakespeare,  they  were  fit,  or  were  fitting 
themselves,  for  ^treasons,  stratagems  and  spoils"  against  the 
£ngliah  Grovemment.  Their  music  was  merely  a  veil  to  hide 
their  real  purposes,  which  the  writer  soon  discovered  to  be  the 
gradual  dissemination  of  democratic  doctrines  throughout  Aus- 
tralia, leading  up  to  the  idea  of  complete  political  independence. 

Several  of  the  members  were  brilliant  writers,  and  they  never 
missed  a  chance,  even  in  their  lightest  newspaper  articles,  of 
stimulating  the  Australian's  local  pride  and  proclaiming  Aus- 
tralian ability  to  govern  Austmlia.  A  war  with  Russia  then 
seemed  inuninent,  and  when  the  writer  left  Australia,  some  of  the 
politicians  were  ready  in  that  event  to  spring  on  the  world  the 
Australian  Republic.  It  was  even  hinted,  outside  of  Fenian 
circles,  that  England  would  acquiesce  readily,  because  such  a 
move  would  save  her  the  trouble  and  expense  of  defending  her 
Australian  possessions  and  permit  her  to  utilize  her  navy  else- 
where. 

The  foundera  of  Fenianism  in  America  were  two  exiles  of  the 
famous  year  1848,  Col.  John  O'Mahoney  and  Michael  Doheny. 
It  was,  ac  first,  a  semi-secret  association;  that  is,  its  meetings 
were  secret,  though  its  cliief  officers  were  publicly  known  as  such. 
But  the  operations  of  the  brotherhood  were  hidden  from  the  pub- 
lic view.  It  rapidly  increased  in  numl^ers,  spreading  through 
every  State  of  the  American  Union,  through  Canatla  and  the 
British  Provinces. 

In  November,  1863,  the  organization  assumed  a  new  character. 
A  grand  national  convention  of  delegates  met  at  Chicago,  and 
avowcMl  the  object  of  the  Brotherhood,  namely,  the  separation  of 
Ireland  from  England,  and  tlie  establishment  of  an  Irish  republic, 
the  same  changes  being  first  to  be  effected  in  Canada. 

Another  grand  convention  was  held  in  186-4  at  Cincinnati,  the 
delegates  at  which  represented  some  250,000  members,  and  each 
member  was  called  upon  for  a  contribution  of  five  dollars, 
which  call  was  promptly  met.     At  that  period  the  Fenians  con- 


dOUS  UWV1.U  O  BEILLI'. 


694  THE  STORY   OF  GOVERNMENT. 

fidently  relied  on  the  assistance  of  the  American  government, 
which  was  justly  indignant  with  England  for  her  conduct  in  the 
Civil  War,  and  the  press  of  New  York  City  rather  favored  this 
notion  which,  however,  soon  proved  itself  unfounded  or  at  least 
premature. 

In  Ireland  the  Brotherhood  never  attained  the  dimensions  it 
reached  in  the  United  States,  and  without  the  assistance  of  the 
latter  could  do  nothing.  Still,  the  Irish,  as  well  as  the  American 
Fenian  Association,  had  its  chiefs,  officers,  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary, its  common  fund  and  financial  agencies,  its  secret  oatlis, 
passwords  and  emblems,  its  laws  and  penalties,  its  concealed 
stores  of  arms,  its  nightly  drills,  its  cori'espondents  and  agents, 
its  journals,  and  even  its  popular  songs  and  ballads. 

But  traitors  soon  set  to  work  to  destroy  the  oi'ganization  from 
within.  The  head  centre,  O'Mahoney,  who  was  in  receipt  of  an 
official  salary  of  $2,000,  is  thus  mentioned  in  the  official  report 
of  the  Investigating  Committee  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood  of 
America  (1866):  — 

After  a  careful  examination  of  the  affairs  of  the  Brotherhood  yoar 
Committee  finds  in  almost  every  instance  the  cause  of  Ireland  made 
subservient  to  individual  gain  ;  men  who  were  lauded  as  patriots  sought 
every  opportunity  to  plunder  the  treasury  of  the  Brotherhood,  but 
legalized  their  attacks  by  securing  the  endorsement  of  John  O'Mahoney 
...  In  John  O'Mahoney's  integrity  the  confidence  of  the  Brother- 
hood was  boundless,  and  the  betrayal  of  that  confidence,  whether 
through  incapacity  or  premeditation,  is  not  a  question  for  us  to  deter- 
mine .  .  .  Sufficient  that  he  has  proved  recreant  to  the  trust  .  .  . 
Never  in  the  liistory  of  the  Irish  people  did  they  repose  so  much  confi- 
dence in  their  leaders ;  never  before  were  they  so  basely  deceived  and 
treacherously  dealt  with.  In  fact,  the  Moffat  mansion  (the  head- 
quarters of  the  American  Fenians)  was  not  only  an  almshouse  for 
pauper  officials  and  hungry  adventurers,  but  a  general  telegraph  office 
for  the  Canadian  authorities  and  Sir  Frederick  Bruce,  the  British 
minister  at  Washington.  These  paid  patriots  and  professional  martyrs 
not  satisfied  with  emptying  our  treasury,  connived  at  posting  the  Eng- 
Ibh  authorities  in  advance  of  our  movement. 

From  this  report  it  further  appeal's  that  in  1866  the  Fenian 
treasury  in  the  States  cont^iiiied  the  sum  of  'iflSS,©©©;  that  the 
expense  of  the  Moffat  mansion  and  the  piirasites  who   flocked 


COVEliNMENT    AMON<;    SECKE 


thither  in  three  months  amounted  to  fl04,000 ;  and  that  Stephens, 
the  Irish  head  centre  in  the  same  spa^e  of  time  received  from 
America,  in  money  sent  to  Paris,  the  sum  of  nearly  $106,000, 
though  John  O'Mahoney  in  many  of  his  letters  expressed  the 
greatest  mistrust  of  Stephens. 

Possibly  he  looked  upon  the  latter  as  a  more  clever  and 
daring  rogue,  who  materially  diminished  his  own  i>hare  of  the 
spoil.  Stephens'  career  in  Ireland  is  sufficiently  well  known, 
and  there  is  scarcely  any  doubt  that  while  lie  was  leadiug  his 
associates  to  their  ruin,  be  acted  as  a  spy  upon  them,  and  that 
there  existed  some  understanding  between  him  and  the  English 
authorities. 

Another  man  of  note  among  the  Fenians  was  John  Mitchell, 
who  had  been  implicated  in  the  troubles  of  1848,  was  transported, 
escaped,  and  made  bis  way  to  the  United  States.  During  the 
Civil  War  which  mged  in  this  country,  he  was  a  supporter  of  the 
Southern  cause,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  North,  but  liberated  by 
the  President  at  the  request  of  the  Fenians  in  America.  One  of 
the  ablest  and  noblest  of  this  band  wlxs  John  Boyle  O'Reilly,  the 
poet,  whose  songs  and  whose  life  have  endeared  him  to  every  warm 
American  heart. 

The  Fenians,  to  mise  money,  issued  bonds  to  be  redeemed  by 
the  future  Irish  Republic,  of  which  the  following  is  a  H[Tecimen  :  — 


1  ^ 

]^ 

HAKF. 

««D„™0 

■  LIBKHTV 

1  SHAMROCK. 

e  e«(«Wi»/.'» 

,,1  .,/ 

T  H  E 

IRISH 

R  K  r  I 

IS  Lie. 

Re-leei, 

i'.(e  h'j-     - 

- 



Board  of 

1 



-  -   - 

—  — 

Fiuanee. 

1  SUNBUHST. 

Obscurity  envelops  the  origin  of  the  word,  Fenian,  just  as 
obscurity  now  enwraps  the  operations  of  the  society.  Irish  tradi- 
tion says  that  the  Fenians  were  an  ancient  militia  employed  on 


696 


THE  STORT  OF  GOVERKMENT. 


home  service  for  protecting  the  coasts  from  inyasion.  Each  of 
the  four  provinces  had  its  band,  that  of  Leinster,  to  which  Fionn 
and  his  family  belonged,  being  at  the  head  of  the  others.  This 
Fionn  is  the  Fingal  of  MacPherson,  and  the  leaders  of  the  move- 
ment, no  doubt,  saw  an  advantage  in  connecting  their  party  with 
the  historic  and  traditionary  glories  of  Ireland. 

Many  curious  documents  and  songs,  some  replete  with  grim 
humor,  come  to  light  from  time  to  time  concerning  Fenianism, 
of  which  oddities  —  or  odd  ditties  —  the  following  extracts  from 
the  Patriotic  Litany  of  Saint  Lawrence  O' Toole,  published  for 
the  use  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood,  may  suffice  as  a  specimen. 
This  litany  was  actually  sung  in  recitative  by  some  of  the  brother- 
hoods, and  the  effect  was  unique. 

Call  to  thine  aidj  0  most  liherty'loving  (fToole^  those  Christian 
auxiliaries  of  power  and  glory — the  soul-inspiring  cannon^  the  meek 
and  faithful  musket^  the  pious  riJU^  and  the  cofi^cience-examining 
pikej  tohichy  tempered  by  a  martyr*s  faithj  a  Fenian^s  hope^  and  a 
rebeTs  charity^  will  triumph  over  the  devil^  and  restore  to  us  our  own 
in  our  own  land  forever.    Amen. 

O*  Toole  hear  us. 

From  Fhiglish  civilization^ 

From  Jiritish  luw  and  order^ 

From  Anglo-Saxon  cant  and  free- 
dom^ 

From  the  hest  of  the  English 
queen  ^ 

From  rule  Britannia^ 

From  the  cloven  hoof 

From  the  necessity  of  annual  re- 
bellion^ 

From  billeted  soldiery^ 

From  a  pious  church  establish- 
ment^ 

From  the  slavery  of  praying  for 
crowned  heads^ 

From  royal  afiniversariesj 

From  mock  trials^ 

From  all  other  things  purely 
Fnglish^ 


r 


O^  Toole  deliver  xis  ! 


Fenianism  the  salvation  of  our  race! 

Record  it  above^  (JC  Toole. 


Fenianism  to  be  stamped  out  like  the  cattle  plague  / 

We  will  prove  them  fcUseprophetSy  O^  Toole. 


GOVERNMENT   AMONG   SECRET   OBDEB8.  697 

Jreland  reduced  to  obedience,  "1 

Ireland  loi/ul  to  the  crwen,  . 

IreUtnd  pacified  with  coi'ceammia,    \  Jf^  ^s  a 

Ireland    to '  recruit    the    Uritiah  f  f'tlsehood, 

army,  -y'^""^- 
Ireland  not  united  in  effort,             J 

Ireland  neoer  again  to  be  dragged  at  the  tail  of  any  other  nation! 
Proclaim  it  on  high,  0' Toole. 

The  term  Tammany  was  first  applied  to  the  Columbiaa  order, 
an  association  for  fi-ateriial  and  political  purposes  in  New  York 
City  which  took  form  in  the  year  1789,  and  which,  when  incor- 
porated in  the  year  1805,  assumed  the  ailditional  appellation, 
Tammany,  and  also  gave  this  odd  name  to  the  place  of  meeting 
which  was  owned  or  leased  by  the  society.  In  thia  Tammany 
Hall  the  regular  Democratic  organization  of  the  city  and  county 
of  New  York  assembled  up  to  the  year  1879.  Thus  the  name 
Tammany  gi-ew  to  be  applied  as  a  rule  to  the  political  organiza- 
tion which  met  in  Tammany  Hall  whether  it  was  the  regular 
Democratic  organization  or  not. 

This  would  seem  to  prove  that  nowadays  there  may  be  much 
in  a  name,  for  this  name  has  been  applied  indiscriminately  for 
eighty  yeare.  First  freely  used  for  a  secret  benevolent  society, 
next  given  to  the  regular  political  city  and  county  organization  of 
a  national  party  assembling  in  the  hall  of  that  society,  and  in  its 
third  and  last  evolution  of  meaning,  the  title,  Tamniiiny,  has  come 
to  be  attached  especially  to  the  Democratic  faction  which  assembles 
in  Tammany  Hall,  and  which  is  sometimes  regular  and  sometimes 
refractory  or  boltish. 

Not  for  forty  j-ears  has  Tammany  commanded  the  unquestioned 
allegiance  of  the  votere  of  the  Democratic  party,  but  has  played 
the  part,  if  not  of  dog-in-the-raanger,  at  least  of  a  most  deter- 
mined growler  on  several  occasions.  One  of  it«  most  striking 
characteristics  is  that  it  has  preserved  to  a  large  extent  the 
features  of  a  secret  society  and  applied  them  to  a  political  action. 
Most  of  its  councils  are  confidential,  and  its  leaders  have  worked 
for  the  success  of  the  society  first,  as  a  rule,  and  for  the  Demo- 
cratic party  second.  They  claim,  however,  that  the  success  of 
the  Democratic  party  and  the  society  are  identical,  although  Tam- 


C— IT- 


698  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

many  in  its  present  stage  of  development  lias  been  described,  even 
by  Democrats,  as  "a  well-disciplined  body  of  predatory  jwliti- 
cians." 

The  history  of  Tammany  for  the  last  fifty  or  sixty  years,  as  it 
looks  to  an  outsider,  lias  been  the  record  of  an  organization  sliar- 
ing  the  principles  of  a  National  party,  but  bent  first  and  fore- 
most on  controlling  the  government  of  the  city  in  which  it  exists. 
Or,  in  plainer  words,  it  has  been  a  highly  successful  scheme  to 
govern  a  huge,  overgrown,  unwieldy  city  by  organizing  its  pur- 
chasable vote,  by  confining  in  one  black-magic  circle  of  self- 
interest  the  day-lal)orer  who  desires  steady  employment  on  the 
public  roads,  and  the  learned  lawyer  solicitous  for  a  judgeship  of 
$15,000  a  year,  with  its  additional  refereeships  and  wide  influ- 
ence. Tammany  keeps  an  eye  wide  open  for  smart  young  law- 
yers likely  to  become  disting^shed  at  the  bar,  and  throws  its  coils 
around  them. 

The  early  history  of  Tammany  is  exceedingly  curious,  and  f  ur^ 
nishes  a  suggestive  contrast  with  its  later  political  performances. 
It  seems  that  there  was  an  obscure  Indian  chief  called  Tan;- 
mamend,  who  signed  his  mark  to  one  of  the  treaties  with  William 
Penn  concerning  the  lands  of  the  Delawares.  An  attempt  was 
made  at  one  time  to  connect  this  legendary  gentleman  with  an 
equally  obscure  Saint  Tammany,  whose  festival  on  the  12th  of 
May  came  in  the  closing  days  of  the  Revolution  to  replace  Saint 
George's  day. 

After  William  Mooney  had  organized  the  Columbian  order 
with  its  thiiteen  tribes,  its  twelve  sacheuLS  or  directors,  its  saga- 
more or  master  of  ceremonies,  and  its  wiskinski  or  door-keeper, 
the  secondary  name  of  Tammany  society  was  adopted,  and  in  the 
processions  of  the  day  its  members  wore  the  garb  of  Indians.  In 
1790  they  even  entertained  an  embassy  from  the  Creek  Nation, 
going  about  for  several  days  together  in  Indian  costume,  a  compli- 
ment, no  doubt,  highly  relished  by  those  sagacious  savages. 

In  reports  of  these  meetings  nowadays  the  New  York  papers 
still  use  the  odd,  old  Indian  phraseology  referring  to  ''the  season 
of  flowers,  council  fires,  and  great  wigwams, "  just  as  they  were 
used  in  the  days  of  Washington.  But  Time,  that  grotesque 
alchemist,  that  mocking  transmuter  of  fine  things  into  base,  of 


OOVKKNllENT    AMONG    SECItET    UKDEK8.  699 

gold  into  bniss,  Ims  changed  the  great  siwiliem  of  Tammany  into 
a  mere  political  boss,  and  the  chief  busineas  of  its  present 
Tiskinski,  vho  once  gathered  at  the  door  the  dollats  of  the 
&ithful,  has  become  simply  the  prompt  collection  of  political 


THE    PKESEKT   CHIEF    C 


assessments   levied  on  Taniniiiny  office-holders  to  perpetuate  the 
power  of  the  machine  in  New  York  City. 

But  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  its  power  has  been  confined 
to  local  politics.  Since  its  beginning  it  has  played  no  small 
part  in  national  affairs.  Its  strong  grip  on  the  country  at  large 
was  demonstrated  in  1801,  and  the  result  of  its  local  success  at 
the  polls  was  the  cause,  the  following  winter,  of  the  nomination 
of  Aaron  Burr  as  vice-president  in  the  congressional  caucus  at 
Washington  on  the  strength  of  Tammany's  victory,  and  from  that 


700  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

day  to  this  there  have  been  very  few  national  elections  in  which 
the  power  of  Tammany  has  not  been  manifested. 

It  would,  however,  tire  the  general  reader  to  pursue  step  by 
step  the  political  growth  of  this  faction,  for  its  intricate  relations 
with  New  York  politics  have  sometimes  been  a  puzzle  even  to 
special  students.  Yet  a  few  things  should  be  noted  as  indicative 
of  its  power.  Just  as  a  man's  strength  of  character  is  sometimes 
to  be  measured  not  so  much  by  his  successes  as  by  his  recovery 
from  defeats  and  his  attitude  of  mind  in  adversity,  so  the  strength 
of  an  organization  may  be  estimated  at  times  by  its  setbacks. 
Tammany  has  survived  several.  Chief  of  these  was  its  connec- 
tion with  the  Tweed  ring,  which  connection  and  the  loss  of 
power,  after  the  plunder  of  the  Tweed  ring  was  stopped,  are 
things  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  It  shows  the  inherent 
power  of  organization  that,  even  in  spite  of  some  severe  defeats  in 
recent  times,  Tammany  has  regained  and  still  retains  its  potency 
in  New  York  politics,  and  is  to-day  perhaps  stronger  than  ever, 
having  a  leader  in  Richard  Croker  far  the  superior  of  Tweed  in 
ability  to  manipulate  men,  and  the  equal,  if  not  the  superior,  of 
John  Kelly  in  honesty. 

The  Tammany  legend  to  which  we  have  referred  has  been 
hinted  at  by  New  York  paj^ers  but  hjis  never,  so  far  as  we  know, 
been  fully  presented  since  the  year  1795,  when  S.  L.  Mitchill, 
Professor  of  chemistry,  natural  history,  and  agriculture  in  the 
College  of  New  York,  delivered  an  oration  before  the  Columbian 
order  on  the  life,  exploits,  and  precepts  of  Tammany,  the  famous 
Indian  chief.  This  oration  is  so  curious  that  the  reader  will 
thank  us  for  reproducing  the  substance  of  it,  and  in  some  places 
the  exact  language. 

The  Professor  begins  with  the  solemn  adjuration :  "  Brothei-s, 
possess  your  minds  I  Peace!"  After  an  allusion  to  the  council 
fire  and  the  women  and  children  present,  and  after  stating  that 
certain  archaeological  monuments,  found  west  of  the  AUeghanies 
and  northward  from  the  Ohio  River,  are  silent  witnesses  of  the 
hero,  Tammany,  and  his  people.  Professor  Mitchill  plunges  into 
a  description  of  various  battles  or  rather  hand-to-hand  duels 
which  the  great  Indian  chief  had  with  Hobbamock,  the  Evil 
Spirit,  or  in  plain  American,  the  Devil  himself. 


GOVERNMENT   AMONG    SECKKT   OltDERR.  TUl 

According  to  this  New  York  historian  the  Devil  wns  much 
troubled  at  the  prosperity  whicli  the  people  were  enjoying  under 
the  rule  o£  Tamnuiny,  and  so  in  their  pastures  His  Satanic  Majesty 
secretly  planted  poison-Bumaclis  and  stinging  nettles  which, 
niwpringing  in  profusion,  gave  the  people  no  end  of  trouble. 
Tammany,  jifter  studying  the  situation,  and  afu^r  cutting  down 
the  trees,  and  uprooting  the  nettles,  only  to  find  that  they  grew 
all  the  faster,  discovered  that  the  soil  was  of  such  a  peculiar 
character  that  he  could  set  fire  to  it. 

In  doing  this  Tammany  not  only  reduced  the  sumachs  and  net- 
tles from  a  multitudinous  majority  among  the  flora  to  an  easily 
endured  minority;  but,  in  the  conflagration  of  the  pastures,  the 
Arch  Fiend,  who  happened  to  be  skulking  about,  gloating  over 
his  evil  woik,  got  sorely  singed  by  the  flames.  In  revenge  for 
this  roasting  Hohbamock  invented  the  rattle-snake,  and  sent 
innumerable  specimens  of  his  invention  into  the  realm  of  Tam- 
many; but  the  clever  chief  not  only  showed  his  people  how  to 
make  life  unpleasant  for  the  rattle-snake  by  sowing  the  seeds  of 
the  ash  tree,  but  discovered  also  the  virtues  of  seneca  root  and 
the  use  of  plantain  leaves  for  his  people  to  apply  to  the  snake- 
bites. 

Old  Nick,  however,  was  full  of  schemes  and  showed  a  patience 
and  fertility  of  invention  worthy  of  a  lietter  cause,  suggesting  the 
idea  that  if  the  Devil  could  have  been,  or  could  he,  refonned  by 
Tammany  what  a  valuable  citizen  be  might  become.  His  next 
move,  says  our  Professor  of  natural  history,  was  to  send  alarming 
droves  of  mammoths  from  the  other  side  of  Lake  Superior,  which 
ferocious  animals,  when  turned  loose  on  the  Tammanial  territory, 
did  incredible  mischief. 

Their  hides,  like  those  of  modern  politicians,  were  so  thick 
that  the  light  arrows  of  the  followers  of  Tammany  rattled  off  them 
like  hailstones  from  a  tin  roof,  and  Tammany  was  put  to  his  wits' 
end  to  discover  a  way  of  ridding  his  people  of  these  peste. 

Tammany  had  noticed,  however,  in  the  days  when,  like  the 
eloquent  Professor,  he  had  studied  natural  history,  that  animals 
were  fond  of  salt ;  so  he  sent  to  the  ocean  and  got  a  large  quan- 
tity of  it.  Digging  some  deep  pits,  he  set  firmly  at  the  bottom 
of  these  pits  an  array  of  tough  speats,  covered  the  holes  with 


702  THB  8TOKY  OF  GOVEBNMENT. 

a  light  network  of  interlaced  saplings  and  turf,  to  imitate  solid 
ground,  and  then  sprinkled  his  huge  traps  all  over  with  heaps  of 
salt. 

The  mammoths  soon  got  wind  of  this  salt,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  they  had  found  their  earthly  paradise.  They 
made  an  indiscriminate  rush  for  the  salt  beds,  crashed  through  the 
light  flooring,  fell  into  the  pits,  and  were  by  their  own  weight 
spitted  on  the  solid  spears  waiting  to  receive  them.  "Then," 
adds  the  Professor,  "the  country  was  cleared  of  these  monsters 
whose  bones,  discovered  to  this  day  at  the  Licks,  confirm  the  reality 
of  the  story." 

Satan  now  tried  to  drown  Tammany  and  his  tribe  by  a  flood, 
and  to  do  this  he  cunningly  raised  a  dam  of  rock  above  Ontario, 
and  caused  the  rise  of  Lake  Erie ;  he  made  another  dam  above 
Detroit,  confining  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  and  presently  the 
country  to  the  south  began  to  be  inundated.  Tammany,  learning 
of  this  plot  in  time,  opened  the  drains  or  courses  in  which  the 
Alleghany,  Miamis,  and  Wabash  Rivers  now  run,  cut  the  ditch 
which  forms  the  channel  of  the  Ohio  through  a  bed  of  solid  lime- 
stone, and  thus,  giving  an  easy  vent  to  the  dangerous  body  of 
waters  impending,  turned  an  imminent  colossal  calamity  into  a 
broad  and  brilliant  blessing;  for  which  fine  example  of  mechanical 
engineering  he  was  rightly  hailed  as  the  saviour  of  his  country. 
"The  lakes,"  remarks  the  profound  college  Professor,  "subsided, 
but  the  rapids  of  Detroit  and  Niagara  remain  to  this  day  —  monu- 
ments to  the  astonishing  event  I  " 

But  the  Enemy  of  souls,  though  baffled,  was  not  beaten.  Soon 
after  he  managed  to  stir  up  the  red  men  of  the  east  and  north,  and 
they  descended  in  great  numbers  on  the  land  of  the  peaceful  Tam- 
many and  his  people.  Yet,  though  fond  of  peace,  Tammany  was 
always  ready  for  war,  and  with  his  devoted  army  he  defeated  the 
invadei-s  and  took  a  multitude  of  their  best  men  prisoners.  To 
be  taken  prisoner  among  the  Indians  then  wjis  accounted  very  dis- 
graceful, and  the  captives  not  only  expected  but  hoped  for  a  sud- 
den execution. 

Tammany,  however,  did  not  torture  them  as  was  their  custom, 
nor  allow  his  people  to  insult  tliem  in  any  way,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, after  keeping  them  in  quiet  seclusion  for  a  while    began  to 


GOVEHNMENT    AMONG    BECKET   ORDERS.  703 

treat  them  as  though  they  were  honored  guesta,  invited  them  to 
live  among  his  people,  and  so  conciliated  them  that  they  became 
stanch  admirers  of  his  policy  and,  when  offered  their  entire 
freedom,  some  of  them  staid,  and  others  went  home  and  brought 
back  their  wives  and  children,  to  live  under  the  benign  influence 
of  Tammany. 

The  Devil  now  decided  that  the  only  way  to  conquer  the  gentle 
savage  was  to  take  him  off  his  guard  and  kill  him  personally, 
after  which  perliaps  it  would  be  easy  to  get  the  best  of  his 
people.  " Herein,"  suggests  the  Professor,  "the  Devil's  meanness 
was  amply  demonstrated,  for,  instead  of  sending  an  open  chal- 
lenge to  Tammany,  he  hid  in  a  buah  to  waj'hiy  him,  but  by  the 
peculiar  smell  which  evil  spirits  emit,  Tammany,  coming  along, 
knew  him  at  once,  and  when  he  sprang  out  was  ]-eady  to  grasp 
him." 

A  terrible  tussle  it  wiis,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  sort  of 
Grseco-Iionian-Anierican-  Ind  ian-Ne  w- York-Ward-poli  tician-up-and- 
down  wrestle,  since,  accoi-ding  to  the  historian,  "for  more  than  a 
le^ue  the  ti-eea  and  bushes  were  smashed  up,  and  the  contest 
lasted  for  fifty  days,  until  Tammany,  by  a  hiplock,  threw  the 
Devil  head  and  shouklei-s  to  the  ground,  and  then  tried  to  roll 
him  along,  intending  to  di-own  liim  in  the  Ohio  Kiver;  but  a 
huge  rock  stood  in  the  way,  and  Tammany  was  so  tired  with  his 
tremendous  exeitions  that  he  could  not  roll  the  Devil  round  the 
rock." 

Relaxing  his  arm  grip  on  the  hips,  the  chief  took  Lucifer  by  the 
throat,  but  liis  wrists  and  thumb  had  been  so  weakened  that  he 
could  not  stop  the  enemy's  weasand,  and  with  a  few  wriggles  the 
Devil  slipped  through  his  fingera.  Tammany  shouted  after  him, 
however,  as  he  sneaked  away  that  he  had  better  confine  himself 
to  the  cold  regions  of  Labrador  and  Hudson's  Bay,  and  not  be 
caught  showing  his  face  again  on  this  side  of  the  "  Many  Waters  " 
or  Great  Lakes. 

After  this  more  than  Homeric  battle  the  Indian  hero  and 
statesman  turned  his  attention  to  the  arts  of  peace.  He  was  very 
fond  of  watching  tlie  habits  of  animals  in  order  to  get  hints  from 
them  for  the  improvement  of  his  followers,  and  in  his  rambles 
he  noticed  a  plant  much  prized  by  the  crows  and  raccoons  which 


704  THE  sTOEr  or  government. 

grew  rather  abundantly  in  some  places,  bearing  a  silken  tassel, 
and  with  yellowish  seeds. 

Taking  some  of  the  seeds  of  this  wild  plant  he  put  them  in 
richer  soil,  cultivated  them  carefully,  and  in  this  way  produced 
com,  wluch  he  taught  his  people  to  roast,  grind,  and  make  up 
into  bread,  but  not,  so  far  as  history  goes,  to  convert  into 
whiskey.  Tammany  also  discovered  how  to  improve  to  a  high 
degree  of  excellence  wild  pulse,  or  beans,  "thus  annexing,"  says 
the  Professor,  "another  ingredient  to  his  bill  of  fare"  and 
"thus,"  a  modem  humorist  might  be  tempted  to  add,  "probably 
anticipating  the  glory  of  Boston." 

Tobacco,  according  to  Professor  Mitchill,  was  another  of  the 
discoveries  of  Tammany,  who  did  not  recommend  his  followers  to 
use  it  in  the  modem  method,  but  to  prepare  an  infusion  of  it  for 
the  dispersion  of  fleas,  and  to  smoke  it  occasionally  as  a  deterrent 
to  mosquitoes.  The  wild  plum,  mandrake,  and  onion  Tammany 
also  civilized ;  the  crab  tree,  by  his  careful  attention,  was  per- 
suaded into  bearing  apples,  and  he  also  improved  the  canoes,  and 
bows,  and  arrows  of  his  people. 

In  all  his  endeavors  to  ameliorate  and  beautify  human  life  his 
daughters  assiduously  helped  him,  and  were  rewarded  with  a 
sweet  success,  for,  in  the  language  of  Mitchill,  "The  wild  lilies 
quitted  their  abode  in  the  valleys,  and  the  roses  forsook  their 
habitations  on  the  hills  for  the  pleasui'e  of  being  tended  by  these 
lovely  damsels,  and  of  occasionally  furnishing  a  nosegay  for  their 
bosoms  and  a  garland  for  their  temples." 

But  the  sujireme  tmit  of  Tammany's  character  was  that  he  was 
gentle;  even  improvements  he  never- tried  to  force  upon  his  peo- 
ple, but  simply  suggested  them,  as  it  were,  for  he  "disdained 
usurpation,  and  would  sooner  have  been  bound,  loaded  with 
weights,  and  cast  headlong  into  the  lake  than  attempt  any  inva- 
sion of  the  people's  rights."  In  this  respect  what  a  remarkable 
resemblance  he  beai*s  to  the  Tammany  of  to-day  I 

Alxjut  this  time  a  deputation  came  to  him  from  Manco  Capac, 
the  famous  original  Inca  of  Peru,  asking  Tammany  to  meet  him 
half  way  in  the  neighlx)rliood  of  the  city  of  Mexico  to  take  measures 
for  the  improvement  of  the  world.  Tammany  wanted  to  meet  the 
Inca,  yet  did  not  wish  to  go  unless  it  was  the  desire  of  liis  people. 


GOVEltNMKNT    AMONG    SECKBT    ORDKKS. 


705 


and  so  at  fii-st  lie  refuserl  tlie  invitation,  but  the  jieople  coming 
together  Bpontaaeously  to  a  huge  council  fire,  urged  their  great 
leader  to  leave  them  and  confer  with  t^e  "Illustrious  Siichem  of 
the  Andes." 

Before  departing,  however,  Tammany  divided  Jiis  people  into 
thirteen  tribes,  giving  to  each  a  symbol  and  a  sermon  of  specially 
valuable  advice  connected  with  that  symbol.  The  symbols  were 
to  be  the  special  belong- 
ing of  each  tribe,  but  tlie 
advice  was  to  be  their 
general  property.  It  is 
notewortliy  in  this  con- 
nection that  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Tammany 
society  of  moiit-rn  d;vy 
this  division 
into  thirteen 
tribes  was  re- 
ligiously ad- 
hered to,  for 
the  addition- 
al reason,  it 
is  said,  that 
there  were 
originally 
thirteen  states 
composing 
the  American 

Union.    At  >iKEri\u  .>f  tammasy  and  MANL1>  CIPAC. 

any  rate,  this 

is  one  of  the  curious  coincidences  of  histoiy,  and  should  for- 
ever disprove  the  absurd  superstition  that  there  is  any  ill  luck 
connected  with  the  number  thirteen. 

"Children of  the  First  trihe,"saidTammany,  "let the  Eagle  l)e 
your  model !  Learn  from  him  to  devote  your  mind  to  lofty  objects, 
and  never  be  caught  sleeping  in  the  sun.  As  he  rises  on  the  winds 
of  morning  far  above  the  mountain  peaks  where  he  builds  his  eyry, 
so  you  should  rise  superior  to  the  fogs  of  prejudice  and  passion. 


706  THE  STORY  OF  GOVEBNMBNT. 

^The  symbol  of  the  Second  tribe  is  the  Tiger,  who  affords  a 
useful  lesson  to  you  by  his  extraordinary  agility  when  roused  to 
action,  and  by  his  power  of  seeing,  when  all  light  is  withdrawn  save 
.that  of  the  stars,  — in  short,  by  his  discrimination  in  the  dark. 

**  The  symbol  of  the  Third  tribe  is  the  Deer,  from  whom  you 
should  learn  to  avoid  difficulties  and  dangers,  and  to  escape  grace- 
fully from  the  toils  of  those  who  would  entrap  you. 

"Of  the  Fourth  tribe  let  the  symbol  be  the  Wolf!  Notice  his 
wide  nostrils  which  catch  every  atom  that  floats  on  the  air  invisi- 
ble as  the  air  itself.  As  is  the  vigilance  of  the  wolf,  so  should 
be  the  vigilance  of  the  myrmidons  of  Tammany.  They  should 
be  the  first  to  rouse  and  turn  their  heads  to  snuff  oppression  in 
every  tainted  breeze. 

"You  of  the  Fifth  tribe,  my  children,  are  to  take  useful  hints 
from  the  Buffalo;  though  strong,  he  likes  the  company  of  his 
kind.  From  him  comes  this  message :  ^Operate  in  concert;  stand 
together  and  you  will  be  a  mountain  that  no  one  can  move. 
Fritter  down  your  strength  by  division,  let  wigwam  be  divided 
against  wigwam,  and  you  will  be  an  anthill  which  a  baby  can 
kick  over.' 

"Let  the  symbol  of  the  Sixth  tribe  be  the  Dog,  who  by  his 
affection,  even  when  ill  or  carelessly  treated  by  his  master,  brings 
finally  his  master  to  a  kinder  and  better  way. 

"  Of  the  Seventh  tribe  let  the  symbol  be  the  Beaver,  who  by  his 
industiy  can  build  finn  houses  even  in  running  waters. 

"  Let  the  Eighth  tribe  take  the  SquiiTel,  from  whom  we  can  all 
learn  foresight;  who,  not  satisfied  with  merely  living  in  the 
present,  takes  up  a  collection  against  the  storms  of  winter. 

"For  the  Ninth  tribe  the  symbol  is  the  Fox,  whose  caution  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  always  reconnoitres  before  starting  on 
any  journey,  and  even  when  started  never  goes  headlong,  but 
winds  his  ways  so  as  to  get  sight  or  scent  of  any  possible  ambush. 

"  Let  the  Tenth  tribe  take  the  Tortoise,  that  remarkable  animal, 
one  of  whom,  according  to  ancient  tradition,  supports  on  his  back 
the  world  we  inhabit.  Benevolence  and  moderation  are  charac- 
tsristics  of  the  toiloise.  Sometimes  that  tortoise  who  supports 
the  world  is  disgusted  at  the  conduct  of  its  people.  By  turning 
his  shell  suddenly  he  could  cause  the  waters  to  flow  over  the  land 


GOVERNMENT   AMONQ   SECltET   ORDERS.  707 

in  floods,  but  snch  is  his  Ixiiievolence  generally,  that  he  only 
shnkea  his  whell  a  little,  thus  (pausing  a  few  earthfjuakes,  to 
admonish  mankind  of  their  evil  deeds.  The  result  of  his  modera- 
tion and  temperance  is  such  that  his  vital  power  is  distributed 
almost  equally  nil  over  his  body  and  throughotit  his  shell,  so  that 
on  account  of  this  distribution  of  vital  force  he  is  difficult  to 
kill. 

"Of  the  Eleventh  tribe  the  symbol  is  the  Eel,  a  creature  of 
gentleness  and  grace,  who  slips  through  life  in  silence,  and 
teaches  us  to  eschew  unnecessary  noise.  Though  cast  an  orphan 
on  creation,  knowing  neither  his  parents  nor  bis  origin,  by  his 
gentleness  and  his  co-operativeness  he  makes  life  a  valuable 
thing. 

"  Let  the  Twelfth  tribe  take  the  Bear  who  leads  a  life  of  patient 
endurance,  sleeping  calmly  through  the  adversities  of  winter, 
confident  of  the  return  of  spring. 

"The  model  of  the  Thirteenth  tribe  shall  be  the  Bee,  whose  life 
famishes  a  lesson  of  or<Ier,  economy,  and  discipline  which  con- 
duces to  the  general  good.  Nor  this  alone,  for  we  find  in  the 
world  the  bees'  maxim  pretty  well  established  and  illustrated, 
'that  be  who  works  not  shall  have  nothing  to  eat. '  Learn  also,  as 
the  bee  exti-acts  honey  fmm  faded  flowers,  to  have  that  alchemy 
of  mind  which  can  transmute  troubles  into  triumphs," 

Having  delivered  to  his  people  this  singularly  sensible  sermon, 
Tammany  departed  southwai-d  to  have  hia  interview  with  Manco 
Capac.  For  this  celebrated  Peruvian  Tammany  drew  the  outlines 
of  that  happy  government  of  Peru  which  the  reader  has  found 
described  in  the  eighth  chapter,  and  which  the  eloquent  orator 
and  historian  of  1795  thinks  would  have  been  flourishing  to-day, 
had  it  not  been  for  "tlie  cui-sOd  enterprise  of  Pizarro."  Accord- 
ing to  Professor  Mitchill,  Tammany  also  mapped  out  a  plan  to 
civilize  the  Aztecs  of  Mexico,  which  plan  in  the  course  of  time 
would  unquestionably  have  succeeded,  had  it  not  been  overthrown 
by  what  Professor  Mitchill  styles  "the  hellish  crusade  of 
Cortez." 

Tammany  then  returned  to  find  that  the  Devil  during  his 
absence  had  been  doing  much  mischief  in  the  Tammanial  terri- 
tory ;  had  intercepted  the  comses  of  the  rivers  and  turned  them 


708  THE  STORY  OF  OOVEBNMSNT. 

in  some  places  into  pestiferous  swamps  whose  miasma  had  pro- 
duced fever  and  sickness  among  the  people.  Finding  that  in 
many  ways  they  were  sick  or  were  going  to  the  dogs,  Tammany 
at  once  treated  them  with  Peruvian  bark,  a  medicine  which  he 
had  received  from  the  Incas,  and  when  his  supply  of  Peruvian 
bark  gave  out  he  tried  as  a  substitute  the  bark  of  the  dogwood  or 
tulip  tree;  and  another  disease  rather  worse  than  swamp  fever 
Tammany  succeeded  in  mitigating  by  discovering  the  medicinal 
properties  of  the  lobelia. 

But  at  last  this  royal  benefactor  died  and  to  him  was  given 
by  a  grateful  people  a  most  royal  burial  place.  This  place  curious 
antiquarians  have  detected;  he  lies  interred  within  the  great 
Indian  mound  and  foi*t  of  Muskingum,  a  monument  second  to 
nothing  in  symmetry  and  impressive  solemnity  except  the  Cheops 
pyramid  of  Egypt,  which  is  the  tomb,  not  of  a  great  benefactor, 
but  of  a  great  oppressor  of  mankind.  Singular  contrast  between 
Africa  and  America,  between  Pharaoh  and  Tammany! 

The  Professor  then  concludes  his  oration  with  this  burst  of 
eighteenth  centuiy  eloquence :  "  You  may  consider  the  talk  you 
have  now  heard  as  an  effort  to  rescue  a  curious  portion  of  un- 
written history  from  oblivion.  Tlie  Eastern  world  has  long  boiisted 
of  the  superiority  of  its  people,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Western 
Continent  have  been  spoken  of  as  a  feeble  or  degraded  race  of  men. 
Let  Asia  extol  her  Zamolxis,  Confucius,  and  Zoroaster;  let 
Africa  be  proud  of  her  Dido,  Ptolemy,  and  Bai-barossa;  let  Europe 
applaud  her  numberless  worthies,  who  from  Romulus  to  Charle- 
magne and  from  Charlemagne  down  to  tlie  present  day  have  founded, 
conquered,  inherited,  or  governed  states,  but  where,  among  them 
all,  will  you  find  coercion  so  tempered  by  gentleness,  influence 
so  co-operative  with  legal  authority,  and  speculation  so  happily 
connected  with  practice,  as  in  the  institutions  of  Tammany  f 

"  Avaunt  then,  ye  boastei*s !  Cease,  too,  your  prating  about  your 
Saint  Patrick,  Saint  George,  and  Saint  Louis,  and  be  silent  con- 
cerning your  Saint  Andrew  and  Saint  David.  Tammany,  though 
no  saint,  was,  you  see,  as  valorous,  inti-epid,  and  heroic  as  the  best 
of  them,  and  besides  that  did  a  thousand  times  more  good  Let 
us  then  imitate  Tammany;  let  us  get  his  precepts  by  heart;  let 
us,  like  him,  wage  perpetual  war  against  the  Evil  Spirit." 


GOVEKHMENT   AAIOMU   SECRET   0RDEB3. 


709 


From  fantasies  to  figures  ia  almost  like  a  plunge  from  the 
eablime  to  the  ridiculous,  but  violent  contrasts  are  sometimes 
very  profitable  to  impress  the  mind  with  the  full  extent  of  a  mis- 
chief or  diinger.  An  examination,  therefore,  of  the  following 
statistics  will  convince  the  casual  reader  that  the  followers  o£ 
Tajimiany  have  followed  the  closing  advice  given  by  Professor 
Mitchill  nearly  a  luindred  years,  hy  "  waging  so  j'-rpetual  and  suc- 
cessful a  war  against  the  Evil  Spirit"  that  they  have  gotten  under 
their  control  a  lai^e  amount  of  that  yellow  stuff  which  is  called 
the  root  of  all  evil. 

Tammany  Hall  monopolizes  all  the  best  offices  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  the  society  entered  the  year  1892  with  a  longer 
pay-roll  than  ever  before.      It  is  as  follows:  — 

Tbos.  C.  T.  Grain,  Chamberlain »25,000 

Wm.  H.  Claek,  Corporation  Counsel 1*2,000 

David  J.  Deam,  Assistant  Corporation  Counsel       ....        10,000 

Hugh  J.  Geant,  Mayor 10,000 

Thko.  W.  Mtebs,  Comptroller 10,000 

Of  the  subordinate  officials  we  need  not  give  the  names ;  the 
salaries  are  sufficient. 


7,500 
1.000 
6,000 
5,000 


,  2,750 

,  2,700 

,  2,600 

,  2,500 

,  $.4W 

,  2,300 

,  2,250 


24,000 
135,000 
4,000 
26,600 
22,500 
80,000 
84,000 


51,750 
11,000 
31,500 


256  at  $2,000 (512,000 


1,S80 

1,980 

1,000 

7,600 

1,850 

11,100 

1,800 

225,000 

1,750 

3,500 

1,700 

18,700 

1,680 

5,040 

1,000 

14,400 

1,550 

3,100 

1,500 

376,500 

1,400 

212,800 

1,380 

4,140 

1,350 

6,750 

1,300 

241,800 

1,260 

2,520 

1,250 

33,750 

1,248 

1,248 

1,200 

4,116,000 

1,150 

10,350 

1,110 

679,800 

1,080 

21,600 

l,0GO 

6,300 

no 


THE  STORY  OF  GOVEKNMBNT. 


566  at 

22 

167 

1 

2 

7 

1 

40 

20 

4 

3o 

52 

20 

4 

6 

73 

31 

26 

53 

13 

17 

1 

05 

25 

5 

304 

1 

31 

5 

2 

230 

10 

170 

2 

1 

$1,000 $566,000 

050 20,000 

000 150,300 

880 880 

850 1,700 

840 5,880 

820 820 

800 30,200 

780 15,000 

760 3,040 

750 26,250 

720 37.440 

700 10,600 

660 2,040 

650 8,000 

600 43,800 

572 17,732 

540 14,040 

500 26,500 

480 6,240 

450 7,050 

430 436 

420 27,300 

400 10,000 

364 1,820 

360 100,440 

348 348 

300 0,300 

2(54 1,320 

252 504 

240 65,200 

228 2,280 

216 38,004 

225 450 

200 200 


57  at  $102 $10,944 

80  „   180 16,020 

23  „   168 3,864 

77  „   144 11,088 

120  „   120 15,480 

5  „    06 480 

5  „    72 360 

22  „    60 1,320 

1  „    20 20 

20  laborers  at  5  a  day,  250  days 
a  year  (estimated)  .  .  .    25,000 
17  laborers  at  4.50  a  day,  250 

days  a  year 10,125 

103  laborers  at  4  a  day,  250  days 

a  year 103,000 

110  laborers  at  3.50  a  day,  250 

days  a  year 104,125 

235  laborers  at  3  a  day,  250  days 

a  year 176,250 

243  laborers  at  2.50  a  day,  250 

days  a  year 301,500 

85  laborers  at  50  cents  an  hour, 
0  hours  a  day,  250  days  (esti- 
mated)          30,375 

38  laborers  at  30  ccntit  an  hour, 

0  hoiii*s  a  day,  250  days    .         33,345 
43  laborers  at  35  cents  an  hour, 
0  hours  a  day,  250  days    .         33,802 
405  laborers  at  25  cents  an  hour, 

0  hours  a  d.iy,  250  days    .       227,812 

0  laborers  at  10  cents  an  hour, 

0  hours  a  day      ....  3,240 

Total $10,123,887 


This  table  is  compiled  from  the  Official  Record^  which  gives  the 
names  and  salary  of  every  employee  under  the  Tammany  city  gov- 
ernment. As  between  two  and  three  per  cent,  of  all  salaries  are 
collected  by  Tammany  for  political  purposes,  the  campaign  fund 
this  year  must  be  at  least  $250,000,  exclusive  of  the  special  assess- 
ments levied  upon  those  seeking  nominations  for  office. 

Go  into  the  "Wigwam"  — Tammany  Hall  —  any  afternoon  at 
three  o'cdock,  and  you  will  find  seated  behind  a  great  flat  topped 
desk  Richard  Croker,  the  leader  of  the  Tammany  foi-ces.  Under 
his  guidance  and  tutelage  Tammany  has  been  more  successful 


-^- 


I'S.K'U  'W.k^YS. 


V  l.Vi.'UU'&MM  '^LWVS.V 


(JOVEUNMKXT   AMONG    SECRET    ORDERS.  715 

thftn  at  aiiy  time  Biuce  Tweed's  downfall,  and  hia  fiieiidii  botuit 
that  he  has  never  managed  a  campaign  which  resulted  in  a  defeat. 
The  organization  of  Tammany-  was  cut  out  and  planned  before 
Croker  became  a  leader,  but  he  has  perfected  it  in  such  a  way 
that  to-day  the  composition  and  discipline  of  an  array  is  not  mow 
iiecuratti  or  severe.  While  the  Tammany  leader  occupies  a  pmni- 
inent  position  in  the  community,  and  is  constantly  before  Uie 
public,  the  popular  idea  of  him  and  hia  personality  ia  entirely 
eiToneoua.  I\Ir.  Croker'a  beginning  Wiia  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder. 
He  arose  literally  from  the  ashes,  liaving  been  in  his  early  youth 
tm  engineer  on  the  New  York  Central  Railroad. 

Instead  of  being  a  loud  blatherskite  and  a  man  who  dresses 
flashily,  he  is  precisely  the  opposite.  He  is  quiet  and  reserv'od, 
and  weara  the  plainest  and  severest  black  clothes.  Ho  is  a  strong 
lover  of  home  and,  except  Avhen  a  politiciU  campaign  is  in 
progress,  can  always  be  found  there,  tie  is  short  and  stout, 
wears  a  thick  stubby  black  beard,  and  has  between  his  teeth  at  all 
times  a  cigar.  Under  the  most  trying  circumstances  he  is  calm. 
Croker  used  to  be  city  chamberlain,  but  he  resigned  this  place 
—  the  most  lucrative  in  the  Iwrough  —  and  went  to  Europe  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health.  Young  Crain  was  appointed  to  his  place, 
but  the  general  belief  is  that  Croker  has  yet  an  interest  in  the 
salary. 

There  is  no  doubt  tlmt  he  could  obtain  any  position  he  desires, 
but  he  has  since  his  retirement  fiviin  public  olfice  devoted  himself 
to  the  management  of  the  political  organization  of  which  be  is  tlie 
acknowledged  chief.  Being  tlie  supreme  authority,  quite  natur- 
ally Croker  is  the  head  of  the  Finance  Committee,  and  to  hini 
come  all  the  contributions  levied  upon  office-holders.  For  his 
management  of  the  organization  it  is  a  matter  of  common  talk 
that  he  receives  $15,000  a  year. 

Yet  while  Tammany  is  managed  by  this  one  man,  Richai'd 
Croker,  the  machinery  he  uses  is  complicated  and  interesting. 
First  there  is  the  General  Committee.  Tliis  is  composed  of  the 
active  workers  in  every  voting  district  in  New  York  City.  It 
has  about  four  thousand  members.  Next  in  size  and  importance 
is  the  committee  in  each  election  district,  which  is  called  the  Com- 
mittee  on  Oi^anization.     This  committee  is  composed  of  only 


716  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  leading  or  most  active  men  of  the  General  Committee  of  each 
district. 

The  General  Committee  of  each  district  elect  a  district  leader, 
and  these  leaders,  with  the  «addition  of  Ricliard  Croker,  Boiirke 
Cocknin,  and  Tliomas  F.  Gilroy,  compose  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee. The  routine  is  that  Croker  and  his  chief  lieutenants, 
Cockran,  Gilroy,  Grant,  and  James  F.  Martin  decide  on  what  to 
do.  Croker  tells  the  Executive  Committee,  and  straightway  it 
is  done,  and  woe  to  the  man  who  objects. 

In  other  political  organizations  one  hears  of  unexpected  out- 
breaks at  meetings,  but  not  so  in  Tammany.  A  leader  like 
Croker,  Gilroy,  or  Martin  can  easily  tell  in  the  afternoon  ^vhat 
a  Tammany  meeting  will  do  at  night,  or  how  a  Tammany  Assem- 
bly man  will  vote  next  month.  The  chairman  of  a  Tammany 
committee  becomes  "deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,"  if  a  man  unknown 
to  him  arises  to  oflFer  a  resolution. 

Mr.  Donegan,  an  official  who  draws  a  SI, 200  salary,  collects 
money  for  the  Tammany  organization.  Mr.  Donegan  has  no 
trouble.  The  office-holdei's  undei-stand,  and  the  schedules  are 
fixed.      The  amounts  to  be  contributed  Jire  about  Jis  follows : — 

*1,200  salaries' *2r).00 

1,500       „  80.00 

1,800       „  35.00 

2,000       „  40.00 

2,500       „  50.00 

The  collector  does  not  bother  with  small  fry  who  get  under 
$1,200,  nor  does  he  collect  from  the  big  fellows,  the  heads  of 
departments,  etc.  The  little  fellows  pay  to  the  district  leadera, 
and  the  big  ones  pay  direct.  Judge  Pryor,  for  instance,  drew  his 
check  for  J?! 0,000  to  the  Tammany  chief  last  fall.  Tlie  bankei-s 
and  business  men  who  are  in  sympathy  with  the  organization  are 
attended  to  by  Edward  Kearney,  and  the  gamblers  and  other 
"sports"  by  John  J.  Scannel  and  Al  Adams.  The  contractors 
contribute  direct  and  handsomely,  actuated  either  by  lioj>e  oi 
reward  or  fear  of  punishment.  The  Genei-al  Committee  men  i>ay 
•*?o  a  year,  which  alone  is  820,000.  The  organization  men  pay 
•915  a  year,  which  is  another  $12,000.     Donegan  collects  fully 


GOVERNS[EXT    AMONG    SECRET    ORDERS.  717 

$60,000  a  year,  and  the  old  historic  opponent  of  Tammany  only 
knows  what  Seannel,  Kearney,  and  the  others  turn  in. 

The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  plan  of  organization  on 
■which  Tammany  Hall'a  power  has  been  built  up.  The  unit  of 
oi;ifanization  in  Tammany  Hall  is  the  General  Committee.  This 
is  made  up  on  a  basis  of  one  member  For  each  fifty  Democratic 
TOtes  east  at  the  preceding  national  or  State  election  within  the 
city  and  county  of  New  York.  The  representation  upon  this  com- 
mittee for  1892  by  assembly  districts  was  as  follows :  — 
Districts.  Districts. 
1 86         14 8S 


.  110 
.  150 
.  124 


.  90 
.  252 
.  292 


IS U        Total 3,000 

This,  however,  does  not  moan  that  the  General  Committee  shall 
not  exceed  three  thousand  men.  On  the  contrary  the  committee 
for  the  present  year  has  over  eight  thousand  membere.  The  dis- 
trict leader  may  put  as  many  men  on  his  district  delegation  as  he 
sees  fit,  but,  no  matter  how  large  the  delegation  may  be,  at  all 
meetings  of  the  committee  it  can  only  cast  the  number  of  votes 
given  above.  One  absolute  rule  of  the  General  Committee  is  that 
it  must  have  at  least  one  member  f  ram  eacli  election  district  in  the 
city,  but  it  may  have  m  many  more  as  the  district  leader  sees  fit. 

Next  in  order  comcj  the  Committee  on  Organization.  Tliis  is 
a  sub-committee  of  the  General  Committee,  and  consists  of 
thirty-two  men  from  each  assembly  district,  total  768.  Last  year 
the  repreaentation  on  this  committee  was  twenty-seven  from  each 
assembly  district,  but  for  this  year  the  number  has  been  inci'eased 
86  above. 


718  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

As  will  be  observed,  the  assembly  district  representation  upon 
this  committee  is  not,  like  the  general  committee,  based  upon  the 
Democratic  vote.  Every  assembly  district  is  treated  alike,  the 
one  idea  being  to  bring  into  this  conmiittee  the  best  workers, 
the  pick  and  choice  of  the  organization.  The  result  is  that  the 
Committee  on  Organization  is  made  up  largely,  though  not 
wholly,  of  the  election  district  captains,  the  men  who  have  charge 
of  the  election  districts  and  are  responsible  for  the  organization 
thereof. 

The  Executive  Committee,  or  Committee  of  Twenty-four,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called,  though  the  name  is  a  misnomer,  consists  of 
the  twenty-four  assembly  district  leaders,  the  leader  or  head  of 
the  organization,  Mr.  Croker,  Thomas  F.  Gilroy,  Chairman  of  the 
Organization  Committee,  and  Bourke  Cockran  who  is  not  a  dis- 
trict leader,  but  holds  a  prominent  position  in  the  organization 
as  the  Chairman  of  the  Conmiittee  on  Resolutions  and  Corre- 
spondence. 

Each  of  these  committees  has  its  officers,  of  course,  and  its 
standing  committees.  The  standing  committees  of  the  General 
Committee  are  Committees  on  Finance,  Correspondence,  Naturali- 
zation, and  Printing,  eacli  consisting  of  seven  members.  Tlie 
Naturalization  Committee  is  tlie  only  one  of  the  four  concerning 
Avliich  any  explanation  is  necessary.  The  duties  of  this  com- 
mittee are  to  look  after  aliens,  who  having  lived  long  enough  in 
the  country  to  comply  with  the  law  in  that  regard  are  desirous  of 
l>eing  naturalized  and  thus  becoming  voters. 

The  work  of  the  committee  is  confined  mainly  to  the  month  or 
six  weeks  just  l)efore  election.  It  tlien  opens  an  office  or  bureau 
convenient  to  the  courts  to  which  are  sent,  by  the  district  leader 
and  his  lieutenants,  all  persons  wishing  to  be  naturalized.  The 
district  leader,  before  sending  such  persons  to  the  Naturalization 
Committee,  is  supposed  to  know  that  they  will  "be  all  right  on 
election  day,"  that  is,  that  they  will  vote  the  ticket  of  the  organi- 
zation after  being  made  citizens.  Wlien  such  an  alien,  properly 
certified  to,  arrives  at  the  bureau,  he  is  taken  in  charge  by  a 
clerk,  who  conducts  him  before  a  judge  of  the  proper  court,  and 
sees  him  through  the  case  without  cost  to  him,  all  the  expenses 
and  court  fees  being  paid  by  the  Tammany  organization. 


GOVE KN'M EST   AMONG    SECRET   ORDERS.  719 

The  8ub-comiiiitt«es  of  tlie  Committee  on  Organ izat ion  in  addi- 
tion to  the  Executive  Committee  almady  mentioned,  are  commit- 
tees on  expenditures,  resolutions,  and  legislation,  o£  six  members 
each. 

The  Committee  on  Organization  is  charged  with  the  considera- 
tion of  all  matters  relating  to  the  organization  of  the  Deinocratio 
party,  the  call  of  primarj'  elections,  and  the  conducting  of  primary, 
general,  special,  and  charter  elections;  and,  in  their  discretion, 
have  power  of  revision  and  substitution  of  all  nominations  made 
by  conventions  called  by  the  General  Committee,  or  any  District 
or  Ward  Committee  of  the  oiganization.  The  committee 
authorizes  all  necessary  disbuisements  and  appropriations.  This 
committee  possesses  very  extensive  power  over  the  General  Com- 
mittee, but  at  the  same;  time  it  is  in  its  turn  subject  to  the  con- 
trol of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  tliat  committee  again  is 
supposed  to  be  subject  to  Mr.  Croker. 

Assembly  district  organizations  are  little  machines  in  them- 
selves. At  the  liead  of  each  assembly  district  is  a  district  leader, 
who  ordinarily  has  absolute  charge  of  the  district,  and  is  accounta- 
ble for  it  to  the  organization.  If  Itis  district  makes  a  bad  shoeing 
in  any  election  he  is  called  to  account,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Executive  Committee  must  explain  the  trouble.  If  his  explana- 
tion is  unsatisfactoiy,  that  is,  if  there  is  evidence  of  lack  of 
organization  and  proper  work  in  tlie  district,  or  a  suspicion  of 
"trading"  on  hia  i)art,  his  head  rolls  in  tlie  basket,  and  his 
organization  is  invited  to  select  a  new  leatler,  and,  it  may  be 
added,  is  also  instructed  whom  to  select. 

To  be  a  district  leader  a  man  must  have  years  of  experience, 
must  be  able  to  lead  and  control  men,  and  his  fealty  to  the  organi- 
zation must  be  above  suspicion.  Jle  must  also  be  willing  to  spend 
money  and  to  give  up  a  large  part  of  his  time  to  the  duties  of  his 
position. 

To  assist  him  in  handling  his  district  the  district  leader  luis  a 
district  committee,  which  is  entirely  separate  and  distinct  from 
the  district  delegation  to  the  General  Committee.  The  District 
Committee  is  made  up  of  at  least  five  voters,  and  as  many  more 
as  may  be  from  each  election  district  in  the  assembly  district. 
Over  the  men  in  each  election  district  is  placed  a  captain,  who  is 


720  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  election  therein.  To  him  on 
election  eve,  or  early  on  election  morning,  the  assembly  district 
leader  delivers  the  ballots  and  pasters,  and  "boodle  "for  that 
election  district,  and  if  he  fails  to  prove  worthy  of  the  confidence 
placed  in  him,  his  political  days  are  numbered. 

But  election  results  are  not  all  that  are  required  of  liim, 
although  that,  of  course,  is  the  main  thing.  If  he  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  his  fellow  members  in  his  election  district,  he  must 
retire  and  make  room  for  somebody  who  can  compel  harmony. 

The  captain  must  see  to  it  that  the  vote  of  Tammany  Hall  is 
increased.  If  it  is  decreased  he  is  called  to  account,  and  if  his 
explanation  is  not  satisfactory  he  is  suspended.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  assembly  district  organization  once  in  each  m'onth,  the  cap- 
tains report  the  condition  of  their  seveml  election  districts  and, 
if  there  is  a  break  or  weakening  in  any,  the  district  leader  imme- 
diately sets  to  work  to  repair  the  fence.  In  this  way  the  organi- 
zation is  kept  up,  and  the  district  leader  has  his  finger  constantly 
on  the  political  pulse  of  his  district. 

This  intimate  knowledge  of  his  district  is  necesaaiy  to  the 
leader,  as  he  must  in  his  turn  make  a  report  of  the  geneml  condi- 
tion of  the  district  at  each  of  the  monthly  meetings  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Organization,  and  must  also  report,  Avhenever  called  on, 
by  the  Executive  Committee  or  by  the  leader. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  Mr.  Croker  is  kept  in  constant  knowledge 
of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  every  part  of  the  city,  almost  in 
every  house.  It  might  be  added  tliat  just  before  an  election 
tliese  reports  are  made  much  more  frequently,  and  it  would  not 
be  well  for  any  district  leader  to  make  rose-tinted  reports  which 
the  after-election  results  failed  to  justify.  They  do  not  cha«e 
rainlx)ws  or  "talk  tlirough  their  liats "  at  such  times  in  Tam- 
many Hall. 

How  is  this  strict  discipline  maintained?  Mainly  through  the 
knowledge  possessed  by  all  that  without  it  no  political  organiza- 
tion can  hope  to  succeed.  Hence,  tlie  short,  sharp  shock  that 
waits  those  who  in  any  way  prove  untrue  to  the  organization. 


THE  French  Revolution  was  the  aad  mother  of  many 
noble  and  beautiful  dreams  some  of  which  are  slowly 
ripening  into  vealities.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  was 
the  demand  fairly  and  squarely  made  in  a  national  way 
for  equal  citizenship.  Each  man's  highest  title  was  "  Ciio^en," 
Citizen;    each  woman  was  called  "  Ctloi/enne"  citiKeness. 

Yet  partial  citizenship  —  the  right  to  cast  votes,  though  proba- 
bly not  to  hold  oiiQce  —  was  recognized  before  that  glorious  dawn  of 
better  things,  that  Revolution,  so  misunderstood  in  its  day  by  the 
average  English  and  American  mind. 

Women  in  New  Jersey  voted  for  the  adoption  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  which  it  is  claimed  does  not  allow 
women  to  vote,  though  it  once  did.  Under  it  women  voted  twice 
for  President  Washington,  once  for  John  Adams,  and  twice  for 
Thomas  Jefferson,  and  exercised  this  right  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  from  1776  to  1807,  when  they  were  unjustly  deprived  of 
the  right,  because  the  dominant  party  in  New  Jersey  did  not  like 
Uie  way  that  many  women  voted.  Women  submitted  to  the 
unjust' le^lation,  as  they  are  obliged  to  do  now,  but  in  no  true 
senw  or  proper  use  of  langu^^,  did  they  "concur"  in  being 
deprived  o£  their  rights. 


722  THE  8T0BY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

The  first  formal  demands  in  this  country  for  perfect  equality  — 
for  woman's  natural  right  to  a  fail*  share  in  the  practical  every-day 
story  of  government  —  were  made  at  Seneca  Falls,  N.  T.,  in  1848* 
and  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  in  1850. 

These  conventions  accomplished  little,  but  showed  what  was  in 
the  air,  —  the  first  blowing  of  a  breeze  that  will  some  day  be 
the  very  breath  of  the  nostrils  of  good  government. 

Twenty  years  later,  1870,  the  efiFect  of  this  persistent  breeze 
began  to  be  shown  in  New  England,  for  the  Massachusetts  Repab* 
lican  Convention  admitted  Lucy  Stone  and  Mary  A.  Livermore  bb 
accredited  delegates,  and  later  they  were  admitted  to  the  second 
one  held  when  Garfield  lay  dead. 

A  year  before  this,  1869,  in  Wyoming,  full  political  ri^ts  were 
given  to  women,  and  for  a  long  time  they  exercised  the  right  of 
suffrage  in  Utah,  thus  ^^making  a  curious  graft  of  the  extremeflt 
modem  democracy  on  an  old  religious  and  patriarchal  form  of 
government. 

Wyoming  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  a  State  in  1889,  and  this 
act  marked  the  maturity  of  the  first  real  political  democracy  of 
large  area  in  modern  times  because  Wyoming  came  into  the  Union 
with  a  constitution  conferring  equal  political  rights  on  citizens 
regardless  of  sex. 

Next  to  Wyoming  in  American  civilization  stands  Kansas,  where 
women  have  municipal  suffrage  throughout  the  State,  and  in  some 
towns  women  mayors  have  shown  themselves  able  to  administer 
affairs  as  wisely  as  they  did  their  own  households. 

On  this  royal  road  to  reform,  England,  it  must  be  grievously 
admitted,  has  moved  fajjter  than  our  own  country,  which  no  longer 
with  grace  can  boast  of  progressiveness,  as  compai'cd  with  Europe- 
For  England  and  Wales,  in  1869,  and  Scotland,  in  1881,  yielded 
to  women  the  right  of  municipal  suffrage  ;  limiting  it,  however,  to 
unmarried  women  and  widows,  and  this  right  prevails  in  nearly 
all  the  American  and  Australian  provinces. 

The  little  kingdom  called  the  Isle  of  Man,  in  1881,  went  a  step 
further,  following  tlie  lead  of  Wyoming,  and  making  all  women 
with  cei-tiiin  property  qualifications  the  political  equals  of  men. 
Iceland,  likewise,  has  done  the  same.  In  England  a  curious 
spectacle  has  recently  been  attracting  attention  and   compelling 


724  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

consideration,  namely,  the  Conservative  or  Tory  party  oflScially 
endorsing  the  proposal  that  parliamentary  suffrage  should  be  con- 
ferred on  women.  The  so-called  Liberal  party  must  eventually 
come  up  to  this  and  go  beyond  it.  Indeed,  an  American  who  has 
carefully  studied  the  situation  there  says  that,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  pei*sonal  opposition  of  Gladstone,  this  reform  would  have  been 
an  established  fact  long  ago. 

To  descend  from  generals  to  particulars,  some  of  which  are 
highly  curious  and  worthy  of  note,  we  can  say  in  summary  that 
twenty-eight  States  and  Territories*  have  conceded  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  women  in  some  form.  As  an  example  of  the  interest 
intelligent  women  take  in  the  exercise  of  a  right  long  denied,  we 
may  cite  the  fact  that  at  Binghamton,  in  New  York,  three  thou- 
sand women  voted  in  1890,  and  in  Kansas,  where  women  have 
equal  suffrage  with  men  at  all  municipal  elections,  fifty  thousand 
women  cast  ballots  in  1890.  These  and  a  host  of  similar  facts 
give  the  lie  to  the  foolish  statement  that  intelligent  women  do  not 
care  to  vote  and  prefer  to  leave  all  politics  to  men. 

In  Washington,  when  it  was  a  territory,  women  voted  generally 
for  five  yeai^,  and  one  year  as  many  as  fourteen  thousand.  Then 
they  were  excluded  by  a  decision  of  the  Territorial  Supreme  Court 
on  a  mere  technicality.  They  were  mostly  debarred  from  voting 
on  the  State  Constitution,  and  as  a  result  the  Constitutional  provi- 
sion guaranteeing  suffrage  to  women  was  voted  down  by  the  men. 

It  is  said  on  authority  that  seems  ungainsayable  that,  when 
these  equal  rights  were  taken  away  in  Washington,  the  saloons 
were  thrown  open  for  a  day  of  free  drinking  in  celebration  of 
Washington's  relapse  towards  barbarism.  If  this  be  true,  the 
inference  will  be  that  the  saloon  element  in  American  life  and 
politics  regards  woman  as  its  most  dangerous  enemy. 

The  question  how  women  have  voted  and  how  they  are  likely 
to  vote  is,  of  coui*se,  of  immense   interest,  but  no  wizard,  since 

•Arizona,  Colorado,  Delaware,  Idaho,  Indiana,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Massachusetts,  Michi- 
gan, Minnesota,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  North  Dakota,  Oregon,  South 
Dakota,  Texas,  Vermont,  Washington,  an<l  Wisconsin  grant  women  various  degrees  of  school 
BulTrage.  In  Arkansas  and  Missouri  women  can,  by  petition,  vote  on  liqnor  licenses  in  many 
cases.  Several  municipalities  in  Delaware  have  yielded  municipal  suffrage  to  women. 
Montana  declares  them  capable  of  voting  on  questions  of  local  taxation.  Women  vote  in 
New  York  at  school  elections  and  on  local  improvements  such  as  gas  and  electric  street 
lighting,  paving,  sewerage,  an<l  municipal  bonds.  In  Pennsylvania  women  vote,  by  signing 
or  refusing  to  sign  petitions,  on  paving  and  other  local  improvements. 


WOICAN   IN   OOVEBNMSNT.  726 

Virgil,  would  hazard  a  positive  answer  to  this  conundrum  of  the 
modem  Sphinx.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  we  are  justified  in  believing 
that  in  the  future  day  of  freedom,  now  dimly  dawning  for  them, 
they  will  soon  learn  to  exercise  their  late-gained  rights  with  as 
much  and  possibly  more  wisdom  than  the  majority  of  men.  In 
the  Western  States  where  women  have  had  wider  degrees  of  liberty 
cheerfully  conceded  by  sensible  men  in  practical  matters,  such  as 
voting,  they  have  generally  voted  the  Republican  ticket,  since  that 
party  was  mainly  instrumental  in  enfranchising  them. 

Gratitude  is  one  of  the  strongest  virtues  of  good  women,  but,  as 
women  study  more  deeply  into  politics,  they  will  see  that  voters 
owe  never  so  much  a  debt  to  the  past,  as  they  do  a  duty  to  the 
future.  And  probably  the  good  and  intelligent  women  voters  of 
this  country  will  cast  their  ballots  before  many  yeai*s  for  that  party 
which  does  not  inscribe  on  its  banners  any  stale  economic  plati- 
tudes about  free  trade  and  protection,  but  which  fearlessly  strikes 
at  the  root  of  all  the  material  and  many  of  the  mental  evils  in  our 
American  life,  namely,  the  present  industrial  system,  that  means  a 
constantly  increasing  centralization  of  capital  and  a  constantly 
moie  and  more  enslaving  exploitation  of  the  patient  many  by  a 
greedy  Jind  conceited  few. 

For  the  sake  of  an  instructive  contrast  with  the  political  condi- 
tion of  women  in  free  republican  America,  let  us  glance  at  her 
political  status  all  over  the  world.  Every  province  in  Australia 
has  municipal  woman  suffrage.  So  has  Cape  Colony,  an  area  of  a 
million  square  miles.  Australia,  it  should  be  remembered,  is  ter- 
ritorially about  as  large  as  the  American  Union  —  not  including 
Alaska ;  and  Australia,  besides  being  at  present  the  land  of  prom- 
ise for  women,  has  been  called  the  paradise  of  the  workingman, 
because  there  by  law  a  day's  labor  is  limited  to  eight  houi-s,  and 
capital  is  prevented  in  various  ways  from  developing  to  full  extent 
its  inherent  tendency  to  enslave  and  oppress  mankind. 

Asia,  too,  is  ahead  of  the  United  States  in  this  matter  of  real 
progress.  All  the  Russian  colonies  in  Siberia  liave  woman  muni- 
cipal suffrage  for  heads  of  households,  and  women  taxpayei-s  in 
British  Burmah  and  in  the  Madras  and  Bombay  presidencies  have 
the  same  political  rank. 

Europe  shows  a  similar  superiority  to  "  the  land  of  the  free  and 


726  THE   STORY   OF  GOVSRNMENT. 

the  home  of  the  brave."  In  Sweden  women  vote  for  all  elective 
officers  except  representatives,  and  they  vote  indirectly  for  mem- 
bers of  the  Swedish  House  of  Lords.  In  Norway  they  have  the 
school  suffrage.  In  downtrodden  Ireland  they  vote  for  harbor^ 
boards,  poor-law  guardians,  and  in  the  city  of  Belfast  for  monicipal 
officei's.  In  Russia  women  vote  for  all  elective  officers  and  on  all 
local  matters.  In  Finland,  for  all  elective  officers.  In  Austria- 
Hungary  they  vote,  by  proxy,  for  all  elective  officers.  In  Croatia 
and  Dalmatia  they  do  so  at  local  elections  in  person.  Italy  has 
gone  a  step  further  in  the  right  direction,  for  there  widows  are 
entitled  to  vote  for  Members  of  Parliament. 

Iceland,  the  Isle  of  Man  and  Pitcaim  Island  have  full  woman 
suffrage,  and  nearly  two  thousand  islands  have  it  in  some  degree. 
The  area  of  countries  where  woman  has  a  suffrage  of  some  kind  is 
more  than  18,000,000  square  miles,  or  larger  than  Asia,  and  con- 
taining a  population  of  about  350,000,000,  or  nearly  that  of  Eaiope. 

Summarizing  the  situation,  then,  we  may  say  that  four  politieal 
divisions  of  the  world  —  Iceland,  the  Isle  of  Man,  Pitcaim  Islaodf 
and  the  State  of  Wyoming  —  furnish  illustrations  of  the  only  real 
complete  democracies  of  modern  times,  that  is,  complete  political 
democracies.  The  next  step  above  that  will  be  —  unless  human 
nature  retn)gi'ades,  unless  common  sense  evaporates,  unless  evolu- 
tion on  its  pnictical  side  is  a  scientific  lie  —  an  industrial  democracy 
where  no  "  loafing  "  and  living  on  othera  on  the  part  of  monopo- 
lists will  l)e  permitted,  and  where  all  able-bodied  men  and  women 
will  do  their  share  of  the  world's  necessary  work  and  have  plenty 
of  time  left  for  healthy  individual  development. 

Such,  briefly  put,  is  the  present  condition  of  woman's  direct  par- 
ticipation in  human  government.  That  she  has,  when  at  or  near 
her  best,  a  greater  sliare  in  that  divine  government  that  subtends 
human  affaii*s,  a  fact  apparently  symlx>led  or  signalized  by  the 
position  of  Mary  in  the  Catholic  Chureb,  can  hardly  be  gainsaid 
by  any  observer  who  is  really  unbiased  and  anxious  to  be  ail- 
roundly  s(!ientific. 

If,  in  truth,  as  J?iclielieu  says,  in  Bulwer-Lytton's  noble  drama, 

"  Through  h>s8  and  gain, 
Through  glory  and  disgrace  the  holy  stream 
Of  human  happiness  glides  on," 


728  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVXBNMENT. 

and  if  that  stream  ever  widens  as  it  flows,  we  must  thank  not 
merely  some  great  men,  bat  women  also  who  have  left  a  legacy  of 
beauty  more  real  and  royal  than  what  they  wore  when  robed  in 
breathing  flesh. 

Nor  is  it  alone  to  the  confessedly  great  women  of  history  that 
this  glad  debt  of  thanks  should  be  paid.  The  general  stream  of 
Buman  happiness  has  been  increased  more,  perhaps,  by  women  of 
simple  and  obscure  lives,  who  have  helped  to  make  beautiful 
homes,  and  have  ruled  with  a  sceptre  of  softness  over  the  hearts 
of  their  husbands  and  children.  Happiness,  true  happiness  that 
is,  has  a  persistent,  a  creative,  an  eternal  quality  about  it.  Evil  is 
destructive  in  nature,  so  destructive  that  it  must  finally,  like  the 
present  industrial  tyranny,  destroy  itself. 

The  superficial  historian  who  considers  chiefly  the  lives  of 
such  mischievous  women  as  Cleopatra,  or  the  corrupt  court 
dames  who  played  with  power  in  France,  would  deny  the  state- 
ment that,  as  a  rule  in  the  past,  the  women  who  have  really 
wielded  the  most  power  and  produced  the  most  lasting  impression 
for  the  development  of  the  world,  have  been  those  who  have 
bloomed  in  quiet  rather  than  those  who  have  dazzled  the  imagina- 
tions of  poets  and  novelists,  and  amazed  the  average  thinker  by 
the  ravage  they  have  wrought  in  the  affairs  of  their  time.  Yet 
such  a  statement  will  stand  all  the  more  firmly  for  assaults  on  its 
soundness. 

Still  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  story  of  woman  in  government, 
up  to  the  present  century,  is  rather  a  painful  perplexity,  a  tangle 
of  vanities  more  cruel,  perhaps,  than  the  deeds  of  empty-headed, 
masculine  rulers. 

Yet  we  must  remember  that  women  have  been  chiefly  in  the 
past,  not  as  God  made  them,  but  as  men  unmade  them ;  that  they 
have  rarely  had  a  fair,  free  chance,  and  that,  when  they  obtained 
pre-eminence  by  the  accident  of  beauty  or  of  cleverness,  it  would 
be  also  an  accident  if,  with  the  sudden  acquisition  of  power,  an 
accession  of  knowledge  how  best  to  use  such  a  force  came  like- 
wise. 

Indeed,  considering  this  point,  may  it  not  be  taken  as  an  axiom 
that  the  sudden  possession  of  excessive  power  by  either  man  or 
woman  is  likely  to  produce  those  excesses  of  power  by  which  man. 


F 


sr> 


JtCUENT    ATHKNB. 


WOMAN    IN   GOVEfiNMENT.  733 


the  unit,  as  well  as  man  the  muss,  has  suffered  miseries  but  faintly 
pictured  by  historian,  or  novelist,  or  poet? 

As  one  of  the  world's  most  brilliant  women  says :  "  Woman  has 
had  very  little  direct  pai-ticipation  in  government.  She  has  been 
B  political  non-existent,  almost  alw<iys,  even  when  the  wife  or  mis- 
tress of  a  king.  She  has  worked  in  secret  by  indirection.  Women 
have  had  power  in  the  past,  as  women  always  will,  but  it  lias  been 
irre-sponsible  power,  which  is  very  dangerous  in  the  hands  of  an 
unrepresented  class.  It  seems  to  me  that  women  were  not  so 
much  the  cause  of  the  corruption  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  the  result 
of  it  and,  as  I  have  read  history,  they  were,  in  the  main,  better 
than  men." 

Tliis  question  of  the  way  in  which  women  of  the  past  have 
used  or  abused  governmental  power  is  one  of  extreme  interest  to 
whi(.'h  an  entire  large  hook  might  well  be  devot«d,  instead  of  merely 
a  lii'icf  chapter.  We  shall  touch  upon  it  later,  and  shnll  now 
pixmeed  to  consider  historically  the  fundamental  question  of  sex 
equality, 

Historically,  then,  we  iind  that  woman's  right  to  share  with 
man  the  councils  of  government  as  well  as  those  of  home  is  not  a 
new  doctrine  or  a  new  pi-actice,  by  any  means.  Sex-equality 
has  prevailed  among  primitive  races,  and  probably  to  a  larger  ex- 
tent than  science  ha.s  yet  proved.  Among  the  American  Indians, 
notably  the  Seneca-Iroquois,  women  of  ripe  yeara  had  a  voice, 
though  not  a  vote ;  and  that  certain  New  England  tribes  had  femi- 
nine chiefs,  or  queens,  is  in  evidence ;  while,  stronger  than  isolated 
instances  of  feminine  leadership,  in  proof  of  sex-equality  among 
the  New  England  Indians  at  the  time  their  country  was  seized  by 
the  English  in  the  name  of  the  God  who  said,  "  Thou  ahalt  not 
steal,  and  thou  shalt  not  kill,"  was  the  general  showing  of  respect 
towards  women,  and  of  tender  consideration  on  the  part  of  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island  and  Con- 
necticut. 

This  fact,  established  by  the  records  of  their  bitterest  enemies, 
the  predatory  English,  or  Anglo-Americans  of  thcise  days  appears 
to  be  one  whose  historical  value  is  not  yet  fully  understood. 
Probably  the  same,  or  possibly  in  some  cases  a  greater  degree  of 
sex-equality  prevailed  among  a  majority  of  the  American  Indian 


734  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

tribes,  and  at  the  councils  of  the  sachems,  not  merely  as  deputies, 
but  as  voting  equals,  the  squaws  were  heard  with  that  profound 
attention  which  the  Indian  race  always  accords  to  speakers. 

Tonlay,  when  an  unfit,  or  perhaps  one  should  say  as  regards 
them,  a  misfit  civilization,  combined  with  rum,  has  produced  such 
a  chaos  in  Indian  habits  and  customs  that  it  is  difficult  to  decide 
what  is  purely  aboriginal  and  what  is  modified  by  contact  with  the 
white  man's  commercial  ways,  the  direct  participation  of  Indian 
women  in  the  tribal  government  is  at  a  minimum. 

Still,  it  is  clear  that  Indian  women  to-day  are  not  merely  beasts 
of  burden  or  passive  instruments  in  the  hands  of  men.  Our  pic- 
ture of  the  head-dance  among  squaws  after  the  battle,  horrible  and 
repulsive  as  it  is,  nevertheless  indicates  the  influence  of  the  squaws 
in  stimulating  among  the  men  that  wild,  ferocious  valor  necessary 
for  their  preservation  in  the  struggle  for  existence.  Yet,  i*epul- 
sive  and  horrible  as  this  photographic  picture  unquestionably 
seems,  is  it  so  truly  cruel  as  the  way  in  which  modern  feminine 
society  stamps  on  the  heads  of  those  weaker  sisters  who  have  fallen 
victims  to  the  savagery  or  selfishness  of  men  ? 

Even  in  Africa,  where  women  are  more  harshly  treated  as  a  rule 
than  anywhere  else,  accident-s  of  birth  among  certain  tribes  may 
give  women  the  leadei'sliip,  and  in  the  kingdom  of  Dahomey,  as 
we  noted  in  our  fourth  cliapter,  the  army  is  entirely  Cf)mposed  of 
women,  who,  as  the  special  guardians  of  tlie  king,  may  be  thus  con- 
sidered to  be  directly  concerned  in  tlie  administration  of  government. 

Our  illustration  is  taken  from  a  pliotograph  made  in  their  recent 
war  with  tlie  French,  who  found  in  these  dusky  Amazons  such 
desperate  fightei's  that  French  gallantry  was  for  a  long  time  non- 
plussed. Some  have  suggested  that  it  was  French  gallantry  of 
another  kind  which  made  the  European  invaders  loath  to  fight 
aofainst  and  kill  women. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  case,  it  is  beyond  question  that 
the  French  soldiers  did  not  relish  their  campaign  against  Behanzin, 
the  King  of  Dahomey,  and  his  ferociously  valorous  army.  Some 
recent  writers  estimate  that  tliis  curious  collection  of  pugnacious 
women  numbers  as  mau}^  as  fourteen  thousand,  but  we  believe 
these  figures  inaccurate,  and  thirik  the  old  statistics,  which  put  the 
number  at  four  thousand,  are  probably  nearer  right. 


"Vhk^^torv  of  QOVEBNHEST. 

That  there  have  been  women  vanion  in  all  ages,  not  merely 
single  examples  like  Joau  d' Arc,  bat  r^ularoohorts  of  figfatiog 
girls,  is  it  iK>ssible  to  doubt,  when  we  have  such  instances  as 
Dahomey  still  exUnt?  The  Amazons  referred  to  by  Homer  may, 
indeed,  have  been  but  a  ligment  of  the  poet's  flashing  &acy;  but 
they  are  as  likely  to  have  been  creatures  actually  seen  by  the  poet 
in  his  rambles  before  blindness  ovortook  him,  as  any  of  the  historic 
facte  that  shine  like  solemn  stars  La  his  two  vast  palaces  of  human 
picture  set  in  song,  "  The  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey." 

Even  more  strongly  than  in  Africa  and  in  Polynesia  does  sex- 
equality  assert  itself  in  certain  parts  of  Asia.  Among  the  polyan- 
drous  races  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Hindostan  property  and  rank 
are  derived  through  the  mother  only,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
oostom  renders  paternity  uncertain. 

Indeed,  it  is  a  &ct  tbat  in  this  oomer  of  the  world  the  term, 
husband,  carries  an  idea  of  inferiorify.  Victoria,  Empress  of 
In(Ua,  is  regarded  by  her  loyal  polyandrous  subjects  as  the  daughter 
of  the  Old  East  India  Company,  and  is  popularly  supposed  to 
reside  in  London  with  a  multitude  of  husbands,  as  becomes  her 
exalted  station. 

An  odd  incident  indicative  of  the  working  of  the  Eastern  poly- 
androus mind  was  the  announcement  made  by  the  Sultan  of  the 
Laccadive  Islands  to  his  subjects,  in  1887.  Up  to  that  date  this 
potentate  had  been  the  \'assal  of  the  Bibi  of  Cannanor,  but  through 
the  negotiations  of  the  Governor  of  Ceylon  he  became  a  direct 
tributary  to  the  English  crown ;  whereupon  his  oriental  majesty 
announced  this  political  change  to  his  subjects  in  the  way  it 
appeared  to  him  —  namely,  that  he  had  been  divorced  from  the 
Bibi  of  Cannanor  and  had  become  one  of  the  husbands  of  Queen 
Victoria. 

Minicoy,  in  these  very  same  waters,  presents  a  perfect  picture 
of  primitive  feminine  rule.  The  men  are  alisent  most  of  the  year 
on  fishing  expeditions,  and  the  women  manage  everything,  the 
fishers,  on  their  return,  taking  life  on  land  as  easily  as  possible 
to  make  up  for  their  long  sojourn  on  tlie  deep. 

Looking  back  through  the  records  of  early  ages  we  find  a  cer- 
tain crude  equality  between  the  sexes,  that  is,  in  the  upper  ranks 
of,  life. .    The  Iliad,  celebmting  a  war  caused  by  the  beauty  of  a 


WOMAK   IN    GOVERKMENT.  737 

woman,  shows  this  in  many  places.  The  Phseacian  Queen,  for 
iiuitanoe,  is  depicted  as  having  a  share  of  public  responsibility  and 
sitting  on  high  in  the  seat  of  judgment. 

The  Ody.^ey  depicts  a  later  age,  when  Grecian  women  had 
fallen  from  their  primal  high  estate  and  were  i-ather  suhjtjct  to 
men,  even  when  queens  by  right  of  birth  or  wifehood.  Penelope, 
for  instance,  the  aweet  example  of  the  chaste  and  constant  heart, 
waiting  for  her  lord's  return  so  many  weary  years,  not  only  has  to 
endure  the  biawling  of  the  many  suitora  for  lier  hand  and  land, 
■  but  is  patronized  and  put  in  the  background  by  her  own  son, 
Telemaehua. 

As  the  Homeric  age  faded  into  fable,  the  power  of  woman  in 
Grecian  government  jMtled  gradually  into  insignificance,  that  is  to 
say,  the  power  of  the  good  women,  the  mothers,  wives,  sisters, 
and  daughters  of  those  marvellous  men  who  in  art,  philosophy, 
histoF}-,  poetry,  and  eloquence  made  Greece  the  gem  and  glory  of 
the  world. 

Except  in  Sparta  all  the  states  of  Greece  adopted  and  put  in 
practice  the  oriental  notion  that  a  life  of  seclusion  was  the  chief 
business  of  modest  women,  and  that  education,  save  in  household 
matters,  was  a  tree  of  knowledge  fruitful  of  ill  rather  than  good. 

The  mother  of  Socmt^s  probably  could  not  read,  and  it  is  doubts 
ful  whether  the  wife  of  Sophocles,  the  Shakespeare  of  his  age, 
could  comprehend  much  more  than  a  jot  of  tliat  solemn  and  splen- 
did dramatic  poetry  hy  means  of  which  her  husband  still  inhabits 
the  bosoniK  of  men. 

Sparta  alone  escaped  the  general  decline.  There  tlie  women 
showed  an  intense  interest  in  and  a  profoundly  patriotic  sympathy 
with  the  affairs  of  the  state.  To  lose  the  shield  in  battle  —  equiv- 
alent to  throwing  it  away  so  as  to  run  faster  from  the  foe  —  was 
esteemed  among  Greeks,  as  among  Romans,  a  mark  of  cowardice 
and  accounted  a  disgrace.  "  Come  back  with  your  shield  or  on 
it  I  "  was  the  cry  of  the  Spartan  woman  to  husband,  lover,  or  son,  as 
they  went  forth  to  battle ;  and  when  the  dying  Spartan  was  asked  by 
his  wife  what  his  epitaph  should  be,  he  replied :  "  Sparta  hath 
many  a  nobler  son  than  he,"  and  the  woman's  pride  in  her  country 
and  interest-in -its  government  compelled  her  to  fulfil  his  djing 
behest.  ^--:^=^-.^ 

4   '  ^jjs^kPubig^ 


738  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Singular,  in  truth,  must  have  been  the  daily  drama  of  Athenian 
civilization,  when  the  chaste  women  were  excluded  from  politicail 
aflfaii-s,  and  even  secluded  from  veiy  much  social  intercoui'se  with 
well-bred  men.  It  is  one  of  the  stmngest  and  saddest  assertions 
of  history,  that  in  those  days  only  the  women  of  loose  morals  were 
educated  and  were  capable  of  acquiring  and  exercising  wealth  and 
power.  The  fact  faces  us  that,  when  Alexander  the  Gi-eat  laid 
low  the  walls  of  a  city,  it  was  Lais  or  Thais,  a  courtesan,  who 
offei-ed  her  purse  to  rebuild  them. 

These  women  were  called  Hetairte,  and  our  illustration  affords 
a  fair  representation  of  their  idle,  luxurious  life  as  they  rest  on 
a  balcony  of  Parian  marble  overhanging  the  play  of  the  summer 
waves  of  the  amethystine  iEgean.  That  tliey  were  originally 
adventuresses  from  Asiatic  Greece,  and  that  their  ranks  were 
recruited  from  the  numerous  Meditermnean  islands  rather  than 
native  Greek  women  of  the  mainland,  seems  likely. 

Yet  how  unlikely  it  would  seem  that  Plato,  the  most  august  of 
philosophers,  must  have  studied  feminine  human  nature  chiefly 
through  such  a  medium  !  When,  however,  we  reflect  that  Aspasia, 
the  Queen  of  these  Iletainc,  was  accounted  the  equal  and  was  the 
sought  companion  of  such  men  as  Pericles,  Soci-ates,  and  Phidias, 
we  are  constrained  to  admit  that  such  was  probably  the  case. 

This  Aspasia  actually  lectured  ^  on  rhetoric  and  philosophy  to 
social  gatherings  of  loose-robed  coui-tesans,  and  her  hold  on  the 
affections  of  tlie  statesman,  Pericles,  lasted  to  his  last  hour. 
Thus  the  goverunient  of  Athens  at  one  period  may  be  said  to 
have  been  administered  from  a  house  of  l)ought  smiles  and  coarse 
caresses. 

Let  not  tliis  frightful  statement  over-startle  the  student!  Cities 
like  New  York,  and  cvcmi  that  modern  Athens,  which  lies  di-eamin^ 
of  olden  freedom  under  the  shadow  of  Bunker  Hill,  have  been  run 
by  aldermen  under  the  influence  of  '^ladies"  on  wliom  Aspasia 
would  have  thought  her  lectures  wasted. 

Her  lectures  were  doubtless   luminous  with  wit  and  humor,  or 


1  " Tills  very  fact,"  i^ays  Mary  A.  Liverinore,  ".•shows  there  was  more  to  those  *  loose- rrilied 
courtesans  '  than  is  jienerally  sniii»ost'<I,  anil  as  for  Asjiasia,  she  was  cliarged  with  *  walking 
the  streets  unveiled,  sitting  at  table  with  men,  (tisl>elieving  in  tlie  Greek  go<l8,  and  lieliev- 
ing  only  in  one  sole  Creator,  and  with  enteruiining  original  ideas  concerning  the  motions  of 
the  sun  and  moon.*    She  was  in  advance  of  her  time,  and  the  age  could  not  understand  her." 


■WOMAK   IN   GOVERNMENT.  789 

perhaps  were  somewhat  like  out  modern  sensational  sermons ;  yet 
BUch  sermons  must  have  seemed  to  the  practical  Athenian  "sober- 
sidex  "  but  a  poor  excrhanjje  fiir  the  fi-ightfnl  looses  of  the  two  wars 


which  Aij[)asia's  ^icrsoiial  quarrels  and  jealousies  were  supfHined  to 
have  caused. 

Mobl)ed  in  the  streets  of  Athens,  the  violet-cro^vned  city  by  the 
sea.  this  full-blown  flower  of  feminine  beauty  and  intellectual 
power  was  dragged   before   the  Areopagus  for   judgment,  to  be 


740  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

saved,  however,  from  the  righteous  wrath  of  a  roused  people  by 
the  soothing  eloquence  of  her  staunch  lover,  Pericles. 

After  his  death,  it  is  said,  she  continued  her  course  of  lectures 
under  the  auspices,  not  of  a  man  of  genius  like  her  former  associ- 
ates, but  of  a  wealthy  flour  merchant.  Such  was  the  influence 
of  woman  in  government  in  the  palmy  days  of  Grecian  civilization. 
Sic  transiit  gloria  Grceeice  ! 

When  Roman  roughness  and  robustness  triumphed  over  Greek 
grace  and  cunning,  Rome  was  really  at  the  height  of  its  moral 
power  in  the  world,  and  such  women  as  Lucretia  and  Cornelia, 
chaste  wives  and  wise  mothers,  were  plentiful  among  the  Romans, 
and  had  a  voice,  though  not  a  vote,  in  shaping  the  laws  and  cus- 
toms, and  moulding  the  public  mind  to  that  high  sta^p  of  intel- 
lectuality  which  made  the  Roman  for  ages  the  lawgiver  of  nations. 
But  just  as  Greece  had  been  Orientalized  and  the  rank  of  her 
women  lowered,  so  Rome  in  turn,  though  the  material  mistress  of 
the  world,  became  the  intellectual  slave  of  the  Grecian  culture 
that  she  liad  conquered. 

It  was  in  vain  that  Horace,  her  wisest  and  most  popular  poet, 
sang,  *'  Take  away  these  Oriental  aids  to  luxury  —  I  hate  them, 
boy  '  The  insidious  East  prevailed,  and  Roman  manners  under- 
went a  gradual  refining  and  Roman  morals  a  rapid  undennining, 
until  in  the  words  of  the  same  poet,  though  not  quite  as  he 
implied,  "  Rome  fell  by  its  own  weight "  —  the  burden  of  a  gross 
immorality,  caused  by  the  presence  of  a  bad  indirect,  and  the 
absence  of  a  good  feminine  direct,  influence  in  the  government. 

During  this  period  of  about  three  centuries  at  and  following 
the  Christian  era  there  arose  two  women,  both  Orientals,  and 
representing  the  two  antagonistic  types  of  woman  in  government, 
perhaps,  more  perfectly  than  any  of  the  antique  world. 

The  first  was  Cleopatra,  that  "  serpent  of  Old  Nile,"  and  what 
she  may  have  planned  must  remain  a  mystery,  fascinating  and 
elusive  as  the  primal  mystery  of  life.  As  we  understand  her 
through  the  cloudy  conceptions  of  her  time,  she  aspired,  for  mere 
pei-sonal  glorification,  to  bend  the  empire  of  the  world  into  the 
crook  of  her  finger,  now  toying  with  the  majesty  of  the  first 
CsDsar,  now  inflaming  the  passions  of  the  rough  Antony  with  her 
infinite  wit  and  giace,  now  attempting,  but  failing,  to  beguile  the 


\70MAN    IN  GOVEENMBNT.  741 

proud  Augustus,  just  as  victory  nested  amid  his  banners  and  his 
dim  dream  of  an  august  CaBsarean  empire  rose  rapidly  into  the 
fair  outlines  of  a  firm,  definite  plan. 

Cleopatra  to  us  appears  simply  a  perfect  tjrpe  of  all  that  is  dis- 
tinctly bad  in  feminine  government,  or  in  feminine  influence  as 
applied  to  government,  yet  she  may  have  been  at  heart  a  patriotic 
Egyptian  princess,  trying  to  save  her  people  from  alien  domination 
by  playing  off  one  Roman  ruffian  against  another.  Whatever  she 
was,  she  remains  a  most  picturesque  failure. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  later  another  Eastern  queen,  Zeno- 
bia,  ruling  with  wondrous  wisdom,  endeavored,  at  Palmyra,  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  an  Oriental  empire,  but  her  patriotic  dream  of 
a  united  East  was  rudely  dispelled  by  the  Roman  Emperor  Aurelian, 
who,  scenting  her  purpose,  deposed  her  before  she  was  strong 
enough  to  defy  Rome. 

Had  the  purple  been  hereditary  in  the  Roman  Empire,  doubt- 
less some  great  feminine  rulers  would  have  appeared  equal  to 
England's  Elizabeth,  or  Spain's  Isabella,  in  mental  vigor ;  but  im- 
perial titles  in  that  Greco-Roman  civilization  rested  simply  on  the 
whims  of  the  soldiers,  and  women  had  no  chance  to  become  heads 
of  the  state. 

The  low  condition  of  woman  genemlly,  which  naturally  resulted 
in  a  military  empire,  was  somewhat  changed  when  the  Germans 
began  to  overrun  Italy.  Attila,  the  Hun,  had  styled  himself 
**  the  Scourge  of  God,"  and  the  Germans  generally  considered 
themselves  divine  scourges,  especially  made  for  the  chastisement 
of  the  corrupt  and  effeminate  Romans.  Lame  Gaiseric  bade  his 
pilot  steer,  when  setting  out  on  a  Roman  foray,  "  for  the  ports  of 
those  with  whom  God  is  angry." 

The  German  was  far  ruder  than  the  Roman  even  in  the  rem.otest 
period  of  Roman  history.  To  drink  mead  from  an  enemy's  skull, 
for  example,  wiis  a  pleasant  social  accomplishment  among  these 
barbarians. 

But  the  notion  of  allegiance  to  the  state  instead  of  to  a  single 
person,  as  representative  of  the  law,  imported  by  the  Germans  into 
Rome,  was  an  idea  that  was  bound  to  operate  ultimately  for  the 
elevation  of  woman  and  the  extension  of  her  powers  in  govern- 
ment.    Because,  since  women  could  receive  and  convey  title  to 


742  THR  8TOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

land,  they  thus  might  acquire  serrice  and  aUegiance,  and  thus 
occasionally  could  rise  to  political  as  well  as  social  equality  with 
men.  Thus  in  feudalism,  lurking  at  the  bottom  of  that  otherwiae 
oppressive  system,  lay  a  few  seeds  of  possible  feminine  power. 

Then,  too,  the  Catholic  Chui*ch  by  its  conception  of  %  A'^xm 
maternity,  its  exaltation  of  a  human  girl  to  the  rank  of  tiie  Mother 
of  Grod,  began  to  emphasize  the  idea  in  good  men's  minds  of  % 
certain  sacredness  attaching  to  woman,  and  also  the  idea  of  a  oex^ 
tain  feminine  right  to  rule  by  virtue  of  that  sacredness. 

Yet  at  the  same  time  that  the  Church,  in  its  broad  general  dol> 
trines,  raised  and  widened  the  sphere  of  woman  as  never  be£oxe» 
nevertheless  it  narrowed,  in  those  early  centuries  and  through  the 
Middle  Ages,  the  powers  of  individual  women  almost  as  mooh  as 
the  law  did. 

Hence  women  of  active  ambition,  denied  full  direct  exprBSsioii 
by  Church  and  Law,  began  to  seek  a  vent  for  their  energies  in  die 
exercise  of  indirect  power,  by  a  subtle  pandering  to  the  ruder  pas- 
sions of  men.  And  so  powerful  did  these  feminine  politioiaos 
become  that  in  the  first  half  of  the  tenth  century  even  the  papaoy 
itself  appears  to  have  been  swayed  by  uiLscrupulous  women. 

The  development  of  feudalism  during  the  eleventh  century  and 
through  the  crusades,  contributed  to  the  legal,  social  and  moral 
elevation  of  woman,  or,  to  state  the  case  very  moderately,  to 
the  emancipation  of  women  of  a  certain  class.  To  be  sure,  the 
Salic  law  of  France  forbade  the  succession  of  women  to  the 
throne  of  France,  but  in  the  tributaries  to  that  throne  this  law  did 
not  strictly  apply.  Eleanor  of  Aquitaine,  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
was  ruler  of  all  the  country  between  the  Loire  and  the  Pyrenees. 

The  age  of  chivalry,  the  flower  and  fruit  of  feudalism  on  the 
sentimentiil  side,  which  went  out  like  a  candle  at  the  laughing  breath 
of  Cervantes,  went  out  because  it  had  outlived  its  usefulness  as 
well  as  its  beauty,  and  had  become  an  absurdity ;  but  it  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  chivalry  exalted  woman  merely  as  an  object 
of  passionate  attention. 

The  courtesy  shown  to  women  in  the  days  of  chivalry  was  more 
than  a  refined  voluptuousness  i  it  rose  quite  often  into  a  genuine 
worship  that  made  the  masculine  worshipper  worthy  of  an  equal 
adoration  in  return.     That  age,  lacking  many  of   the   material 


744  THE   STORY   OF    GOVEBNMENT. 

comforts  which  mark  this  age  of  manifold  mechanisms,  this  century 
of  gas,  and  bi-ass,  and  electric  monopolies,  and  over-crowded  cities, 
was,  nevertheless,  in  some  ways,  perhaps,  as  well  supplied  in  the 
essentials  of  spiritual  happiness. 

The  fifteenth  century  in  Europe  brought  to  the  front  of  poli- 
tics two  remarkable  women,  one,  an  inspired  —  or  some  say,  crazy  — 
peasant  girl,  Joan  D'Arc,  the  other,  Agnes  Sorel,  for  thirteen 
years  the  companion,  confidante  and  counsellor  of  the  King  of 
France. 

Joan  of  Arc,  with  her  passionate  desire  to  see  the  Dauphin 
crowned  at  Rheims,  despite  the  English  foe,  and  with  her  Amazonian 
love  of  being  in  battle  like  a  man,  or  of  leading  men,  is  the  more 
picturesque  figure,  and  the  enthusiasm  which  the  chaste  peasant 
maid  evoked  is  still  vibrant  in  the  world  to-day. 

So  much  so  is  this  the  case  that  we  have  the  singularly  sugges- 
tive spectacle  of  Sarah  Bernhardt,  the  leading  French  actress, 
playing  the  part  of  Joan  in  a  play  especially  written  for  the 
popular  taste  rather  tlian  for  the  popular  actress. 

Yet  a  much  grander  dream  than  Joan's,  to  drive  the  English 
encroachei*s  entirely  out  of  her  beloved  France,  was  the  steady 
purpose  of  Agnes  Sorel,  the  first,  and  probably  the  best,  of  the 
long  line  of  French  frailties  who  ruled  unlucky  France  through 
the  affections  of  the  king.  Hera  was  no  easy  task  —  to  turn  a 
butterfly  prince  into  a  steady  and  sensible  monarch,  to  make  almost 
a  statesman  out  of  royal  material  so  exceedingly  raw. 

But  Asfnes  Sorel  loved  her  countrv  even  more  than  she  loved 
her  king,  though  she  probably  loved  him  very  deeply,  too,  for  we 
are  apt  to  love  the  things  that  we  create,  be  they  our  children,  or 
our  works,  or  the  characters  that  we  help  our  loved  ones  to  build 
up. 

The  next  three  centuries  of  French  history  were  the  halcyon 
times  of  woman's  supremacy  in  government,  but  it  was  nearly 
always  the  supremacy  of  the  wanton,  ruling  a  king  through 
his  passions,  and  ruled  herself  by  a  priest  through  her  super- 
stitions. 

This  might  not  have  been  so  disivstrous  to  the  people  at  large 
had  the  priests  been  as  a  rule  like  such  churchmen  as  Manning, 
and  Gibbons,  and  many  others,  or  even  had  they  been  men  of  the 


r       i 


V 

7",  "SF^ 

a 

k      ,  V  S^;  1.  .'«***  0  ^!->^\»      '"^ 

y 

.  s 

^K 

N--              :^     -n^Hl          --  .,  V  .i*-.-i*«k,i*»^ 

WH^HLJfniE,   THB  CHILD   QUBKK  OF   THB   HBTHBRLAITDS                        74S 

746  THE  8TORV  OF  GOVBRNMBNT. 

high  ambitions  and  broad  abilities  of  a  Richelieu,  but  mostly  they 
appear  to  the  unbiased  eyes  of  after  ages  mere  court  politicians, 
fond  of  playing  the  wind-god  in  the  causing  or  calming  of  teacup 
tempests. 

The  depravity  of  that  long  national  night  not  only  outraged 
morals  but  good  ta^te,  which,  after  all,  is  in  itself  a  kind  of 
rudimentary  moral  sense.  Citation  of  the  whole  list  of  hornir^ 
would  sicken  the  reader.  Let  one  suffice.  Diane  de  Poitiei's, 
who  ruled  France  through  Henry  II.,  began  her  career  as  the  mis- 
tress of  his  father. 

The  vileness  of  the  House  of  Valois  has  passed  into  a  proverb. 
Compared  with  the  princes  of  that  stock,  Henry  VIII.  of  England 
shines  forth  as  rather  a  gentleman,  somewhat  uncertain  as  to  the 
state  of  his  affections,  no  doubt,  and  with  a  peculiarly  adjusted 
conscience,  but  still  mth  a  faint  possibility  of  human  natui*e  lurk- 
ing somewhere  amid  his  catalogue  of  enormities. 

When  ho  committed  a  crime,  he  tried  to  convert  it  into  a  virtue 
by  some  i*egal  or  legal  alchemy.  Thus  he  paid  at  least  a  certain 
inveited  homage  to  an  ideal  of  right  dimly  recognized  by  him  in 
others'  natures,  if  not  in  his  own. 

None  of  the  French  princes  would  have  troubled  themselves  to 
have  invented  a  new  church,  as  did  Henry  VI 1 1,  of  England,  for 
the  sake  of  securing  a  divorce  from  a  mere  wife  of  state  whom 
they  had  ceased  to  care  for*  They  would  simply  have  seized  the 
othei'  woman  whom  they  happened  to  desire  and  bent  her  or  broken 
her  to  their  bestial  will. 

About  this  time  a  great  woman  ruled  in  Spain  jointly  with  her 
husband,  Feixlinand,  consolidating  the  two  houses  of  Arragon  and 
Castile.  Isabella,  it  must  be  admitted,  had  probably  some  of  the 
bad  qualities  of  her  race,  who  have  been  styled  by  one  rather 
pai-tisan  historian  the  most  tigerish  family  of  monarchs  that  ever 
ruled  in  Castile.  ^ 

That  Isabella  permitted  tlie  dreadful  Inquisition  must  probably 
remain  a  stiiin  on  her  fame,  but  that  she  treated  bruUilly  her 
daughter  is  rather  hard  to  believe  when  collated  with  the  fact  that 
she  was  indignant  at  the  cruelties  practised  on  the  newly  dis- 
covered Indians  by  her  subjects  in  the  New  World. 

The  attempt  has  been  made  by  some  English  writers  to  take 


WOMAN   IN  GOVERNMENT.  747 

from  Isabella  the  credit  of  having'  pawned  he r  jewels  to  defray  the 
expenses  uf  Columbus  in  his  expedition  l-o  distiover  America.  But 
Maiy  A.  Livermore,  whose  public  and  pi-ivat*  utteranoes, 
whether  of  opinion  or  of  fact,  are  marked  by  accuracy  and  modesty, 
says  on  this  point :  - — 

"  If  there  is  one  historic  statement  more  clearly  proved  than  that 
Isabella  pledged  her  jewels  for  tlie  funds  for  Columbus'  first  expedi- 
tion, I  have  yet  to  leani  it.  To  be  sure,  Luis  Santangel  furnished  the 
funds  from  the  finances  of  the  ecclesia-stical  treasury  of  Arragon 
of  which  he  was  treasurer,  but  the  jewels  of  Isabella  were  the 
collateral  security  pledged  for  the  payment. 

"  Harriet  Hosmer  is  now  in  Home  making  an  heroic  stiitue  of 
Isabella  to  commemorate  that  event.  She  spent  months  in  study- 
ing every  detail  of  Isabella's  history,  in  Spain  and  in  Rome.  She 
ifl  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  story,  and  is  making  her  statue 
for  the  World's  Fair,  representing  Isabella  offering  her  jewels  to 
Columbus." 

Feminine  domination  in  Europe  reached  its  climax  in  the  time 
from  1550  to  1600.  The  Marys  in  England  and  Scotland,  and 
the  infamous  Catherine  de  Medici  in  France,  from  1559  to  1589, 
earned  the  title  of  being  the  crowned  curses  of  kingdoms. 

To  corrupt  the  morals  of  her  own  sons,  and  to  influence  one  of 
them  to  commit  the  monstrous  crime  and  blunder  of  the  massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  shows  the  bad  eminence  of  Catherine's 
character.  How  the  cause  of  the  Catholic  Church  has  suffered  by 
such  champions  as  Mary  Stuart  and  Catherine  de  Medici  it  is 
easy  to  see. 

But  in  England  the  star  of  woman's  political  influence  began 
to  shine  with  a  light  less  lurid,  less  blood-red  and  flame-red  than 
the  fires  of  Sraithfield  that  had  provoked  stout  John  Knox,  lurking 
in  safe  obscurity  at  Dieppe,  to  blow  forth  to  the  public  his  "  First 
Blast  of  the  Trumpet  against  the  Monstrous  Regiment  of  Women," 
which  opened  in  clear,  unmistakable  tones:  — 

*>To  promote  a  woman  to  beare  rule,  superiori tie,  dominion  or  em- 
pire above  any  realme,  nation  or  citie,  is  repugnant  to  nature,  con- 
tumelie  to  Uod,  a  thing  most  contrarious  to  his  reveled  will  and 
approved  ordinance,  and  finallie  it  is  the  snbversion  of  good  order,  of 
all  eqaitie  and  justice." 


748  THB  STORY  OF  GOVERNBIENT. 

Later,  on  the  ascension  of  Ekigland's  throne  by  Elizabeth,  who 
became  a  stanch  prop  of  the  Protestant  cause  more  from  policy, 
possibly,  than  real  belief,  John  Knox,  compromising  a  little 
with  his  conscience,  perhaps,  tried  to  soften  somewhat  the  rough- 
ness of  that  '^  First  Blast.'"  But  it  still  rings  true  as  expressive 
of  what  a  tolerably  good  man  must  have  felt  at  the  spectacle  then 
presented  by  the  crowned  women  of  the  world. 

Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England's  queens,  had  all  the  national 
failings  and  some  of  the  national  vices  emphasized  in  her  personal 
character.  The  vanity  of  the  average  Englishman  which  the 
average  American  has  inherited  in  part  if  not  in  whole,  that 
makes  him  believe  his  race  and  nation  the  finest  under  the  suuv 
was  a  conspicuous  characteristic  of  good  Queen  Bess. 

That  she  was  also  capable  of  easy  lying  and  that  strong  oaths 
came  naturally  to  her  quick  lips  full  of  Plantagenet  temper  seems 
beyond  a  i*easoiiabIe  doubt.  Yet  we  must  remember  in  our  judg- 
ing that  lying  in  courts  and  in  the  management  of  politics  is  not 
called  lying  but  diplomacy,  and  Elizabeth,  very  likely,  was  early 
taught  this  poor  trick  as  the  A  B  C  of  statesmanship. 

The  inherited  intensity  of  the  woman's  nature  was  thwarted  by 
her  determination,  for  the  sake  of  her  people,  to  live  unmarried, 
and  thus  natural  forces  turned  inward  soured  her  and  emphasized 
her  eccentricities.  The  closeness  of  her  grandfather,  the  miser 
king,  re-appeared  in  many  of  her  monetary  dealings,  but  it  is 
hardly  believable  that  her  niggardliness  caused  her,  as  has  been 
charged,  to  give  rotten  bread  to  the  gallant  seamen  who  drove  off 
the  Spanish  Armada. 

Mary  A.  Livermore,  who  has  made  especial  study  of  this  English 
queen,  and  who  was  assisted  in  her  lecture  on  Elizabeth  by  books 
and  manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  which  no  one  is  allowed 
to  remove,  and  who,  before  rewriting  her  lecture  amid  these  vener- 
able archives,  had  already  written  it  four  times, —  such  is  the 
patience  and  fidelity  of  those  who  aim  at  accuracy  —  puts  her 
valuable  opinion  of  this  great  woman  in  government  in  these 
vivid  words :  — 

The  English  people  adore  Elizabeth.  She  founded  the  English 
nation.     It  was  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  agriculturists  when  she 


WOMAN    IN    GOVERNMKNT.  749' 

ascended  the  tbrone.  She  was  two  hundred  years  ahead  of  her  t4mfl 
aufl  would  have  given  entire  and  perfect  i-eljgious  fi-eedora,  had  it  been 
safe.  She  huld  England  limiiy  in  her  band  for  thirty  years  and  would 
not  allow  it  to  go  to  war,  knowing  that  the  development  of  a  nation 
must  come  from  mthin  if  it  is  to  grow. 

Elizabeth  had  no  extravagant  court-follies,  no  costly  Hensualities,  no 
wasting  wara  which  disheartened  the  people,  cut  the  sinews  of  national 
strength,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  future  revolution. 

All  her  expenses  for  palaces,  processions,  journeys,  carri^^es,  servants 
dresses,  everything  averaged  only  1325,000  a  year,  while  Louis  XIV., 
Le  Grand  Monarqne,  spent  £40,000,000  on  one  palace  alone.  Her 
flirtations  and  coquetries  were  a  part  of  her  state  policy,  and  her  deter- 
loination  never  to  marry  was  the  outcome  of  her  great  ambition  to 
make  England  a  nation. 

The  rule  of  Louis  XIV,  in  France  was  remarkable  for  a  change 
in  appearances,  though  not  in  realities  at  the  French  Court. 
The  lady  who  managed  this  monarch,  Madame  de  MaJiitenoti, 
believed  herself  to  be  devout  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  position 
forced  upon  her  by  a  more  or  less  grim  destiny. 

Therefore  the  flat  went  forth  that  piety  and  rigidity  of  conduct 
were  to  be  the  fashion  at  court ;  but  while  this  madame  was  mistress 
of  affairs,  300,000  exiles  of  the  best  heart  and  brain  of  France  also 
went  forth  to  other  lands  rather  than  risk  the  persecutions  which 
a  sui>er8titiou3  woman,  anxious  to  compound  for  her  own  sins  by 
punishing  those  of  others,  might  take  a  fancy  to  inflict. 

Throughout  this  reign  a  semblance  of  decency  was  kept  «p  by 
the  aristocrats,  who,  to  their  credit  be  it  said,  chafed  under  the 
hypocrisy  of  their  daily  lives  and  longed  for  the  day  when 
Madame  de  Maintenon's  power  should  be  over. 

When  that  day  came  and  Ixiuis  lay  in  state,  liarmless  at 
last,  the  French  nobility  commenced  that  ci'az.y  whirl  of  cmel 
lust  through  the  patient  eighteenth  century  which  was  to  end 
only  with  the  guillotine,  and  tlie  awakening  of  the  common 
people. 

The  reign  of  that  pious  sinner,  de  Mnintenon,  gave  way  to  tliat 
of  de  Pambere  who  conti'olled  tlie  policy  of  the  Kegent.  The 
next  Louis  was  only  a  symljol  of  a  man,  a  sort  of  vivified  niarion- 
nette  whose  strings  were  pulled  at  merest  whim  by  Madame  la 


750  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Marquise  de  Pompadour,  whose  style  of  wearing  the  hair  is  even 
yet  not  entirely  gone  out  of  fashion. 

She  it  was  who  made  Louis  sign  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
1748,  because  she  could  not  trust  him  alone  with  the  army.  Not 
long  after,  against  the  counsel  of  his  ministers,  she  forced  the 
foolish  Louis  into  the  Seven  Years'  War  to  punish  Frederick  the 
Great  for  some  coarse  jokes  he  had  made  about  her. 

Like  Aspasia,  she  affected  literature  and  sought  the  friendship 
of  Voltaire,  that  incarnate  sneer.  But  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
social  philosophers,  who  belonged  to  the  magic  circle  of  which 
Voltaire  was  the  centi-al  point,  she  was  supremely  ignorant. 

When  some  of  those  who  saw  (or  thought  they  saw,  like  men 
to-day,  who  see  similar  signs)  below  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
times,  and  heard  the  rumbling  thunder  in  the  heart  of  the  moun- 
tain, told  this  Queen  of  Caprice  and  Paris  what  troubles  were 
at  hand,  she  laughed  their  solemn  words  away  and  said,  *'^Apres 
nous  le  dSliLge  !  "  "  After  us  let  the  deluge  come  then !  " 

It  came  like  the  lava-flood  on  that  laughter-loving  city  of  the 
South  —  like  that  outbreak  of  Vesuvius  which  is  hinted  at  in  our 
illustmtion  of  fugitive  women  watoliing,  in  a  pause  of  their  flight, 
the  fiery  cloud  breathed  out  by  the  angry  mountain. 

It  came,  and  the  unfortunate  Marie  Antoinette,  who  was  the 
first  thoroughly  good  woman  in  nearly  two  hundi*ed  yeai*s  to  have 
a  hand  in  directing  the  statecraft  of  womanized  France,  was 
drowned  in  la  Pompadour's  deluge.  The  vengeance  of  a  people 
long  oppressed,  like  the  rain  of  God,  fell  from  that  cloudy  heaven 
on  the  just  and  unjust.  The  glorious  Revolution  swept  away 
impartially  chaste  queen  and  royal  courtesan.  The  reign  of  the 
common  people  had  begun. 

During  that  eighteenth  century  the  power  of  woman  in  France 
and  her  grasp  on  government  were  matched  by  similar  conditions 
among  other  nations.  The  firet  Bourbon  King  of  Spain,  grandson 
of  Louis  XIV.  of  Fi-ance,  for  nearly  fifty  years  was  ruled  by 
his  wife,  Elizabeth  Farnese  and  her  Jesuit  Confessor,  which  pair, 
with  the  best  of  intentions,  contrived  to  complete  the  ruin  of 
Spain. 

In  England  Queen  Anne,  a  rather  stupid  woman,  managed  to 
steer  the  ship  of  state  with  tolei*able  success  by  selecting  clever 


WOMAN    IM"  GOVEENMENT. 


T51 


Qunigters.  After  her,  Caroline,  wife  of  George  II.,  shared  with 
Walpole  the  government  of  England,  her  hufiband  believing  to  the 
day  of  his  death  that  he  was  not  a  woman-ruled  monarch  like  his 


neighbora  of  France  and  Spain.  In  Austria,  Maria  Theresa  made 
a  gallant  attempt  at  maintaining  her  rights  and  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Hungarian  Diet. 

"Holy"  Russia,  too,  for  sixty-eeven  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  suffered  from  a  set  of  crowned  courtesans  to  whom  far 
worse  words  than  John  Knox  put  forth  in  his  "  Blast "  could  be 
justly  applied.  Catliarine  I.,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  Catharine  II. 
hardly  seem  to  be  modern  women,  but  rather  hideous  nightmares 
of  some  historian's  dream.  The  present  Empress  of  Russia,  whose 
picture  adorns  these  pages,  must  not  be  confounded  with  those 


762  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

brazen  horrora.  Her  placid  beauty  is  a  shadow  of  the  kind  and 
placid  soul  which  animates  her  slightest  actions. 

In  our  brief  survey  of  the  part  woman  has  played  in  govern- 
ment, we  arrive  now  at  the  nineteenth  century,  which  was  the  first 
to  witness  on  any  large  scale  the  dawn  of  democracy  in  the  modem 
world,  and  in  this,  our  century,  we  find  few  women  very  con- 
spicuously or  actively  engaged  in  managing  the  afi^airs  of  nations. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  figure  is  the  Dowager  Empress  of 
China,  who  for  twenty-five  years  has  influenced  the  daily  destinies 
of  450,000,000  of  people,  and  in  curious  contrast  with  this  mys- 
terious old  lady  in  Asia  is  the  Baby  Queen  of  the  Netherlands, 
whose  innocent  face  is  like  so  many  girl  faces  in  many  a  humble 
home. 

One  who  has  read  HoUandish  history  cannot  help  feeling  as  if 
the  queenhood  of  this  little  Wilhelmine  were  casting  backward 
a  forgiving  beam  of  gentleness  over  the  crimes  and  follies  of  the 
House  of  Orange,  and  .at  the  same  time  throwing  forward  a  gleam 
of  promise  for  the  future. 

In  England  the  long  and  well-balanced  life  of  Victoria  has 
wiped  away  the  memories  of  the  disgraceful  days  of  the  last 
George,  and  by  easy  stjiges  of  popular  expansion  has  paved  the 
way  for  a  republican  government  in  the  day^  soon  to  come.  But 
the  crowned  wives  of  this  century,  while  they  escape  censure  in 
comparison  with  the  past,  are  not  the  best  real  specimens  of  women 
in  government. 

The  real  queens  of  this  epoch,  springing  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people,  and  demanding  merely  that  homage  which  moral  gmce, 
subserved  by  intellectual  power,  must  finally  obtain,  are  to  be 
found  in  many  a  quiet  home,  in  many  a  land,  helping  their  fathers, 
brothei-s,  husbands  and  sons,  to  make  this  world  just  a  little  better 
and  younger  every  day. 


^     JeiT)i-)Vtihtary    Coi;stitutiorjal 
W  Jyloi^arcl^y. 


AiJiii!  wantlera  through  tlie  galleries  of  Veraailles,  drink- 
ing ill  the  beauty  of  the  surrouudiiigs,  now  looking  at 
the  paintings  where  tho  hisf^nry  of  France  is  repre- 
sented by  battle  scenes  from  the  earliest  struggles  of 
the  Gaul  down  to  recent  cam[}aigns  in  the  Crimea  and  Italy,  and 
then  gaziiig  on  the  wonderful  fountains  of  Apollo,  with  the  Tria- 
non seen  through  the  leaves,  full  of  memories  of  Marie  Antoinette, 
what  visions  of  history  more  vivid  and  exciting  than  any  romance 
rise  in  tlie  mind  —  what  memories  of  great  sovereigns,  who,  raising 
France  to  the  highest  pitch  of  glory  and  influence,  were,  by  the 
very  means  they  employed  for  such  ends,  tbe  cause  of  her  subse- 
quent fall  and  humiliation! 

First  Louis  XIV.,  le  Grand  Monarque,  whose  extravagance  in 
building  tliia  palace  im[K)veri9hed  Fi-ance  and  helped  to  bring  hia 
descendant  to  the  guillotine,  fiUcd  its  walls  with  pictui-cs  fommem- 
orating  the  victories  won  by  Prince  Cond(5  and  Marshal  Turenne, 
then  saw  his  hopes  of  further  conquests  end  at  Blenheim.  Then 
came  the  Corsican  Bonapai-te,  who  with  his  marshals  at  first  found 
Europe  too  small  for  their  conquering  armies.  But  after  Aiister- 
litz  and  Jena  came  Waterloo,  and  the  firet  empire  and  its  glories 
faded  out  on  that  fatal  field. 

Finally  Napoleon  III.  plays  his  brief  part,  and  after  Magenta, 
Solferhio,  and  the  Malakoff  comes  Sedan,  and  his  empire  Taiiishes 


762  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

brazen  horroi'S.  Her  placid  beauty  is  a  shadow  of  the  kind  and 
placid  soul  which  animates  her  slightest  actions. 

In  our  brief  survey  of  the  part  woman  has  played  in  govern- 
ment, we  arrive  now  at  the  nineteenth  century,  which  was  the  first 
to  witness  on  any  large  scale  the  dawn  of  democracy  in  the  modem 
world,  and  in  this,  our  century,  we  find  few  women  very  con- 
spicuously or  actively  engaged  in  managing  the  affairs  of  nations. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  figure  is  the  Dowager  Empress  of 
China,  who  for  twenty-five  years  has  influenced  the  daily  destinies 
of  450,000,000  of  people,  and  in  curious  contrast  with  this  mys- 
terious old  lady  in  Asia  is  the  Baby  Queen  of  the  Netherlands, 
whose  innocent  face  is  like  so  many  girl  faces  in  many  a  humble 
home. 

One  who  has  read  HoUandish  history  cannot  help  feeling  as  if 
the  queenhood  of  this  little  Wilhelmine  were  casting  backwai-d 
a  forgiving  beam  of  gentleness  over  the  crimes  and  follies  of  the 
House  of  Orange,  and  at  the  same  time  throwing  forward  a  gleam 
of  promise  for  the  future. 

In  England  the  long  and  well-balanced  life  of  Victoria  has 
wiped  away  the  memories  of  the  disgraceful  days  of  the  last 
George,  and  by  easy  stages  of  popular  expansion  lias  paved  the 
way  for  a  republican  government  in  the  day^  soon  to  come.  But 
the  crowned  wives  of  this  century,  while  they  escai>e  censure  in 
comparison  with  the  past,  are  not  the  best  real  specimens  of  women 
in  government. 

Tlie  real  queens  of  this  epoch,  springing  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people,  and  demanding  merely  that  homage  which  moi-al  gi-ace, 
subserved  by  intellectual  power,  must  finally  obtain,  are  t<i  be 
found  in  many  a  quiet  home,  in  many  a  land,  helping  their  fathei-s, 
brothere,  liusbaiids  and  sons,  to  make  this  world  just  a  little  better 
and  younger  every  day. 


XVI. 


a 


i-)VtiUtart^    Cojj^stitutioi^al 
JytoiparcJ^g* 


ti'c 


^  S  one  wandei-s  tlirough  the  galleries  of  Versiiilles,  drink- 
/"\       iiig  in  the  Injauty  of  the  surroundings,  now  lookinir  »* 

/       \^  the   paintings  where  the  history  of    France   is 

sented  by  battle  scenes  from  the  earliest  strugpif^ 
the  Gaul  down  to  recent  campaigns  in  the  Crimea  and  Itar..<« 
then  gazing  on  the  wonderful  fountains  of  ApoUo,  iritij  ttt  "^ 
non  seen  through  the  loaves,  full  of  memories  of  Marif 
wliat  visions  of  history  more  vivid  and  exciting  tbazi 
rise  in  the  mind  —  what  memories  of  great  BOverei||ife 
Prance  to  the  highest  pit(di  of  glory  and  iiifluenfit. 
very  means  they  employed  for  such  ends,  tlie 
quent  fall  and  humiliation ! 

First  Louis  XIV.,  le  Grand  Monan^iic^ 
building  this  palace  impoverished  France 
descendant  to  the  guillotine,  filled  its  ivalii; 
oniting  the  victories  won  by  Prince  C^md^j 
then  saw  his  liopes  of  further  couques^- 
came  the  Corsican  Bonaparte,  wlio 
Europe  too  small  for  their  conqi 
litz  and  Jena  canu»  Waterloo, 
faded  out  on  that  fatal  field. 

Finally  Napoleon  III.  jj 
Solferino,  and  the  Malakflff^ 


764  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

into  histoiy;  for  a  third  time,  after  a  short  period  of  martial 
intoxication,  France  begs  for  mercy  at  the  hands  of  the  victorious 
German. 

Of  all  the  striking  histoiical  events  these  palace  walls  have 
witnessed,  that  one  of  January  18,  1871,  was  the  most  dramatic  in 
its  completion  of  a  people'i^  desire,  its  consummation  of  the  hopes 
of  patriots  and  statesmen  for  many  centuries :  the  unification  of 
Germany  under  one  strong  power.  On  that  day,  al:-eady  cele- 
bi*ated  in  the  annals  of  Prussia  as  the  one  on  which,  in  1701,  its 
first  king,  Frederic  I.,  was  crowned  at  Konigsberg,  King  William, 
passing  between  lines  of  German  soldiery  representing  the  various 
nations  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  the  smaller  princi- 
palities, entered  the  famous  Gallerie  des  Q-laces^  and  standing 
under  a  picture  of  Louis  XIV.  faced  as  proud  and  triumphant  an 
assembly  of  men  as  ever  gathered  about  a  leader. 

Behind  him  were  ranged  six  hundred  battle  flags  from  his  regi- 
ments. At  his  right  hand  stood  the  Crown  Prince,  then  the  pic- 
ture of  health  and  the  promise  of  long  life.  Ranged  beside 
him  right  and  left  were  the  kings,  princes,  and  reigning  powers 
of  Germany,  statesmen,  delegates  from  tlie  North  German  Con- 
federative  parliament,  such  as  the  speaker,  Herr  Simson,  who 
came  in  the  name  of  that  parliament  to  offer  the  imjx^rial  cix)wn, 
and  who  in  1848  made  the  same  proffer  to  the  brother  of  the 
present  king,  and  representatives  from  the  free  towns,  and  the 
leading  officers  of  liis  victorious  armies. 

As  the  old  king,  whose  niili'tiuy  career  began  with  fighting  against 
the  firat  Napoleon,  saw  liiniself  supported  by  such  a  statesman  as 
Bismarck,  soldiers  like  Von  Moltke  and  Von  Roon,  his  soldier  son 
and  heir,  Fritz,  and  his  brilliant  nephew,  Frederick  Charles,  the 
"  Red  Prince^''  he  must  have  felt  thiit  his  kingdom  was  founded 
on  a  rock,  even  if  the  proclamation  making  him  Emperor  seemed 
like  a  dream.  After  the  acceptiinee  by  the  king  of  the  imi^erijil 
dignity,  Bismarck,  whose  clear  bi-ain  and  iron  will  had  made  tliis 
scene  possible,  read  the  following  document  in  a  strong,  clear  voice 
vibrant  with  pei-sonal,  as  well  as  national,  triumph :  — 

We,  William,  by  God's  grace  King  of  Prussia,  hereby  announce  that 
the  German  princes  and  free  towns  having  addressed  to  us  a  unanimous 
call  to  renew  and  undertake  with  tlie  re-establishment  of  the  German 


SEMI-MILITARY   COHSTITUTIONAIi   MONABCeV,  755 

Empire  the  (iigiuty  of  Emperor,  whicli  now  for  sixty  years  lias  been 
in  «beyance,  and  tlie  requisite  provisions  having  been  inserted  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  German  Confederation,  we  regard  it  aa  a  duty 
we  owe  to  the  entire  Fatherland  to  comply  with  this  call  of  the 
united  German  princes  and  free  towns,  and  to  accept  the  dignity  of 
Empei'or. 

Accordingly,  we  and  our  succeasorg  to  the  crown  of  Prussia  hence- 
forth shall  use  the  imperial  title  in  all  the  relations  and  affairs  of  the 
German  Kmpire,  and  we  hope  to  God  that  it  may  be  vouchsafed  to 
the  German  nation  to  lead  the  Fatherland  on  to  a  blessed  future,  under 
the  auspices  of  its  ancient  splendor. 

Mny  God  grant  to  ns  and  to  our  enocessors  to  the  imperial  orown 
that  we  may  be  the  defenders  of  the  German  Empire  at  all  times,  not 
in  martial  conquests,  but  in  works  of  peace,  in  the  sphere  of  national 
prosperity,  freedom,  and  civilization. 

When  the  reading  wiis  over  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  stepped 
forward  and  cried:  — "  Long  live  the  German  Eraperar  William !  " 
This  cry  was  taken  up  by  the  assembly,  wlio  tlien  advanced  and 
did  IiiiTiiage  to  the  new  Kaiser,  while  the  soldiei-s  outside  carried  on 
the  cry,  and  the  cannon  of  Mount  Val(?rien,  ever  firing,  gntmbled 
in  the  distance,  as  if  the  Gaul  muttered  curees  on  what  he  could 
not  prevent.  So  to  the  popular  mind  of  Germany  the  old  legend 
caine  true  that  the  Erajjeror  Frederick  Barbarossa,  who  with  his 
knigbts  lay  bound  in  enchanted  sleep  in  the  mountains  of  Bavaria, 
would  come  to  life  again  and  restore  the  German  Empire, 

The  Coiiiititution  of  tiiis  empire,  fornied  hy  blood  and  iron, 
hears  date  April  16,  1871.  By  its  teiins  all  the  states  of  Ger- 
many (twenty-five  in  number)  "  form  an  eternal  union  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  realm  and  the  c^ire  of  the  welfare  of  the  German 
people."  The  legislative  functions  of  tiie  empire  ai'e  vested  iJi  the 
Emperor,  the  Bundearatli,  and  the  Reichstag.  The  supreme  direo- 
tioa  of  military  and  political  affairs  of  the  empire  is  vested  iu 
the  King  of  Prussia,  who  bears  the  name  of  Deutsoher  Kaiser, 
or  German  Emperar.  The  imperial  dignity  ia  hereditary  in  the 
line  of  HohenzoUem,  and  follows  the  law  of  primogeniture. 

The  esecutive  power  is  in  the  Emperor's  hands.  He  repre- 
sents the  empire  internationally,  can  declare  war  if  defensive, 
make  peace  as  well  as  enter  into  treaties   with  other  nations ;  be 


764  THB  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

into  history;  for  a  third  time,  after  a  short  period  of  martial 
intoxication,  France  begs  for  mei*cy  at  the  liands  of  the  victorious 
German. 

Of  all  the  striking  historical  events  these  palace  walls  liave 
witnessed,  that  one  of  January  18,  1871,  was  the  most  dramatic  in 
its  completion  of  a  people'i^  desire,  its  consummation  of  the  hopes 
of  patriots  and  statesmen  for  many  centuries :  the  unification  of 
Germany  under  one  strong  power.  On  that  day,  ali-eady  cele- 
brated in  the  annals  of  Prussia  as  the  one  on  which,  in  1701,  its 
first  king,  Frederic  I.,  was  crowned  at  Konigsberg,  King  William, 
passing  between  lines  of  German  soldiery  representing  the  various 
nations  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  tlie  smaller  princi- 
palities, entered  the  famous  Gallerie  des  Q-laces^  and  standing 
under  a  picture  of  Louis  XIV.  faced  as  proud  and  triumphant  an 
assembly  of  men  as  ever  gathered  about  a  leader. 

Behind  him  were  ranged  six  hundred  battle  flags  from  his  regi- 
ments. At  his  right  hand  stood  the  Crown  Prince,  then  the  pic- 
ture of  health  and  the  promise  of  long  life.  Ranged  beside 
him  right  and  left  were  the  kings,  princes,  and  reigning  powers 
of  Germany,  statesmen,  delegates  from  the  North  German  Con- 
federative  parliament,  such  as  the  speaker,  Herr  Simson,  who 
came  in  the  name  of  that  parliament  to  offer  the  imperial  crown, 
and  who  in  1848  made  the  same  proffer  to  the  brother  of  the 
present  king,  and  representatives  from  the  free  towns,  and  the 
leading  officers  of  his  victorious  armies. 

As  the  old  king,  whose  niilitiiry  career  began  with  fighting  against 
the  first  Napoleon,  saw  himself  supported  by  such  a  statesman  as 
Bismarck,  soldiers  like  Von  Moltke  and  Von  Roon,  his  soldier  son 
and  lieir,  Fritz,  and  his  brilliant  nepliew,  Frederick  Charles,  tlie 
"  Red  Prince^'''*  he  must  have  felt  that  his  kingdom  was  founded 
on  a  rock,  even  if  the  proclamation  making  him  Emperor  seemed 
like  a  dream.  After  the  acceptance  by  the  king  of  the  imj^rial 
dignity,  Bismarck,  whose  clear  bi-ain  and  iron  will  had  made  this 
scene  possible,  read  the  following  document  in  a  strong,  dear  voice 
vibrant  with  pei*sonal,  as  well  as  national,  triumph :  — 

We,  William,  by  God's  grace  King  of  Prussia,  hereby  announce  that 
the  German  princes  and  free  towns  having  addressed  to  lis  a  unanimous 
call  to  renew  and  undertake  with  the  re-establishraent  of  the  German 


SEMI-MILITARV   CONSTITDTIONAL   MONAKOHY.  756 

Empire  the  dignity  of  Emperor,  which  dow  for  sixty  years  has  been 
in  abeyance,  and  the  requisite  provisions  having  been  inserted  in  tb6 
Constitution  of  the  German  Confederation,  we  regard  it  as  a  dut^ 
we  owe  to  the  entire  Fatherland  to  comply  with  tliia  call  of  the 
united  German  princes  and  free  towns,  and  to  accept  the  dignity  of 

Accordingly,  we  and  our  successors  to  the  crown  of  Prussia  hence- 
forth shall  use  the  imperial  title  in  all  the  relations  and  affairs  ot  the 
German  Empire,  and  we  hope  to  God  that  it  may  be  vouchsafed  to 
the  German  nation  to  lead  the  Fatherland  on  to  a  blessed  fiiluro,  under 
the  auspices  of  its  ancient  splendor. 

May  God  grant  to  us  and  to  our  snocessors  to  the  imperial  crown 
that  we  may  be  the  defenders  of  the  German  Empire  at  alt  times,  not 
in  martial  conquests,  but  in  works  of  peace,  in  the  sphere  of  national 
prosperity,  freedom,  and  civili7.ation. 

When  the  reatling  wits  over  the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  stepped 
forward  and  cried :  — "  Liuig  live  the  German  Emporor  William  I " 
This  cry  was  taken  up  by  the  assembly,  who  then  advanced  and 
did  homage  to  the  new  Kaiser,  while  the  soldiers  outside  carried  on 
the  crj-,  and  the  cannon  of  Mount  VaMrien,  ever  firing,  grumbled 
in  the  distance,  as  if  the  Gaul  muttei-ed  curses  on  what  he  could 
not  prevent.  So  to  the  popular  mind  of  Germany  the  old  legend 
came  true  that  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbaiossa,  who  with  his 
knights  lay  bound  in  enchanted  sleep  in  the  mountJiins  of  Bavaria, 
would  come  to  life  again  and  restore  the  German  Empire, 

The  Constitution  of  this  empire,  formed  by  blood  and  iron, 
beat's  date  April  16.  1871.  By  its  tenns  all  the  states  of  Ger- 
many (twenty-five  in  numljei)  "  form  an  eternal  union  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  realm  and  the  ciire  of  the  welfai-e  of  the  German 
people,"  The  legislative  functions  of  the  empii-e  aie  vested  in  the 
Emperor,  the  Bnndesrath,  and  the  Reichstag.  The  supreme  direo* 
tion  of  military  and  political  affairs  of  the  empire  is  vested  iu 
the  King  of  Prussia,  who  bears  the  name  of  Deut»cher  Kaiter, 
or  German  Emperor.  The  im[Mrial  dignitj  is  hereditary  In  IJMiI 
line  'jf  HohenzoUem,  and  follows  the  law  of  primogeniture. 

Tlie  executive  power  is  in   the  Emperor's  haiid.-<.     He   rep<«>  I 
Benli*   the  empire  internationally,  cbd  declare  war   if  d^tnuiue, 
wake  peace  as  well  as  enter  into  treaties  with  other  i 


756  THB   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

also  appoints  and  receives  ambassadors,  but  for  declaring  offensive 
war  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrath  is  necessary.  The  separate 
states  have  the  privilege  of  sending  ambassadors  to  the  other 
courts,  but  all  consuls  abroad  are  officials  of  the  empire,  and  are 
named  by  the  Emperor. 

This  upper  house  of  the  legislative  body,  styled  the  Bundesrath, 
or  Federal  Council,  represents  the  individual  states  of  Germany 
like  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  It  comprises  fifty-eight 
membei's,  who  are  appointed  by  the  governments  of  the  individual 
states  for  each  session.  The  apportionment  is  not  equal  for  each 
state,  following  the  analogy  of  the  United  States  Senate,  but  is 
according  to  population.  All  the  members  of  the  Bundesiuth, 
whose  presiding  officer  is  the  Chancellor  of  the  Empire,  liave  the 
right  to  be  present  at  the  deliberations  of  the  Reichstag. 

Acting  under  the  direction  of  the  chancellor,  the  Bundesrath 
has  a  supreme  and  consultative  board,  and  as  such  has  twelve 
standing  committees :  — 

Army  and  fortifications;  naval;  tariff,  trade  and  taxes;  trade  and 
coraraerce ;  railways,  posts,  and  telegraphs;  civil  and  criminal  law; 
financial  accounts ;  foreign  affairs;  Alsace  and  Lorraine;  constitution; 
standing  orders ;  railway  tariffs. 

Each  committee  consists  of  representatives  of  at  least  four  states 
of  the  empire ;  but  the  foreign  affairs  committee  includes  only  the 
representatives  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Wiirtemberg,  and  two 
other  representatives  to  be  elected  every  year. 

The  other  body  called  the  Reichstag,  corresponding  to  the  Unite<.l 
States  House  of  Representatives,  is  comi)rised  of  397  meml)ers 
(about  one  to  every  118,000  inhabitants)  who  are  elected  by  uni- 
vei-sal  suffrage  for  five  years.  Both  the  Bundesrath  and  Reichstag 
meet  in  annual  session  convoked  by  the  Emperor.  The  Emperor 
has  the  right,  after  a  vote  by  the  Bundesrath,  to  prorogue  and 
dissolve  the  Reichstag. 

Without  the  consent  of  the  Reichstag,  the  prorogation  may  not 
exceed  thirty  days,  while  in  case  of  dissolution  new  elections 
must  take  place  within  sixty  days  —  and  a  new  session  must  opeu 
within  ninety  days.  The  Reichstag  is  presided  over  by  an  officer 
elected  by  its  own  members.     All  laws  of  the  empire  must  receive 


i 


748  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Later,  on  the  ascension  of  Ekigland's  throne  by  Elizabeth,  who 
became  a  stanch  prop  of  the  Protestant  cause  more  from  policy, 
possibly,  than  real  belief,  John  Knox,  compromising  a  little 
with  his  conscience,  perhaps,  tried  to  soften  somewhat  the  rough- 
ness of  that  ^^  First  Blast.'*  But  it  still  rings  true  as  expressive 
of  what  a  tolerably  good  man  must  have  felt  at  the  spectacle  then 
presented  by  the  crowned  women  of  the  world. 

Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England's  queens,  had  all  the  national 
failings  and  some  of  the  national  vices  emphasized  in  her  personal 
character.  The  vanity  of  the  average  Englishman  which  the 
average  American  has  inherited  in  part  if  not  in  whole,  that 
makes  him  believe  his  race  and  nation  the  finest  under  the  sun, 
was  a  conspicuous  characteristic  of  good  Queen  Bess. 

That  she  was  also  capable  of  easy  lying  and  that  strong  oaths 
came  naturally  to  her  quick  lips  full  of  Plantagenet  temper  seems 
beyond  a  i*easonable  doubt.  Yet  we  must  remember  in  our  judg- 
ing that  lying  in  courts  and  in  the  management  of  politics  is  not 
called  lying  but  diplomacy,  and  Elizabeth,  very  likely,  was  early 
taught  this  poor  trick  as  the  A  B  C  of  statesmanship. 

The  inherited  intensity  of  the  woman's  natui*e  was  thwarted  by 
her  determination,  for  the  sake  of  her  people,  to  live  unmarried, 
and  thus  natural  forces  turned  inward  soured  her  and  empliasized 
her  eccentricities.  The  closeness  of  her  grandfather,  the  miser 
king,  re-appeared  in  many  of  her  monetary  dealings,  but  it  is 
hardly  believable  that  her  niggardliness  caused  her,  as  lias  been 
charged,  to  give  rotten  bread  to  the  gallant  seamen  who  drove  oflf 
the  Spanish  Armada. 

Mary  A.  Livermore,  who  has  made  especial  study  of  this  English 
queen,  and  who  was  assisted  in  her  lecture  on  Elizabeth  by  books 
and  manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  which  no  one  is  allowed 
to  remove,  and  who,  before  re\vriting  her  lecture  amid  these  vener- 
able archives,  had  already  ^vritten  it  four  times, —  such  is  the 
patience  and  fidelity  of  those  who  aim  at  accuracy  —  puts  her 
valuable  opinion  of  this  great  woman  in  government  in  these 
vivid  words :  — 

The  English  people  adore  Elizabeth.  She  founded  the  English 
nation.     It  was  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  agriculturists  when  she 


WOMAN    IN    OOVERNSrENT.  749' 

ascended  the  throne.  She  waa  two  hundred  years  ahead  of  her  time 
and  would  have  given  entire  and  perfect  religious  fi'eedom,  had  it  been 
safe.  She  held  England  firmly  in  her  hand  for  thirty  yenra  and  would 
not  allow  it  to  go  to  war,  knowing  that  the  development  of  a  nation 
must  come  from  icitfiin  if  it  is  to  grow. 

Elizabetii  had  no  extravagant  court-follies,  no  costly  liensiialitios,  no 
irssting  wars  which  disheartened  the  people,  cut  the  sinews  of  national 
strength,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  future  revolution. 

All  her  expenses  for  palaces,  processions,  journeys,  carriages,  servants 
^dresses,  everything  averaged  only  $525,000  a  year,  while  Louis  XIV., 
'Le  Grand  Monarque,  spent  £40,000,000  on  one  palace  alone.  Her 
flirtation H and  co«juetried  were  a  part  of  her  aCaCe  policy,  and  her  deter- 
mination never  to  marry  was  the  outcome  of  her  great  ambition  to 
make  England  a  nation. 

The  rule  of  IjOuIs  XiV.  in  France  was  remarkable  for  a  change 
in  appearances,  though  not  in  realities  at  the  French  Court. 
The  lady  who  managed  this  monarcli,  Madame  de  Maintenoii, 
believed  herself  to  be  devout  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  position 
forced  tipon  her  by  a  more  or  less  grim  destiny. 

Therefore  the  fiat  went  forth  that  piety  and  rigidity  of  conduct 
were  to  be  the  fashion  at  court ;  but  while  this  madame  was  mistress 
of  affairs,  300,000  exiles  of  the  best  heart  and  brain  of  France  also 
went  forth  to  other  lands  i-ather  than  risk  the  persecutions  which 
a  superstitious  woman,  anxious  to  compound  for  her  own  sins  by 
punishing  those  of  others,  might  take  a  fancy  to  inflict. 

Throughout  this  reign  a  semblance  of  decency  was  kept  up  by 
the  aristocrats,  who,  to  their  credit  be  it  said,  chafed  under  the 
hypocrisy  of  their  daily  lives  and  longed  for  the  day  when 
Madame  de  Maintenon's  power  should  be  over. 

When  that  day  came  and  Louis  lay  in  state,  liarmless  at 
last,  the  French  nobility  commenced  that  crazy  whirl  of  cmel 
lust  through  the  patient  eighteenth  century  which  was  to  end 
only  with  the  guiliotine,  and  the  awakening  of  the  common 
people. 

The  reign  of  that  pious  sinner,  de  Maintenon,  gave  way  to  that 
of  de  Parabere  who  oonti-olled  the  policy  of  the  Regent.  The 
next  Louis  was  only  a  symbol  of  a  man.  a  sort  of  vivilied  marion- 
nette  whose  strings  were  pulled   at  merest  whim  by  Madame  la 


760  TliB  STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Marquise  de  Pompadour,  whose  style  of  wearing  the  hair  is  even 
yet  not  entirely  gone  out  of  fashion. 

She  it  was  who  made  Louis  sign  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
1748,  because  she  could  not  trust  him  alone  with  the  army.  Not 
long  after,  against  the  counsel  of  his  ministers,  she  forced  the 
foolish  Louis  into  the  Seven  Years*  War  to  punish  Frederick  the 
Great  for  some  coarse  jokes  he  had  made  about  her. 

Like  Aspasia,  she  affected  literature  and  sought  the  friendship 
of  Voltaire,  that  incarnate  sneer.  But  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
social  philosophers,  who  belonged  to  the  magic  circle  of  which 
Voltaire  was  the  central  point,  she  was  supremely  ignorant. 

When  some  of  those  who  saw  (or  thought  they  saw,  like  men 
to-day,  who  see  similar  signs)  below  the  smooth  sur&ce  of  the 
times,  and  heard  the  rumbling  thunder  in  the  heart  of  the  moun* 
tain,  told  this  Queen  of  Caprice  and  Paris  what  troubles  were 
at  hand,  she  laughed  their  solemn  words  away  and  said,  ^«  Apris 
natis  le  dSluge  !  "  "  After  us  let  the  deluge  come  then ! " 

It  came  like  the  lava-flood  on  that  laughter-loving  city  of  the 
South  —  like  that  outbreak  of  Vesuvius  which  is  hinted  at  in  our 
illustmtion  of  fugitive  women  watching,  in  a  pause  of  their  flight, 
the  fiery  cloud  breathed  out  by  the  angry  mountain. 

It  came,  and  the  unfortunate  Marie  Antoinette,  who  was  the 
first  thoroughly  good  woman  in  nearly  two  hundred  yeai-s  to  have 
a  hand  in  directing  the  statecraft  of  womanized  France,  was 
drowned  in  la  Pompadour's  deluge.  The  vengeance  of  a  people 
long  oppressed,  like  the  rain  of  God,  fell  from  that  cloudy  heaven 
on  the  just  and  unjust.  The  glorious  Revolution  swept  away 
impai-tially  chaste  queen  and  royal  courtesan.  The  reign  of  the 
common  people  had  begim. 

During  that  eighteenth  century  the  power  of  woman  in  France 
and  her  grasp  on  government  were  matched  by  similar  conditions 
among  other  nations.  The  first  Bourbon  King  of  Spain,  grandson 
of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  for  nearly  fifty  years  wivs  ruled  by 
his  wife,  Elizabeth  Farnese  and  her  Jesuit  Confessor,  which  pair, 
with  the  best  of  intentions,  contrived  to  complete  the  ruin  of 
Spain. 

In  England  Queen  Anne,  a  rather  stupid  woman,  managed  to 
steer  the  ship  of  state  with  tolerable  success  by  selecting  clever 


■WOMAN    IN   GOVEENMENT. 


761 


ministers.  After  her,  Caroline,  wife  of  George  II.,  shared  with 
Walpole  the  government  of  England,  her  husband  believing  to  the 
day  of  hia  death  that  he  waa  not  a  womau-tuled  monarch  like  hia 


neighbors  of  France  and  Spain.  In  Austria,  Maria  Theresa  made 
a  gallant  attempt  at  maintaining  her  rights  and  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathy of  tlie  Hungarian  Diet. 

"Holy"  Russia,  too,  for  sixty-seven  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  suffered  from  a  set  of  crowned  courtesans  to  wliom  far 
worse  woi-ds  than  Jolin  Knox  put  forth  in  his  "  Blast "  could  be 
justly  applied.  Catharine  I.,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  Catharine  II. 
hardly  seem  to  be  modern  women,  hut  i-ather  hideous  nightmares 
of  some  historian's  dream.  The  present  Empress  of  Russia,  whose 
picture  adorns  these  pages,  must  not  be  confounded  with  those 


744  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

comforts  which  mark  this  age  of  manifold  mechanisms,  this  century 
of  gas,  and  bi-ass,  and  electric  monopolies,  and  over-crowded  cities, 
was,  nevertheless,  in  some  ways,  perhaps,  as  well  supplied  in  the 
essentials  of  spiritual  happiness. 

The  fifteenth  century  in  Europe  brought  to  the  front  of  poli- 
tics two  remarkable  women,  one,  an  inspired  —  or  some  say,  crazy  — 
peasant  girl,  Joan  D'Arc,  the  other,  Agnes  Sorel,  for  thirteen 
years  the  companion,  confidante  and  counsellor  of  the  King  of 
France. 

Joan  of  Arc,  with  her  passionate  desire  to  see  the  Dauphin 
crowned  at  Rheims,  despite  the  English  foe,  and  with  her  Amazonian 
love  of  being  in  battle  like  a  man,  or  of  leading  men,  is  the  more 
picturesque  figure,  and  the  enthusiasm  which  the  chaste  peasant 
maid  evoked  is  still  vibrant  in  the  world  to-day. 

So  much  so  is  this  the  case  that  we  have  the  singularly  sugges- 
tive spectacle  of  Sarah  Bernhardt,  the  leading  French  actress, 
playing  the  part  of  Joan  in  a  play  especially  written  for  the 
popular  taste  rather  than  for  the  popular  actress. 

Yet  a  much  grander  dream  than  Joan's,  to  drive  the  English 
encroachei's  entirely  out  of  her  beloved  France,  was  the  steady 
purpose  of  Agnes  Sorel,  the  first,  and  probably  the  best,  of  the 
long  line  of  French  frailties  who  ruled  unlucky  France  through 
the  affections  of  the  king.  Hei-s  was  no  easy  task  —  to  turn  a 
butterfly  prince  into  a  steady  and  sensible  monarch,  to  make  almost 
a  statesman  out  of  royal  material  so  exceedingly  raw. 

But  Agnes  Sorel  loved  her  country  even  more  than  she  loved 
her  king,  though  she  probably  loved  him  very  deeply,  too,  for  we 
are  apt  to  love  the  things  that  we  create,  be  they  our  children,  or 
our  works,  or  the  charactei*s  that  we  help  our  loved  ones  to  build 
up. 

The  next  three  centuries  of  French  history  were  the  halcyon 
times  of  woman's  supremacy  in  government,  but  it  was  nearly 
always  the  supremacy  of  the  wanton,  ruling  a  king  through 
his  passions,  and  ruled  herself  by  a  priest  through  her  super- 
stitions. 

This  might  not  have  been  so  disastrous  to  the  people  at  large 
had  the  priests  been  as  a  rule  like  such  churchmen  {is  Manning, 
and  Gibbons,  and  many  others,  or  even  had  they  been  men  of  the 


WtLBELMtTTB, 


QUEEN  OF  THE  MBTRBBI.AKDB  146 


746  THE  STORY  OF  60VBRNMENT. 

high  ambitions  and  broad  abilities  of  a  Richelieu,  but  mostly  tliej 
appear  to  the  unbiased  eyes  of  after  ages  mere  coui-t  politicians, 
fond  of  playing  the  wind-god  in  the  causing  or  calming  of  teacup 
tempests. 

The  depravity  of  that  long  national  night  not  only  outraged 
morals  but  good  taste,  which,  after  all,  is  in  itself  a  kind  of 
rudimentary  moral  sense.  Citation  of  the  whole  list  of  horrors 
would  sicken  the  reader.  Let  one  suffice.  Diane  de  Poitiei's, 
who  ruled  France  through  Henry  II.,  began  her  career  as  the  mis- 
tress of  his  father. 

The  vileness  of  the  House  of  Yalois  has  passed  into  a  proverb. 
Compared  with  the  princes  of  that  stock,  Henry  YIII.  of  England 
shines  forth  as  rather  a  gentleman,  somewhat  uncertain  as  to  the 
state  of  his  affections,  no  doubt,  and  with  a  peculiarly  adjusted 
conscience,  but  still  mth  a  faint  possibility  of  human  nature  lurk- 
ing somewhere  amid  his  catalogue  of  enormities. 

When  ho  committed  a  crime,  he  tried  to  convert  it  into  a  virtue 
by  some  regal  or  legal  alchemy.  Thus  he  paid  at  least  a  certain 
inverted  homage  to  an  ideal  of  right  dimly  recognized  by  him  in 
others'  natures,  if  not  in  his  own. 

None  of  the  French  princes  would  have  troubled  themselves  to 
have  invented  a  new  church,  as  did  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  for 
the  sake  of  securing  a  divorce  from  a  mere  wife  of  state  whom 
they  had  ceased  to  care  for#  They  would  simply  have  seized  the 
other  woman  whom  they  happened  to  desire  and  bent  her  or  broken 
her  to  their  bestial  will. 

About  this  time  a  great  woman  ruled  in  S23ain  jointly  with  her 
husband,  Ferdinand,  consolidating  the  two  houses  of  Arragon  and 
Castile.  Isabella,  it  must  be  admitted,  had  probably  some  of  the 
bad  qualities  of  her  race,  who  have  been  styled  by  one  r.ither 
paitisan  historian  the  most  tigerish  family  of  monarchs  that  ever 
ruled  in  Castile.  ^ 

That  Isabella  permitted  the  dreadful  Inquisition  must  probubly 
remain  a  stiiin  on  her  fame,  but  that  she  treated  brutally  her 
daughter  is  rather  hard  to  believe  when  collated  with  the  fact  tliat 
she  was  indignant  at  the  cruelties  practised  on  the  newly  dis- 
covered Indians  by  her  subjects  in  the  New  World. 

The  attempt  has  been  made  by  some  English  writers  to  take 


WOMAN  IN   GOVEENMBNT.  747 

from  Isabella  the  credit  of  having  [mwned  her  jewels  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  Columbus  in  his  expedition  to  discover  America.  But 
Mary  A.  Livermore,  whose  public  and  private  utterances, 
whether  of  opinion  or  of  fact,  are  marked  by  accuracy  and  modesty, 
says  on  tliia  point :  — 

"  If  there  is  one  historic  statement  more  clearly  proved  than  that 
Isabella  pledged  her  jewels  for  the  funds  for  Columbus'  first  expedi- 
tion, I  have  yet  to  learn  it.  To  be  sure,  Luis  Santangel  furnished  the 
funds  from  the  finances  of  the  ecclesiiistical  treasury  of  Arragon 
of  which  he  was  treasurer,  but  the  jewels  of  Isabella  were  tfie 
collateral  security  pledged  for  the  payment, 

"  Harriet  Hosnier  is  now  in  Rome  making  an  heroic  statue  of 
Isabella  to  commemorate  that  event.  She  S[)ent  months  in  study- 
ing every  detail  of  Isabella's  history,  in  Spain  and  in  Rome.  She 
is  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  story,  and  is  making  her  statue 
for  the  World's  Fair,  representing  Isabella  offering  her  jewels  to 
Columbus." 

Feminine  domination  in  Europe  reached  its  climax  in  the  time 
from  1550  to  1600.  The  Marys  in  England  and  Scotland,  and 
the  infamous  Catherine  de  Medici  in  France,  from  1559  to  1589, 
ekmed  the  title  of  being  the  crowned  curses  of  kingdoms. 

To  corrupt  the  morals  of  her  own  sons,  and  to  influence  one  of 
them  to  commit  the  monstrous  crime  and  blunder  of  the  massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  shows  the  bad  eminence  of  Catherine's 
character.  How  the  cause  of  the  Catholic  Church  has  suffered  by 
such  champions  as  Mary  Stuart  and  Catherine  de  Medici  it  is 
easy  to  see. 

But  in  England  the  star  of  woman's  political  influence  began 
to  shine  with  a  light  less  luiid,  less  blood-red  and  flame-red  than 
the  fires  of  Smithfield  that  had  provoked  stout  John  Knox,  lurking 
in  safe  obscurity  at  Dieppe,  to  blow  forth  to  the  public  his  "  First 
Blast  of  the  Trumpet  against  the  Monstrous  Regiment  of  Women," 
which  opened  in  c^eat,  nnmistafeable  tones:  — 

"  To  jiromoto  a  woman  to  beare  rule,  Huperioritie,  dominion  or  em- 
pire above  any  realme,  nation  or  citie,  is  repugnant  to  nature,  con- 
tumelie  to  God,  a  thing  most  contnirious  to  his  reveled  will  and 
approved  ordinance,  and  finallie  it  ia  the  subversion  of  good  order,  of 
all  equitio  and  justice." 


748  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

Later,  on  the  ascension  of  England's  throne  by  Elizabeth,  who 
became  a  stanch  prop  of  the  Protestant  cause  more  from  policy, 
possibly,  than  real  belief,  John  Knox,  compromising  a  little 
with  his  conscience,  perhaps,  tried  to  soften  somewhat  the  rough- 
ness of  that  ^^  First  Blast/'  But  it  still  rings  true  as  expressive 
of  what  a  tolerably  good  man  must  have  felt  at  the  spectacle  then 
presented  by  the  crowned  women  of  the  world. 

Elizabeth,  the  greatest  of  England's  queens,  had  all  the  national 
failings  and  some  of  the  national  vices  emphasized  in  her  personal 
character.  The  vanity  of  the  average  Englishman  which  the 
average  American  has  inherited  in  part  if  not  in  whole,  that 
makes  him  believe  his  race  and  nation  the  finest  under  the  sun, 
was  a  conspicuous  characteristic  of  good  Queen  Bess. 

That  she  was  also  capable  of  easy  lying  and  that  strong  oaths 
came  naturally  to  her  quick  lips  full  of  Plantagenet  temper  seems 
beyond  a  reasonable  doubt.  Yet  we  must  remember  in  our  judg- 
ing that  lying  in  courts  and  in  the  management  of  politics  is  not 
called  lying  but  diplomacy,  and  Elizabeth,  very  likely,  was  early 
taught  this  poor  ti'ick  as  the  A  B  C  of  statesmanship. 

The  inherited  intensity  of  the  woman's  nature  was  thwarted  by 
her  determination,  for  the  sake  of  her  people,  to  live  unmamed, 
and  thus  natural  forces  turned  inward  soured  her  and  emphasized 
her  eccentricities.  The  closeness  of  lier  grandfather,  the  miser 
king,  re-appeared  in  many  of  her  monetary  dealings,  but  it  is 
hardly  believable  that  her  niggardliness  caused  her,  as  lias  been 
charged,  to  give  rotten  bread  to  the  gallant  seamen  who  drove  off 
the  Spanish  Armada. 

Mary  A.  Livermore,  who  has  made  especial  study  of  this  English 
queen,  and  who  was  assisted  in  her  lecture  on  Elizabeth  by  books 
and  manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  which  no  one  is  allowed 
to  remove,  and  wlio,  before  rewriting  her  lecture  amid  these  vener- 
able archives,  had  already  written  it  four  times, —  such  is  the 
patience  and  fidelity  of  those  who  aim  at  accuracy  —  puts  her 
valuable  opinion  of  this  great  woman  in  government  in  these 
vivid  words :  — 

The  English  people  adore  Elizabeth.  She  founded  the  English 
nation.     It  was  a  heterogeneous  collection  of  agriculturists  when  she 


WOMAN   IN   GOVERNMENT.  T-19' 

ascended  tlie  throne.  She  was  two  hundred  years  ahead  of  hor  time 
and  would  have  given  entire  and  perfect  rehgioiia  freedom,  had  it  been 
safe.  She  held  England  firmly  in  her  hand  for  thirty  years  and  would 
not  allow  it  to  go  to  war,  knowing  that  the  development  of  a  nntion 
must  come  from  tpithin  if  it  is  to  grow. 

Elizabeth  had  no  extravagant  con rt-fol lies,  no  costly  sensualities,  no 
wasting  ware  which  disheartened  the  people,  cut  the  sinews  of  national 
strength,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  future  revolution. 

All  her  expenses  for  palaces,  processions,  journeys,  carriages,  servants 
dresses,  evernhing  averaged  only  t.$25,000  a  year,  while  Lotiis  XIV., 
Le  Grand  Monarqne,  spent  X40, 000,000  on  one  palace  alone.  Her 
flirtations  and  coquetries  were  a  part  of  her  state  policy,  and  her  deter- 
minatJon  never  to  marry  was  the  outcome  of  her  great  ambition  to 
make  England  a  nation. 

The  rule  of  I^iiia  XIV.  in  Fi-aiice  was  remarkable  for  a  change 
in  appearances,  tliough  not  in  i-ealities  at  the  Fiunch  Court. 
The  hidy  who  managed  this  monarch,  Madame  de  Maint«noii, 
believed  herself  to  be  devout  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  position 
forced  upon  her  by  a  more  or  less  grim  destiny. 

Therefoi-e  the  fiat  went  forth  that  piety  and  rigidity  of  conduct 
were  to  be  the  fashion  at  coui*t ;  but  while  this  matlame  was  miBtress 
of  affairs.  300,000  exiles  of  the  best  heart  and  brain  of  France  also 
■went  forth  to  other  lands  i-ather  than  risk  the  persecutions  which 
a  superatitious  woman,  anxious  to  compound  for  her  own  sins  by 
punishing  those  of  others,  might  tiike  a  fancy  to  inflict. 

Throughout  this  veign  a  semblance  of  decency  was  kept  up  by 
the  aristocrats,  who,  to  their  credit  be  it  said,  chafed  under  the 
hypocrisy  of  their  daily  lives  and  longed  for  the  day  when 
Madame  de  Maintenon's  power  should  be  over. 

When  that  day  came  and  Louis  lay  in  state,  harmless  at 
last,  the  French  nobility  commenced  that  ci-azy  Avhul  of  cniel 
lust  through  the  patient  eighteenth  century  which  was  to  end 
only  with  the  guillotine,  iuid  tlie  awakening  of  the  common 
people. 

The  reign  of  that  pious  sinner,  de  Maintenon,  gave  way  hi  that 
of  de  Pai-aljcre  who  controlled  the  policy  of  the  Regent.  The 
next  Louis  was  only  a  symbol  of  a  man,  a  sort  of  vivified  marion- 
nette  whose  strings  were  pulled  at  merest   whim  by  Madame  la 


760  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Marquise  de  Pompadour,  whose  style  of  wearing  the  hair  is  even 
yet  not  entirely  gone  out  of  fashion. 

She  it  was  who  made  Louis  sign  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in 
1748,  because  she  could  not  trust  him  alone  with  the  army.  Not 
long  after,  against  the  counsel  of  his  ministers,  she  forced  the 
foolish  Louis  into  the  Seven  Years'  War  to  punish  Frederick  the 
Great  for  some  coarse  jokes  he  had  made  about  her. 

Like  Aspasia,  she  affected  literature  and  sought  the  friendship 
of  Voltaire,  that  incarnate  sneer.  But  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
social  philosophers,  who  belonged  to  the  magic  circle  of  which 
Voltaire  was  the  central  point,  she  was  supremely  ignorant. 

When  some  of  those  who  saw  (or  thought  they  saw,  like  men 
to-day,  who  see  similar  signs)  below  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
times,  and  heard  the  rumbling  thunder  in  the  heart  of  the  moun- 
tain, told  this  Queen  of  Caprice  and  Paris  what  troubles  were 
at  hand,  she  laughed  their  solemn  words  away  and  said,  "  Apre% 
noiLS  le  deluge  I "  "  After  us  let  the  deluge  come  then  I  " 

It  came  like  the  lava-flood  on  that  laughter-loving  city  of  the 
South  —  like  that  outbreak  of  Vesuvius  which  is  liinted  at  in  our 
illustration  of  fugitive  women  watching,  in  a  pause  of  their  flight, 
the  liery  cloud  breatlied  out  by  tlie  angry  mountain. 

It  came,  and  the  unfortunate  Marie  Antoinette,  w^ho  was  the 
first  thoroughly  good  woman  in  nearly  two  hundred  yeara  to  have 
a  hand  in  directing  tlie  statecraft  of  womanized  France,  wiis 
drowned  in  la  Pompadour's  deluge.  The  vengeance  of  a  people 
long  oppressed,  like  the  rain  of  God,  fell  from  that  cloudy  heaven 
on  the  just  and  unjust.  The  glorious  Revolution  swept  away 
impartially  chaste  queen  and  royal  courtesan.  The  reign  of  the 
common  people  had  begun. 

During  that  eighteenth  century  the  power  of  woman  in  France 
and  her  grasp  on  government  were  matched  by  similar  conditions 
among  other  nations.  The  first  Bourbon  King  of  Spain,  grandson 
of  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  for  nearly  fifty  yeare  was  ruled  by 
his  wife,  Elizabeth  Farnese  and  her  Jesuit  Confessor,  which  pair, 
with  the  best  of  intentions,  contrived  to  complete  the  ruin  of 
Spain. 

In  England  Queen  Anne,  a  rather  stupid  woman,  managed  to 
steer  the  ship  of  state  with  tolerable  success  by  selecting  clever 


WOMAN    IN   GOVERNMENT. 


761 


ministers.  After  her,  Caroline,  wife  of  George  II.,  shared  with 
Walpole  the  government  of  England,  her  husband  believing  to  the 
day  of  his  death  that  he  was  not  a  woman-ruled  monarch  hke  his 


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neighbors  of  France  and  Spain.  In  Austria,  Maria  Theresa  made 
a  gallant  attempt  at  maintaining  her  rights  and  enlisted  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Hungarian  Diet. 

"  Holy "  Russia,  too,  for  sixty-seven  years  of  the  eigliteenth 
century  suffered  from  a  set  of  crowned  courtesans  to  whom  far 
worse  wni-ds  than  John  Knox  put  forth  in  liis  "  Blast  "  could  be 
justly  applied.  Catharine  I.,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  Catharine  II. 
hardly  seem  to  be  modern  women,  but  rather  hideous  nightmares 
of  some  historian's  dream.  The  present  Empress  of  Hussia,  whose 
picture  adorns  tiiese  p^pes,  must  not  be  confounded  with  those 


762  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

brazen  horrora.     Her  placid  beauty  is  a  shadow  of  the  kind  and 
placid  soul  which  animates  her  slightest  actions. 

In  our  brief  survey  of  the  part  woman  has  played  in  govern- 
ment, we  arrive  now  at  the  nineteenth  century,  which  was  the  first 
to  witness  on  any  large  scale  the  dawn  of  democracy  in  the  modem 
world,  and  in  this,  our  century,  we  find  few  women  veiy  con- 
spicuously or  actively  engaged  in  managing  the  affairs  of  nations. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  figure  is  the  Dowager  Empress  of 
China,  who  for  twenty-five  years  has  influenced  the  daily  destinies 
of  450,000,000  of  people,  and  in  curious  contrast  with  this  mys- 
terious old  lady  in  Asia  is  the  Baby  Queen  of  the  Netherlands, 
whose  innocent  face  is  like  so  many  girl  faces  in  many  a  humble 
home. 

One  who  has  read  HoUandish  history  cannot  help  feeling  as  if 
the  queenhood  of  this  little  Wilhelmine  wei'e  casting  backward 
a  forgiving  beam  of  gentleness  over  the  crimes  and  follies  of  the 
House  of  Orange,  and  .at  the  same  time  throwing  forward  a  gleam 
of  promise  for  the  future. 

In  England  the  long  and  well-balanced  life  of  Victoria  has 
wiped  away  the  memories  of  the  disgraceful  days  of  the  last 
George,  and  by  easy  stages  of  popular  expansion  has  paved  tlie 
way  for  a  republican  government  in  the  days  soon  to  come.  But 
the  crowned  wives  of  this  century,  while  they  escape  censure  in 
comparison  with  the  past,  are  not  the  best  real  specimens  of  women 
in  government. 

The  real  queens  of  this  epoch,  springing  from  the  ranks  of  the 
people,  and  demanding  merely  that  homage  which  moral  gi*ace, 
subserved  by  intellectual  power,  must  finally  obtain,  are  to  be 
found  in  many  a  quiet  home,  in  many  a  land,  helping  their  fathers, 
brothere,  Inisbinds  and  sons,  to  make  this  world  just  a  little  better 
and  younger  every  day. 


J 


Scn^i-JVtiUtary    Co  institutional 
Jvloparcl^y* 


TIL  S  onts  wanders  through  the  galleries  of  Versailles,  drink- 
/   \       lug  in  tli6  beauty  of  the  surroimdings,  now  looking  at 

/  %  the  piiiiitiiigB  where  the  liistfiry  of  Fi-ance  is  repre- 
sented by  battle  scenes  from  the  earliest  strugglea  of 
the  Gaul  down  to  recent  campaigns  in  the  Crimea  and  Italy,  and 
then  gazing  on  the  wonderful  fountains  of  Apollo,  with  the  Tri^ 
non  seen  tlirongh  the  leaver,  full  of  memorii^s  of  Jlarie  Antoinette, 
what  visions  of  history  more  vivid  and  exciting  than  any  romance 
rise  in  the  mind  —  what  memories  of  great  sovereigns,  who,  raising 
France  to  the  highest  pitch  of  glory  and  influence,  were,  by  the 
very  means  they  employed  for  such  ends,  the  cause  of  her  subse- 
quent fall  and  humiliation ! 

First  Louis  XIV.,  le  &rand  Monarque,  whose  extravagance  in 
building  this  palace  impoverished  France  and  helped  to  bring  his 
descendant  to  the  guillotine,  filled  its  walls  with  pictures  commem- 
orating the  victories  won  by  Prince  Cond(5  and  Mai-shal  Turenne, 
then  saw  his  hopes  of  further  conquests  end  at  Blenheim.  Then 
came  the  Corsican  Bonaparte,  who  with  his  marshals  at  first  found 
Europe  too  small  for  their  conquering  armies.  But  after  Auster- 
litz  and  Jena  came  Waterloo,  and  the  fiist  empire  and  its  glories 
faded  out  on  that  fatal  field. 

Finally  Napoleon  III.  plays  his  brief  part,  and  after  Magenta, 
SoUV-i-iiin.  uii'I  ilic  Malakoff  ccmes  Sedan,  and  his  empire  vanishes 


754  THE  STORY  OF  OOVERNMENT. 

into  history;  for  a  third  time,  after  a  short  period  of  martial 
intoxication,  France  begs  for  mercy  at  the  liands  of  the  victorious 
German. 

Of  all  the  striking  historical  events  these  palace  walls  liave 
witnessed,  that  one  of  January  18,  1871,  was  the  most  di-amatic  in 
its  completion  of  a  people^i^  desii*e,  its  consummation  of  the  liopes 
of  patriots  and  statesmen  for  many  centuries :  the  unification  of 
Germany  under  one  strong  power.  On  that  day,  ali-eady  cele- 
brated in  the  annals  of  Prussia  as  the  one  on  which,  in  1701,  its 
first  king,  Frederic  I.,  was  crowned  at  Konigsberg,  King  William, 
passing  between  lines  of  German  soldiery  representing  the  various 
nations  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  the  smaller  princi- 
palities, entered  the  famous  Qallerie  des  Qlaces^  and  standing 
under  a  picture  of  Louis  XIV.  faced  as  proud  and  triumphant  an 
assembly  of  men  as  ever  gathered  about  a  leader. 

Behind  him  were  ranged  six  hundred  battle  flags  from  his  regi- 
ments. At  his  right  hand  stood  the  Crown  Prince,  then  the  pic- 
ture of  health  and  the  promise  of  long  life.  Ranged  beside 
him  right  and  left  were  the  kings,  princes,  and  reigning  powers 
of  Germany,  statesmen,  delegates  from  the  North  German  Con- 
federative  parliament,  such  as  the  speaker,  Herr  Simson,  who 
came  in  the  name  of  that  parliament  to  offer  the  imperial  crown, 
and  who  in  1848  made  the  same  proffer  to  the  brother  of  the 
present  king,  and  representatives  from  the  free  towns,  and  the 
leading  officers  of  his  victorious  armies. 

As  the  old  king,  whose  niiirtary  career  began  with  fighting  against 
the  firat  Napoleon,  saw  himself  supported  by  such  a  statesman  as 
Bismarck,  soldiers  like  Von  Moltke  and  Von  Roon,  his  soldier  son 
and  lieir,  Fritz,  and  liis  brilliant  nephew,  Frederick  Charles,  the 
^^Hed  Prince^''  he  must  have  felt  that  his  kingdom  was  founded 
on  a  rock,  even  if  the  proclamation  making  liim  Emperor  seemed 
like  a  dream.  After  the  acceptance  by  the  king  of  the  imperial 
dignity,  Bismarck,  whose  clear  brain  and  iron  will  had  made  tliLs 
scene  possible,  read  the  following  document  in  a  strong,  clear  voice 
vibrant  with  pei-sonal,  as  well  as  national,  triumph :  — 

We,  William,  by  God's  grace  King  of  Prussia,  hereby  announce  that 
the  German  princes  and  free  towns  having  addressed  to  us  a  unanimous 
call  to  renew  and  ini<lertake  with  the  re-establishment  of  the  German 


w 


SEMI-MELITARY    CONSTITUTIONAL    MONAROHV-  755 


Empire  the  dignity  of  Emperor,  -wliicli  now  for  sixty  years  has  been 
in  abeyance,  aiid  the  requisite  provisionB  having  been  inserted  in  the 
ConRfitHtion  of  the  German  Confederation,  wo  regard  it  as  a  duty 
we  owe  to  the  entire  Fatherland  to  comply  with  this  call  of  the 
united  German  princes  and  free  towns,  and  to  accept  the  dignity  of 
Emperor. 

Accordingly,  we  and  our  successors  to  the  crown  of  Prussia  hence- 
forth shall  use  the  imperial  title  in  all  the  relations  and  affairs  of  the 
German  Empire,  and  we  hope  to  God  that  it  may  be  vouchsafed  to 
the  German  nation  to  lead  the  Fatliorland  on  to  a  blessed  future,  ander 
the  auapices  of  its  ancient  splendor. 

3Iay  God  grant  to  us  and  to  our  successors  to  the  im}>erial  crown 
that  we  may  be  the  defenders  of  the  German  Empire  at  all  times,  not 
in  martial  conqnesU,  but  in  works  of  peace,  in  the  sphere  of  national 
prosperity,  freedom,  and  civilization. 

When  the  reailiiig  wjis  over  the  Grand  Duke  of  Biiden  stepped 
forward  and  cried :  — "  Long  live  the  German  Emperor  WiUiftm  1 " 
This  cry  was  taken  up  by  the  assembly,  wlio  then  advanced  and 
did  homage  to  the  new  Kaiser,  while  the  soldiei-s  outside  carried  on 
the  cry,  and  the  cannon  o£  Mount  Val^rien,  ever  firing,  grumbled 
in  the  distance,  as  if  the  Gaul  muttered  curses  on  what  he  could 
not  prevent.  So  to  the  popular  mind  of  Germany  the  old  legend 
came  true  that  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa,  who  with  his 
knights  lay  bound  in  enchanted  sleep  in  the  mountains  of  Bavaria, 
would  come  to  life  again  and  i^store  the  German  Empire. 

Tlie  Constitution  of  this  empiru,  formed  by  blood  and  ii-on, 
bears  date  April  16,  1871.  By  its  terms  all  the  states  of  Gei> 
many  (twenty-five  in  number)  "  form  an  eternal  union  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  realm  and  the  care  of  the  weltai-e  of  the  German 
people."  The  legislative  functions  of  the  empire  are  vested  in  the 
Emperor,  the  Bundesrath,  and  the  Reichstag.  The  supreme  direc- 
tion of  military  and  political  affairs  of  the  empire  is  vested  in 
the  King  of  Prussia,  who  beai-s  the  name  of  Deutgcher  Kaher, 
or  German  Emperor,  Tlie  imi>erial  dignity  is  hereditary  in  the 
line  of  HohenzoUern,  and  follows  the  law  of  primogeniture. 

The  executive  power  is  in  the  Emperor's  hands.  He  repre- 
sents the  empire  internationally,  can  declare  war  if  defentivs, 
make  peace  as  well  as  enter  into   treaties   with  other  nations;  he 


754  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

into  history;  for  a  third  time,  after  a  short  period  of  martial 
intoxication,  France  begs  for  mercy  at  the  liands  of  the  victorious 
German. 

Of  all  the  striking  historical  events  these  palace  walls  Iiave 
witnessed,  that  one  of  January  18,  1871,  was  the  most  dramatic  in 
its  completion  of  a  people^^  desii*e,  its  consummation  of  the  hopes 
of  patriots  and  statesmen  for  many  centuries :  the  unification  of 
Germany  under  one  strong  power.  On  that  day,  ali-eady  cele- 
brated in  the  annals  of  Prussia  as  the  one  on  which,  in  1701,  its 
first  king,  Frederic  I.,  was  crowned  at  Konigsberg,  King  William, 
passing  between  lines  of  German  soldiery  representing  the  various 
nations  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  the  smaller  princi- 
palities, entered  the  famous  Qallerie  des  Glaces^  and  standing 
under  a  picture  of  Louis  XIV.  faced  as  proud  and  triumphant  an 
assembly  of  men  as  ever  gathered  about  a  leader. 

Behind  him  were  ranged  six  hundred  battle  flags  from  his  regi- 
ments. At  his  right  liand  stood  the  Crown  Prince,  then  the  pic- 
ture  of  health  and  the  promise  of  long  life.  Ranged  beside 
him  right  and  left  were  the  kings,  princes,  and  reigning  powers 
of  Germany,  statesmen,  delegates  from  the  North  German  Con- 
federative  parliament,  such  as  the  speaker,  Herr  Simson,  who 
came  in  the  name  of  that  parliament  to  offer  the  imperial  crown, 
and  who  in  1848  made  the  same  proffer  to  the  brother  of  the 
present  king,  and  representatives  from  the  free  towns,  and  the 
leading  officers  of  his  victorious  armies. 

As  the  old  king,  whose  niiirtiuy  career  began  with  fighting  against 
the  first  Napoleon,  saw  himself  supported  by  such  a  statesman  as 
Bismarck,  soldiers  like  Von  Moltke  and  Von  Roon,  his  soldier  son 
and  heir,  Fritz,  and  his  brilliant  nephew,  Frederick  Charles,  the 
"  Hed  Prince^''  he  must  have  felt  that  his  kingdom  was  founded 
on  a  rock,  even  if  the  proclamation  making  him  Emperor  seemed 
like  a  dream.  After  the  acceptance  by  the  king  of  the  imi>erial 
dignity,  Bismarck,  whose  clear  bi-ain  and  iron  will  liad  made  this 
scene  possible,  read  the  following  document  in  a  strong,  clear  voice 
vibrant  with  personal,  jis  well  as  national,  triumph :  — 

We,  William,  by  God's  grace  King  of  Prussia,  hereby  announce  that 
the  German  princes  and  free  towns  having  addressed  to  us  a  unanimous 
call  to  renew  and  undertake  with  the  re-establishment  of  the  German 


SEMI-MlLITARi'    CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY.  755 

Empire  the  dignity  of  Emperor,  which  now  for  sixty  years  has  been 
in  abeyance,  and  the  requisite  provisions  having  been  inserted  in  the 
Constitution  of  tlie  German  Confederation,  we  regard  it  as  a  duty 
we  owe  to  the  entire  Fatherland  to  comply  with  tliis  call  of  the 
united  German  princes  and  free  towns,  and  to  accept  the  dignity  ot 
Emperor. 

Accordingly,  we  and  our  successors  to  the  crown  of  Prussia  hence- 
forth shall  use  the  imperial  title  in  all  the  relations  and  affairs  of  the 
German  Empire,  and  we  hope  to  God  that  it  may  he  vouchsafed  to 
the  German  nation  to  lead  the  Fntherland  on  to  a  blessed  future,  under 
the  auspices  of  ita  ancient  splendor. 

May  God  grant  to  us  and  to  our  successors  to  the  imperial  crown 
that  we  may  be  the  defenders  of  the  German  Enipire  at  all  times,  not 
in  martial  conqueNta,  but  in  works  of  peace,  in  the  sphere  of  national 
prosperity,  freedom,  and  civilization. 

When  the  reading  wiis  over  the  Grand  Duke  of  Biiden  atepiied 
forward  and  cried :  —"■  Lmig  live  the  German  Emperor  William  I " 
This  cry  was  taken  up  by  the  assenihly,  who  then  advanced  and 
did  hoina^  to  tlie  new  Kaiser,  while  the  soldiers  outside  carried  on 
the  oiy,  and  the  cannon  of  Mount  Valtfrien,  ever  firing,  grumbled 
in  the  distance,  an  if  the  Gaul  muttered  curses  on  what  he  could 
not  prevent.  So  tfi  the  popular  mind  of  Gennany  the  old  legend 
came  true  that  tlie  Emperor  Frederick  Barbai-ossa,  who  with  hia 
knights  lay  bound  in  enchanted  sleep  in  the  mountains  of  Bavaria, 
would  come  to  life  again  and  restore  the  German  Empire. 

The  Constitution  of  tbia  empire,  formed  by  blood  and  iitia, 
bears  date  April  16,  1871.  By  its  teiins  all  the  states  of  Ger- 
many (twenty-five  in  number)  "  form  an  eternal  union  for  the  pi-o- 
tection  of  the  realm  and  the  c;ire  of  the  welfare  of  the  German 
people."  The  legislative  functions  of  the  empire  are  vested  in  the 
Emperor,  the  Bundesi-atb,  and  the  Reichstag.  The  supreme  direc- 
tion of  military  and  political  affairs  of  tlie  empire  is  vested  in 
the  King  of  Prussia,  who  beara  the  name  of  Iteutscher  Kaiter, 
or  German  Emperor,  The  imperial  dignity  ia  hereditary  in  the 
line  of  Hohenzollem,  and  follows  the  law  of  primogeniture. 

The  executive  power  is  in  tlie  Emperor'a  hands.  He  repre- 
sents the  empire  internationally,  can  declare  war  if  defensive, 
make  i>eace  as  well  as  enter  into   treaties   with  otlier  nutions  j  he 


766  THE  STOUT  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

also  api>oints  and  receives  ambassadors,  but  for  declaring  offensive 
war  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrath  is  necessary.  The  separate 
states  have  the  privilege  of  sending  ambassadors  to  the  other 
courts,  but  all  consuls  abroad  are  officials  of  the  empire,  and  are 
named  by  the  Emperor. 

This  upper  house  of  the  legislative  body,  styled  the  Bundesrath, 
or  Federal  Council,  represents  the  individual  states  of  Germany 
like  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  It  comprises  fifty-eight 
membera,  who  are  appointed  by  the  governments  of  the  individual 
states  for  each  session.  The  apportionment  is  not  equal  for  each 
state,  following  the  analogy  of  the  United  States  Senate,  but  is 
according  to  population.  All  the  members  of  the  Bundesrath, 
whose  presiding  officer  is  the  Chancellor  of  the  Enii)irc,  liave  the 
right  to  be  present  at  the  deliberations  of  the  Reiclistag. 

Acting  under  the  direction  of  the  chancellor,  the  Bundesrath 
has  a  supreme  and  consultative  board,  and  as  such  has  twelve 
standing  committees :  — 

Army  and  fortifications;  naval;  tanff,  trade  and  taxes;  trade  and 
commerce ;  railways,  posts,  and  telegraphs ;  civil  and  criminal  law ; 
financial  accounts ;  foreign  affairs;  Alsace  and  Lorraine;  constitution; 
standing  orders ;  railway  tariffs. 

Each  committee  consists  of  representatives  of  at  least  four  states 
of  the  empire ;  but  the  foreign  affaii*s  committee  includes  only  the 
representatives  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Wiirtemberg,  and  two 
other  representatives  to  be  elected  every  year. 

The  other  body  called  the  Reichstag,  corresponding  to  the  Unitecl 
States  House  of  Representatives,  is  comprised  of  397  menil)ers 
(about  one  to  every  118,000  inhabitants)  who  arc  elected  by  iiui- 
vci*sal  suffrage  for  five  years.  Both  the  Bundesrath  and  Reichstag 
meet  in  annual  session  convoked  by  the  Eni[)eror.  The  Emperor 
has  the  right,  after  a  vote  by  the  Bundesrath,  to  prorogue  and 
dissolve  the  Reiclistag. 

Without  the  consent  of  the  Reichstag,  the  prorogation  maj'-  not 
exceed  thirty  days,  while  hi  case  of  dissolution  new  elections 
must  take  place  within  sixty  days  —  and  a  new  session  must  opeu 
ninety  days.  The  Reichstag  is  presided  over  by  an  officer 
by  its  own  membei*s.     All  laws  of  the  empire  must  receive 


J. 


SEXE-XtUTASY  COSSTrrmOSAL  MOKABCBT.  761 

Uie  Totes  of  an  aleolnte  nnjontr  of  tbe  Bandesrath  aud  Reichsl)^, 
and  to  take  effect  nrast  nceire  tba  assent  of  the  Emperor,  »ad  be 
onmrteTB^oed  when  pramolgated  br  the  chancellor  of  the  empire. 

As  Hoards  its  legislatiTe  fnnctioos  the  empire  bas  supreme  and 
indrpendcQt  control  in  matters  i^latiog  to  militarr  afturs  and  the 
navTt  to  the  imperial  fiiLiooeSi,  German  commerce^  to  posts  and 
tel^iaphs,  and  also  to  railvrars,  as  far  as  these  affect  the  conuDon 
defeace  of  the  conntry.  Ba\-ana  and  Wartemberg,  hovre^'er,  have 
preset^td  their  own  postal  and  telegraphic  admiQistration. 

The  legislatire  power  of  the  empire  takes  precedence  of  that  of 
the  separate  sutes  in  the  regulation  of  matters  affecting  freedom 
of  migration,  domicile,  settlement,  and  the  rights  of  German  sah- 
jects  generally,  also  everything  relating  to  hanking,  patents,  copj»- 
i^ts,  navigation  of  rivei^  and  canaU,  civil  and  criminal  legi&latioii, 
jadicial  procedure,  sanitary  police,  and  control  of  the  press  and  of 
anociations. 

These  ofBcere  of  state,  or  imperial  secret.iries,  do  not  form  a 
ministn'  or  cabinet  as  in  Great  Britain  where  tl»e  members  come 
into  ofiice  or  leave  it  with  the  prime  minister,  bat  act  indepeo- 
deutly  of  c«tch  other,  and  are  under  tlte  general  supervision  of  the 
chancellor.     Tiiey  are  classilied  thus: 

1.  Chanci'llor  tif  the  f  mpin-. 

2.  Ministry'  for  foreijni  affairs 

3.  Imperial  home  ofHoe. 

4.  Inipeml  ailmiralty. 

5.  Imperial  miiitArv  of  jitst)p«. 
ft.  Imperial  treasury'. 

ALho  presidents  of  imperial  hut^atts: 

1.  I'ast-office. 

i.  liaihravs. 

3.  Exchequer. 

4.  Invalid  Fiin.1. 

5.  B>i>k. 

6.  Debt  Commission. 

Tlie  various  states  of  Gennanr  are  represented  as  follows  in  the 
Btuid«grath  and  Sett^listag :  — 


762 


THK  STORY  OP  GOVERNMENT. 


STiLTBS  OF  THE  EMPIBEL 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

6 

0 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

10 

20 

21 

22 

28 

24 

25 


Number  of 
MembeniA 
Bandesimth. 


Kingdom  of  Prossia 

,1  „  Bftvaria • 

„         „  Wurtemberg 

,,  ,,  Saxony 

Grand  Duchy  of  Baden 

If         19        »,  MecklenbuTg-Schwerin 

If  ff  ff    xie886«  •••••••••••••••••••  •• 

,f         „        „  Oldenburg 

„         „        „  Saxe- Weimar 

f  f         • ,        ,  f  Meoklenburg-Streli  tz. 

Duchy  of  Brunswick 

„       „  Saxe-Meiningen 

„       „  Anhalt 

„       „  Saxe-Coburg-Gotlia 

„      ,,  Saxe-Altenburg 

Principality  of  Waldeck 

II  II  LiPP« ...... 

„  „  Scliwarsburg-Rudolstadt 

„  „  Schwarzburg-Sondershausen . . 

„  „  ReuBs-Schleiz 

„  „  Schaumburg-Lippe 

„  „   ReuBS-Greiz 

Free  Town  of  Hamburg 

„        „      „  Lubeck 

ff        tf      f,  Bremen 

Reichsland  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 


17 
(5 
4 
4 
3 
2 
3 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 


Number  of 
Deputies  in 
Reicbstai^. 


236 
4S 
17 
23 
14 
6 
0 
3 
3 
1 
3 
2 
2 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
3 
1 
1 
15 


58 


397 


Alsace  and  Lorraine  are  represented  in  the  Bundesrath  by  four  cominlssioneni  without 
votes. 


This  Constitution  bears  the  impress  of  the  master  Iiand  of  Bis- 
marck, and  after  the  one  formed  by  the  fathers  of  the  American 
Republic  is  the  greatest  piece  of  statecraft  of  the  age  and  is  like 
the  latter  in  many  respects,  although  the  means  given  for  the 
people  to  express  themselves  are  few.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  full  measure  of  freedom  in  this  particular  would 
come  at  once,  for  the  chief  aim  was  to  vest  in  the  Emperor  as  much 
executive  j)ower  for  war  as  possible. 

To  realize  the  different  threads  whicli  were  woven  together  to 
make  this  new  German  Empire,  one  needs  to  read  the  proclamation 
carefully.  In  it  the  empire  is  spoken  of  as  restored  after  being  in 
abeyance  sixty  yeare,  therefore,  liistorically,  the  German  Kaiser  is 
the  successor  of  CharlemHgne,  Otho  the  Great,  Frederick  B^r- 
barossa,  Charles  V.,  and  Francis  II.  wlio  abdicated  in  1806  in 
obedience  to  Napoleon. 


8EMI-MIUTARY   CONSTITnTIONAL   MONABCHr.  788 

In  tliU  new  empire  Austria  has  im  longer  a  iKJsition,  and  for  tlie 
fipBt  time  the  reigning  house  is  Protestant  in  religion  tuiil  is  no 
longer  elective.  These  facts  represent  tlie  culmination  of  yeara 
of  wjir  and  diplomacy  and  the  ivaeting  of  thousands  of  lives  on 
the  battlefield.  The  free  cities  of  Liibeck,  Hambui^,  and 
Bremen,  although  incorporated  is  this  empire,  preserve  their  local 
right?  or  republics,  the  same  as  the  little  republic  of  San  Marino 
does  ill  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  the  rights  of  the  petty  princes 
and  dukes  are  carefully  guarded  so  that  relics  of  feudalism  still 
survive. 

So  we  see  tlie  feudal  rights  of  the  petty  princes,  the  khigly 
ofBces  of  Saxony,  Wurtemberg,  and  Bavaria  granted  them  by 
Kapoleon  I.,  and  the  democratic  privileges  of  the  free  cities  all 
preserved  and  welded  together  as  if  by  the  hammer  of  Thor. 
The  empire  firmlj'  established,  reforms  wei'e  tpiickly  inaugurated. 
The  post-office,  railways,  and  telegraplis  were  nationalized, 
although  Bavaria  and  Wiirtemberg  retain  control  over  their  own 
systems, 

A  uniform  system  nf  currency  was  adopted  on  a  gold  standard, 
based  ufxm  the  mark,  approximate  value  of  which  in  United  States 
'  is  twenty-five  cents. 


1 


IM   Pteiintee  =  luarlt       I  ,1^.^^.  6  iiiarkt.  =HaU*-Kroiie     1 

A  uniform  code  of  commercial  and  criminal  law  was  adopted, 
but  not  of  civil.  The  appointment  of  judges  is  also  a  state  and 
not  an  imperial  function.  The  Constitution  provides  for  entire 
liberty  of  conscience  andfor  complete  equality  among  all  religious 
confessions.  The  order  of  Jesuits,  however,  is  interdicted  in  all 
parts  (if  the  empire,  also  all  convents  and  religious  orders,  except 
those  for  nursing  the  sick.  Education  is  general  and  compulsory, 
and  every  German  is  lialtle  to  service  in  the  army  with  no  substitu- 
tion allowed. 

The  approval  of  the  Kaiser  must  be  obtained  to  all  appoint- 
ments, and  nothing  affecting  the  superior  direction  of  tlie  ti-oopa 
of  any  st4ite  can  lie  done  without  his  consent.  With  the  exception 
of  Bavaria,  all  German  troops  must  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to - 
the  Emperor,  and  that  is  imjiosed  upon  tlie   Bavarians  in  time  of 


THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 


BTATBS  or  THE  EMFIBE. 

MeSbera"ii 
Biiutlminttb. 

SSr 

10 

1 

lU 

M 
11 
16 
30 

31 

-'H 
M 

17 
I 

,,     „  Br™""v.v. ■.■.■.■.■.■.■.'.■.■■.■.■.■.■■.■.;;;: 

,.          „         „  Mecklonburg-Scliwerin 

Q 

„  Hecklenburg-Strelitz 

1 

,1            „  Schwaizburg-HudolBtadt 

„             „  Scbwarzburg-SoQilersliausea .  ■ 

\ 

M  vid  Lorraine  ( 


e  rtpnHnted  In  the  Itundmntli  b;  to 


ThiB  Constitution  bears  the  impress  of  the  master  hand  of  Bis. 
marck,  and  after  the  one  formed  by  the  fathers  of  the  American 
Aepublic  is  the  greatest  piece  of  statecraft  of  the  age  and  is  like 
the  latter  in  many  respects,  although  the  means  given  for  the 
people  to  express  themselves  are  few.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  full  measure  of  freedom  in  this  particular  would 
come  at  once,  for  the  chief  aim  was  to  vest  In  the  Emperor  as  much 
executive  power  for  war  as  possible. 

To  realize  the  different  threads  which  wei-e  woven  together  to 
make  this  new  German  Empire,  one  needs  to  read  the  proclamation 
carefully.  In  it  the  empire  is  spoken  of  aa  restored  after  being  in 
abeyance  sixty  yeai-s,  therefore,  historically,  the  German  Kaiser  is 
the  successor  of  Charletm^ne,  Otho  the  Great,  Frederick  B^r- 
harossa,  Charles  V.,  and  Francis  II.  who  abdicated  in  1806  in 
obedience  to  Napoleon. 


w 


SEMI-MILITARY   CONST  IT  DT  ION  A  L  MONARCHY. 


Iq  thU  new  empire  Austria  has  no  longer  a  position,  and  for  tho 
first  time  the  reigning  house  is  Protestant  in  religion  and  is  no 
longer  elective.  These  facta  represent  the  culmination  of  years 
of  war  ahil  diplomacy  aiitl  tlie  wasting  of  thousands  of  lives  on 
the  battlefield.  The  free  cities  of  Lubeck,  Hamburg,  and 
Bremen,  although  incorporated  in  this  empire,  preserve  their  local 
rights  or  republics,  the  same  as  the  little  republic  of  San  Marino 
does  in  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  the  rights  of  the  petty  princes 
and  dukes  are  carefully  guarded  so  that  relics  of  feudalism  still 
survive. 

So  we  see  the  feudal  rights  of  the  petty  princes,  the  kingly 
offices  of  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Bavaria  granted  thera  by 
Napoleon  I,,  and  the  democratin  privileges  of  the  free  cities  all 
preserved  and  welded  together  as  if  by  the  liamraer  of  Thor. 
The  empire  firmlj'  established,  reforms  were  quickly  inaugurated. 
The  post-office,  railways,  and  telegraphs  were  nationalized, 
although  Bavaria  and  Wiii-tembei^  retain  control  over  their  own 
systems. 

A  uniform  system  of  currency  was  adopted  on  a  gold  standnrd, 
based  upon  the  mark,  approximate  value  of  which  in  United  States 
currency  is  twenty-five  cents. 


A  uniform  code  of  commei'cial  and  criminal  law  was  adopted, 
but  not  of  civil.  The  appointment  of  judges  is  also  a  state  and 
not  an  im[jerial  function.  The  Constitution  provides  for  entire 
liberty  of  conscience  and  for  complete  equality  among  all  religious 
confessions.  The  order  of  Je.suits,  liowever,  is  interdicted  in  all 
parts  of  the  empire,  also  all  convents  and  religious  orders,  except 
those  for  nureing  the  sick.  Education  is  general  and  compnlsoiy, 
and  every  German  is  liable  to  service  in  the  army  with  no  substitu- 
tion allowed. 

The  approval  of  tlie  ICaiser  must  be  obtained  to  all  appoint- 
ments, and  nothing  affecting  the  superior  direction  of  the  ti-oops 
of  any  stiite  can  l>e  done  without  his  consent.  With  the  exception 
of  Bavaria,  all  German  troops  must  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to - 
the  Emperor,  and  tiiat  is  imposed  upon  tlie   Bavarians  in  time  of 


764  THE  STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

into  history;  for  a  third  time,  after  a  short  period  of  martial 
intoxication,  France  begs  for  mei*cy  at  the  Iiands  of  the  victorious 
German. 

Of  all  the  striking  historical  events  these  palace  walls  liave 
witnessed,  that  one  of  January  18,  1871,  was  the  most  dramatic  in 
its  completion  of  a  people^Q  desire,  its  consummation  of  the  hopes 
of  patriots  and  statesmen  for  many  centuries :  the  unification  of 
Germany  under  one  strong  power.  On  that  day,  ah-eady  cele- 
brated in  the  annals  of  Prussia  as  the  one  on  which,  in  1701,  its 
first  king,  Frederic  I.,  was  crowned  at  Konigsberg,  King  William, 
passing  between  lines  of  German  soldiery  representing  the  various 
nations  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  Wurtemberg,  and  the  smaller  princi- 
palities, entered  the  famous  Gallerie  des  Glaces^  and  standing 
under  a  picture  of  Louis  XIV.  faced  as  proud  and  triumphant  an 
assembly  of  men  as  ever  gatliered  about  a  leader. 

Behind  him  were  ranged  six  hundred  battle  flags  from  his  regi- 
ments. At  his  right  hand  stood  the  Crown  Prince,  then  the  pic- 
ture of  health  and  the  promise  of  long  life.  Ranged  beside 
him  right  and  left  were  the  kings,  princes,  and  reigning  powers 
of  Germany,  statesmen,  delegates  from  the  North  German  Con- 
federative  parliament,  such  as  the  speaker,  Herr  Simson,  wlio 
came  in  the  name  of  that  j)arliament  to  offer  the  imperial  crown, 
and  who  in  1848  made  the  same  proffer  to  the  brother  of  the 
present  king,  and  representatives  from  the  free  towns,  and  the 
leading  officers  of  his  victorious  armies. 

As  the  old  king,  whose  nuirtixry  career  began  with  fighting  against 
the  first  Napoleon,  saw  himself  supported  by  such  a  statesman  as 
Bismarck,  soldiers  like  Von  Moltke  and  Von  Roon,  liis  soldier  son 
and  heir,  Fritz,  and  liis  brilliant  nephew,  Frederick  Charles,  the 
"  Hed  Princey'^  he  must  have  felt  that  his  kingdom  was  founded 
on  a  rock,  even  if  the  proclamation  making  him  Emperor  seemed 
like  a  di*eam.  After  the  acceptance  by  tlie  king  of  the  imi)erial 
dignity,  Bismarck,  whose  clear  bi-aiu  and  iron  will  had  made  this 
scene  j)ossible,  read  the  following  document  in  a  strong,  clear  voice 
vibrant  with  pei-sonal,  as  well  as  national,  triumph :  — 

We,  William,  by  God's  grace  King  of  Prussia,  hereby  announce  that 
the  German  princes  and  free  towns  having  addressed  to  us  a  unanimous 
call  to  renew  and  undertake  with  the  re-establishment  of  the  German 


SEMI-MtLITARi'    CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY.  755 

Empire  the  dignity  of  Emperor,  which  now  tor  sixty  years  has  been 
in  abeyance,  and  the  requisite  provisiona  having  been  inserted  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  Geiman  Confederation,  we  regard  it  as  a  dnty 
we  owe  to  the  entire  Fatherland  to  comply  with  this  call  of  the 
united  German  princes  and  free  towns,  and  to  accept  the  dignity  of 
Emperor. 

Accordingly,  we  and  our  successors  to  the  crown  of  Prussia  hence- 
forth shall  nse  the  imperial  title  in  all  the  relations  and  affairs  of  the 
German  Empire,  and  we  hope  to  God  that  it  maybe  vouchsafed  to 
the  German  nation  to  lead  the  Fntherland  on  to  a  blessed  future,  under 
the  auspices  of  its  ancient  splendor. 

May  God  grant  to  us  and  to  our  enocessors  to  the  imperial  crown 
that  we  may  be  the  defenders  of  the  German  Empire  at  all  times,  not 
in  martial  conquests,  but  in  works  of  peace,  in  the  sphere  of  national 
prosperity,  freedom,  and  civiH^ation. 

When  the  reading  was  over  the  Gr.md  Duke  of  Baden  stepped 
forward  and  cried :  — "  Long  live  the  German  Emperor  William! " 
This  cry  was  taken  up  by  the  a.ssembly,  who  then  advanced  and 
did  homage  to  thu  new  Kaiser,  while  the  soldiein  outsifle  carried  oa 
the  cry,  and  the  cannon  of  Mount  VaMrien,  ever  firing,  grumbled 
in  the  distance,  as  if  the  Gaul  muttered  curses  on  what  he  could 
not  prevent.  Sn  to  the  popular  mind  of  Germany  the  old  legend 
came  ti'ue  that  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa,  who  with  his 
knights  lay  bound  in  enchanted  sleep  in  the  mountains  of  Bavaria, 
would  come  to  life  again  and  restore  the  German  Empire. 

The  Constitution  of  this  empire,  formed  by  blood  and  ii-on, 
bears  date  April  IC,  1871.  By  its  tei-ms  all  the  stjvtes  of  Ger- 
many (twenty-five  in  number)  "  form  an  eternal  union  for  the  pro- 
tection o£  the  realm  and  the  care  of  the  welfare  of  the  German 
people."  The  legislative  functions  of  the  empire  are  vested  in  the 
Emperor,  the  Bundearath,  and  the  Reichstag.  The  supreme  direc- 
tion of  military  and  political  affairs  of  the  empire  is  vested  in 
the  King  of  Prussia,  who  boars  the  name  of  Deulseher  KaUer, 
or  German  Emperor.  Tlie  imperial  dignity  is  hereditary  in  the 
line  of  HohenzoUern,  and  follows  the  law  of  primogeniture. 

The  executive  power  is  in  the  Emperor's  hands.  He  repre- 
sents the  empire  internationally,  can  declare  war  if  defensive, 
make  [leace  as  ^rell  as  enter  into  treaties  with  other  nations ;  be 


756  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

also  appoints  and  receives  ambassadors,  but  for  declaring  offensive 
war  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrath  is  necessary.  The  separate 
states  have  the  privilege  of  sending  ambassadors  to  the  other 
courts,  but  all  consuls  abroad  are  officials  of  the  empire,  and  are 
named  by  the  Emperor. 

This  upper  house  of  the  legislative  body,  styled  the  Bundesratli, 
or  Federal  Council,  represents  the  individual  states  of  Germany 
like  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  It  comprises  fifty-eight 
membera,  who  are  appointed  by  the  governments  of  the  individual 
states  for  each  session.  The  apportionment  is  not  equal  for  each 
state,  following  the  analogy  of  tlie  United  States  Senate,  but  is 
according  to  population.  All  the  members  of  the  Bundesmtli, 
whose  presiding  officer  is  the  Chancellor  of  the  Empire,  have  the 
right  to  be  present  at  the  deliberations  of  the  Reiclistag. 

Acting  under  the  direction  of  the  cliancellor,  the  Bundesrath 
has  a  supreme  and  consultative  board,  and  as  such  has  twelve 
standin^^  committees :  — 

Army  and  fortifications;  naval;  tariff,  trade  and  taxes;  trade  and 
commerce ;  railways,  posts,  ^nd  telegraphs ;  civil  and  criminal  law ; 
financial  accounts ;  foreign  affairs ;  Alsace  and  Lorraine;  constitution; 
standing  orders ;  railway  tariffs. 

Each  committee  consists  of  representatives  of  at  least  four  states 
of  tlie  empire ;  but  the  foreign  affairs  committee  includes  only  the 
representatives  of  Bavaria,  Saxony,  and  Wiirtemberg,  and  two 
other  representatives  to  be  elected  every  year. 

The  other  body  called  the  Reichstag,  corres[X)nding  to  the  United 
States  House  of  Representatives,  is  comprised  of  397  meml)ers 
(about  one  to  every  118,000  inhabitants)  who  arc  elected  by  uni- 
vei-sal  suffrage  for  five  years.  Both  the  Bundesrath  and  Reichstag 
meet  in  annual  session  convoked  by  the  Emperor.  The  Emperor 
has  the  right,  after  a  vote  by  the  Bundesrath,  to  prorogue  and 
dissolve  the  Reichstag. 

Without  the  consent  of  the  Reiclistag,  the  prorogation  may  not 
exceed  thirty  days,  while  in  case  of  dissolution  new  elections 
must  take  place  within  sixty  days  —  and  a  new  session  must  opeu 
within  ninety  days.  The  Reichstag  is  presided  over  by  an  officer 
elected  by  its  own  membei-s.     All  laws  of  the  empire  must  receive 


SEMI-MILITARY    COSSTITUTIOSAI,  WONABCHV.  761 

the  votes  of  an  absoluta  majority  of  the  Bundesrathand  Reichstag, 
and  to  t4ike  effect  must  receive  the  assent  of  the  Empei"or,  and  be 
counteraigned  when  promulgated  by  the  chancellor  of  the  empire. 

As  regards  its  legislative  functions  the  empire  has  supreme  and 
indepeniieiit  contiol  in  matters  relating  to  military  affairs  and  the 
navy,  to  the  imperial  finances,  German  commerce,  to  posts  and 
telegraphs,  and  also  to  railways,  as  far  as  these  affect  the  common 
defence  of  the  countrj-.  Bavaria  and  Wiirtemberg,  however,  have 
preserved  their  own  postal  and  telegraphic  administration. 

The  legislative  pawer  of  the  empire  takes  precedence  of  that  of 
the  separate  states  in  the  regulation  of  matters  affecting  freedom 
of  migration,  domicile,  settlement,  and  the  rights  of  German  sub- 
jects generally,  also  everything  relating  to  banking,  patents,  copy- 
rights, navigation  of  rivers  and  canals,  civil  and  criminal  legislation, 
judicial  procedure,  sanitary  police,  and  control  of  the  press  and  of 
associations. 

These  oflicei-s  of  state,  or  imperial  secretaries,  do  not  form  a 
ministry  or  Ciibinet  as  in  Great  Britain  where  tlie  miinibei-s  come 
into  office  or  loavo  it  with  the  prime  minister,  but  act  indepen- 
dently of  each  other,  and  are  under  the  genenil  supervision  of  the 
chancellor.     Thev  are  classified  thus : 


Chancel  lu 

r  of  the  e 

npirc. 

Ministry 

or  foreign 

affairs 

Imperial  home  offii-c 

Imperial 

a.lminilty. 

Imperial 

liriistry  of 

juflti^e. 

Imperial 

rcasnry. 

o  i,re.i.k. 

lU  of  imj 

erial  bui-eans 

I'ost-oftie 

I  tail  ways 

Exchcqiie 

Invalid  1- 

jnd. 

Bank. 

Debt  Commission. 

Tile  various  stitea  of  Germany  aie  repi-esented  as  foUoi 
Bundesrath  and  Reichstag:  — 


I 


THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 


STATES  or  THB  EKPtRR 

Kingtlom  of  Prussia 

,,  „    Bavarln 

„  ,,    Wiirtcmberg 

„  „   Saxony 

Grand  Daohjr  of  Batten 

„         „        „  Uecklenbnrg-Schirerin 

„         „        „  HeaM 

„         „        „  Oldenbaif;. 

„         „        „  Soxe-Weimar 

„  ,        „  Moeklonburg-Strelltz 

Duchy  of  Brnuswick 

„       „  Saxe-M^aingen 

„       „  Anhnlt 

„       „  Saxo-Cobiirg-Gotlia 

„       „  Saxe-Altenburg ■■■' 

PriacipalUy  of  Walrfeck 

„  „  Schwarabiirg-Rui^olstadt 

„  „  tkhnarebura-Suudei-BliauBen , 

„  „  KeUBs-Sclileie 

„  ,,  Schaum1)iirt;-Lippe.. 

„  „    KeiiBB-Greiz i 

Fi-ee  Town  of  Hamburg 

,        „      ,,  Liibeck 

Bieraen..... 

Riii  ell  stand  of  AUiwo  and  Lorraine. 


This  CoDstitution  bears  the  impress  of  the  master  hand  of  Bis. 
marck,  and  after  the  one  formed  by  the  fathers  of  the  American 
Republic  is  the  greatest  piece  of  statecraft  of  the  age  and  is  like 
the  latter  in  many  respects,  although  the  means  ^ven  for  the 
people  to  express  themselves  are  few.  It  waa  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  full  measure  of  freedom  in  this  particular  would 
come  at  once,  for  the  chief  aim  was  to  vest  in  the  Emperor  as  much 
executive  power  for  war  as  possible. 

To  realize  the  different  threads  which  were  woven  together  to 
make  thb  new  German  Empire,  one  needs  to  read  the  pi-oclamation 
carefully.  In  it  tlie  empire  is  spoken  of  as  restored  after  being  in 
abeyance  sixty  years,  therefore,  historically,  the  GeiTnan  Kaiser  is 
the  successor  of  Charleoitiigne,  Otho  the  Gi'eat,  Frederick  B^r* 
barOBsa,  Charles  V.,  and  Francis  II.  who  abdicated  in  1806  in 
obedience  to  Kapoleon. 


I 


SEMI-MTLITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY.  168 

In  tilis  new  empire  Austria  has  no  longer  a  poi^itiou,  and  for  tlm 
first  time  tbe  reigning  house  is  Protestant  in  religion  and  is  no 
longer  elective.  These  facts  repi-esent  the  culmination  of  years 
of  war  ahil  diplomacy  and  the  wasting  of  thousands  of  lives  on 
tlie  battlefield.  The  free  cities  of  Liibeck,  Hamburg,  and 
Bremen,  although  incorporated  in  this  empire,  preserve  their  local 
rights  or  rejmblics,  the  same  as  the  little  republic  of  San  Marino 
does  in  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  the  rights  of  the  petty  princes 
and  dukes  are  carefully  guarded  so  that  relics  of  feudalism  still 
aiirvive. 

So  we  see  the  feudal  rights  of  the  petty  princes,  the  kingly 
offices  of  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Bavaria  gmnted  them  by 
Napoleon  I,,  and  tbe  democratic  privileges  of  the  free  cities  all 
presei-ved  and  welded  together  as  if  by  the  hammer  of  Thor. 
The  empire  fii-mly  established,  reforms  were  quickly  inaugurated. 
The  post-office,  railways,  and  telegraphs  were  nationalized, 
although  Bavaria  and  Wiii-tembei^  retain  control  over  their  own 
systems. 

A  uniform  system  of  currency  was  adopted  on  a  gold  standard, 
based  upon  the  mark,  approximate  value  of  wliich  in  United  States 
currency  is  twenty-five  eents. 

IM   PTBnillm^niBrk       I  ..,„.  fi  uinrku  =  Hnlbe-Krone     I 

3  iiiiirk»  =  Thaler  |  "iivBr.  jg  :=Knine  S  gold. 

SO      „       =  Uojiiwl-Kroua  \ 

A  uniform  code  of  commercial  and  criminal  law  was  adopted, 
but  not  of  civil.  The  appointment  of  judges  is  also  a  state  and 
not  an  imperial  function.  The  Constitution  provides  for  entire 
liberty  of  conscience  and  for  complete  equality  among  all  religious 
confessions.  The  oitler  of  Jesuits,  liowever,  is  interdicted  in  all 
pai'ts  of  the  empire,  also  all  convents  and  religious  orders,  except 
those  for  nursing  the  sick.  Education  is  geneml  and  compnlsoiyj 
and  every  German  is  liable  to  service  in  the  army  witli  no  sutistitu- 
tion  allowed. 

The  approval  of  the  Kaiser  must  be  obtained  to  all  appoint- 
mentji,  and  nothing  affecting  the  euperior  direction  i)f  the  troops 
of  any  state  can  be  done  without  his  consent.  With  tlie  exception 
of  Bavariiu  all  German  ti-oopa  must  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to  ■ 
tbe  Emperor,  and  that  is  imposed  upon  the  Bavarians  in  time  of 


762 


THB  STORY  OF  GOYEBKMEKT. 


1 

2 

8 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 


28 
24 
25 


STATES  OF  THE  BKFIBB. 


ft 

19 


91 


99 
9» 


99 
99 
99 
99 


99 
99 
99 
99 


99 
99 


Komber  of 
Memben  io 
BundMrath. 


Kingdom  of  Prassia 

Bavaria 

Wurtemberg 

„         „  Saxony 

Grand  Dnchy  of  Baden 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin 

Hesse 

Oldenburg 

Saze- Weimar 

„         • ,        „  Meoklenburg-Strelitz. 

Duchy  of  Brunswick 

„  Saxe-Meiningen 

„  Anhalt 

„  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 

„       ,,  Saxe-Altenburg 

Principality  of  Waldeck 

9>  Lippe 

„  Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 

„  Schwarzburg-Sondershausen . . 

Reuss-Schleiz 

Schaumburg-Lippe 

„   Reuss-Greiz 

Free  Town  of  Hamburg 

Liibeck 


99  19  9* 

,,        ,,     ,,  Bremen • 

Reichsland  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 


17 
($ 
4 
4 
3 
2 
3 


Namber  of 
DemitlMlii 
Reicbstag. 


236 
48 
17 
23 
14 
6 
0 
3 
3 
1 
3 
2 
2 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
3 
1 
1 
15 


58  397 

Alsaco  and  Lorraiue  are  represented  in  the  Bundesrath  by  four  commissioners  vrltboat 
rotes. 


This  Constitution  bears  the  impress  of  the  master  hand  of  Bis- 
marck, and  after  the  one  formed  by  the  fathers  of  the  American 
Republic  is  the  greatest  piece  of  statecraft  of  the  age  and  is  like 
the  latter  in  many  respects,  although  the  means  given  for  the 
people  to  express  themselves  are  few.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  full  measure  of  freedom  in  tliis  particular  would 
come  at  once,  for  the  chief  aim  was  to  vest  in  the  Emperor  as  much 
executive  power  for  war  as  possible. 

To  realize  the  different  threads  which  were  woven  together  to 
make  this  new  German  Empire,  one  needs  to  read  the  proclamation 
carefully.  In  it  the  empire  is  spoken  of  as  restored  after  being  in 
abeyance  sixty  yeara,  therefore,  historically,  the  Geiman  Kaiser  is 
the  successor  of  Charlemiigne,  Otho  the  Great,  Frederick  B^r^ 
barossa,  Charles  V.,  and  Francis  II.  who  abdicated  in  1806  in 
obedience  to  Napoleon. 


SEMI-MILITARY    CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY.  788 


rin  this  new  empii'e  Austria  has  no  longer  a  position,  and  for  thu 
first  time  tliB  reigning  house  is  Protestant  in  religion  and  is  no 
longer  elective.  These  facts  i-epi-esent  the  culmination  of  yenia 
of  war  and  diplomacy  and  the  wasting  of  thousands  of  lives  on 
the  battlefield.  The  free  cities  of  Liibeck,  Hamburg,  and 
Bremen,  although  incorporated  in  this  empire,  preserve  their  local 
rights  or  republics,  the  same  aa  the  little  republic  of  San  Marino 
does  in  the  kingcJom  of  Italy,  and  the  rights  of  the  petty  princes 
and  dukes  are  carefully  guarded  so  that  relics  of  feudalism  still 
survive. 

So  we  see  the  feudal  righto  of  the  petty  princes,  the  kingly 
offices  of  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Bavaria  granted  them  by 
Napoleon  I.,  and  the  democratic  privileges  of  the  free  cities  all 
pi-eserved  and  welded  together  as  if  by  the  hammer  of  Thor. 
The  empire  fu-mly  established,  reforms  were  {[uickly  inaugurated. 
The  postHjffice,  railways,  and  telegraphs  were  nationalized, 
although  Bavaria  atid  Wurtembei^  retain  control  over  their  owtt 
systems. 

A  uniform  system  of  currency  was  adopted  on  a  gold  standard, 
based  upon  the  mark,  approximate  value  of  which  in  United  Statea 
currency  is  twenty-five  cents. 


A  uniform  code  of  conimei'cial  and  criminal  law  was  adopted, 
but  not  of  civil.  The  appointment  of  judges  is  also  a  state  and 
not  an  imperial  function.  The  Constitution  provides  for  entire 
liberty  of  conscience  and  for  complete  equality  among  all  religious 
confessions.  Tlie  order  of  Jesuits,  however,  is  interdicted  in  all 
parts  of  the  empire,  also  all  convents  and  religious  orders,  except 
tliose  for  nursing  the  sick.  Education  is  general  and  compulsory, 
and  every  German  is  liable  to  service  in  the  army  with  no  substitu- 
tion allowed. 

The  approval  of  tlie  Kaiser  must  be  o!>taiueil  to  all  appoint- 
ments, and  nothing  affecting  the  superior  direction  of  the  troops 
of  any  state  can  be  donewttlmut  his  consent.  With  the  exception 
of  B.ivariii.  all  German  ti-oops  must  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to. 
the  Emperor,  and  that  is  imposed  upon  tlie  Bavarians  in  time  of 


764 


THE  8TOBY  OF  OOVBBKMENT. 


war.  Every  German  capable  of  bearing  arms  must  be  in  the 
standing  army  (or  navy)  seven  years,  three  years  in  the  active, 
and  four  in  the  reserve. 

All  able-bodied  men  between  the  age  of  seventeen  and  forty- 
five,  who  are  neither  in  the  standing  nor  reserve  army,  must  belong 
to  the  Landstunn,  which  is  only  called  out  in  event  of  invasion  of 
Germany.  The  i)eace  footing  of  the  impeiial  army  is:  officers, 
20,440 ;  men,  491,217  ;  horses,  98,908.     War  footing:  — 


Officers 

Surgeons 

Other  Officials 

Rank  and  File - 

Horses 

Field  Guns. 

Other  Carriages 


FIELD  ARMY. 


Active. 


22,377 

4,247 

7,»28 

M2,406 

280,472 

2,028 

40,081 


Reserve 
Landwelir. 


I 


Total. 


0,530 

1,300 

1,033 

354,015 

72,963 

648 

9,872 


31,913 

5,547 

9,861 

1,297,323 

353,435 

2,670 

49,953 


Garrison 
Army. 


16,209 

2,0^5 

3,096 

868,627 

86,324 

882 

8,763 


Grand 
Total. 


48,122 

7,602 

12,057 

2,105,050 

430,750 

3,558 

58,716 


t-*^ 


To  this  must  be  added  the  milway  s,t4iflF  and  Landsturm,  so  at 
the  hist  extremity  Germany  would  have  a  war  strength  of  not  less 
than  3,000,000  trained  men:  'As  for  naval  strength,  Gennanj-  has 
28  ironclad  ships,  of  which  16  are  for  coast  defence.  She  has 
other  war  ships,  bringing  lier  total  to  77  ships,  511  guns,  18,051 
men,  and  132  tori)edo  boats. 

With  two  exceptions,  the  German  states  have  constitutional 
forms  of  government,  most  of  these  wrung  from  their  rulei-s  since 
the  time  of  the  First  Napoleon.  Carefully  as  the  rights  of  the 
individual  states  are  preserved,  the  steady  growth  of  a  national 
spirit  will  inevitably  fuse  these  various  Geiman  states  into  one  com- 
pact nation  like  England  or  France.  In  a  few  years  Bavaria, 
Saxony,  or  Hanover  i^rotobly  will  no  more  think  of  any  separation 
of  interests  than  do  the  i)rovinces  of  Brittany,  Burgundy,  or  Nor- 
mandy, in  Fiance  to-ilay.^ 

iTlie  empire  is  bounded  by  the  North  Sea  (293  miles).  Denmark  (47  miles),  and  the  Baltic  (927 
milc»).  On  the  east  by  Riigsia  (with  Poland)  (M3  miles).  South  by  Austria  (1,403  mile9)and 
Switzerland  (2.W  miles).  On  the  west  by  Franee  (242  miles),  Luxemburg  (111  miles),  Belgium 
^70  miles),  :ind  IloU.ind  (377  miles).  Its  area  is  20H.738  square  mile.^,  and  i>opulation  (census 
1890)  49,41G,47(;.  Of  this,  3,223,500  belong  to  other  nationalties  than  German,  such  as  Wends, 
Slavs,  Poles,  Danes,  and  French. 


SKM1-^]1!JTAKV    CONSTITITTIONAI,    MONAHCHV. 


709 


To  Tirulei-stanil  llie  historical  growtli  of  this  Empire  wy  must  go 
back  before  the  Christian  era.  The  Geimanic  tribes  &te  branches  of 
thegi-eat  Teutonic  race,  who  are  supposed  to  have  followed  the  Kelts 
in  their  movement  westward,  both  stivrting  from  tlie  common  Aryan 
origin  in  Asia.  Teutons,  spreading  weatwai-d  and  as  far  north  as 
Norway  and  Sweden,  wei-e  checked  by  the  Gaulish  Kelts  near  the 
Khine,  and  settled  in  Central  Enroije,  about  the  rivers  flowing 
north,  such  as  the  Spree,  Elbe,  and  Oder.  Of  this  epoch  the  his- 
toiy  cloud-s  into  fable  and  through  the  mists  of  this  bor- 
dei^laiid  of  fact  heroic  fig- 
ures loom  —  figures  which  the 
genius  of  German  poets  and 
esijecially  of  the  mighty  poet- 
musician,  Wagner,  have  made 
luminous  with  solemn,  haunt- 
ing beauty.  One  of  these  early 
regal  ti-agedies  of  hive  and 
jealousy  is  deliueaU.>d  in  onr 
picture  of  Bruiiiiild  ivfuyniz- 
iiig  Guchnni  at  ilie  -side  of 
Siegfried. 

Tlie  earliest  anUientic  i-ef- 
erence  to  these  Teutons  is 
that  of  Pythias,  the  Greek 
sailor,  who  fmnui  himself 
laughed  at  on  his  return, 
800  B.  c,  from  tlie  coast  of 
the  Baltic  Sea,  for  speaking 
of  the  anilier  he  foiuid  there,  tlie  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides,  and 
the  barbarians  aliout  the  Vistula  River  clad  scantily  in  skins  and 
armed  with  clulw.  Later,  in  the  year  113  n.  c,  the  dwellers  in 
northein  Italy  were  surprised  to  see  an  anny  of  iulmi,  accompa- 
nied by  their  women  and  cliildren,  swanning  southward  through 
the  piisses  of  tiie  Alps.  This  swaiin  was  made  up  of  two  races, 
the  Ciuibri  and  Teutons,  and  imniliered  several  hundred  thousand. 
Tliey  came  from  the  countiy  about  the  North  Sea,  and  ^vcre  either 
driven  out  by  other  tribes  or  yielded  to  that  migratoiy  instinct 
always  sti-ong  in  the   Teutonic  races.     They  were  a  laige-sized. 


IF.ItMA.V    WARKIOK, 


SEMI-MILITARY    CONSTITUTIUNAI,    MUNAltCHV. 


709 


To  (inrlei'stand  the  historical  growth  of  thitt  Empire  we  must  go 
back  before  the  Clii'istlun  era.  The  Gemianic  tribes  are  hntnches  of 
the  great  Teutonic  race,  who  are  supposed  to  have  followed  the  Kelte 
in  theii"  movement  westward,  both  starting  from  the  common  Aryan 
origin  in  Asia.  Teutons,  spreading  westward  and  iis  far  north  as 
Norway  and  Sweden,  were  cheeked  by  the  Gaulish  Kelts  near  the 
Rhine,  and  settled  in  Central  Europe,  about  the  rivera  flowing 
noilh,  such  as  the  Spree,  Elbe,  and  Oder.  Of  this  epoch  the  his- 
tory clouds  into  fable  and  t)i rough  the  mists  o£  this  hor- 
de I'-lai  id  of  fact  hei-oic  fig- 
ures loom  —  figures  which  the 
genius  of  German  poebi  and 
es[)ecially  of  the  mighty  poet- 
musiciaii,  Wagner,  have  made 
luminous  with  solemn,  haunt- 
ing beauty.  One  of  these  early 
i-egiil  tragedies  of  love  and 
jealousy  is  deliueatvd  in  our 
picture  of  Brunliihi  ifcotjni/.- 
ing  Guthrun  at  llie  side  of 
Siegfried. 

Tlie  earliest  a\Uhfiitic  ref- 
erence to  these  Tfutoiis  is 
that  of  Pythias,  the  Grec-k 
sailor,  who  found  himself 
laughed  at  on  his  return, 
800  B.  c,  from  the  coast  of 
the  Baltic  Sea,  for  speaking 
of  the  aml)er  he  found  there,  the  rise  and  f:ill  of  the  tides,  and 
the  kirbiirians  about  the  Vistula  River  clad  scantily  in  skins  and 
armed  with  clubs.  Later,  in  the  year  113  n.  c,  the  dwellera  in 
northein  Italy  were  surprised  to  see  an  amiy  of  men,  accompa- 
nied by  their  women  and  children,  swarming  southward  through 
the  passes  of  the  Alps.  Tliis  swanu  was  made  up  of  two  races, 
the  Cimbri  and  Teutons,  and  numliered  several  hundred  thousand. 
They  came  from  the  eountiy  alx>ut  the  Korth  Sea,  and  ^vere  either 
dnveu  out  by  other  tribes  or  yielded  to  that  migratoiy  instinct 
always  sti-pug  in  the   Teutonic  races.     They  were  a  laige-sized, 


1 

II 


TKK    STORY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 


BTAtSS  OF  THE 


Kingdom  of  PmsBia 

„  ,.   Wiirtemberg 

,,  „   Saxony 

Uriuid  Dtioii  J  of  BiuEen 

II         „        „  Mecklenburg-Schwerin 

, ,  , ,         „   Oldenburg 

„         „        „  Soxe-Welmar 

„  ,        „  Hecklenburg-Strelitz. 

Duchy  of  Briiaswlck 

„       „  Saxe-Helningea 

„       „  Anhalt , 

.,        „  Saxe-Cuburg-Gotlia 

„       „  Saxe-Altenburg 

Principality  of  Waldook 

„  Schwiu'Eburg-Ftudolstadt 

„  SchwaTzbtirg'Sondersliaiisen. 

„  Reu««-Sc1ileiz 

,,   ScliaumburK-Liiipe 

„    Reuits-Ureiz 

Preu  Town  of  liamburg 

„         „      „   Liibeck 

„         „      „  Bremen 

Relchsland  of  Aleauc  and  Lorraine 


Aluoe  and  Lomlne  u 


wnted  Intbe  Bondeantli  byfou 


This  Constitution  bears  the  impress  of  the  master  hand  of  Bisw 
marck,  and  after  the  one  formed  by  the  fatheis  of  the  American 
Republic  is  the  greatest  piece  of  statecraft  of  the  ^e  and  is  like 
the  latter  in  many  respects,  although  the  means  given  for  the 
people  to  express  themselves  are  few.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  full  measure  of  freedom  in  this  particular  would 
come  at  once,  for  the  chief  aim  was  to  vest  in  the  Emperor  as  much 
executive  power  for  war  as  possible. 

To  realize  the  different  threads  which  were  woven  together  to 
make  this  new  German  Empire,  one  needs  to  read  the  pi-oclamstioii 
carefully.  In  it  the  empire  is  spoken  of  as  restored  after  being  in 
abeyance  sixty  years,  therefore,  historicallj',  the  German  Kaiser  is 
the  successor  of  Charleowgne,  Otho  the  Great,  Frederick  B^r^ 
barossa,  Charles  V.,  and  Francis  II.  who  abdicated  in  1806  in 
obedience  to  Napoleon. 


BEJn-MILITARY   CONSTITDTIONAL   MONARCHY.  783 

In  tliU  new  empire  Austria  has  no  longer  a  jiosition,  and  fur  the 
first  time  the  reigning  house  is  Protestant  in  religion  and  is  no 
longer  elective.  These  facta  represent  the  culmination  of  yeara 
of  war  and  diplomacy  and  tlie  wasting  of  thousands  of  lives  oa 
the  battle  field.  The  free  cities  of  Liibeck,  Hamburg,  and 
Bremen,  although  incoqiorated  in  this  empire,  preserve  their  local 
rights  or  republics,  the  same  as  the  little  republic  of  San  Mariuo 
does  in  the  kingtlom  of  Italy,  and  the  righta  of  the  petty  pi'incea 
and  dukes  are  carefully  guarded  so  that  relics  of  feudalism  still 
survive. 

So  we  see  the  feuiial  rights  of  the  petty  princes,  the  kingly 
offices  of  Saxony,  Wurteraberg,  and  Bavaria  gi-anted  them  by 
Napoleon  I.,  and  the  democratic  privileges  of  the  free  cities  all 
preserved  and  welded  togetlier  as  if  by  the  hammer  of  Thor. 
The  empire  firmly  established,  reforms  were  quickly  iniiugurated. 
The  post-oftiee,  railways,  and  telegraphs  were  nationalized, 
although  Bavaria  and  Wiirteraberg  retain  control  over  their  own 
systems. 

A  uniform  system  of  currency  was  adopted  on  a  gold  standard, 
based  upon  the  mark,  approximate  value  of  which  in  United  States 
currency  is  twenty-five  cents. 


A  uniform  code  of  commercial  and  criminal  law  was  adopted, 
but  not  of  civil.  The  appointment  of  judges  is  also  a  state  and 
not  an  imperial  function.  The  Constitution  provides  for  entire 
liberty  of  conscience  and  for  complete  equality  among  all  religious 
confessions.  Tlie  order  of  Jesuits,  however,  is  interdicted  in  all 
parts  of  the  empire,  aLso  all  convents  and  religious  orders,  except 
those  for  nursing  the  sick.  Education  is  general  and  compulsory, 
and  every  German  is  liable  to  service  in  the  ai-my  with  no  substitu- 
tion allowed. 

The  approval  of  tlie  Kaiser  must  be  obtained  to  all  appoint- 
ments, and  nothing  affecting  the  superior  direction  of  the  titiops 
of  any  state  can  be  done  without  his  consent.  Willi  tlie  exception, 
of  Bavaria,  all  (rennan  troops  must  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to 
tie  Em()eror,  and  that  is  imposed  upon  the   Bavarians  in  time  of 


762 


THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 


STATES  OF  THB  EMPIRE. 


♦♦ 


Kingdom  of  Prussia 

„  Bavaria 

,,   Wiirtemberg 

„  Saxony  

Grand  Duchy  of  Baden 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin 

Hesso 

Oldenburg 

Saxe- Weimar 

„  ,        „   Mecklenburg-Streli tz 

Ducliy  of  Brunswick 

,,  Saxe-Meiningen 

,,  Anlialt 

„  Saxe-Coburg-Gotlia 

„       ,.  Saxe-AItenburg 

Principality  of  Waldeck 

t)  Lippe 

„  Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 

Scliwarzburg-SoDdei*shau8en . 

Reuss-Schleiz 

Scliaumburg-Lippe 

Keuss-Greiz 

Free  Town  of  Hamburg 

,,        f,      ,,  Liibeck 

„        ,,      ,,  Bremen 

Reichsland  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 


»» 
ft 
»» 
It 
»» 
»» 


It 
II 
II 
II 


Number  of 
Members  in 
Biindesrath. 

17 
(5 
4 
4 
3 
2 
3 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 


Number  of 
I>eputie8  in 
ReichHtai^. 

2.36 
-18 
17 
23 
14 

6 

9 

3 

3 

1 

3 

2 

2 

2 


15 


58  397 

Alsace  and  I^)rraine  are  reprenentGd  in  the  Bundesrath  by  four  conimiHHionere  M-itbout 
votes*. 


This  Constitution  l)ears  the  impress  of  the  master  hand  of  Bis- 
marck, and  after  the  one  formed  by  the  fathers  of  the  American 
Republic  is  the  greatest  piece  of  statecraft  of  the  age  and  is  like 
the  latter  in  many  respects,  although  tlie  means  given  for  the 
people  to  express  themselves  are  few.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  full  measure  of  freedom  in  this  particular  would 
come  at  once,  for  the  chief  aim  was  to  vest  in  the  Emperor  as  much 
executive  power  for  war  as  possible. 

To  realize  the  different  threads  wliicli  were  woven  together  to 
make  this  new  German  Empire,  one  needs  t^  read  the  proclamation 
carefully.  In  it  tlie  empire  is  spoken  of  as  restored  after  being  in 
abeyance  sixty  yeai-s,  tlierefore,  historically,  the  German  Kaiser  is 
the  successor  of  Charlemagne,  Otho  the  Greats  Frederick  Bar- 
barossa,  Charles  V.,  and  Francis  11.  who  abdicated  in  1806  in 
obedience  to  Napoleon. 


SEMI-MILITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL   MONARCHY.  768 

la  tliU  new  empire  Austria  has  no  longer  a  [wsition,  and  for  the 
first  time  the  reigning  house  is  Protestant  in  religion  and  is  no 
longer  elective.  These  facts  repi-esent  the  culmination  of  years 
of  war  and  diplomacy  and  the  \vasting  of  thousands  of  lives  on 
the  battlefield.  The  free  cities  of  Liibeck,  Hamburg,  and 
Bremen,  although  incorporated  ia  this  empire,  pi'eserve  their  local 
rights  or  republics,  the  same  aa  the  little  republic  of  San  Marino 
does  in  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  and  tlie  rights  of  the  petty  princes 
and  dukes  are  carefully  guarded  so  that  relics  of  feudalism  still 


So  wo  see  the  feudal  rights  of  the  petty  princes,  the  kingly 
offices  of  Saxoiij,  Wiirteniberg,  and  Bavaria  granted  them  by 
Na[ioleon  I.,  and  the  democratic  privileges  of  the  free  cities  all 
preserved  and  welded  together  as  if  by  the  hammer  of  Thor. 
The  empire  firmly  established,  reforms  were  quickly  inaugurated. 
The  post-oi^ce,  railways,  and  telegraphs  wera  nationalizedi 
although  Bavaria  and  Wurtembeig  retain  control  over  their  own 
systems. 

A  uniform  system  of  currency  was  adopted  on  a  gold  standurd^ 
based  upon  the  mark,  approximate  value  of  which  in  United  States 
ouirency  is  twenty-five  cents, 

IW   Ptennlge  =  murk       I  .„,„  B  '"nHis  =Hall*-Kmne     1 

3  roarla  =  Thaler  I  """■  lo      „       =Kr<in«  gold. 

2U      „       =  I)u]ipel-Kroiie  } 


A  uniform  code  of  nommmYrial  and  ci'iminal  law  was  adopted, 
but  not  of  civil.  The  ap[xiintment  of  judges  is  also  a  state  and 
not  an  imperial  function.  The  Constitution  provides  for  entire 
liberty  of  conscience  and  for  complete  equality  among  all  religious 
confessions.  The  onler  of  Jesuits,  however,  is  interdicted  in  all 
parts  of  the  empire,  also  all  convents  and  religious  orders,  except 
those  for  nursing  the  sick.  Education  is  general  and  compidsoiy, 
and  every  Gennan  is  liable  to  service  in  the  array  with  no  Kubstitu- 
tioii  allowed. 

The  approval  of  the  Kaiser  must  be  obtained  to  all  appoint- 
ments, and  nolliiiig  aSeoting  the  superior  direction  uf  the  U-oops 
of  any  state  can  be  done  without  his  consent.  Witli  the  exception 
of  Bavaria,  all  Gferman  troops  must  swear  the  oath  of  fealty  to, 
the  Emperoi',  and  tliat  is  imposed  upon  the   Havariaus  in  time  of 


764 


THE  STORY  OF  GOVBBNMENT. 


war.  Every  German  capable  of  bearing  arms  must  be  in  the 
standing  army  (or  navy)  seven  years,  three  years  in  the  active, 
and  four  in  the  reserve. 

All  able-bodied  men  between  the  age  of  seventeen  and  forty- 
five,  who  are  neither  in  the  standing  nor  reserve  army,  must  belong 
to  the  Landsturm,  which  is  only  called  out  in  event  of  invasion  of 
Germany.  The  peace  footing  of  the  impeiial  army  is :  officers, 
20,440 ;  men,  491,217 ;  horses,  93,908.     War  footing :  — 


Officers 

SurgeoDS 

Other  Officials 

Rank  and  File • . . 

Horses 

Held  Guns 

Other  Carriages 


FIELD  ARMY. 


Active. 


22,377 

4,247 

7,028 

042,406 

2S0,472 

2,028 

40,061 


Reserve 
Landwehr. 


Total. 


0,ri36 

1,300 

1,933 

354,915 

72,963 

648 

9,872 


31,913 

5,547 

9,861 

1,297.323 

353,435 

2,670 

49,^^3 


GarrLson 
Army. 


10,209 

2,(»5 

3,096 

868,627 

86,324 

882 

8,763 


Grand 
Tt>ta1. 


48,122 

7,602 

12,057 

2,165,aM) 

430,759 

3,558 

58,716 


•1-f- 


To  this  must  be  added  the  railway  s.taflf  and  Landsturm,  so  at 
the  last  extremity  Geimany  would  have  a  war  strength  of  not  less 
than  3,000,000  trained  men:  'As  for  naval  strength,  Gennany  has 
28  ironclad  ships,  of  which  16  ai*e  for  coiist  defence.  She  has 
other  war  ships,  bringing  her  total  to  77  shii)s,  611  guns,  18,051 
men,  and  132  torpedo  boats. 

With  two  exceptions,  the  German  states  have  constitutional 
forms  of  government,  most  of  these  wrung  from  their  rulei-s  since 
the  time  of  the  First  Napoleon.  Carefully  as  the  rights  of  the 
individual  states  are  preserved,  the  steady  growth  of  a  national 
spirit  will  inevitiibly  fuse  these  various  German  states  into  one  com- 
pact nation  like  England  or  France.  In  a  few  years  Bavaria, 
Saxony,  or  Hanover  probably  will  no  more  think  of  any  separation 
of  interests  tlian  do  tbe  provinces  of  Brittany,  Burgundy,  or  Nor- 
mandy, in  France  to-day.^ 

>Tlie  empire  is  bounded  by  the  North  Sea  (293  miles).  Denmark  (47  miles),  and  the  Baltic  (927 
miles).  On  the  ca.^t  by  Russia  (with  Poland)  (M3  miles).  South  by  Austria  (1,403  mile»)  and 
Switzerland  (25C  miles).  On  the  west  by  France  (242  miles),  Luxemburg  (111  miles),  Betj^iuui 
^70  milcs),  und  IlulUmd  r:i77  miles).  Its  area  is  208,738  square  miles,  and  population  (census 
1800)  49.41C.470.  Of  this,  3,223,500  belong  to  other  nationalties  than  German,  such  as  Wends, 
Slavs,  Poles,  Danes,  and  French. 


ILITARV    CONSTITUTIONAL    MONAltCHY, 


TC9 


To  nnderatand  the  historical  growth  of  tiiis  Empire  we  must  go 
Imck  before  the  Chi-iatian  era.  The  Germanic  trilies  are  hmiiches  of 
the  great  Teutonic  race,  avIio  are  supposed  to  liave  followed  the  Kelts 
in  their  movement  westward,  both  starting  from  thecoramon  Aryan 
origin  ill  Asia.  Teutons,  spreading  westward  and  as  far  north  as 
Norway  and  Sweden,  were  checked  by  the  Gaulish  Kelts  near  the 
Kliine,  and  settled  in  Central  Eurojw,  about  the  rivers  flowing 
nortli,  such  as  the  Spree,  Eltie,  and  Oder.  Of  this  epoch  the  Iiis- 
tory  clouds  into  fable  and  through  the  mists  of  thia  bop- 
de Inland  of  fact  liei-oic  fig- 
ures loom  —  figures  which  the 
genius  of  Gennan  poets  and 
especially  of  the  mightj'  poet- 
musician,  ^Vaguer,  have  made 
luminous  with  solemn,  haunt- 
ing beauty.  One  of  theso  early 
regnl  tragedies  of  love  and 
jealousy  is  delineated  in  onr 
jMCture  of  Brunhild  rcuogniz- 
ilig  GiUhrun  at  llie  side  of 
Siegfried. 

The  earliest  auLhtntic  ref- 
erence to  these  Teutons  is 
that  of  Pythias,  the  Greek 
Bailor,  who  found  himself 
laughed  at  on  his  return, 
300  B.  c,  fi-om  the  coast  of 
the  Baltic  Sea,  for  speaking 
of  the  amijer  he  found  there,  th 
the  litirlKirians  about  the  Vistula  River  clad  scantily  in  skins  and 
armed  with  clubs.  Later,  in  the  year  115  b.  c,  the  dwellei-a  in 
northern  Italy  wei-e  suiiirised  to  see  an  anny  of  mu-n,  accompa- 
nied by  their  women  and  eliildren,  swarming  southward  through 
the  passes  of  the  Aliw.  Tiiis  swana  wai  made  up  of  two  races, 
the  Cimbri  and  Teutons,  and  numbered  seveial  hundred  thousand. 
They  cante  from  the  country  almut  the  North  Sea,  and  were  either 
driven  out  by  other  tribes  or  yielded  to  tliat  migratoiy  instinct 
always  sti-oug  in  the  Teutonic  races.     Thyy  were  a  1arge-«ized, 


rise  and  fail  of  the  tides,  and 


770  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

blue-eyed,  red  or  yellow-haired  race  of  fightei^j,  who  in  a  fjw  years 
overthrew  several  Roman  aimies  sent  against  them.  It  seemed 
as  if  Rome  was  to  suffer  a  fate  similar  to  what  she  endured  at  the 
hands  of  the  Gauls  under  Bi*ennus,  nearly  three  hundred  years 
earlier. 

One  characteristic  of  this  earliest  recorded  Teutonic  inva- 
sion was  the  taking  of  their  women  and  children,  who  shared 
the  dangers  and  endured  the  hardships  with  the  men.  This 
same  thing  occurs  later  in  the  invasion  of  Britain  by  Anglo-Saxon 
tribes  in  the  fifth  century;  and  still  again  in  the  settlement  of 
the  new  world  by  their  modem  descendants,  Englishmen,  and  the 
subsequent  migrations  westward  in  the  United  States  by  the  same 
race.  Marius,  the  Roman  consul,  102  B.  c,  after  several  severe 
battles,  defeated  the  Teutons  in  Gaul,  whither  they  had  \vandei*ed ; 
then,  hastening  back  to  Italy  where  the  Cimbri  had  remained, 
annihilated  them.  The  captives  made  slaves  by  these  wars  after- 
wards revolted  in  Rome  under  the  lead  of  Spartacus. 

We  next  hear  of  the  Teutons  or  Germans  from  C«sar,  50  B.  c, 
who,  having  conquered  Gaul,  encountered  them  there  under  their 
chief  Ariovistus.  The  name  German  given  by  the  Gauls  to  a 
Teutonic  tribe  who  had  crossed  the  Rhine,  became  the  title  of  all 
the  Teutonic  tribes  of  a  later  date.  Caesar,  seeing  the  warlike  as 
well  as  migratory  instinct  of  this  race,  thought  Rome  would  best 
be  guarded  by  invading  their  territory  as  he  had  that  of  the  Gauls, 
and  reducing  them  to  submission.  He  drove  Ariovistus  and  his 
tribe  of  Siievi  over  the  Rhine,  and  soon  after,  by  building 
bridges  across  that  river  at  Coblentz  and  Bonn,  invaded  German 
territory. 

In  spite  of  the  headlong  valor  of  the  tribesman,  the  steady  dis- 
cipline of  the  Roman  legionary  won  the  day  after  many  a  hard- 
fought  battle.  Tlie  compact  formation  of  the  legion,  with  the 
short  thrust  of  the  Roman  sword,  was  too  much  for  the  loose  armv 
of  the  Germans  fighting  with  a  longer  weapon.  Although  Ctesar 
annihilated  some  trilxjs  he  made  but  slight  headway,  and  seemed 
little  inclined  to  follow  them  into  the  recesses  of  their  dark 
forests.  He  soon  made  peace  .and  incorporated  some  of  the  Ger- 
mans in  his  army,  especially  as  cavalry,  and  they  did  great  service 
for  him  later  at  Pharsalia,  where  he  defeated  Pompey  and  over- 


r 


SEMI-MILITAEY   CONaTITCTIOSAL   MONARCHY.  771 


threw  the  Roman  republic.  From  this  time  Grermans  began  to 
enlist  in  the  Roman  ai-miea  until  finally  they  outnumbered  the 
BomiiDS  in  the  legions.  Csesar,  hy  his  far-reaching  vision,  is 
credited  with  keeping  off  the  invasion  of  Rome  by  these  Teutonic 
tribes  nearly  four  hundred  yeai-s.  From  him  and  tlie  historian 
Tacitus  we  learn  where  the  most  important  of  these  tribes  wenj 
situated,  and  what  were  their  mannere  and  customs. 

Altliough  all  these  tribes  hud  a  common  Teutonic  origin,  tliey 
differed  in  many  respects  from  each  other;  tlie  Suevi  especially 
having  peculiar  chaiueteri sties.  These  held  no  private  owuerehip 
in  lands,  but  each  year  changed  about,  holding  it  in  common,  so 
that  no  one  could  become  so  attjiched  to  a  locality  that  he  would 
be  unwilling  to  go  on  distant  forays. 

The  Noi-tli,  or  Low  German  —  for  the  conformation  of  the  land 
divided  these  tribes  into  High  and  Low — owned  his  land  to 
a  certain  extent,  and  cultivated  it  apart  from  the  rest.  The  land 
about  their  primitive  villages  was  held  in  common,  so  were  the 
fertile  pastures  and  the  forests;  but  the  tendency  of  the  Koi-th 
German  was  to  live  apart.  Several  of  their  thatched  cottages 
they  called  a  village ;  and  a  numljer  of  these  villages  Wiis  called 
a  hundred,  while  several  kundredn  made  a  ,9^1*,  or  di.strict. 

Every  hundred  hail  its  own  chief,  called  a  prince,  who  was 
elected  by  the  freemen  of  the  tribe,  wlio  alone  had  the  right  to 
vote  as  well  as  bear  arms.  The  chiefs  of  the  tribes  wei-e  also 
elected  and  these  were  called  kings ;  while  aevei-il  tribes  on  going 
to  war  would  elect  one  of  their  number,  called  a  Hertzhog,  to 
lead  them.  The  mass  of  tribesmen  were  freemen,  and  they 
recognized  a  class  of  nobility  among  them  from  their  ancient 
descent,  while  below  them  were  the  slaves,  either  captured  in 
war  or  freemen  unable  to  pay  tlieir  debts.  Tlie  similarity 
between  debt  and  slavery  still  exists. 

Between  the  freemen  and  the  slaves  were  anotlier  class  calked 
Litit  or  iewh' (German  for  people)  who  held  no  land  except  in 
service  of  some  freeman,  an  idea  afterwai-ds  developing  into  the 
feudal  system,  and  who  bora  no  arms.  The  assemblies  of  the 
freemen  took  place  either  in  March  or  May,  as  do  the  town  meet- 
ings in  New  England  to-day,  the  political  offspring  of  these 
primitive /o^^  moot,  or  meetir^g.     These   assemblies  were  held  iu 


770  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

blue-eyed,  red  or  yellow-haired  luce  of  figlitei-s,  who  in  a  f ow  years 
overthrew  several  Roman  aimies  sent  against  them.  It  seemed 
as  if  Rome  was  to  suffer  a  fate  similar  to  what  she  endured  at  tlie 
hands  of  the  Gauls  under  Bi-ennus,  nearly  three  hundred  yeai's 
earlier. 

One  characteristic  of  this  earliest  recorded  Teutonic  inva- 
sion was  the  taking  of  their  women  and  children,  who  shared 
the  dangers  and  endured  the  hardships  with  the  men.  This 
same  thing  occurs  later  in  the  invasion  of  Britain  by  Anglo-Saxon 
tribes  in  the  fifth  century;  and  still  again  in  the  settlement  of 
the  new  world  by  their  modern  descendants.  Englishmen,  and  the 
subsequent  migrations  westward  in  the  United  States  by  tlie  same 
race.  Marius,  the  Roman  consul,  102  b.  c,  after  several  severe 
battles,  defeated  the  Teutons  in  Gaul,  whither  they  had  wandered ; 
then,  hastening  back  to  Italy  where  the  Cimbri  had  remained, 
annihilated  them.  The  captives  made  slaves  by  these  wars  after- 
wards revolted  in  Rome  under  the  lead  of  Spartacus. 

We  next  hear  of  the  Teutons  or  Germans  from  Caesar,  50  B.  c, 
who,  having  conquered  Gaul,  encountered  them  there  under  their 
chief  Ariovistus.  The  name  German  given  by  the  Gauls  to  a 
Teutonic  tribe  who  had  crossed  the  Rhine,  became  the  title  of  all 
the  Teutonic  tribes  of  a  later  date.  Cresar,  seeing  the  warlike  as 
well  as  migratory  instinct  of  this  race,  thought  Rome  would  best 
be  guarded  by  invading  their  territory  as  he  had  that  of  the  Gauls, 
and  reducing  them  to  submission.  He  drove  Ariovistus  and  his 
tribe  of  Suevi  over  the  Rhine,  and  soon  after,  by  building 
bridges  across  that  river  at  Coblentz  and  Bonn,  invaded  German 
territory. 

In  spite  of  the  headlong  valor  of  the  tribesman,  the  steady  dis- 
cipline of  the  Roman  legionary  won  the  day  after  many  a  hard- 
fought  battle.  The  compact  formation  of  the  legion,  with  the 
short  thrust  of  the  Roman  sword,  was  too  much  for  the  loose  array 
of  the  Germans  fighting  with  a  longer  weapon.  Although  Caesar 
annihilated  some  tribes  he  made  but  slight  headway,  and  seemed 
little  inclined  to  follow  them  into  the  recesses  of  their  dark 
forests.  He  soon  made  peace  and  incorporated  some  of  tlie  Ger- 
mans in  his  army,  especially  as  cavalry,  and  they  did  great  service 
for  him  later  at  Pharsalia,  where  lie  defeated  Pompey  and  over- 


w 


SEM I-MILITAEY    COIiSTiTUTIONAL    MONARCHY.  771 


threw  the  Romftn  i-epublic.  From  this  time  Germans  began  to 
enlist  in  the  Roman  anniea  until  finally  tliey  outnumbered  the 
Bomans  in  the  legions,  Cassar,  by  his  far-reaching  vision,  is 
cre<Iite(l  with  keeping  off  the  invasion  of  Rome  by  these  Teutonic 
tribes  nearly  four  hundred  yeais.  From  him  and  the  liistorian 
Tacitus  we  learn  where  the  most  important  of  these  tribes  wei-e 
situated,  and  what  were  their  manners  and  customs. 

Although  all  these  tribes  liad  a  common  Teutonic  origin,  tliey 
differed  in  many  I'esiiects  fi-ora  each  other;  the  Suevi  especially 
having  peculiar  chai'acteristics.  These  held  no  pnvate  ownerahip 
in  lands,  but  each  year  changed  about,  holding  it  in  common,  so 
that  no  one  could  become  so  attached  to  a  locality  that  he  would 
be  unwilling  to  go  on  distant  forays. 

The  North,  or  Low  Gennan  —  f<5r  the  conformation  of  the  land 
divided  these  tribes  into  High  and  Low — ^  owned  his  land  to 
a  ceiiain  extent,  and  cultivated  it  apart  frem  the  rest.  The  laud 
about  their  primitive  villages  was  held  in  common,  so  were  tlia 
fertile  pastures  and  the  forests;  but  the  tendency  of  the  North 
German  was  to  live  apart.  Several  of  their  thatched  cotb^ea 
they  called  a  village;  and  a  ntimber  of  these  villages  was  called 
a  hundred,  while  several  hundreih  made  a.gau,  or  district. 

Every  hundred  had  its  own  chief,  called  a  prince,  who  waa 
elected  by  the  freemen  of  the  tribe,  who  ahmL'  Jiad  the  riglit  tn 
vote  as  well  iia  bear  arms.  The  chiefs  of  the  tribes  were  also 
elected  and  these  were  called  kings ;  while  sevei-al  tribes  on  going 
to  war  would  elect  one  of  their  number,  called  a  HertKhog,  to 
lead  them.  The  mass  of  tribesmen  were  fi-eemen,  and  they 
recognized  a  class  of  nobility  among  them  fi'om  their  ancient 
descent,  while  below  them  were  tlie  slaves,  either  captured  in 
war  or  freemen  unable  to  pay  their  debts.  The  similarity 
between  debt  and  shivery  still  exists. 

Between  the  freemen  and  the  slaves  were  another  class  civllud 
Xifi,  or  Leuti  (German  for  people)  who  held  no  land  exce]>t  in 
service  of  some  freeman,  an  idea  afterwards  developing  into  tlia 
feudal  sj-stem,  and  who  bore  iio  ai-ma.  The  assemblies  of  the 
freemen  took  place  either  in  March  or  May,  as  do  the  town  meet- 
ings in  New  England  to-day,  the  political  offspring  of  these 
primitive /o2i  moot,  or  meetiTigs.     These   assemblies  wei-e  held  iit 


772  THE  STORY  OF    GOVERNMENT. 

■ 

the  open  air  in  some  grove  daring  the  crescent  moon,  where  were 
offered  sacrifices  of  oxen,  which  were  eaten  and  washed  down 
with  hnge  draughts  of  beer  and  mead,  while  the  freemen  gave 
their  opinions  with  perfect  freedom. 

In  the  morning  those  who  were  sober  formed  themselves  into 
a  circle  and  deliberated  over  the  counsels  of  the  night.  Tlie  law^ 
of  hospitality  were  rigidly  observed,  and  a  stranger  wi^  perfectly 
safe  in  the  humblest  cot,  even  if  he  were  charged  with  a  crime. 
But  he  was  not  expected  to  stop  longer  than  tliree  days,  as  the 
saying  was: —  "A  three  days'  guest  is  everywhere  curst.** 

Every  foreign  wayfarer  might  pluck  three  fruits  from  a  tree, 
three  shares  from  a  field,  and  three  fish  from  a  pond,  whence  came 
the  proverb,  ^^  Tliree  are  free. ^*  Their  idea  of  Heaven,  or  Val- 
halla, where  the  souls  of  the  dead  fought  each  other  all  day  and 
caroused  all  night,  gives  some  indication  of  their  general  charac- 
teristics. When  the  Romans  met  them  thev  were  still  a  nomadic 
people  to  a  great  extent,  and  were  constantly  warring  with  each 
other. 

Under  Drusus  and  Germanicus  tlie  Romans  carried  their  arms 
furthest  into  Germany,  and  the  Rhine  and  tlie  l)anul)e  were 
made  the  limits  of  the  empire,  and  these  two  rivers  were  con- 
nected by  a  wall,  to  prevent  any  sudden  foray  from  the  tribesmen. 
Roman  traders  penetrated  into  the  depths  of  the  forests,  and  along 
the  Rhine  and  other  rivei-s  Roman  cities  sprang  up,  such  as 
Cologne,  Mentz,  TVeves,  and.Rativslwn.  So  imminent  seemed  the 
conversion  of  Germany  into  a  Rcmrifin  province  like  Gaul  that 
Herman,  or  Arminius,  as  the -Romans  called  him,  a  chief  of  the 
tribe  of  the  Cherusci,  fonned  in  the  year  5  a.  d.  a  league  with 
other  tribes  to  strike  at  the  legions  then  in  Germany.  Vanis, 
their  commander,  was  told  that  a  tribe  in  the  Teutol)er<T^(M-  forest 
had  revolted,  and  he  hastened  to  chastise  them. 

Marching  through  the  dense  woods,  encuml>ered  with  heavy 
armor,  their  feet  slipping  in  the  mud  caused  by  the  heavy  niins, 
the  Romans  found  themselves  attacked  on  every  side  by  the 
infuriated  Germans.  The  Imttle  mged  for  several  da}'s,  but  at 
last  turned  against  the  Romans  who  could  not  form  in  the  dense 
woods,  and  were  in  consequence  completely  annihilated  with  a 
loss  of  over  40,000  men.      This  decisive  victorv  ensured  the  free- 


■s^^'i-'-'^-  -  :_ 

Fif 

W"S,i  *"'.■* 

1^^ 

« 

AAta 

M 

,'>«^ 

'i.-ri- 

iitfiMjK 

1^ 

*""" 

'^  d;^^ 

pf3 

^■Sam 

^■r  ^^' .  .^  ■ 

BEin-MILITABr  COKSTTTUTIOXAL  UGSABCHY.  777 

dcRn  of  the  Germanic  tribes,  with  the  purity  of  their  race  and  hin- 
guage,  and  phiced  Herman  as  one  of  the  great  leaders  of  the  race, 
like  Frederick  the  Great,  and  Ton  Moltke  of  later  years.  Its 
effect  in  Rome  was  appalling,  and  Caesar  Augustus  went  from 
room  to  room  in  his  palace  cn'ing,  ^  Varus !  Varus,  give  me  hack 
mv  legions." 

For  two  hundred  years  the  Germans  were  comparatively  quiet ; 
then  they  began  to  be  restless  and  show  signs  of  >-ielding  to  their 
migratory  instinct.  The  movement  was  not  sudden,  but  came  in 
waves  at  different  intervals  until  evervthinjj  Roman  was  sub- 
merged.  The  Goths  were  first  to  move,  and  being  pressed  by 
the  Huns,  a  Tartar  tribe  from  the  east,  left  their  homes  along 
the  Vistula  River,  crossed  the  Danube  and  settled  in  the  Roman 
territon"  south.  Becoming  more  iK)werful  by  fresh  accessions, 
they  finally  captured  Rome  itself  under  their  chief,  Alaric. 

Then  the  Bnrgundians,  Vandals,  and  Alani  began  to  move ;  the 
former  settling  about  the  nv^v  Rhune  in  Tiaul,  and  mixinq^  with 
the  inhabitants  f«»mie*l  the  kingdom  of  Bumundv.  Tlie  historv 
of  the  Franks  in  Gaul  inteivsts  us  because  in  the  vear  800 
Charleraafrne,  one  of  the-,  successors  of  the  oriirinal  Frank ish 
conqueroi"s,  was  ci-owned  Emix-ror  in  Rome  by  the  P«»i»e  after 
his  vietoiy  over  the  L<  mihirds,  thei*el>y  restoring  the  emiiiiv  of 
the  West.  He  was  as  niurh  Enii»en»t  of.  the  Germans  as  nf  the 
Franks  Ixn-anse  Ik^Ii  countries  wei-e  united  under  him.  an<l  liv  his 
conquests  in  Italy  became  king  rif  the  LomUirds. 

The  Fnuikish  kings  had  embraced  the  Trinitarian  form  of  the 
Christian  creed,  while  most  of  the  other  Teutonic  triWs  had 
embraced  the  Arian  heresv,  as  the  Chunh  called  it.  The  Saxons 
were  still  heathen,  and  onlv  renounced  the  reliirion  of  their  fore- 
fathers  after  over  thiitv  veai-s'  strusrirle  with  Charlemamie.  At 
last,  their  chief,  Wittikind,  finding  resistance  hoi»eless,  was  luip- 
tized  and  received  into  the  Catholic  faith,  Charlemagne  standing 
as  his  sponsor. 

By  the  swonl  of  the  great  Frankish  king,  and  the  preiu.*hing 
of  Saint  Boniface,  Christianity  was  spread  throughout  Geiinany. 
From  the  time  of  this  Frankish  in>"asion  of  Gaul  to  Charlemagne 
the  conditions  of  life  had  greatly  changed  among  the  i)eoi>le. 
Originally  all  were  freemen  who  owned  land  and  who  could  vote 


778  THE  8TOEY  OF  OOVSRNMBKT. 

in  the  assemblies,  but  by  conquests  all  this  was  gradually  altered, 
especially  in  the  conquered  country.  Lands  (in  those  days  the 
only  wealth)  which  were  formerly  held  as  allodial  or  belonging 
to  one's  self  alone,  now  were  held  in  the  name  of  another,  and  rent, 
either  in  service  or  produce,  was  given  for  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  one  holding  the  fee  or  fief  was  bound 
to  protect  the  one  holding  under  him,  the  obligation  being 
reciprocal,  and  thus  arose  the  feudal  system.  In  those  days  of 
almost  universal  personal  warfare  protection  was  necessary  to 
those  who  lived  by  farming,  and  so  classes  began  to  form ;  the 
lower,  or  serf  class,  who  were  denied  the  use  of  arms,  and  were 
obliged  to  cultivate  the  soil,  and  the  land-holding  or  territorial 
class  who  lived  on  the  former,  but  bore  arms  and  j^rotected  them 
from  others.  In  Germany  this  took  slower  root  than  else- 
where, although  the  original  class  of  Liti  were  ruled  on  some- 
thing of  this  plan;  but  the  large  class  of  freemen  made  the  feudal 
system  difScult  to  be  established,  and  regarding  certain  laws  of 
inheritance  it  never  was  as  firmly  founded  as  in  other  countries. 

After  the  death  of  Charlemagne,  843  a.  d.,  no  one  was  power- 
ful enough  to  hold  his  mighty  empire  together,  and  after  years 
of  fighting  between  his  sons,  and  later  his  grandsons,  the  lat- 
ter decided  to  divide  the  empire,  which  was  done  by  the  Treaty 
of  Verdun.  In  this  treaty  the  various  chiefs  made  oath  in  their 
respective  tongues.  Louis  the  German,  who  took  all  the  coun- 
try east  of  the  Rhine,  or  rouglily  what  is  now  Germany,  spoke  in 
German,  while  Charles  the  Bald,  who  took  Francia  Occidental  is 
(modem  France),  spoke  in  French.  Lothair,  the  third  brother, 
took  a  long  nan*ow  strip  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  from 
the  Alps  to  the  sea,  which  he  called  Lotharingia  (modemly  Lor- 
raine), and  which  was  destined  to  prove  an  apple  of  discord  for- 
ever between  the  other  two  nations. 

Although  this  separation  marks  the  political  beginning  of  Ger- 
many, the  various  tribes  were  still  governed  by  their  chiefs  or 
dukes,  and  spoke  different  dialects.  Charlemagne  created  the 
archbishops  of  Cologne,  Treves,  and  Maintz,  spiritual  princes 
with  power  equal  to  the  dukes,  so  the  latter  would  in  a  measure 
be  curbed.  After  the  separation  of  Germany  the  descendants  of 
Charlemagne  continued  on  the  throne,  but  on  the  cessation  of  line 


780  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

in  Louis  III.,   the   child,   the   cliiefs  of  the  various  nations,  or 
dukes,  decided  to  elect  one  of  themselves  king. 

On  the  death  of  Conrad,  they  chose  Henry,  Duke  of  Saxony, 
as  king  in  919,  called  the  Fowler,  because  when  told  of  his  elec- 
tion he  was  found  hunting.  The  country  was  in  a  bad  state  when 
he  came  to  the  throne,  especially  from  the  invasion  of  the  eastern 
frontiers  by  hordes  of  Huns  and  Magyars.  The  eastern  provinces, 
Bohemia  and  Moravia,  had  already  been  settled  by  Sclavonic  races 
who  filled  in  the  vacant  territory  made  by  the  migration  of  the 
tribes.  The  Huns  fought  on  horseback,  and  from  their  quick 
movements  suddenly  rushing  to  a  charge,  and  as  quickly  wheel- 
ing about  and  returning,  it  was  hard  to  beat  them. 

Formerly,  in  451,  these  savage  tribes  had  threatened  to  conquer 
Europe  under. their  King  Attila,  who  called  himself  the  Scourge 
of  God,  and  who  devasted  Europe  until  defeated  near  Chalons  in 
Gaul.  This  Attila  was  called  by  the  Germans  Etzel,  and  figures 
in  their  legends  of  the  Nibelunglied  as  the  husband  of  Kriemliild. 
The  Huns,  who  now  fought  with  Henry,  were  settled  in  Hungary 
and  were  fully  as  fierce  as  the  former  ones  under  Attila.  To 
preserve  liis  country  while  he  made  ready  to  defend  it  Henry  paid 
tribute  to  these  savages  until  by  building  walled  towns  along  the 
frontier  in  Saxony,  and  obliging  every  ninth  man  to  dwell  therein, 
lie  was  in  condition  to  resist  the  enemy. 

Tlie  last  tribute  he  sent  was  a  mangy  dog  which,  of  coui-se, 
was  meant  for  an  insult,  and  in  the  war  following  Henry  was 
victorious  and  the  power  of  the  Huns  broken.  Tliis  was  the 
beginning  of  town  life  among  the  Germans.  Formerly  they  had 
hated  cities,  and  as  a  rule  destroyed  them,  but  now  a  new  era  was 
opening.  Yet,  in  spite  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  they 
were  as  fien^e  as  when  in  former  times  they  swore  "by  the  deck 
of  the  ship,  and  the  rim  of  the  shield,  by  the  withei^s  of  the 
horse,  and  the  point  of  the  sword." 

Besides  driving  away  the  Huns,  Henry  invaded  the  country  of 
the  Wends,  a  Sclavonic  tribe,  and  captured  their  stronghold 
Branniber,  afterwards  called  Brandenburg,  the  cmdle  of  the 
modern  kinofdom  of  Prussia.  Henry  the  Fowler's  wise  and  ener- 
getic  rule  did  much  to  consolidate  the  nation  until  succeeded  by 
his  son  Otto    the  Great,  who,  after  his   conquests    in   Italy,    was 


aEMI->fILrTAUY   CONSTITDTIONAL  MONARCHY. 


781 


cro-wned  Emperor  at  Rome  in  962,  and  then  the  country  was  com- 
mitted to  a  policy  which  in  the  end  proved  to  be  the  political  ruin 
of  both  Germans  and  Itivlians. 

The  pajiacy  fnim  its  liereditary  <lislike  of  the  Lombards,  and 
from  fear  of  some  Itjilian  prince  becoming  too  poweKul,  was  only 
too  glad  to  crown  Oei-mjin  kings  a*  Emperoi-s  and  kings  of  Rome 
and  LomlKuxIy.     This  alliance  of  Church  and  State  sovereignties 


was  destined  to  hf?ar  bitter  fruit  in  the  future,  but  now  it  worked 
advantageously  to  both  Pope  and  Emperor,  although  the  poor 
people  were  the  suffci-ci-s. 

Tlie  successors  of  Otto  the  Great  followed  in  his  footstejis, 
consolidating  the  conquests  in  Italy  by  repeated  invasions,  and 
spending  the  blood  and  trciisui-e  needed  for  the  full  development 
of  their  own  country  in  this  desire  to  liold  the  beautiful  land  of 
Italy  in  subjection,  which  they  partially  succeeded  in  doing  for 
many  grievous  years. 


782  THE    STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

This  was  the  origin  of  Germany's  claim  to  Italy,  which  made 
the  latter  countiy  a  battlefield  for  centuries  wlienever  any  power 
such  as  Spain  or  France  wished  to  quarrel  with  Gennany, 
Tliis  claim  was  never  relinquished  until  the  victoiy  of  the  Prus- 
sians over  Austria,  at  Sadowa,  in  1866,  forced  the  latter  power  to 
cede  Venice  to  Italy,  which  had  been  the  former's  ally  in  that 
famous  seven  weeks'  war. 

By  1024  the  kingly  power  piussed  to  the  ducal  house  of  Fi-an- 
conia.  The  cities  now  began  to  rise  in  importance,  especially 
those  along  the  Rhine,  wliich  had  continued  from  the  time  of  the 
Romans  with  more  or  less  smouldering  vitality.  The  walled 
towns  on  the  civstern  frontier,  originally  harl)oi-s  of  refuge  from  the 
Huns,  now  became  equally  places  of  slielter  for  the  oppressed 
serfs  and  pccosants,  crushed  down  by  tlie  weight  of  the  landhold- 
ing  class.  Learning,  always  in  the  hands  of  the  clei-gy,  began 
slowly  to  i-evive  from  the  tremendous  tidal  wave  of  barbarism, 
and  schools  were  established  at  Liege,  Gemblowei-s,  Paderbum, 
and  many  other  places. 

In  this  centiny  arose  another  of  those  wavelike  movements  of 
the  people  of  Western  Europe,  bent  on  conquest,  only  this  time 
it  was  a  reflex  one  from  west  to  east,  instead  as  formerly  east  to 
west,  and  tliey  were  called  crusiides.  Tlie  Greek  empire  had 
fallen  before  the  followei-s  of  Malioinet,  and  with  Constantinople, 
passed  the  Holy  Land  witli  Jeiusaleiu  into  tlie  hands  of  tlie  Turks 
and  Saracens.  That  the  Holy  Sepuleliie  sliould  l>e  in  the  hands 
of  uiil)eliev(U's  was  not  to  be  endured  l)v  the  folk)wei"s  of  the 
Cliuieli  ill  Europe,  and  tlie  liery  preac^hing  of  Peter  the  Hermit 
aroused  all  llie  fanatical  and  warlike^  eUnnents  tliere.  Evervthintr 
was  pi'omised  to  tliose  wlio  would  enlist  in  the  holy  cause.  Sins 
were  remitted  and  crimes  pai'doned,  to  those  who  wore  the  red 
cross,  and  serfs  beeaine  freemen. 

The  lii-st  crusade  under  Godfrey  (h^  I>ouillon  wrested  Jerusalem 
from  the  Turks  in  lOlM],  and  for  tlie  next  two  hundred  yeai*s  the 
arid  lands  of  Palestine  were  the  l)attle-<jrounds  of  contendintr 
hosts  of  inlidels  and  Christians.  In  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel  c^f 
the  Talisman,  is  an  account  of  the  third  crusade  in  which  Richaixl 
the  Lion  Hearted,  King  of  Englandand  the  crafty  Philip  Augustus 
of  France,  took  part.      The  Em[)(,»ror  Frederick  Barbarossa,  of  Ger- 


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5 

^^^^^IP 

784  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

many,  was  the  liead  of  this  invading  host,  but  he  was  drowned 
while  trying  to  cross  one  of  the  rivers  in  Syi'ia  near  where  Alex- 
ander the  Great  came  near  suffering  the  same  fate. 

So  great  was  the  religious  fervor  created  by  these  ware,  that  it 
was  one  time  preached  that  the  Holy  Land  could  only  be  con- 
quered by  children,  and  such  was  the  madness  of  the  times  that 
the  fifth  crusade  was  composed  of  thousands  of  boys  and  girls. 
They  attempted  to  reach  Palestine  but  were  captured  by  pii-ates, 
and  few  of  the  original  number  ever  returned.  When  these 
devastating  wars  ceased,  it  is  estimated  that  6,000,000  of  the 
fighting  class  of  Europe  had  perished. 

From  these  wars  came  a  more  enlightened  knowledge  of  the 
East,  and  an  intellectual  activity  gained  by  contact  with  the 
more  highly  civilized  Moors  and  Arabs.  From  them,  also,  arose 
the  various  ordei*s  of  Knights  Templar,  Knights  Hospitallers,  and 
the  Teutonic  order,  who  on  return  to  Europe  exercised  great  influ- 
ence over  affairs  there. 

When  Henry  IV.  died,  the  ducal  house  of  Franconia  became 
extinct,  and  the  famous  old  duchy,  the  cradle  of  the  empire  from 
whence  had  migrated  the  conquering  Fj*anks  under  Clovis,  was 
divided  up  between  the  Church  and  sojne  petty  princes,  like  the 
Count  Palatine  of  the  Rhine  (who  became  elector  in  the  place  of 
the  Duke  of  Francouia),  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  Count  of 
Nassau.  Tliis  division  of  large  duchies  into  small  principalities, 
an  account  of  the  law  of  descent  following  the  one  of  equal  divi- 
sion i-ather  than  the  feudal  one  of  primogeniture,  was  another  evil, 
retarding  the  national  growth  of  Germany.  It  was  the  beginning  of 
individualism,  or  particularism  as  it  was  called  then  in  politics, 
which  afterwards  was  carried  to  ridiculous  extremes. 

Under  Lothair  II.  the  kingly  power  was  in  the  House  of  Saxony 
for  a  sliort  time,  1125  to  1137,  and  then  passed  to  the  House  of 
Holien  Staufcn  by  the  election  of  Coni*ad  HI.  in  1138.  The 
Hohenstaufens,  a  Suabian  ducal  family,  were  the  most  brilliant 
of  any  in  Germany  during  mediaeval  times;  the  Suabians  had 
always  been  noted  for  tlieir  intellectual  brilliancy,  and  this  family 
was  typical  of  the  country. 

Soon  after  Conrad's  election  began  the  famous  quarrel  of  Guelf 
and  Ghibeline,  destined  to  divide  Germany  and  Italy  into  hostile 


BEMl-MILITAItV  CONSTtTUTIONAI,  MONARCHY. 


parties  centuries  after  the  oi-iginal  meaning  of  the  words  vms 
forgotten.     Count  Welf,  of  Bavaria,  went  to  warwith  tho  Hohen- 


staufens,  whose  castle  in  Suabia  was  called  Weibling,  and  fi-om 
the  difficulty  the  Italians  had  in  jironouncing  the  W,  this  letter 
was  changed  to  G.     The  Ghilielines  were  tlie  snpiiorters  of  the 


786  THE   8TOKY  OF   GOVEBNMEKT. 

£niperor,  and  the  Guelftt  were  those  opposed,  aiid  hiter  on  were  the 
adherents  of  the  popes  in  their  long  struggle  with  the  Emperors. 

Under  Frederick  Barbarossa,  the  greatest  of  these  Emperors, 
the  boundaries  of  the  empire  were  the  widest  since  Charlemagne, 
embracing  Italy,  Burgundy,  Poland,  and  Denmark.  Having 
been  crowned  King  of  the  Lombards,  he  became  involved  in  war 
with  the  cities  in  Nortiiem  Italy,  wliich  ended  in  his  levelling 
the  principal  one,  Milan,  to  the  ground.  And  by  his  victories 
over  tlie  rebellious  Henry  the  Lion  Duke  of  Saxony  he  ground 
that  duchy  into  fragments,  and  as  an  old  chronicler  says,  ^All 
the  animals  came  in  for  a  share;  the  lion  kept  the  heart  for  his 
share;  the  lynx  (Bavaria)  had  a  leg;  the  dog  (Hesse)  a  shoe; 
the  pig  (Holstein)  the  lungs ;  Cologne  and  Bremen  each  a  hind 
leg,  while  Mentz  got  the  tail.** 

Thuringia  and  Westphalia,  portions  of  this  proud  ducliy,  be- 
came separate  and  were  ruled  by  their  respective  courts,  while 
the  duchy  of  Bavaria  Barbarossa  gave  to  Otto  of  Wittelsbach,  in 
whose  descendants'  hands  it  remains  to  this  day. 

The  people  had  nothing  to  say  about  these  changes,  when 
tliey  passed  from  king  to  duke  or  duke  to  count,  or  whether  they 
passed  from  the  mailed  hand  of  the  feudatoiy  lord  to  the  mortmain 
of  the  Church.  Their  condition  was  alike  pitiable  and  hopeless, 
for  what  the  feudal  lord  or  the  Church  did  not  take  from  them, 
the  robber  knights  seized  if  they  could. 

With  the  death  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  in  tlie  Holy  Land,  the 
empire  fell  to  Frederick  II.,  the  most  brilliant  and  accomplished, 
as  well  as  ill-fated  prince  of  the  Middle  Ages.  This  emperor  by 
man'iage  acquired  the  kingdoms  of  Sicily  and  Naples,  which, 
added  to  his  Lombard  kingdom  in  the  north  of  Italy  made  him  all 
but  supreme  master  of  that  country.  To  this  the  Pope  naturally 
objected,  and  the  quarrel  began.  One  side  thundered  forth  with 
anathemas  and  bulls  of  excommunication,  while  the  other  retali- 
ated by  physical  force,  frequently  driving  the  Supreme  Pontifif 
fi'om  Rome  by  arms. 

The  effect  on  Germany  of  this  struggle  between  Kaiser  and 
Pope  was  to  loosen  all  bonds  of  authority,  as  the  latter  in  excom- 
municating the  former  would  absolve  all  his  subjects  from  their 
allegiance;  and  the  turbulent  nobles  and  tributary  princes  were 


SEMI-MILITARY    CONSTITUTIONAL    MUNAltCHV. 


787 


not  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  situation.  On  the  other  hand 
the  Emperor,  to  raise  men  and  money  for  his  Italian  wara,  was 
foi-ced  to  sell  to  the  cities  important  franchises  and  civil  liberties 
which  enabled  them  to  become  almost  so  many  little  i-epublics. 
The  Emperors  were  likewise  forced  to  grant  equally  important 
rights  to  the  princes  who  supported  him,  and  these  rights  made 


tlieni  independent,  so  all  over  Germany  iirosc  a  horde  of  petty 
iiTcsponsilile  tyrants. 

Insteail  of  the  people  becoming  a  homogeneous  compact  nation, 
like  the  Fi-encli  and  English,  they  were  hopelessly  subdivided 
amongst  themselves.  In  the  long  struggle  between  tlie  popes 
and  the  emperoi's,  the  popes  won,  and  tlie  power  of  the  emjierors 
who  opposed  tlieni  was  completely  shattered.  One  of  the  latter, 
Henry  VI.,  was  forced  to  stand,  with '  scant  covering,  three 
days  in  a  snow  stoiin,  at  Canossa,  to  obtain  pardon  of  the  Pope. 
Frederick  II.,  the  last  of  the  Hohenstaufens  to  reign,  was,  from 


788  THE   STORY   OF  GOVKKXMBNT. 

his  personal  beauty,  attractivenessy  and  wide  knowledge  of 
languages,  speaking  as  he  did  French,  German,  Italian,  Greek, 
Latin,  and  even  Arabic,  the  ** wonder  of  the  age."  •  In  him  the 
arts  found  a  liberal  patron,  and  poetry  a  suitor,  for  he  wrote 
the  first  Italian  sonnet  in  that  language.  To  his  couit  came  all 
the  brilliant  minds  of  tlie  day,  lawyers  like  Peter  de  Yincis  to 
draw  up  a  code  for  a  kingdom,  or  poets  to  receive  at  the  fair 
hands  of  Iiis  queen  the  wreath  of  laurel  moi*e  to  be  coveted  than 
crowns. 

Witli  the  extinction  of  the  house  of  Hoheustaufen  as  dukes  oi 
Suabia  as  well  as  emperors  of  Germany,  their  famous  patrimony 
of  Suabia  was  divided  up  among  their  heirs,  as  formerly  were 
Franconia  and  Saxony.  For  years  after  they  ceased  to  reign 
Germany  ptissed  through  the  darkest  hour  of  her  existence,  and 
that  period  Wtis  called  Interregimm  (1256-1278),  when  rival  can- 
didates struggled  to  get  possession  of  the  imperial  title.  All 
authority  wiis  set  at  defiance,  and  each  one  settled  his  own 
troubles  with  the  swoi-d.  There  arose  throughout  the  land, 
especially  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers,,  like  the  Rhine,  innum- 
erable robber  castles,  built  and  inhabited  by  a  class  of  nobles  who 
disdained  to  get  a  living  by  other  means  than  force. 

These  castles  were  built  along  some  lonely  road,  or  where 
seveml  met,  and  all  travellers,  esi)ecially  merchants,  had  to  pay 
toll,  or  be  attacked  and  have  their  goods  seized.  Prelates  of  the 
Church  even  were  not  above  adding  to  their  revenue  by  these 
means.  One  of  them,  a  bishop,  on  being  asked  why  he  built  his 
castle  in  an  out  of  the  way  place  where  no  one  could  get  a  living 
by  farming,  leplied  that  "four  roads  crossed  in  front  of  his 
domain."  The  cities,  finding  their  merchants  constantly  plucked 
by  these  aristocratic  robbers,  leagued  together  and  made  war 
upon  them.  Many  of  the  robl)er  knights  werc  hanged  and  their 
castles  burned,  and  their  picturesque  ruins  to-day  lend  a  chann 
to  the  scenery  along  the  Rhine. 

The  cities  now  began  to  be  an  important  factor  in  the  nation's 
development,  and  were  at  this  period  the  only  places  of  refuge  for 
liberty  of  conduct  or  of  conscience.  After  the  wjive  of  migrating 
tribes  had  piissed,  most  of  the  Roman  cities  were  in  ruins,  but 
Saint  Boniface,  who  firat  converted  the  Germans,  I'estored  some  of 


788  THE    STOKY    OF    GOVEKNMKXT. 

his  i^ei-sonal  beauty,  attractiveness,  and  wide  knowledge  of 
languages,  speaking  as  he  did  French,  German,  Italian,  Greek, 
Latin,  and  even  Arabic,  the  "wonder  of  the  age."  •  In  him  the 
arts  found  a  liberal  patron,  and  poetry  a  suitor,  for  he  wrot« 
the  fii*st  Italian  sonnet  in  that  language.  To  his  court  came  all 
the  brilliant  minds  of  the  day,  lawyei-s  like  Peter  de  Vincis  to 
draw  up  a  code  for  a  kingdom,  or  poets  to  receive  at  the  fair 
hands  of  his  (jueen  the  wreath  of  laurel  more  to  be  coveted  than 
crowns. 

With  the  extinction  of  the  house  of  IIoheiLstaufen  as  dukes  of 
Suabia  as  well  as  emperoi-s  of  Germany,  their  famous  patrimony 
of  Suabia  w;us  divided  up  among  their  heirs,  as  formerly  were 
Fi-anconia  and  Saxony.  For  years  after  they  ceased  to  reign 
Germany  passed  througli  the  darkest  hour  of  her  existence,  and 
that  period  was  called  InteiTegnum  (125G-1273),  when  rival  can- 
didates struggled  to  get  possession  of  the  imperial  title.  All 
authority  wiis  set  at  defiance,  and  each  one  settled  his  own 
troubles  with  the  sword.  There  arose  throughout  the  land, 
especially  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers,,  like  the  Rhine,  innum- 
erable robber  castles,  built  and  inliabited  by  a  chiss  of  nobles  who 
disdained  to  get  a  living  by  other  means  tlian  force. 

These  castles  were  built  aloucr  some  lonelv  ioad,  or  wliere 
several  met,  and  all  travellei*s,  especially  merchants,  had  to  pay 
toll,  or  be  atta(;ke(l  and  have  their  goods  seized.  Prelates  of  the 
Church  even  were  not  above  adding  to  their  revenue  by  these 
means.  One  of  them,  a  bishop,  on  l)eing  asked  wliy  he  built  his 
castle  in  an  out  of  the  way  place  where  no  one  could  get  a  living 
by  farininq",  ie[)lie(l  that  ^'four  roads  crossed  in  front  of  his 
domain."  The  cities,  finding  their  merchants  constantly  plucked 
})V  these  aristociaiic  robbei"S,  leairned  tojrether  and  made  war 
U[)()n  them.  Many  of  the  robber  knights  wei-e  hanged  and  their 
castles  burned,  and  their  [)i(^tures(pie  ruins  to-day  lend  a  charm 
to  the  scenery  aloni^  the  Rhine. 

The  cities  now  began  to  be  an  important  tactor  in  tlie  nation's 
deyelo[)nient,  and  were  at  this  })erio(l  the  only  places  of  refuge  for 
liberty  of  conduct  or  of  conscience.  Aftev  the  wave  of  mir^ratincf 
tribes  had  passed,  most  of  the  Roman  ('ities  were  in  ruins,  but 
Saint  Boniface,  wlio  first  eonveuted  the  (jermans,  restored  some  of 


790  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

them  and  made  them  bishoprics,  under  the  control  of  some  bishop 
or  abbot.  In  these  cities  the  pious  monks  began  the  building  of 
those  beautiful  cathedrals  of  Gothic  architecture  which  will  be 
the  admiration  of  the  world  as  long  as  civilized  man  can  appre- 
ciate the  beautiful. 

The  building  of  these  masterpieces  was  a  cause  of  the  growth 
of  these  cathedral  towns.  Successive  armies  of  workmen  were 
employed^  as  they  were  frequently  hundreds  of  years  in  finishing 
these  wonderful  structures,  and  following  them  came  the  pilgrims 
to  worship  at  the  shrine,  and  after  them  came  the  trader,  eager 
for  profit;  so  gradually  about  the  Church  there  grew  up  a  com- 
munity sufficient  unto  itself,  as  regards  their  own  governing, 
and  whose  laws  were  based  upon  other  ideas  than  killing  and 
plunder.^ 

In  the  north  of  Germany  arose  towns  such  as  Bremen,  Ham- 
burg, and  Liibeck,  Stittin,  Dantzic,  and  Konigsberg,  along  the 
North  and  Baltic  Seas,  who  leagued  themselves  together  as  the 
^  Hansebund,  ^  or  Hanseatic  League,  which  extended  its  influence 
to  towns  in  the  South,  such  as  Augsburg  and  Niimberg,  and  "West 
even  into  Russia.  These  towns  coined  money,  issued  notes,  and 
bills  of  credit,  built  fleets  which  dominated  the  seas,  and  exercised 
all  the  rights  of  sovereign  states,  and  were  really  so  many  little 
republics  surrounded  by  feudalism. 

When  the  anarchy  of  the  Interregnum  could  no  longer  be 
endured,  the  imperial  free  cities  wished  for  some  ruler  who  could 
assist  them  in  their  struggles  with  the  princes.  So  it  was  decided 
to  hold  an  election.  The  choice  of  the  electoi-s  was  Rudolf  of 
Habsburg,  in  1273,  so  called  from  his  castle  in  Switzerland  (still 
standing),  as  one  most  likely  to  heal  the  growing  antagonism 
between  the  church  and  the  princes  of  Germany.  Rudolf,  the 
founder  of  this  powerful  and  gnisping  family,  had  all  the  traits 
which  have  made  that  house  a  stumbling-block  to  progress  and 
civilization. 

The  power  of  this  family  came  from  fortunate  marriages,  and 
from  tlie  extinction  of  the  great  ducal  families,  which  left  a  crowd 

*  In  this  manner  grew  up  Mayence,  Worms,  Cologne,  and  Strasbuig,  alcmg  the  Rhine ; 
Ghent,  Brussels,  and  Utrecht,  in  the  Netherlands ;  MUnster,  Bremen,  and  Magdeburg  in 
Saxony,  and  WUrzburg,  lYague,  and  Vienna  in  other  parts  of  the  conntry. 


SBMI-MILITABT  OON8TITUTIOKAL  MOKARCHY.  791 

of  petty  princes  who  were  only  too  willing  to  maintain  the  suc- 
cession of  Emperor  in  the  House  of  Habsburg  in  return  for  the 
maintenance  of  their  petty  sovereignty.  In  his  old  age  Rudolf 
married  the  beautiful  Agnes  of  Burgundy,  then  only  fourteen 
years  of  age.  After  the  ceremony  the  Bishop  of  Spii-es  was  so 
enchanted  by  her  beauty,  that  he  rapturously  kissed  her  (the  man- 
ners were  free  in  this  age),  whereupon  the  Emperor  told  him  it  was 
the  Agnus  Dei  (i.  e.,  the  Lamb  of  God),  not  Agnes  the  Empress, 
that  he  ought  to  kiss. 

One  of  his  successors,  Rudolf  II.,  was  a  true  son  of  this  grasp- 
ing i*ace,  and  he  was  immortalized  by  Dante's  curse  in  his  poem 
of  Purgatoria :  — 

*•  May  on  thy  r«acc  Heaven's  just  judgment  fall; 
And  be  It  signally  and  plainly  shown, 
With  terror  thy  successors  to  appall, 
Since  by  thy  lust  yon  distant  lands  to  gain 
Thou  and  thy  sire  have  suffered  wild  to  run 
What  was  the  garden  of  a  fair  domain. 

Canto  VIII-lOl. 

When  one  thinks  of  the  blood  shed  by  this  family  in  the  thirty 
years'  war,  the  assassination  of  Don  Carlos,  the  son  of  Philip  II., 
the  l)eheading  of  Marie  Antoinette  in  the  French  Revolution,  the 
dismemberment  of  the  Austrian  Empire  by  Napoleon  I.  and  later 
on  by  Napoleon  III.,  where  she  was  found  to  yield  Venice  to 
Italy,  the  death  of  Maximilian  in  Mexico,  the  crushing  defeat  by 
the  Prussians  at  Sadowa,  and  the  recent  tmgedy  of  the  family,  the 
suicide  of  the  Crown  Prince  Rudolf,  it  seems  as  if  the  great 
Italian  poet's  curse  had  been  fulfilled. 

The  Electoral  College  had  now  fallen  into  confusion,  and  the 
constant  appeals  from  it  to  force  of  aims  by  disappointed  candi- 
dates kept  the  Emperoi-s  in  never-ceasing  turmoil.  Originally 
the  tribes  of  Fi-anks,  Saxons,  Suabians,  and  Bavarians,  and  some- 
times the  Lorrainers  from  across  the  Rhine,  would  encamp  along 
the  banks  of  that  river  and  choose  one  of  their  dukes  or  chiefs  of 
tribes,  as  king.  Gradually  the  fom*  dukes  of  these  first  four 
tribes  took  to  themselves  the  sole  right  of  voting;  the  three  arch- 
bishops of  Cologne,  Treves,  and  Maintz  voting  with  them.  By 
1184,  the  votes  of  Franconia  and   Suabia  had   passed  to   other 


792  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

hands,  and  the  King  of  Bohemia  had  put  in  a  claim  for  the  vote 
hitherto  held  by  Bavaria. 

To  stop  this  wrangling  the  Emperor,  Charles  IV.,  in  1355, 
issued  the  Golden  Bull  which  settled  tliis  question,  and  declared 
the  legal  i)lace  of  election  should  be  Frankfort,  and  the  ceremony 
of  coronation  should  take  place  at  Aix-la-Cluipelle,  with  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Cologne  to  crown  the  king  elected.  The  number  of 
electors  was  made  seven,  the  original  number,  and  their  dignity 
was  declared  equal  to  kings,  while  conspiracy  against  them  was 
high  treason.  In  1338  the  electors  declared  their  independence  of 
the  Pope's  sanction  to  make  their  choice  of  king  valid. 

The  invention  of  gunpowder  rapidly  brought  a  change  to  the 
now  disappearing  Middle  Ages.  This  was  discovered  by  a  monk 
named  Schwartz,  at  Freiburg,  in  1354,  and  the  discovery  cost  him 
his  life  by  an  explosion.  The  fii-st  i)owder  mill  was  built  at 
Liibeck  in  1360,  and  the  fii-st  iron  cannon  balls  were  used  by  the 
Hanse  Towns  in  1387,  as  the  firat  balls  were  made  of  store. 

With  the  introduction  of  gunpowder  came  a  revolution  in  the 
art  of  war,  and  with  it  the  loss  of  the  prestige  of  the  nobility  who 
always  fought  on  hoi"seback  on  the  battlefield.  Before  this,  clad 
in  a  suit  of  armor,  with  his  horse  equally  })rotected,  the  noble  was 
invincible  to  the  ordinary  foot  soldier,  but  now  that  tlie  meanest 
man  with  a  gun  could  kill  tlie  bravest,  the  days  of  chivalry  were 
over. 

Witli  the  introduction  of  gunpowder  also  came  other  forces  to 
chang(i  the  thought  of  the  age,  and  the  most  potent  of  these  was  the 
discovery  of  printing  by  John  of  (lutenburg  in  1430.  Before 
this,  books  were  copied  hy  liand,  and  tliis  immense  labor  was  done 
by  monks  in  the  monasteries,  and  to  them  and  tlieir  patient 
life-long  la])ors  is  due  sucli  presci'vation  as  we  h>ive  of  tlie  liter- 
ary relics  of  the  ancient  classic  world. 

The  establishment  of  uuivcn'sities,  together  with  the  diffusion 
of  learning  by  ])iinting,  had  an  immense  influence  on  the  thought 
of  the  age.  Tlij  University  of  Prague,  established  in  1348,  was 
already  famous  foi*  its  teachers,  such  as  John  IIuss  and  Jerome  of 
Pratrue,  who  counted  their  followers  by  thousands  in  Boliemia. 
The  ecclesiastical  authorities  tried  to  stop  this  intellectual  awak- 
ening by  burning  ITuss  and  Jerome,  but  their  death  was  the  sig- 


794  THX  BTOBY  OF  QOYERNHENT. 

nal  for  a  bloody  uprising  in  Bohemia  under  the  leadership  of 
John  Ziska,  who,  although  Uind,  became  one  of  the  great  soldiers 
of  his  time.  So  fierce  and  unrelenting  was  this  man  that  on  his 
death,  in  1424,  he  desired  that  his  skin  should  be  flayed  from  his 
body  and  made  into  a  drum  to  be  beaten  in  the  presence  of  the 
enemy. 

When  Maximilian  I.  came  to  the  throne  in  1493,  it  seemed  as 
if  the  lowest  point  of  anarchy  and  political  dismemberment  had 
been  reached,  although  he  in  a  measure  restored  the  prestige  of 
the  nation,  and  tried  to  introduce  some  refonns.  At  the  Diet  of 
Worms,  1495,  there  was  issued  an  Edict  of  Perpetual  Peace, 
which  was  to  do  away  with  setUing  private  quarrels  by  the  sword 
or  the  Faustrecht,  figt  law^  as  it  was  called. 

Trials  by  combat  or  by  ordeals,  such  as  walking  over  hot  iron, 
known  as  the  judgment  of  God,  were  still  prevalent,  for  the 
people  yielded  to  law  slowly  and  with  distrust.  When  a  man 
accused  a  woman,  the  conditions  of  the  combat  were  made  equal 
by  burying  the  man  in  the  ground  to  his  waist,  and  then  armed 
with  a  stick,  he  had  to  defend  himself  from  the  woman  who  had 
a  stone  tied  in  the  end  of  a  veil  for  a  weapon. 

The  House  of  Hapsburg  'vvas  at  the  culmination  of  its  power 
when  Charles  V,  was  crowned  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1520,  as 
Emixjror  of  Germany,  for  lie  ixiled  over  more  provinces  than  any 
previous  sovereign,  as  he  took  in  all  the  new  world  which 
Columbus  had  added  to  the  Spanish  throne,  since  by  marriage 
Spain,  Burgundy,  and  the  Netherlands  had  come  into  the  hands 
of  this  family,  and  his  brother  Ferdinand  took  Austria  and  the 
Tyrol  and  afterwards  Bohemia  and  Hungary.  His  coronation 
was  one  of  boundless  magnificence  and  display  of  wealth,  as 
befitted  the  taste  of  this  young  sovereign  who  so  far  had  shown 
only  an  inclination  to  be  dissolute,  though  later  he  was  to  develop 
into  the  most  powerful  ruler  of  his  time. 

The  first  act  of  the  new  Emperor's  administration  was  to 
appoint  a  Diet  of  the  empire  at  Worms,  in  1521,  to  consider  the 
I)roper  measures  to  combat  the  new  ideas  that  were  then  spreading 
from  the  teachings  of  Martin  Luther.  This  extraordinary  man 
was  bom  in  Thuringia,  in  1483,  of  a  peasant  family,  and  became 
an  Augufctine  friar  and  professor  of  theology  in  the  University 


=% 


\V! 


796  THE  STOBY  OF  GOVEKKMEKT. 

of  Wittenbeig.  At  fiist  he  desired  merely  to  reform  certain 
abuses  which  were  flagrant  in  the  Church,  but  the  current  of  the 
times  was  too  strong  for  him  and  lie  finally  broke  from  Rome. 

The  establishment  of  the  universities,  reviving  as  it  did  the 
study  of  Greek  and  Hebrew,  Iiad  spread  abroad  a  spirit  of  inquiry 
and  criticism,  and  great  scholars  like  Rcuchlin,  Erasmus,  and 
Melancthon  had  prepared  men^s  minds  for  the  partial  overthrow 
of  the  Roman  Church.  The  peasantry  and  lower  orders  thought 
they  had  everything  to  gain  from  any  change  whatever,  and 
gladly  hailed  these  new  doctrines  as  a  sign  of  better  times  for 
them,  while  the  princes  simply  saw  in  them  an  opportunity  to 
dispossess  the  Church  of  some  of  its  enormous  wealth. 

Luther,  summoned  to  the  Diet,  walked  all  the  way  to  tlie  city 
of  Worms,  and  presented  so  poor  an  appearance  lb|t  the  Emperor, 
Charles  Y.,  said  he  looked  like  the  last  man  to  convert  him. 
Charles  Y.  was  too  far  seeing  a  man  not  to  realize  that]  these 
new  doctrines  would  not  only  disturb  the  Church,  but  destroy  the 
empire,  so,  after  sternly  admonishing  the  princes  assembled  that 
he  would  continue  the  religion  of  the  Roman  Church  as  he  had 
inherited  it  from  his  ancestors,  he  refused  to  listen  longer  to  the 
arguments  of  Luther.  After  this  Luther  ^vas  concealed  for  nearly 
a  year  in  the  Castle  of  Wartburg,  where  he  spent  his  time  trans- 
lating the  Bible  into  German.  He  was  not  above  many  of  the 
superstitions  of  his  age,  and  the  room  is  still  shown  at  the  castle 
where  he  threw  an  inkstand  at  the  devil. 

This  translation,  one  of  the  greatest  intellectual  achievements 
of  German  scholars,  fixed  one  of  the  mauy  dialects  of  Hijjh  and 
Low  German,  as  the  one  to  he  followed  ever  after  by  the  scholarly 
classes,  and  became  also  the  language  of  the  people.  The  peas- 
ants beholding  in  these  doctrines  a  ehance  for  their  relief,  as 
now  they  were  hopelessly  bound  to  the  soil,  thi*ew  off  the  yoke 
of  their  feudal  lords,  and  raising  large  but  poorly  discii)lined 
armies,  be^au  burning  and  devastating  the  country  far  and  wide 
inL525. 

Sualjiii,  the  lUiineland,  and  Franeonia  wei"c  in  a  blaze  with 
burning  convents  and  castles ;  churches  were  ruined,  monasteries 
plundered,  while  cities  like  Jliinster,  which  fell  into  the  hands  of 
a  set  of  fanatics  called  Anabiq^tists,  were  given  over  to  every  kind 


BEHI-MILITASY   CONST ITOTIONAL  HONABOHY.  79T 

of  excess.  It  was  the  first  articulate  cry  of  the  downtrodden 
masses,  and  like  the  similar  rising  in  France  of  the  Jacqaeriet 
and  the  later  explosion  of  the  Reign  of  Terror,  was  marked  by 
blind  r^e  and  untamable  ferocity.  Although  these  poor  peasants 
were  the  followers  of  Luther,  he  had  no  sympathy  with  them,  and 
wrote  to  their  rulers  '^To  strangle,  to  stab  them,  secretly  and 
openly,  as  they  can,  as  one  would  a  mad  dog." 


Charles  v.,  now  weary  with  these  religioua  strifes,  calledaDiet 
at  Augsbui^,  ill  1565,  to  see  if  some  agreement  suitiible  to  all 
parties  could  be  arranged.  This,  in  a  measiu^,  was  done,  and 
rights  were  given  to  the  Lutherans  which  were  withheld  from  the 
followers  of  Calviii  and  Zwingli.  Peace,  to  a  certain  extent, 
followed  this  Diet,  mid  a  few  years  after  Charles  resigned  his 
Spanish  and  Netherland  interests  to  his  son  Phillip,  and  those  of 
Germany  to  his  brother  Ferdinand. 

Bohemia,  now  possessed  by  Austria,  had  even  before  the  times 
of  Luther  been  the  stronghold  of  opponents  of  the  Church,  who 
now  embi'aced  these  new  doctrines  with  enthusiasm.      Austria, 


798  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT, 

determined  to  stamp  these  new  ideas  out,  had  sent  two  commis- 
sioners to  Prague  to  look  over  the  ground.  On  the  23d  of  May, 
1618,  a  day  famous  as  the  beginning  of  the  longest,  bloodiest, 
and  most  senseless  war  on  record,  —  for  the  end  left  both  parties 
(neither  convinced)  just  where  they  began,  — was  done  the  deed 
which  began  the  ^'^ thirty  years^  war,'*'' 

Count  Thurm,  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  thirty  noblemen,  inished 
into  the  castle  where  Martin itz  and  Slawata,  the  two  commis- 
sionei-s,  were  consulting.  Without  any  parleying,  they  threw 
them  out  of  the  window,  saying,  **Xow  see  if  your  Virgin  will 
help  you !  "  Their  trembling  secretaiy  was  sent  after  them,  fol- 
lowing on  the  bodies  of  his  masters,  to  whom  he  apologized  as  he 
struck,  saying  he  could  not  help  it.  In  spite  of  the  fall  of 
seventy  feet  the  men,  beyond  being  bruised  and  badly  shaken 
up,  were  uninjured,  for  they  fortunately  fell  on  a  heap  of  refuse, 
"  By  heavens !  "  exclaimed  one  of  the  throwers,  "  their  Virgin  has 
saved  them  I  "  as  the  men  were  observed  crawling  off  amid  a  fire 
of  pistol  shots. 

Both  sides  quickly  found  able  leaders  to  command  their  armies, 
Count  ^larisfiekl  for  the  Protestants,  and  Tilly  and  Wallenstein 
for  the  Imperiiilists.  At  the  end  of  twelve  years  the  Imperialists 
won;  evcn-ywhere  victorious,  and  the  cause  of  the  Protestants 
seemed  lio[)eless,  for  the  latter  were  divided  among  themselves 
regarding  roligio:i,  and  were  jealous  of  each  other's  success,  while 
the  fornicr  had  but  one  form  of  reliefion,  and  were  controlled  bv 
the  (Hiutral  authority  of  the  Emperor.  Of  all  the  men  whom 
tliwse  troublous  times  had  thrown  to  the  front,  Wallenstein  was 
the  ablest,  at  least  until  his  great  opponent,  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
of  Sweden,  appeared  on  the  scene. 

Born  in  Bohemia,  and  educated  by  the  Jesuits,  Wallenstein 
became  interested  in  the  study  of  astrology,  common  in  those 
days,  and  succeeded  in  surrounding  hinLself  A\'ith  an  air  of  mj-^- 
tery,  and  attaching  himself  to  the  Imperialists.  By  the  force  of 
his  energy  and  ability  to  command,  he  soon  rose  to  the  hejid  of 
their  armies,  not,  however,  without  aroiusing  envy  and  hatred.  He 
was  the  living  embodiment  of  tlie  spirit  of  the  times,  stern,  dark, 
and  merciless  to  those  who  opposed  liim. 

So  confident  were  tlie  Imperialists  of  success  that  they  issued 


LTJDWIQ   V,    BEETHOVEN. 


800  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

an  Edict  of  Restitution,  which  was  that  all  Church  property  then 
in  the  hands  of  Protestants  should  be  returned  to  its  owners. 
This  the  latter  refused  to  do,  and  prepared  to  renew  the  unequal 
conflict,  when  a  new  element  appeared  on  the  scene  in  the  person 
of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden. 

This  young  king,  the  ablest  tactician  of  his  time,  had  intro- 
duced a  new  order  of  things  in  the  old  formation  for  battle,  by 
making  his  lines  fewer  so  not  to  present  as  deep  a  fix)nt  to  artillery 
fire.  His  troops  were  armed  with  a  lighter  and  more  easily  loaded 
musket  than  their  opponents,  while  their  tactical  formation  for 
battle  was  more  modem  and  in  keeping  witli  the  growing  use  of 
artillery. 

Landing  on  the  coast  of  Pomerania  with  a  small  but  highly 
disciplined  army  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  Gustavus  quickly 
regained  most  of  Northern  Germany  from  the  Imperialists.  He 
was  too  late  to  raise  the  siege  of  Magdeburg,  for  that  city  was 
soon  after  captured  by  assault  by  the  soldiei*s  of  Tilly,  who  razed 
its  buildings,  and  i)ut  twenty  thousand  of  its  inhabitants  to  the 
sword  with  every  species  of  imaginable  cruelty.  Gustavus  came 
up  with  Tilly  soon  after  at  Leipsie,  and  after  a  stubborn  contest, 
in  which  the  su[)eriority  of  the  new  tactics  of  the  Swedes  was 
apparent,  won  the  day,  and  tlie  Ini[)erialists  were  driven  further 
South. 

Tilly  having  died  from  wounds  received  at  Leipsic,  there  was 
nothing  else  to  do  but  recall  Wallenstein  and  place  liini  at  the 
head  of  the  Imperialists.  Once  again  the  banditti  of  Europe 
flocked  to  his  standard,  and,  as  if  by  magic,  Wallenstein  was  at 
the  head  of  a  large  army,  and  by  his  generalship  forced  Gustavus 
to  give  liini  battle  at  Llitzen.  The  Held  was  closely  contested,  as 
two  of  the  ablest  generals  of  the  day  headed  the  armies,  but  vic- 
tory at  last  remained  with  the  Swedes,  although  they  left  their 
brilliant  Kinor  Gustavus  dead  at  the  moment  of  victorv.  The 
war  had  nearly  burned  itself  out  when  a  new  hand  made  its 
appearance  to  assist  the  Protestants,  the  hand,  strange  to  say,  of 
a  Cardinal  of  the  Church  —  Armand  de  Richelieu. 

This  statesman  saw  in  the  troubles  of  Germany  an  opportunity 
to  humble  Austria,  and  to  gain  a  step  nearer  the  Rhine  for 
France.     By  entering  into  a  treaty  with  Oxenstein,  the  Minister 


8BHI-MILITABY  CONSTnUTIONAL  MONABOHY.  801 

of  Swedeiit  and  advaocing  men  aod  money  to  the  Ptotestaat 
princes  of  Germany,  Richeliea  fanned  the  war  flames  into  fuiy 
again.  After  several  years  more  of  strife  both  parties,  wearied 
out,  came  to  an  understanding  at  the  Peace  of  Westphalia. 


Tilts  Peace  of  Westphalia  was  fatal  to  Germany  politically,  hy 
reason  of  its  dismemberment  by  France  and  Sweden.  She  was 
too  weak  to  refuse  the  demands  of  her  allies,  so  she  saw  Fmnce 
take  Metz  and  parts  of  Lorraine  and  Alsace  from  the  Houae  of 
Austria,  while  Sweden  got  Pomerania,  Mecklenburg,  and  the 
Ifetherlands,  in  gwning  their  freedom,  oame  under  the  Inflaence 


802  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  France.  The  latter  also,  by  insisting  on  the  complete  separa- 
tion of  the  Swiss  Confederation  from  the  Imperial  Empire,  had 
two  open  doors  to  invade  Germany,  Through  the  absorption  of 
Burgundy  by  France,  and  the  wi-inging  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
from  Austria,  the  two  nations  of  France  and  Germany  -were 
brought  face  to  face  on  the  Rhine  —  and  that  vexed  question  of 
the  Rhine  provinces  was  made  a  permanent  issue. 

It  is  estimated  that  two  thirds  of  the  people  of  Germany  per- 
ished either  by  the  sword  or  famine  during  this  di-eadful  period. 
Whole  provinces  were  laid  waste,  cities  were  sacked,  castles 
battered  down,  monasteries  burned,  and  large  numbere  of  people 
lapsed  into  barbarism.  The  war  had  been  conducted  by  both 
parties  with  diabolical  ferocity  and  fiendish  ingenuity  in  torturing 
each  other's  prisoners.  There  was  nothing  that  the  devilish  wit 
of  man,  or  the  fanatic  rage  of  religion,  could  not  devise  to  maim, 
bum,  or  torture,  not  only  men  but  helpless  women  and  children. 
The  following  account  by  an  eye-witness  will  give  some  idea  of 
the  way  the  common  people  were  persuaded  to  give  up  their 
money :  — 

Both  hands  of  one  were  tied  fast  behind  him,  and  a  horse  hair  was 
drawn  through  his  tongue  by  means  of  an  awl.  Then,  whenever  he 
would  move  it  only  a  little  up  and  down,  it  gave  the  wretched  man 
such  torture  that  he  often  cried  out  for  death.  But  at  every  cry  he  had 
four  lashes  with  the  tliong  on  his  calves  —  I  believe  the  fellow  would 
gladly  have  killed  himself  to  get  rid  of  the  pain  if  he  could  have  used 
his  hands.  Another's  head  was  bound  tightly  with  a  cord  containing 
many  knots,  and  twisted  behind  above  the  neck  with  a  wooden  stick, 
drawing  it  tighter  and  tighter  till  the  bright  blood  streamed  out  of  his 
forehead,  mouth,  and  nose,  and  even  his  eyes,  and  the  poor  man  looked 
like  one  possessed.  I  was  frightened  at  these  cruel  plagues  and  this 
pitiless  tyranny,  and  begged  Battraurtz  to  think  of  God  and  his  own 
conscience,  and  spare  the  few  harmless  folk  a  little  in  his  tortures.  But 
he  spoke  in  anger,  "  If  you  have  much  pity,  you  can't  be  ray  friend 
long.     He  that  has  pity  belongs  to  the  devil." 

The  whole  character  of  the  German  seemed  changed  by  these 
'wars,  and  he  became  dull,  lieavy,  and  full  of  gloomy  ideas;  nor 
ijia.  susceptible  of  the  least  feeling  of  mercy,  and  every  judi- 
d  was  stained  by  the  blooil  of  the  tortured.      The  House 


SEMI-MILITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL  MONAKCHY,  808 

of  Hapsbui'g  was  still  powerful  enough  to  get  its  successors 
elected  from  father  to  son,  and  by  virtue  of  being  Dukes  of 
Austria  and  Kings  of  Bohemia  and  Hungaiy,  they  were  strong 
enough  to  stamp  out  all  remains  of  heresy  in  those  dominions. 
Although  Imperialists  in  name,  they  did  nothing  to  federsite  the 
empire,  and  simply  sought  to  aggrandize  their  family. 

The  other  princii>td  courts  now  were  those  of  Bavaria  and 
Wiirtemburg,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  growing  power  of 
Prussia,  the  rest  of  Gei-many  was  given  over  to  the  miserable 
tyranny  of  a  horde  of  petty  ru  lei's  spiritual  and  tempoml.  The 
Turks  still  threatened  Germany  through  Hungary,  until  defeated 
by  John  Sobiesky,  under  the  walls  of  Vienna,  and  the  French 
under  Louis  XIV.  began  their  restless  movements  towaixls  the 
Rhine. 

England,  Holland,  and  Austria  i-anged  themselves  against 
Franco  and  Bavaria,  and  once  again  poor  Gei-many  was  made  the 
battleground  of  nations.  Under  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  the 
ablest  general  since  Gustavus,  and  Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  who 
had  already  won  fame  in  the  war  with  the  Turks,  the  allied  army 
gave  kittle  to  the  French  at  Blenlieim,  Oct.  12,  1704,  under 
Marshal  Tallard.  The  result  was  a  decisive  victory  for  the 
allies,  the  French  losing  twenty  thousand  men  killed  and 
wounded,  and  the  same  number  were  made  prisonei-s,  among 
whom  was  the  Mai^hal  himself. 

The  war,  however,  did  not  cease  with  this  decisive  victory, 
but  raged  from  the  Netherlamls  along  the  Rhine  frontier,  which 
was  i-ava^red  so  bv  the  French  that  it  became  almost  a  desert,  and 
across  the  Al[)s  into  Italy.  Tlie  following  year  Marlborough 
defeated  Marshal  Villeroi  at  Ramillics,  a  place  in  sight  of  the 
aftenvards  famous  field  of  Waterloo,  and  in  1708  won  the  battle 
of  Oudenarde,  and  Malplaquet  in  1709,  while  Eugene  had  been 
equally  successful  in  Itidy. 

Louis  XIV.,  of  France,  humbled  by  these  tremendous  defeats, 
signed  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  in  1711,  when  he  relinquished  most 
of  his  territory  along  the  Rhine,  together  with  large  possessions 
in  the  New  World  to  England.  In  spite  of  these  Avars  Germany 
was  gaining  ground  in  wealth,  although  backward  as  compared 
with  France,  England,  or  even  the  Netherlands. 


804  THB  8T0RY  OF  GOVXENMXNT. 

And  now  another  family  was  rapidly  rising  into  prominenoe, 
who  by  their  achievements  were  nltimately  to  remodel  the  Ger- 
man nation.  They  were  from  Snabia,  and  from  the  start  were  a 
thrifty,  long-headed  race,  who  conld  save  money  as  well  as  fight  for 
it.  As  far  back  as  1170  Frederick  Barbarossa  had  made  Conrad  of 
Zollem  a  Burgrave  of  Nuremborg,  which  advanced  the  family  to 
such  an  extent  that  one  of  his  descendants,  Frederic^,  was  able 
to  loan  the  Emperor  Sigismund  four  hundred  thousand  guildem. 
Unable  to  pay  it  back,  Sigismund  made  Frederick  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg  in  1415. 

Prussia  was  conquered  by  the  Teutonic  Order  of  Knights  after 
the  third  crusade,  and  the  natives  were  either  exterminated  or 
reduced  to  serfdom.  In  both  these  provinces  of  Brandenbuig  and 
Prussia  large  numbers  of  Saxous,  Fmuks,  and  other  North  Grermans 
settled  and  formed  large  and  flourishing  cities,  and  the  country  was 
called  East  and  West  Prussia,  with  Konigsberg  as  the  capital. 

As  early  as  the  Elector  Albert,  the  law  of  primogeniture  was  es- 
tablished in  the  Mark  of  Brandenbuig,  and  from  that  time  the  House 
of  Hohenzollem  was  spared  the  cutting  up  into  fragments  which 
ruined  politically  those  other  nations  of  Germany  who  adhered  to 
the  Teutonic  principle  of  equal  inheritance.  In  1608,  the  Duchy  of 
Piiissia,  through  failure  of  direct  lieirs,  came  to  the  Hohenzollem 
branch,  who  were  Electoi-s  as  well  as  Margraves  of  Brandenburg, 

This  house  amounted  to  little  until  the  time  of  Frederick 
"William,  called  the  Great  Elector,  although  during  the  recent 
wars  they  had  seized  all  the  Church  property  they  could  grasp. 
The  Great  Elector  was  the  first  of  a  long  line  of  able  men  who 
left  no  stone  unturned  that  they  might  leave  Prussia  greater  than 
they  found  it.  He  defeated  tlie  Poles  and  made  them  relinquish 
all  claims  to  the  Duchy  of  Prussia,  and  later  on  thrashed  the 
hithei'to  invincible  Swedes  at  Fchzbellin,  taking  from  them  in 
consequence  a  large  portion  of  Pomerania. 

He  was  the  first  to  keep  a  large  standing  army  in  time  of  peace, 
by  which  means  Pnissia  began  to  exercise  a  jwwer  greater 
than  her  natural  position  warranted.  The  son  of  the  Great  Elec- 
tor thought  himself  strong  enough  to  be  called  a  king,  so  after 
a  reluctant  consent  from  the  Emperor  he  got  himself  crowned  at 
Konigsherg^  Jan.  18,  1701. 


SBUI-HILITABT  CONSTITITTIONAL   HOKABOHY. 


806 


His  son,  Frederick  William,  the  half  crazy  father  o£  Frederick 
the  Great,  increased  his  standing  amiy  from  thirty-eight  thousand 
to  eighty-four  thousand,  and  drilled  them  to  mathematical  preci- 
sion in  tactics,  the  influence  of  which  training  seems  to  have 
lasted  into  our  time.     He  also  enjoyed  the  fad  of  having  the 


FIIKIIEKICK  TUK  UIIEAT  BL-TUIIXIKU  FBOM  TIIK  BATTLE  OF  TKAOfE. 

tallest  men  in  the  world  as  his  gren^iers,  and  when  they  would 
not  enlist  did  not  hesitate  to  kii'lnap  and  impress  them. 

An  army  so  laboriously  constructed  was  too  precious  to  risk  in 
war,  so  the  king  simply  created  a  weapon  he  never  used,  and 
lefnsed  to  fight  with.     At  his  death,  in  1740,  the  army  fell  into 


806  •     THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  hands  of  one  who  could  use  it,  Frederick  the  Great.  The 
histoiy  of  Germany  for  the  next  generation  revolves  about  the 
career  of  this  wonderful  man  who,  coming  to  the  throne  of  Prussia 
when  he  was  only  twenty-eight,  quickly  made  himself  felt  as  the 
greatest  ruler  of  his  age. 

In  early  youth  he  was  inclined  more  towards  music  and  poetrj^ 
and  the  study  of  French  literature  than  the  pursuit  of  arms,  but, 
on  coming  to  the  throne  all  this  was  changed,  and  he  resolved  on 
a  war  of  conquest  against  the  young  Austrian  Queen,  Maria 
Theresa.  This  woman,  who  was  to  dispute  with  Frederick  as  to 
who  was  the  ablest  sovereign  of  the  time,  came  to  the  Austrian 
throne  the  same  year  as  Frederick  began  his  reign.  Her  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  was  the  signal  for  trouble,  for  Bavaria  pushed 
her  claims  for  the  imperial  dignity,  while  the  young  king  of 
Prussia,  without  a  word  of  warning,  invaded  Silesia,  and  over- 
threw the  Austrians  at  the  battle  of  Molwitz. 

It  was  Frederick's  first  battle  and,  thinking  at  one  time  that  all 
was  lost,  he  fled  from  the  field,  only  to  find  next  morning  that 
his  old  Field  Marshal,  Schweriii,  had  won  a  victory  for  him. 
France  saw  another  opportunity  to  injure  Austria,  and  forming  an 
alliance  with  Prussia,  Saxony,  and  Bavaria  forced  Maria  Theresa 
to  fly  from  Vienna  to  Hungary.  This  people  had  never  been 
friendly  to  Austria,  but  aroused  by  the  sight  of  the  beautiful 
Maria  Tlieresa  in  her  misfortunes,  tliey  shouted,  '"We  will  die 
for  our  King  ^  Maria  Tlieresa!"  They  came  to  her  aid  with 
enthusiasm,  and  she  quickly  recovered  her  lost  ground.  Her 
husband  was  unable  to  cope  with  Frederick,  and  she  was  forced 
to  make  peace  and  cede  Silesia. 

The  Silesian  wai*s  had  left  Germany  in  an  unsettled  condition, 
especially  Austiia,  who  saw  the  rise  of  Prussia  with  ill-concealed 
distrust,  and  only  waited  an  opportunity  to  regain  her  provinces. 
In  consequence  Austria  and  Prussia  be<i^an  to  seek  alliances,  and 
here  tlie  empress  queen  was  successful,  for  Kussia,  Sweden, 
France,  and  Saxony  joined  with  lier,  while  Frederick  got  only  the 
doubtful  friendship)  of  England. 

Seeing  that  a  struj^gle  was  inevitable,  Frederick,  w4th  charac- 
teristic energy,  did   not  wait  for  war  to  be  declared,  but  invaded 

^TlMire  was  no  (iiicen  l>y  law,  so  she  was  called  kinj;. 


^■H^^HH^—ii^ 

p^^ 

r"'^ 

ii:>'»fe-^i^    5dS** 

1      "  1 

^g 

^ 

■i 

11 

^. 

It^ 

"^^  •/-.-• '^V^l! 

808  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Saxony  and,  putting  its  army  to  rout,  came  up  with  the  Austrians 
at  Lowositz,  and  defeated  them.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
"Seven  Years'  War,"  which  was  to  settle  the  question  whether 
Prussia  was  to  remain  in  the  family  of  nations. 

The  coalition  now  formed  against  Frederick  was  enough  to 
appall  the  stoutest  heart,  for  the  allies  could  bring  into  the  field 
five  hundred  thousand  men  to  Frederick's  two  hundred  thousand. 
Frederick,  with  his  usual  impetuosity,  did  not  wait,  but  rushing 
through  the  mountain  passes  of  Bohemia,  struck  the  Austrians  at 
Prague,  and  after  one  of  the  most  obstinate  battles  of  modern 
times,  defeated  them,  although  he  suffered  the  loss  of  one  of  his 
greatest  officers.  Marshal  Schwerin. 

After  his  victory  of  Prague,  Frederick  rushed  to  meet  Daun, 
the  Austrian  general,  who  fought  a  battle  with  him  at  Kolin,  for 
the  fii*st  time  victory  remaining  with  the  Austrians.  Frederick 
was  now  forced  to  retreat  from  Bohemia,  and  found  at  the  same 
time  that  the  French  had  crossed  the  Rhine  and  were  advancing 
from  the  west,  the  Swedes  were  in  Pomerania,  and  the  Russians 
on  the  eastern  frontier.  The  Russians,  after  winning  one  vic- 
tory, recrossed  the  frontier,  and  the  Prussian  army  opposing 
them,  moved  to  meet  the  Swedes,  driving  them  out  of  Pomeiiinia. 
Frederick,  with  only  twenty-two  thousand  men,  marched  to  cheek 
the  Frencli  army  of  sixty  thousand  under  the  Duke  de  Richelieu, 
at  Rossbach. 

The  corruption  of  the  court  of  Louis  XV.  had  not  been  the 
means  of  improving  the  Frencli  army,  nor  was  a  profligate  like 
Richelieu,  although  acceptable  to  Madame  Pompadour,  the 
highest  type  of  a  general.  So  in  spite  of  the  disparity  of  num- 
bers the  French  were  quickly  overthrown  and  routed  with  great 
loss,  while  Frederick's  loss  was  trifling. 

Leaving  Rossbach,  Frederick  returned  to  meet  the  Austrians, 
now  advancing  under  Prince  Charles  at  Leuthen.  Here  the 
strategic  superiority  of  Frederick  was  manifest,  and  he  employed 
the  oblique  order  of  battle  against  the  long  line  of  the  enemy, 
stretching  nearly  five  miles,  and  consisting  of  eighty  thousand 
soldiers,  while  his  force  was  only  thirty  thousand.  He  managed 
to  mass  the  bulk  of  this  on  the  extreme  left  flank  of  the  Austrians, 
and  succeeded  in  overthrowing  them. 


BEMI-HUJTAItir  GOKSnTUnOKAIi  HONABGHY.  809 

Yet  the  victories  of  Rossbach  over  the  French  and  Leuthen  over 
the  Anstrians,  while  raising  Frederick  to  the  front  rank  of  great 
commanders,  the  latter  battle,  in  Napoleon's  opinion,  ensuring  his 
immortality,  barely  saved  Prussia  from  annihilation,  for  the  fol- 
lowing year  found  the  Russians  burning  the  villages  and  ravaging 
the  fields  of  eastern  Prussia,  until  checked  by  Frederick  at  Zom- 
dorf,  whei-e,  with  only  thirty-two  thousand  men,  he  attacked  fifty 
thousand  Russians  with  the  utmost  fury,  on  August  25,  1758. 

The  battle  was  bloody  and  indecisive,  and  ceased  only  with  the 
utter  exhaustion  of  both  armies,  when  night  put  an  end  to  the 
fury  of  the  combatants,  who  after  the  cartridges  had  given  out 
fought  handtoliand  until  11,500  Prussians,  and  21,500  Russians 
were  dead  or  wounded.  The  next  day  the  Russians  disappeared, 
and  Frederick  turned  his  attention  to  Daun,  who  was  advancing 
with  the  Austrians.  The  genius  and  good  judgment  which 
Frederick  had  hitherto  displayed,  witli  the  exception  at  Kolin, 
now  for  a  time  seemed  to  leave  him,  and  he  was  surprised  and 
badly  teat^n  by  Dauu  at  the  Ixittlo  of  Ilochkirch,  Oct.  14,  1758. 
Yet  in  spite  of  this  defeat,  Avhenj  he  lost  Mai-shal  Keith  and  nine 
thousand  men  and  one  hundred  and  one  guns,  besides  Maurice  of 
Dessau  and  himself  wounded,  Frederick  withdrew  in  good  order, 
and  his  opponent  failed  to  follow. 

The  game  for  Fnjderick  seemed  now  played  out;  his  treasury 
was  empty,  the  magnificent  infantry  he  had  drilled  and  disci- 
plined to  the  point  of  perfection  had  ceased  to  exist  after  nine 
pitched  battles,  numerous  skirmishes,  and  the  terrible  marches  to 
which  he  had  subjected  them.  In  their  place  were  raw  levies  and 
recruits  from  other  countries,  wliile  the  troops  of  Austria  stetidily 
improved  in  quality,  and  their  artillery  was  always  superior. 

The  following  year,  1759,  found  Frederick  in  such  financial 
straits  that  he  resorted  to  debasing  the  coin  he  paid  his  soldiers 
with,  and  but  for  the  subsidies  from  England  could  not  have  put 
another  army  in  the  field.  With  forty-eight  thousand  he  attacked 
the  Russians  at  Kunei-sdorf,  August  12,  1759,  who  had  seventy- 
eight  thousand  men,  and  at  fii'st  he  was  brilliantly  successful,  but, 
crowding  his  opponents  too  hard  and  thus  cutting  off  their  retreat, 
he  was  in  return  attacked  by  them  and  driven  from  the  field. 

It  was  the  severest  defeat  the  king  had  ever  received,  and  it 


802  THE  STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

of  France.  The  latter  also,  by  insisting  on  the  complete  separa- 
tion of  the  Swiss  Confederation  from  the  Imperial  Empire,  had 
two  open  doors  to  invade  Germany,  Through  the  absorption  of 
Burgundy  by  France,  and  the  wringing  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
from  Austria,  the  two  nations  of  France  and  Germany  -were 
brought  face  to  face  on  the  Rhine  —  and  tliat  vexed  question  of 
the  Rhine  provinces  was  made  a  permanent  issue. 

It  is  estimated  that  two  thirds  of  the  people  of  Germany  per- 
ished either  by  the  sword  or  famine  during  this  dreadful  period. 
Whole  provinces  were  laid  waste,  cities  were  sacked,  castles 
battered  down,  monasteries  burned,  and  large  numbers  of  people 
lapsed  into  barbarism.  The  war  had  been  conducted  by  both 
parties  with  diabolical  ferocity  and  fiendish  ingenuity  in  torturing 
each  other's  prisoners.  There  was  nothing  that  the  devilish  wit 
of  man,  or  the  fanatic  rage  of  religion,  could  not  devise  to  maim, 
bum,  or  torture,  not  only  men  but  helpless  women  and  children. 
The  following  account  by  an  eye-witness  will  give  some  idea  of 
the  way  the  common  people  were  persuaded  to  give  up  their 
money :  — 

Both  hands  of  one  were  tied  fast  beliind  liim,  and  a  horse  hair  was 
drawn  through  his  tongue  by  means  of  an  awl.  Then,  whenever  he 
would  move  it  only  a  little  up  and  down,  it  gave  the  wretched  man 
such  torture  that  he  often  cried  out  for  death.  But  at  every  cry  he  had 
four  lashes  with  the  thong  on  his  calves  —  I  believe  the  fellow  would 
gladly  have  killed  himself  to  get  rid  of  the  i)ain  if  he  could  have  used 
his  hands.  Another's  head  was  bound  tightly  with  a  cord  containing 
many  knots,  and  twisted  behind  above  the  neck  with  a  w^ooden  stick, 
drawing  it  tighter  and  tighter  till  the  bright  blood  streamed  out  of  his 
forehead,  mouth,  and  nose,  and  even  his  eyes,  and  the  poor  man  looked 
like  one  possessed.  I  was  frightened  at  these  cruel  plagues  and  this 
pitiless  tyranny,  and  begged  Battraurtz  to  think  of  God  and  his  own 
conscience,  and  spare  the  few  harmless  folk  a  little  in  his  tortures.  But 
he  spoke  in  anger,  "  If  you  have  much  pity,  you  can't  be  my  friend 
long.     He  that  has  pity  belongs  to  the  devil." 

The  whole  character  of  the  German  seemed  changed  by  these 
wars,  and  he  became  dull,  heavy,  and  full  of  gloomy  ideas:  nor 
was  he  susceptible  of  the  least  feeling  of  mercy,  and  eveiy  judi- 
cial trial  was  stained  by  the  blooil  of  the  tortured.      The  House 


SEMI-MILITARY   CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  808 

of  Hapsbui'g  was  still  powerful  enough  to  get  its  successors 
elected  from  father  to  son,  and  by  virtue  of  being  Dukes  of 
Austria  and  Kings  of  Bohemia  and  Hungaiy,  they  were  strong 
enough  to  stamp  out  all  remains  of  heresy  in  those  dominions. 
Although  Imperialists  in  name,  they  did  nothing  to  federate  the 
empire,  and  simply  sought  to  aggrandize  their  family. 

The  other  principal  courts  now  were  those  of  Bavaria  and 
Wiirtemburg,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  growing  power  of 
Prussia,  the  rest  of  Gennany  was  given  over  to  the  miserable 
tyranny  of  a  horde  of  petty  rulera  spiritual  and  temporal.  The 
Turks  still  tlireatened  Gennany  tlirough  Hungary,  until  defeated 
by  John  Sobiesky,  under  the  walls  of  Vienna,  and  the  French 
under  Louis  XIV.  began  their  restless  movements  towards  the 
Rhine. 

England,  Holland,  and  Austria  ranged  themselves  against 
Franco  and  Bavaria,  and  once  again  poor  Germany  was  made  the 
battleground  of  iiations.  Under  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  the 
ablest  general  since  Gustavus,  and  Prince  Eugene  of  Savoy,  who 
had  already  won  fame  in  the  war  with  the  Turks,  the  allied  army 
gave  buttle  to  the  French  at  Blenlieim,  Oct.  12,  1704,  under 
Marshal  Tallard.  The  result  was  a  decisive  victory  for  the 
allies,  the  French  losing  twenty  thousand  men  killed  and 
wounded,  and  the  same  number  were  made  prisoners,  among 
whom  was  the  Alai'shal  himself. 

The  war,  however,  did  not  cease  with  this  decisive  victory, 
but  raged  from  the  Netherlands  along  the  Rhine  frontier,  which 
was  ravaged  so  by  the  I'rench  that  it  became  almost  a  desert,  and 
across  the  Alps  into  Italy.  The  following  year  Marlborough 
defeated  Marshal  Villeroi  at  Ramillies,  a  place  in  sight  of  the 
aftenvards  famous  field  of  Waterloo,  and  in  1708  won  the  battle 
of  Oudenarde,  and  Malplaquet  in  1709,  while  Eugene  had  been 
equally  successful  in  Italy. 

Louis  XIV.,  of  France,  humbled  by  these  tremendous  defeats, 
signed  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  in  1711,  when  he  relinquished  most 
of  his  territory  along  the  Rhine,  together  with  large  ^possessions 
in  the  New  World  t?i  England.  In  spite  of  these  wars  Germany 
was  gaining  ground  in  wealth,  altliough  backward  as  compared 
with  France,  England,  or  even  the  NeUierlands. 


804  TUB  8T0RY  OF  OOVBBNXKNT. 

And  now  another  family  was  rapidly-  rising  into  pnnmnencev 
who  hy  their  achievements  were  ultimately  to  remodel  the  Ger- 
man nation.  They  were  from  Snahia,  and  from  the  start  were  a 
thrifty,  long-headed  race,  who  could  save  money  as  well  as  fight  for 
it.  As  far  hack  as  1170  Frederick  Barbarossa  had  made  Conrad  of 
Zollem  a  Burgrave  of  Nuremburg,  which  advanced  the  family  to 
such  an  extent  that  one  of  his  descendants,  Frederic^,  was  able 
to  loan  the  Emperor  Sigismund  four  hundred  thousand  guildem. 
Unable  to  pay  it  back)  Sigismund  made  Frederick  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg  in  1415. 

Prussia  was  conquered  by  the  Teutonic  Order  of  Knights  after 
the  third  crusade,  and  the  natives  were  either  exterminated  or 
reduced  to  serfdom.  In  both  these  provinces  of  Brandenburg  and 
Prussia  large  numbers  of  Saxons,  Fituiks,  and  other  North  Grermans 
settled  and  formed  large  and  flourishing  cities,  and  the  country  was 
called  East  and  West  Prussia,  witli  Konigsberg  as  the  capital. 

As  early  as  the  Elector  Albert,  the  law  of  primogeniture  was  es- 
tablished in  the  Mark  of  Brandenbm'g,  and  from  that  time  the  House 
of  HohenzoUem  was  spared  tlie  cutting  up  into  fragments  which 
ruined  politically  those  oilier  niitions  of  Germany  who  adhered  to 
the  Teutonic  principle  of  equal  inheritance.  In  1608,  the  Duchy  of 
Prussia,  through  failure  of  direct  heirs,  came  to  tlie  HohenzoUem 
branch,  who  were  Electoi-s  as  well  as  Margraves  of  Brandenburg. 

This  house  amounted  to  little  until  the  time  of  Frederick 
"William,  called  the  Great  Elector,  although  during  the  recent 
wars  they  had  seized  all  the  Church  property  they  could  grasp. 
Tlie  Great  Elector  was  the  first  of  a  long  line  of  able  men  who 
left  no  stone  unturned  that  they  might  leave  Prussia  greater  than 
they  found  it.  He  defeated  the  Poles  and  made  them  rolinquisli 
all  claims  to  the  Duchy  of  Prussia,  and  later  on  thrashed  the 
hitherto  invincible  Swedes  at  Fchzbellin,  taking  from  them  in 
consequence  a  large  i)oi-tion  of  Pomerania. 

He  was  the  first  to  keep  a  large  standing  army  in  time  of  i>eace, 
by  which  means  Prussia  began  to  exercise  a  power  greater 
than  her  natuml  position  warranted.  The  son  of  the  Great  Elec- 
tor thought  himself  strong  enough  to  be  called  a  king,  so  after 
a  reluctant  consent  from  the  Emperor  he  got  himself  crowned  at 
Konigsberg,  Jan.  18,  1701. 


SBUI-HILITARr  CONSTITUTIONAL   HONASCHY. 


805 


His  son,  Frederick  William,  the  half  crazy  father  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  increased  hia  standing  army  from  thirty-eight  thousand 
to  eighty-four  thousand,  and  drilled  them  to  mathematical  preci- 
sion in  tactics,  the  influence  of  which  training  seems  to  have 
lasted  into  our  time.     He  also  enjoyed  the  iad  of  having  the 


tallest  men  in  the  world  as  his  grenadiers,  and  when  they  would 
not  enlist  did  not  hesitate  to  kidaap  and  impress  them. 

An  army  so  laboriously  constructed  w»8  too  precious  to  risk  in 
var,  so  the  king  simply  created  a  weapon  he  never  tised,  and 
refused  to  fight  with.     At  his  death,  in  1740,  the  army  fell  into 


806  *     THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

the  hands  of  one  who  could  use  it,  Frederick  the  Great.  The 
histoiy  of  Germany  for  the  next  generation  revolves  about  the 
career  of  this  wonderful  man  who,  coming  to  the  throne  of  Prussia 
when  he  was  only  twenty-eight,  quickly  made  himself  felt  as  the 
greatest  ruler  of  his  age. 

In  early  youth  he  was  inclined  more  towards  music  and  poetrj' 
and  the  study  of  French  literature  than  the  pursuit  of  arms,  but, 
on  coming  to  the  throne  all  this  was  changed,  and  he  resolved  on 
a  war  of  conquest  against  the  young  Austrian  Queen,  Maria 
Theresa.  Tliis  woman,  who  was  to  dispute  ^vith  Frederick  as  to 
who  was  the  ablest  sovei*eign  of  the  time,  came  to  the  Austrian 
throne  the  same  year  as  Frederick  began  his  reign.  Her  acces- 
sion to  the  throne  was  the  signal  for  trouble,  for  Bavaria  pushed 
her  claims  for  the  imperial  dignity,  while  the  young  king  of 
Prussia,  without  a  word  of  warning,  invaded  Silesia,  and  over- 
threw the  Austrians  at  the  battle  of  Molwitz. 

It  was  Frederick's  first  battle  and,  thinking  at  one  time  that  all 
was  lost,  he  fled  from  the  field,  only  to  find  next  morning  that 
his  old  Field  Marshal,  Schwerin,  had  won  a  victory  for  him. 
France  saw  another  opportunity  to  injure  Austria,  and  forming  an 
alliance  with  Prussia,  Saxony,  and  Bavaria  forced  Maria  Theresa 
to  fly  from  Vienna  to  Hungary.  This  people  had  never  been 
friendly  to  Austria,  but  aroiu^ed  by  the  sight  of  the  beautiful 
Maria  Theresa  in  her  niisfoiiunes,  they  shouted,  "We  will  die 
for  our  King^  JIaria  Theresa!"  They  came  to  her  aid  with 
enthusiasm,  and  she  quickly  recovered  her  lost  ground.  Her 
husband  was  unal)le  to  cope  with  Frederick,  and  she  was  forced 
to  make  peace  and  cede  Silesia. 

The  Silesian  Avars  had  left  (fcrmanv  in  an  unsettled  condition, 
especially  Austria,  who  saw  the  rise  of  Prussia  with  ill-concealed 
distrust,  and  only  waited  an  opportunity  to  regain  her  provinces. 
In  consequence  Austria  and  Prussia  began  to  seek  alliances,  and 
here  r.ie  t'nq)ress  queen  was  succ'cssful,  for  Russia,  S^veden, 
France,  anil  Saxony  joined  with  lier,  while  Frederick  got  only  the 
doubtful  friendship  of  Kngland. 

Seeing  that  a  struggle  was  inevitable,  Frederick,  with  charac- 
teristic energy,  did  not  wait  for  war  to  be  declared,  but  invaded 

iTlwre  was*  no  <iueen  by  law,  so  she  was  called  kinj;. 


808  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Saxony  and,  putting  its  army  to  rout,  came  up  with  the  Austrians 
at  Lowositz,  and  defeated  them.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the 
"Seven  Years'  War,"  which  was  to  settle  the  question  whether 
Prussia  was  to  remain  in  the  family  of  nations. 

The  coalition  now  formed  against  Frederick  was  enough  to 
appall  the  stoutest  heart,  for  the  allies  could  bring  into  the  field 
five  hundred  thousand  men  to  Frederick's  two  hundred  thousand. 
Frederick,  with  his  usual  impetuosity,  did  not  wait,  but  rushing 
through  the  mountain  passes  of  Bohemia,  struck  the  Austrians  at 
Prague,  and  after  one  of  the  most  obstinate  battles  of  modern 
times,  defeated  them,  although  he  suffered  the  loss  of  one  of  his 
greatest  officers,  Marshal  Schwerin. 

After  his  victory  of  Prague,  Frederick  rushed  to  meet  Daun, 
the  Austrian  general,  who  fought  a  battle  with  him  at  Kolin,  for 
the  first  time  victory  remaining  with  the  Austrians.  Frederick 
was  now  forced  to  retreat  from  Bohemia,  and  found  at  the  same 
time  that  the  French  had  crossed  the  Rhine  and  were  advancing 
from  the  west,  the  Swedes  were  in  Pomerania,  and  the  Russians 
on  the  eastern  frontier.  The  Russians,  after  winning  one  vic- 
tory, recrossed  the  frontier,  and  the  Prussian  army  opposing 
them,  moved  to  meet  the  Swedes,  driving  them  out  of  Ponieninia. 
Frederick,  witli  only  twenty-two  thousand  men,  marched  to  clieck 
the  French  army  of  sixty  thousand  under  the  Duke  de  Richelieu, 
at  Rossbacli. 

The  corruption  of  the  court  of  Louis  XV.  had  not  been  the 
means  of  improving  the  French  army,  nor  was  a  profligate  like 
Richelieu,  although  acceptable  to  Madame  Pompadour,  the 
highest  type  of  a  general.  So  iu  spite  of  the  disparity  of  num- 
bers the  French  were  quickly  overthrown  and  routed  with  great 
loss,  while  Frederick's  loss  was  trifling. 

Leaving  Rossbacli,  Frederick  returned  to  meet  the  Austrians, 
now  advancing  under  Prince  Charles  at  Leuthen.  Here  the 
strategic  superiority  of  Frederick  was  manifest,  and  he  employed 
the  oblique  order  of  battle  against  the  long  line  of  the  enemy, 
stretching  nearly  five  miles,  and  consisting  of  eighty  thousand 
soldiers,  while  his  force  was  only  thirty  thousand.  He  managed 
to  mass  the  bulk  of  this  on  the  extreme  left  flank  of  the  Austrians, 
and  succeeded  in  overthrowing  them. 


SEMI-MIIilTARr  CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  809 

Yet  the  victories  of  Rossbach  over  the  French  and  Leuthen  over 
the  Austrians,  while  raising  Frederick  to  the  front  rank  of  great 
commanders,  the  latter  battle,  in  Napoleon's  opinion,  ensuring  his 
immortality,  barely  saved  Prussia  from  annihilation,  for  the  fol- 
lowing year  found  the  Russians  burning  the  villages  and  i-avaging 
the  fields  of  cfistern  Prussia,  until  checked  by  Frederick  at  Zom- 
dorf,  where,  with  only  thirty-two  thousand  men,  he  attacked  fifty 
thousand  Russians  witli  the  utmost  fury,  on  August  25,  1758. 

The  battle  Avas  bloody  and  indecisive,  and  ceased  only  with  the 
utter  exhaustion  of  both  armies,  when  night  put  au  end  to  the 
fury  of  the  combatants,  wlio  after  the  cartridges  had  given  out 
fought  hand  to  hand  until  11,500  Prussians,  and  21,500  Russians 
were  dead  or  wounded.  The  next  day  the  Russians  disappeared, 
and  Frederick  turned  his  attention  to  Daun,  who  was  advancing 
with  the  Austrians.  The  genius  and  good  judgment  which 
Frederick  had  liitherto  displayed,  with  the  exception  at  Kolin, 
now  for  a  time  .seemed  to  leave  him,  and  lie  was  surprised  and 
badly  beaten  by  Daun  at  the  battle  of  Ilocldvireh,  Oct.  14,  1758. 
Yet  in  spite  of  tliis  d(^feat,  wlienj  Ikj  lost  ^lai-shal  Keith  and  nine 
thousand  men  and  one  hunched  and  one  guns,  besides  ilaurice  of 
Dessau  and  liimself  wounded,  Frederick  Avithdrew  in  good  order, 
and  his  opponent  failed  to  follow. 

The  game  for  Frederick  seemed  now  played  out;  his  treasury 
was  empty,  the  magnifuient  infantiy  he  had  drilled  and  disci- 
plined to  the  point  of  perfection  had  ceased  to  exist  after  nine 
pitched  battles,  numerous  skirmishes,  and  the  terrible  marches  to 
which  he  had  subjected  them.  In  their  place  were  raw  levies  and 
recruits  from  other  countries,  while  the  troops  of  Austria  steadily 
improved  in  quality,  and  their  artillery  was  always  superior. 

The  following  year,  1759,  found  Frederick  in  such  financial 
straits  that  he  resorted  to  debasing  the  coin  he  paid  his  soldiers 
with,  and  but  for  the  subsidies  from  England  could  not  have  put 
another  army  in  the  field.  With  forty-eight  thousand  he  attacked 
the  Russians  at  Kunersdorf,  August  12,  1759,  who  had  seventy- 
eight  thousand  men,  and  at  fii-st  he  wixs  brilliantly  successful,  but, 
crowding  his  opponents  too  hard  and  thus  cutting  off  their  retreat, 
he  was  in  return  attacked  bv  them  and  driven  from  the  field. 

It  was  the  severest  defeat  the  king  had  ever  received,  and  it 


810  THE   STOBY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

.was  owing  entirely  to  himself  and  his  obstinacy  in  forcing  the 
conflict  against  the  advice  of  all  his  generals,  and  had  it  been 
followed  up  the  Prussian  monarchy  would  have  ceased  to  exist. 
The  following  year  found  the  indomitable  Frederick  facing  his 
old  enemies,  the  Austrians,  under  Daun  and  Loudon,  in  the  much 
fought  over  territory  of  Silesia.  Here  Loudon  was  defeated  at 
Ziegnitz,  and  soon  after  Daun  at  Torgau,  which  proved  to  be  the 
last  battle  either  of  these  constant  opponents  would  ever  fight. 
The  energy  of  all  was  now  used  up,  so  peace  was  declared,  and 
the  bloodiest  war  of  modern  times  was  brought  to  an  end. 

Frederick  had  retained  Silesia,  but  his  kingdom  was  well-nigh 
ruined.  Yet  after  a  few  years,  such  was  the  wisdom  and  energy 
of  his  government,  that  Prussia  rose  again,  and  became  not  only 
the  strongest  but  the  best  governed  of  the  German  States.  The 
House  of  Hapsburg  on  the  other  hand  came  out  of  this  long  strug- 
gle with  diminished  prestige  and  territory,  while  in  France  the 
misery  of  the  people  was  such  that  it  was  evident  a  political  hur- 
ricane would  soon  overturn  everything. 

The  storm  of  the  French  Revolution  began  to  darken  the 
horizon  of  Europe,  and  although  the  people  of  Germany  were 
apparently  quiet,  the  ruling  class  were  agitated  by  the  fall  of  the 
Bastile,  in  1789,  the  Ixjheading  of  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie 
Antoinette,  the  latter  a  German  princess,  and  daughter  of  Maria 
Tlieresa,  and  the  constant  influx  of  French  emigrant  nobles  who 
thronged  CA^ery  court  and  clamored  for  armed  interference  in  the 
affairs  of  France. 

In  an  evil  hour  Frederick  William  II.,  the  unworthy  successor 
of  the  great  Frederick  and  Joseph  II.,  now  Emperor  of  Germany, 
declared  war  against  the  French  nation,  but  suffered  a  series  of 
defeats  such  as  Valmy  and  Jemaj^j^es  from  that  now  infuriated 
people.  Prussia  now  made  peace  Avith  Fi-ance,  leaving  Austria 
alone  to  fight  it  out.  Tliree  French  armies  struck  the  latter 
power,  one  under  iloreau  on  the  Upper  Rhine,  the  second  under 
Jourdan  on  the  Lower,  and  the  j'oung  Bonaparte  invaded  Italy. 

While  the  first  two  armies  were  unsuccessful,  the  latter  was 
brilliantly  so,  and  after  a  series  of  unparalleled  victories  its  com- 
mander, then  only  twenty-six  yeara  of  age,  was  able  to  dictate 
his  own  terms  of  peace  at  Campo  Formio,  in  1797,  whereby  France 


812  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMEKT. 

gained  the  whole  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  But  one  war  was 
not  to  settle  the  passions  now  aroused  throughout  Europe,  and 
soon  Austria  and  France  were  fighting  again,  with  the  same 
result  as  before.  Napoleon  thrashed  the  armies  of  the  former  at 
Marengo,  and  Moreau  gained  the  equally  important  victory  of 
Hohenlinden. 

Important  changes  now  were  made  in  the  internal  affairs  of 
Germany  on  account  of  so  much  territory  having  been  suiTendered 
to  France.  The  spiritual  electorates  of  Treves,  Cologne,  and 
Mentz  were  abolished,  although  the  last  was  transferred  to 
Ratisbon.  By  way  of  compensation  the  electoral  dignity  was 
given  to  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel,  the  Duke  of  Wiirt^m- 
berg,  the  Margrave  of  Baden,  and  the  Grand  Duke  of  Tuscany. 
All  the  free  imperial  cities  were  done  away  with  except  five, 
viz :  Liibeck,  Hamburg,  Bremen,  Augsburg,  and  Nuremberg,  and 
a  vast  number  of  bishoprics  and  abbacies  were  abolished. 

Napoleon  had  now,  in  1804,  assumed  the  title  of  Emperor  of 
the  French,  and  later  appropriated  the  iron  crown  of  the  Lom- 
bards, thus  re-establishing  on  French  soil  the  Empire  of  Charle- 
magne. England,  now  at  war  with  Napoleon,  subsidized  the  other 
nations  of  Europe,  such  as  Sweden,  Russia,  and  Austria,  to  form 
a  coalition  against  him.  This  coalition  yielded  to  the  rapid 
blows  of  Napoleon  and  Austria  was  defeated  at  Ulm,  Vienna  was 
captured,  and  the  Austrian  army,  with  the  Russian  allies,  were 
hopelessly  Ixiaten  at  Austerlitz. 

This  victory  made  Napoleon  master  of  Germany,  and  he  pro- 
ceeded to  re-arrange  its  various  states  to  suit  himself  by  forming 
the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine  out  of  all  the  small  German  states 
on  the  right  bank  of  that  river.  He  also  rewarded  his  German 
allies  by  making  the  electors  of  Bavaria  and  Wiirtemberg  kings, 
and  the  smaller  dukes,  grand  dukes,  etc.,  and  gave  them  territoiy 
at  the  expense  of  Austria. 

The  House  of  Hapsburg  was  now  in  the  dust,  and  on  August  6, 
1806,  its  Emperor,  Francis  II.,  formally  renounced  the  title  of 
Emperor  of  Germany  and  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Thus  that 
union  of  spiritual  and  secular  power  ceased  to  exist,  having  lasted 
from  the  reign  of  Otto  the  Great,  on  German  soil,  and  from 
Charlemagne  in  800. 


SEm-HUJTAB;  coNSxntnioirAL  uonaboet. 


818 


Prussia,  who  had  hitherto  avoided  a  conflict  with  the  Corsican 
adTenturer,  ilfapoleon,  was  now  led  to  declare  war  agtiinst  him, 
feeling  that,  with  her  annv  drilled  in  the  tactics  of  Frederiok  iho 
Great,  she  could  come  off  victorious.  It  was  a  vain  belief,  for 
her  army,  although  well  drilled,  was  not  yet  aci^u&inted  with  the 
modern  manceuvres  of  Napoleon,  and  it  received  two  crushing 
defeats  at  Aueretadt  and  Jena,  leaving  the  nation  at  the  feet  of 
the  French  Emperarwho 
treated  very  rudely  the 
beautiful  Louise,  Queen 
of  Prussia,  when  she 
sued  to  him  for  mercy. 

He  treated  her  like 
a  conqueror,  and  di- 
vided her  territory 
among  his  German 
allies,  such  as  the  Elee- 
tor  of  Saxony,  whom  he 
made  a  king  with  Po- 
land as  trihutjiry,  while 
he  made  IT  a  n  o  v  e  r , 
Brunswick,  and  Hesse- 
Cassel  into  the  King- 
dom of  Westphalia, 
which  he  gave  to  his 
brother  Jerome.  Con- 
stant wars  with  Napo- 
leon only  seemed  to 
rivet  the  chains  of  Ger- 
many  closer,   and   tear 

from  her  fresh  tenitory.  One  reason  for  this  was  that  the  people 
of  tlie  nation  cared  very  Httlo  about  the  Immiliation  of  their 
rulers,  for  the  rule  of  the  French  broke  off  the  last  remnants  of 
the  old  feudal  sj'stem. 

Bat  the  star  of  the  Corsican  began  to  pale,  and  in  1812,  after 
his  disastrous  Moscow  campaign,  the  German  raleiB  saw  a  chance 
to  free  themselves  from  his  yoke.  By  promising  the  people  c<m- 
stitutions,    abolishing  serfdom,    and  in  other  respects  placing 


u)uiaE  OF  PBuasii  and  beb  two  bomb, 

AFTEBWABDe  FREDEBICK  WILLIAU  IV. 
AXD   KAISEB   WILLIAM. 


814  THE   STOEY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

themselves  in  line  with  the  results  of  the  French  Revolution, 
they  were  enabled  to  raise  armies  of  such  patriotic  feivor  that 
Napoleon  for  the  first  time  had  to  cope  with  a  thoroughly  aroused 
national  feeling. 

Prussia  in  her  darkest  hour  had  been  sustained  by  the  beauti- 
ful Queen  Louise,  the  mother  of  two  sons  who  were  to  succeed 
to  the  throne  of  Prussia,  and  one  even  to  revive  the  German 
Empire  and  repair  the  disaster  of  Jena  by  Gravelotte  and  Sedan. 
Napoleon  had  demanded  that  Prussia  should  only  have  a  stand- 
ing army  of  forty-two  thousand  men.  Stein,  her  great  states- 
man,  apparently  agreed  to  this,  but  just  as  soon  as  a  recruit  was 
properly  instructed  his  place  was  taken  by  a  new  one,  so  in  a  few 
years  Prussia  had  a  well-drilled  ai-my,  several  times  that  amount, 
within  call. 

Despite  his  terrible  losses  in  Russia,  Napoleon  had  a  large 
army  imder  him  in  Germany  in  the  following  year,  but  after 
some  minor  successes  saw  several  of  his  marshals  beaten  at  various 
points  of  the  long  line  he  tried  to  hold,  so  he  concentrated  about 
Leipsic,  where  he  received  the  attack  of  the  allied  army.  This 
great  struggle,  known  as  the  battle  of  the  nations,  because  there 
were  Swedes,  Austrians,  Prussians,  and  Russians  on  one  side 
opposed  to  the  French,  lasted  two  days  Avhen,  after  terrible 
slaughter  on  both  sides.  Napoleon  gave  way  and  retreated  across 
the  Rhine,  Avith  a  loss  of  nearly  sixty  thousand  men,  while  the 
allies  had  lost  about  fifty  thousand.  In  our  chapter  on  Masonry 
was  a  picture  of  this  retreat. 

The  allies  now  poured  into  France,  and  in  spite  of  the  mar- 
vellous defence  made  by  Napoleon,  overcame  him,  and  forced  him 
to  abdicate,  sending  him  to  the  Island  of  Elba  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean. He  was  not  there  long  before  he  escaped,  and  re-seating 
himself  on  the  throne  of  France,  again  was  ready  for  battle. 
Austria,  Prussia,  England,  and  the  minor  German  states,  rushed 
to  arms  and  prepared  for  a  second  invasion  of  France.  Napoleon 
anticipated  their  movements  by  invading  Belgium  and  endeavor- 
ing to  strike  the  Prussian  army  under  Blucher,  and  the  British  aimy 
under  Wellington,  before  they  could  unite.  For  this  purpose  he 
had  one  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  men,  while  Blucher  had 
the  same  number  and  Wellington  one  hundred  and  six  thousand. 


816  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

Rapidly  concentrating  his  troops  by  forced  marches  at  Charleroi, 
June  15,  1815,  he  gave  battle  the  next  day  in  two  places,  one  on 
his  extreme  left  at  Quatre  Bras,  where  Marshal  Ney  encountered 
Wellington,  and  the  other  on  his  right  where  he  himself  fought 
with  Blucher  at  Ligny,  the  battlefields  being  ten  miles  apart.  The 
close  of  this  day  found  Ney  unable  to  drive  Wellington  from  the 
field,  while  Napoleon  with  great  difficulty  had  barely  managed 
to  do  so  with  Blucher.  Wellington  and  Blucher  retreated  on 
converging  lines  towards  Brussels  with  Napoleon  in  sharp  purauit 
who,  having  left  Grouchy  to  reach  the  Prussians,  attended  to  the 
English  army. 

On  the  memorable  18th  of  June,  Wellington  and  Napoleon  met 
at  Waterloo,  where  the  fate  of  Europe  was  to  be  decided.  It 
was  nearly  noon  before  Napoleon  began  his  attack,  and  soon  after 
small  detachments  of  Prussians  began  to  appear  on  his  riglit 
flank.  It  was  evident  that  Grouchy  had  failed  to  hold  the  Prus- 
sians in  check,  although  it  was  nearly  evening  before  sufficient 
numbers  of  them  appeared  to  decide  the  fate  of  the  day.  The 
French  were  some  seventy-two  thousand  strong,  while  Wellington 
had  sixty-nine  thousand  men,  so  it  was  the  policy  of  the  latter  to 
simply  hold  his  ground  until  Blucher  sliould  appear.  This  he 
did  in  spite  of  the  terrific  assaults  on  his  line  by  tlie  French,  until 
at  last  the  British  and  Prussian  armies  were  joined,  and  then  they 
swept  Napoleon  from  the  field,  and  from  his  throne  forever. 

After  this  War  of  Liberation,  Gei-many,  like  the  rest  of  Europe, 
had  a  season  of  profound  peace,  so  long,  that  war  seemed  van- 
ished from  the  civilized  world.  Underneath  this,  however,  there 
was  great  political  unrest,  for  the  rulers  of  Gei-many  having 
promised  constitutions  to  their  subjects,  were  slow  in  making 
these  promises  good.  Metternich,  the  Prime  Minister  of  Aus- 
tria, was  the  chief  obstacle  in  getting  any  reforms  made,  or  any 
change  in  the  disjointed  condition  of  Germany.  Austria  refused 
to  take  up  again  the  imperial  crown,  and  she  refused  to  allow 
others  to  seize  it.  Her  idea  was  to  keep  the  rest  of  the  country 
in  small  and  divided  principalities. 

Stein  and  Scharnhoi-st,  the  two  statesmen,  wished  a  powerful 
German  nation,  with  political  rights  for  the  people,  and  an  army 
made  up  of  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms,  but  the  reactionary 


F 


SEMl-MTLITABY    CONSTITCmONAL    MONARCHY.  817 


ideas  of  Mettemich  prevailed,  and  an  Act  of  Confederation  was 
passed  by  tlie  thirty-nine  sovereign  states,  wliich  now  made  up 
Germany,  an  ai't  that  was  siini>ly  a  oont  in  tuition  of  the  methods  of 
the  ulil  iuefficieat  Die1«  without  the  central  hend  of  the  empire< 
This  patching  up  of  the  old  mediseval  political  wagon  lasted  for 
a  while,  and  then  the  revolution  of  1848,  that,  starting  in  Pai'ls^ 
flamed  up  over  Europe  shook  many  a  regal  numbskull  from  hii 
throne. 

After  this,  most  of  the  kings  granted  constitutions  to  their 
subjects,  but  not  before  blood  had  been  shed,  especially  in  Berlin 
where  the  king,  Frederick  William  IV.,  tried  to  crush  out  the 
rising  of  the  people  with  grapeshot.  After  this  there  were 
several  abortive  attempts  to  create  anew  the  German  Empire, 
and  at  an  assembly  of  delegates  from  all  parts  of  Germany  at 
Frankfort  in  1818,  the  imperial  crown  was  offered  to  the  King 
of  Prussia  who  refused  it, 

In  Italy,  likewise,  the  desire  for  unification  was  daily  becoming 
too  strong  to  be  restated.  Italy  had  suffered  for  centuries,  jnat 
as  Germany  had,  from  a  swarm  of  petty  rulers  who  succeeded  in 
draining  the  country  of  its  resources,  and  made  every  effort  to 
stifle  the  growing  national  feeling.  The  House  of  Savoy,  imder 
its  King,  Victor  Emanuel,  was  now  the  hope  of  the  Liberals  and 
Nationalists  in  Italy ;  the  other  rulers  being  either  too  despcftio 
or  imbecile  to  do  anything  but  oppose  unification. 

Similar  to  Prassia  some  years  later,  Italy  had  now  four  great 
men  to  represent  her,  and  they  were  her  soldier  king,  Victor 
Emanuel,  liis  Prime  Minister  Cavour,  the  ablest  statesman  since 
the  days  of  Richelieu,  the  orator  Mazzini,  whose  eloquence  suc- 
ceeded in  keeping  alive  the  spaik  of  Italian  freedom,  and  her 
popular  hero  Garibaldi.  Cavour,  whose  introduction  of  Sardinian 
troops  in  the  Crimea  to  assist  France  and  England  had  won  for 
him  the  aid  of  Napoleon  III.,  now  with  the  assistance  of  tlie 
latter's  troops  began  a  war  with  Austria  so  as  to  drive  her  out  of 
the  country.  The  two  great  victories  of  Magenta  and  Solferino 
did  this  effectually,  and  soon  after,  when  peace  was  declared, 
Italy  became  united  with  Victor  Emanuel  as  its  first  king,  the 
papal  states  and  Venice  falling  to  her  later. 

The  coiii^Uiit  foiistitvition-liukering.  which  had  been  going  m 


818  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

since  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  had  led  to  a  certain  measure  of  freedom 
among  the  states,  most  of  them  now,  since  1848,  having  some 
kind  of  constitutional  government,  but  nothing  had  been  accom- 
plished towards  making  Germany  a  firm,  united  nation.  King 
William  of  Prussia  had  called  to  his  aid  as  Prime  Minister,  Otto 
Von  Bismarck,  and  from  this  man's  appearance  on  the  scene  Prus- 
sia soon  found  herself  committed  to  a  policy,  not  second  in  bold- 
ness to  those  of  Napoleon  First  or  Frederick  the  Great. 

A  man  had  arrived,  and  it  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  for  the 
petty  little  princelets  who  had  misgoverned  Germany  for  cen- 
turies. Although  a  reactionist  and  eonsen'^ative  in  affairs  at 
home,  where  he  was  constantly  embroiled  with  the  Prussian  Par- 
liament over  the  question  of  army  supplies,  he  soon  after  coming 
to  power  made  the  first  move  on  the  political  chessboard  which 
waa  to  close  in  the  formation  of  the  new  German  Empire. 

The  duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein  had  placed  themselves 
under  the  rule  of  the  Danish  kings  some  hundreds  of  years  before, 
although  they  were  German  in  language,  in  customs,  and  were 
always  represented  in  the  German  Diets.  Latterly  there  had  been 
constant  friction  between  tliem  and  the  Danish  government  over 
questions  of  succession  and  infringments  of  some  of  their  local 
rights.  Tliey  appealed  to  the  German  Diet,  who  resolved  to  send 
an  army  to  their  assistance. 

Here  was  Bismarck's  oj^portunity,  for,  not  wishing  to  pull  the 
hot  chestnuts  out  of  the  fire  himself,  and  knowing  that  if  Prussia 
alone  slioukl  undertake  this  Avar  slie  would  incur  the  universal 
reprobation  of  Europe,  he  induced  Austria  to  assist  and  it  was 
soon  over  witli  little  Denmark,  who  ceded  the  two  duchies  to 
Prussia  and  Austria,  whereupon  the  allies  quickly  began  disagree- 
ini;  with  each  other  as  to  who  should  have  them. 

As  this  was  ultimately  to  be  a  question  of  war,  Bismarck  kept 
the  question  open  until  he  was  thoroughly  prepared.  Ever  since 
the  war  with  Bonaparte,  Prussia  had  adopted  the  system  of  uni- 
versal military  service.  She  had  now  at  this  time  adopted  the 
needle-gun,  the  firet  breech-loading  rifle  to  be  used  on  a  large 
scale,  and  had  constructed  a  system  of  railways  leading  to  various 
strategic  points,  so  her  troops  could  be  quickly  thrown  at  an 
enemy  before  he  could  cross  the  frontier. 


820  •  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

Not  only  were  the  various  arms  of  the  service  drilled  to  the 
highest  point  of  efficiency,  but  in  Berlin  was  established  a  war 
college  known  as  the  General  Staff,  where  the  brightest  of  the 
army  officers  studied  over  all  possible  combinations  of  attack  and 
defence  with  every  adjoining  nation.  War  was  thus  made  a 
science.  Tliis  college  became  a  vast  storehouse  of  information 
regarding  the  resources,  railways,  forts,  and  troops  of  other  coun- 
tries, often  more  accuiiite  and  minute  than  the  country  knew 
itself. 

Here  the  business  part  of  war  was  thoroughly  marked  out,  and 
the  nation  kept  at  the  point  of  immediate  preparation.  The  time 
soon  arrived  for  action,  as  the  diplomatic  part  of  the  struggle 
came  to  nothing,  and  in  the  summer  of  1866  Prussia  and  Austria 
were  at  each  others'  throats  again.  In  Frederick's  time  it  was  a 
seven  years'  war;  this  was  finished  in  seven  weeks.  Taking  the 
initiative  three  Prussian  armies  directed  by  Von  Moltke  crossed 
the  frontier  into  Bohemia  before  the  slow-moving  Benedek,  the 
Austrian  commander,  realized  the  situation. 

After  some  minor  engagements  in  which  the  Prussians  steadily 
pushed  their  opponents  before  them,  one  of  the  Prussian  columns 
under  Prince.  Frederick  Charles  came  up  with  the  Austrians  at 
Sadowa.  Here,  joined  by  the  tliird  army,  the  prince,  although 
having  only  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  tliousand,  did  not  lics- 
itate  to  attack  Benedek  with  two  hundred  thousand,  the  object 
being  to  hold  his  attention  so  closely  that  he  could  not  move  to 
ward  off  the  blow  of  the  second  army  under  the  Prussian  crown 
prince  who  was  marching  on  his  flank. 

The  i)lan  worked  out  like  a  chess  problem,  and  while  Prince 
Charles  could  make  no  impression  on  the  Austrian  centre,  he  held 
it  like  a  vise;  soon  the  columns  of  the  crown  prince  came  in 
sight,  and,  after  a  des2)erate  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Austrians, 
they  were  driven  from  the  field,  thousands  falling  under  the  piti- 
less fire  of  the  needle-guns. 

Peace  was  soon  declared,  and  Austria  was  pushed  out  of  the  Ger- 
manic Confederation  where  she  had  long  ceased  to  be  a  worthy  rep- 
resentative. Venice  was  given  to  Italy  who  had  been  Pinissia's 
ally  by  raising  an  anny,  and  thus  detaining  a  large  one  of  the 
Austrians  in  Italy,   and  the   Noi-th  German    Confederation  was 


SBMI-MILITARY  CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY.  821 

farmed  with  Prussia  at  its  head,  while  the  South  German  states 
were  left  free  to  make  separate  treaties  with  Prussia  regarding 
future  events. 

Prussia  had  been  almost  alone  in  this  struggle  with  Austria, 
for  nearly  all  the  other  German  states  sided  with  the  latter  power, 
especially  Hanover,  Saxony,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Bavaria.  Pinissia 
annexed  Schleswig-Holstein  and  Hanover,  and  some  of  the 
smaller  duchies.  This  sudden  i^evelation  of  Prussia's  power  was 
not  relished  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon  HI.,  of  France,  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  have  his  hand  in  every  European  disturbance, 
and  whose  wishes  liad  not  even  been  consulted  by  Bismarck  in 
making  peace  with  Austria. 

Fi-ance  was  impelled  by  her  pride  to  find  some  excuse  to 
quarrel  with  Prussia,  and  Napoleon,  although  he  well  knew  that 
his  army  was  not  ready,  was  forced  by  tlie  petty  pretext  of  the 
insult  to  lier  ambassador  to  declare  war  July  15,  1870.  Naj>oleon 
,  evidently  hoi)ed  that  the  South  Germans  would,  as  heretofore, 
ally  themselves  with  any  power  against  Prussia,  but  here  he  made 
his  mistake,  not  reckoning  on  the  tremendous  force  of  the  new 
idea  of  a  unified  German  nation. 

It  was  not  a  question  now  of  princes  making  alliances  and 
dragging  the  people  cither  side  they  chose,  but  the  rising  of  an 
enraged  and  determined  nation  who  resolved  in  spite  of  i^etty 
differences  of  small  sUites  to  repel  the  invader,  and  aftenvards 
settle  the  question  of  Gennan  unity,  wliich  every  one  felt  was  now 
tlie  price  of  the  struggle.  Prussia  and  her  allies.  Saxony, 
Bavaria,  and  Wiii-temljerg  were  fully  prepared,  having  the  Prus- 
sian army  s}'Tstem  applied  to  them  since  Sadowa,  and  were  able 
a  iew  davs  after  the  declaration  of  war  to  send  six  hundred 
thousand  men  to  the  front,  backed  by  three  hundred  thousand 
reserves. 

France  could  barely  muster  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
trooi)S  of  the  line,  poorly  armed  and  equipped,  their  artillery 
muzzle-loading  and  anticjuated,  no  system  for  either  moving  or 
feeding  so  large  a  body  of  men,  and  finally  an  absolute  dearth  of 
military  talent. 

Yet  with  so  small  art  army,  and  a  good  commander,  the  defensive 
line  of  the  Vosges  Mountains  could  have  been  held  against  the 


822  THE   STORY   OF    GOVEUJJAUSNT. 

invading  hosts  of  Germans,  but  in  an  evil  hour  Napoleon  moved 
forward  to  take  the  initiative. 

His  line  was  too  long,  and  before  he  could  rectify  it  the  Ger- 
mans had  broken  it  in  two  places,  at  Weisembourg  and  Spicherin, 
and  followed  this  up  with  the  crushing  defeat  of  Worth.  Though 
outnumbered  and  outgeneraled,  the  French  soldiers  had  still 
fought  bravely,  but  were  now  liuddled  about  the  fortifications  of 
Metz  under  Marshal  Bazaine,  and  under  Marshal  McMahon  at  the 
camp  of  Chalons  where  the  Emperor  Napoleon  staid. 

Bazaine,  moving  too  slowly  towards  Paris,  found  that  the 
enemy  had  outmarched  him  and  were  heading  him  by  tlie  terrific 
struggles  of  Mars-la-Tour  and  Gravelotte.  Beaten  back,  he 
retired  on  Metz,  where  some  months  later  he  ignominiously  sur- 
rendered the  largest  army  ever  known  to  lay  down  its  arms. 
McMahon,  thinking  he  could  rescue  Bazaine,  started  by  a  long 
circuitous  road  to  the  northeast,  where  lie  was  met  by  the  armies 
01  Von  Moltke  at  Sedan,  and  after  some  hard  fighting,  forced  to 
surrender  the  Emperor  and  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  men. 

This  should  have  closed  the  war,  but  the  French,  wounded 
to  the  quick  by  these  bitter  revei*se8,  resolved  to  continue  the 
unequal  struggle.  Paris  was  besieged  by  the  Germans,  but  on 
the  outside  the  indomitable  energy  of  Gambetta  raised  army  after 
army  of  recruits,  who  only  became  food  for  powder  against  the 
stern  discipline  and  perfectly  tmined  battalions  of  Germany. 

Tlie  struggle  was  long,  bitter,  and  bloody,  but  the  end  came 
when  Chanzy  and  Bourbaki,  in  command  of  the  relieving  armies 
of  Paris,  were  hopelessly  defeated.  France  then  sued  for  mercy  by 
her  representatives,  Tliiei-s  and  Favre,  who  pled  in  vain  that  the  in- 
demnity might  be  paid  all  in  money  and  not  in  any  loss  of  territory. 
ThiLs  William  of  Prussia  came  to  be  crowned  in  Paris  Emperor 
of  a  United  Germany,  a  semi-mil itaiy  constitutional  monarchy. 

The  men  to  whom  these  last  scenes  of  the  drama  were  due  were 
Bismarck,  one  of  the  greatest  of  modern  statesmen.  Von  Moltke, 
the  greatest  European  strategist  since  Napoleon,  Von  Roon,  the 
organizer  of  the  immense  equipment  necessary  to  move  so  vast  an 
army,  and  last  the  old  King  William,  who  had  the  wisdom  to 
let  these  giants  work  out  the  problem  without  too  much  imperial 
interference. 


THE  chief  events  in  the  histoiy  of  the  American  Union 
are  so  well  known  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to 
retell  them  in  these  pages.  The  framing  of  a  constitu- 
tion for  self-government  or  liome  rule  by  the  pilgrims  in 
the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower  was  an  act  that  Htruck  the  keynote  to 
the  music  of  tliat  fi-oetlom  which,  from  a  dim  dream  in  the  mind  of 
the  early  New  Englandera,  became  in  a  century  and  a  half  an  active 
aspiration  that  fruited  into  a  vital  fact.  For  the  first  century, 
of  course,  the  colonists  were  occupied  largely  with  attempts  to 
maintain  their  footing  on  the  soil  against  the  original  possessors, 
and  also  against  the  French  of  Canada  and  of  some  portions  of 
the  west,  who  had  become  allies  of  the  Indians  in  their  resistance 
to  colonial  encroachments.  But  as  soon  as  the  coloniste  found 
tiieir  footing  firm,  the  desire  for  homo  iTiIe  and  their  feeling  of 
natural  isolation  from  England,  their  feeling  of  geogiaf^ical  and 
climatic  differences,  began  to  operate  powerfully  on  the  sentimenta 
of  the  people  iu  America  and  to  ripen  a  spirit  of  nationality,  and 
Uiey  would  doubtless  have  found  oUier  excuses  for  revolution 


824  THE   STORY   OF    GOVERNMENT. 

in  the  course  of  a  few  decades  even  if  a  wise  monarch  had  been 
on  the  throne,  and  if  wise  ministers  like  Chatham  had  been  in 
power  pursuing  a  conciliatory  policy  towards  the  colonies. 

It  should  be  understood  that,  after  our  independence  was  estab- 
lished, we  still  for  many  years  had  a  very  doubtful  career  before 
us,  and  had  it  not  been  for  France  distracting  the  attention  of 
Europe  and  especially  of  England,and  had  it  not  been  for  Napoleon, 
whose  rise  helped  us  to  preserve  our  integrity  as  a  nation,  we 
might  have  fallen  again  under  the  domination  of  Great  Britain. 

As  a  natuml  historical  sequence  after  the  War  of  1812,  and  the 
Mexican  War,  which  was  not  to  our  credit,  but  was  a  move  for 
the  aggrandizement  and  extension  of  empire,  we  passed  through 
the  throes  of  civil  war,  and  the  problem  of  slavery  which  had 
promised  to  break  up  this  vast  nation  into  a  collection  of  small, 
jealous,  antagonistic  states  was  settled.  But,  as  some  of  the 
most  careful  observers  from  Madison  to  Lincoln  have  remarked, 
"There  are  dangers  still  ahead  of  us,"  and  it  behooves  us  not 
to  be  inflated  with  national  vanity,  but  to  remember  that  tlie 
complex  republicanism  under  which  we  live  and  under  which 
we  enjoy  some  undeniable  blessings  is  still  in  many  respects  an 
experiment. 

We  are  menaced  at  this  moment  with  grave  perils  from  the 
accumulation  of  national  wealth  in  a  few  hands,  and  the  danger 
is  that  the  masses  in  our  large  cities  may  some  day  find  a  leader 
and  may  begin  a  conflict,  compared  to  which  the  blood  shed  in 
the  French  Revolution  will  be  as  a  drojj  of  water  to  Niagara. 
Already  can  be  heard  the  subterranean  voices  which  hint  a  possi- 
ble earthquake.  It  is  therefore  the  duty  of  every  American 
citizen  to  study  our  fonn  of  government,  reflect  upon  it  most  care- 
fully, and  try  to  cast  his  ballot  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent,  if 
possible,  the  social  upheaval  to  which  all  the  signs  of  the  times 
most  emphatically  point. 

This  chapter,  therefore,  will  not  rehearse  the  striking  events 
of  American  history,  but  will  show  in  as  plain  and  simple  a  man^ 
ner  as  possible  the  form  of  our  government,  and  the  functions 
of  the  officers  who  administer  it.  The  pictures,  likewise,  with 
which  this  chapter  is  illustrated,  will  be  general  rather  than 
special  in  their  relation  to  the  text  and  not,  as  in  other  chapters, 


COMPLEX  REPUBLICANISM. 


825 


the  subjects  of  nioit:  or  less  extensive  cuiiimeiit  and  anecdotal 
allusion. 

The   niajoiity  of   legislative   bodies   throughout  the  civilized 

world   are    con- 

stituted  \v  i  t  li 
two  li  o  u  s  e  s 
being  modelled 
after  eitlici  the 
Congress  t  f  the 
United  Suitca  or 
the  Piihimcnt 
of  Gi-eitliiitam 
All  tht,  R[mb 
lies  of  S  )  u  t  h 
Anienci  hue 
congn,ssi-s  of 
two  houses  geu- 
eiiilly  knowu  as 
the  Senate  and 
House  of  Ilepi-e- 
sentiilives.  The 
Senate  in  these 
countries  almost 
invariably  repre- 
sents the  qnivsi- 
sovereignty  of 
the  States  or 
teparate  pmv- 
ince»  of  the 
country,  while 
their  House  of 
lleprese  n  tat  i  ves 
or  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  as  it 
is  usually  call- 
ed,   elected   by 

the  voting   people   on   the  basis   of  population,   i-epresenta    ttie 
people  in  their  national  unity. 


THE  DISCO V 


826  THE  STORY  OF    GOVERNMENT. 

Mexico  has  a  Congress  with  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. Brazil  has  a  similar  assembly.  Hayti  has  a  National 
Assembly  of  two  houses.  The  Dominican  Republic  has  a  legisla- 
ture consisting  of  only  one  house.  San  Salvador,  where  the 
discoverer  of  America  first  set  liis  progressive  foot,  has  but  one 
legislative  chamber;  Gautemala  has  only  one;  Honduras  has  but 
one  which  is  designated  as  the  Congress  of  Deputies;  Costix  Rica 
has  a  single  house  called  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  All  of  these 
Central  and  South  American  countries  have  adopted  our  system 
of  having  the  President  and  his  Cabinet  entirely  independent  of 
Congress  wituin  the  lines  of  executive  duty  as  prescribed  by  their 
respective  constitutions. 

In  the  eastern  hemisphere  the  countries  enjoying  constitutional 
liberty  have  generally  followed  the  British  parliamentary  system 
of  having  a  cabinet  depending  solely  on  the  continued  sui)port  of 
a  majority  in  the  popular  house  of  the  national  assembly.  A  few 
have  upper  houses  which  are  constituted  very  much  like  the 
United  States  Senate,  the  membei"s  representing  tlie  constituent 
states  of  the  kingdom  or  empire. 

In  Gemiany  the  Bundesrath,  or  House  of  Peei-s,  is  the  upper 
house  of  the  Gennan  Imperial  Assembly,  which  represents  the 
various  states  of  the  empire,  while  the  Reichstig,  or  HoiLse  of 
Representatives,  represents  the  people  of  the  empire  as  a  national 
entity.  In  Austria-Hungary  two  parliaments  exist,  one  for  the 
western  part  of  the  empire,  or  Austria  proper,  and  the  other  for 
Hungary.  Each  of  tliese  parliaments  consists  of  two  houses,  one 
a  chamber  of  nobles  or  magnates,  and  the  other  of  membei*s  elected 
directly  by  the  2)eo[)le.  Until  about  thirty  yeai-s  ago  one  parlia- 
ment made  laws  for  the  Austrian  empire,  but  the  Hungarians 
demanded  a  parliament  of  their  own,  or  Home  Rule,  as  it  is 
called  in  Ireland,  and  after  a  long  struggle  attended  with  turmoil, 
confusion,  and  bloodshed  their  demand  was  conceded.  Since  then 
internal  peace  has  prevailed  in  that  empire. 

Denmai-k  has  a  legislature  of  two  houses  named  tlie  Rigsdag. 
The  upper  chamber  is  the  Landsthing  composed  of  landlords,  and 
the  lower  chamber,  or  Folkthing,  is  made  up  of  members  who  are 
elected  by  all  the  people.  Iceland  htis  one  house  of  thirty-six 
members,   thirty  of    whom   are  elected   by  the   people   and   six 


OOMPLEX  SEPUBLICAKIS1C 


827 


appointed  by  the  Danish  king.  The  legiBlature  of  Sweden  ig 
named  the  Diet.  It  consists  of  two  housea  known  as  the  First 
and  Second  Chambers.  Norway's  legislature  ia  called  the  Stor- 
thing or  the  Great  Court,  and  has  two  chambeis  termed  the  Lag- 
thing  and  the  Odelsthing.  Sweden  a)id  Nor^vay  are  united 
politically,  the  same  king  being  ruler  over  both  countiies. 

Spain  and  Portugal  have  legislatures  which  are  designated  as 
the  Cortes.  Each  Cortes  comprises  two  houses,  one  named  the 
House  of  Peers,  the  other  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  France  has 
two  houses,  a  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies,  the  members  of 


both  being  elected.     Switzerland   and    Holland    have    each  two 
houses,  one  representing  the  states,  the  other  the  masses. 

Finland  is  the  only  section  of  the  Russian  empire  which  has  an 
elective  legislature,  an  ancient  institution  which  it  lias  preserved 
Uirough  many  vicissitudes,  and  which  the  Czar  refuses  to  allow 
in  any  other  portion  of  his  dominions.  In  this  assembly  the 
nobles,  clergy,  burghers,  and  peasants  are  represented.  Servia's 
legislature  of  two  houses,  one  of  Peers,  and  the  other  of  popular 
representatives,  is  called  the  Skupshtina.  Roumania  and  Italy 
also  have  each  two  chambers.  Greece  baa  one  chamber  which  is 
called  the  BouW.  San  Marino,  a  little  republic  many  centuries 
old,  containing  about  seven  thousand  people,  has  an  assembly  of 


828  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

sixty  members  who  are  elected  for  life  from  three  classes:  the 
nobles,  burghers,  and  peasants.  This  republic  elects  a  president 
every  six  months. 

Andorra,  another  little  republic  in  a  valley  of  the  Pyrenees, 
between  France  and  Spain,  with  a  population  of  thirteen  thou- 
sand, has  a  single  chamber  of  twenty-four  members,  and  the 
executive  duties  are  exercised  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese  of 
Udal  in  Spain.  Belgium  has  a  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. Japan,  under  its  constitution  recently  adopted,  has  a 
House  of  Peers  and  a  House  of  Representatives.  Hawaii  has 
practically  a  similar  system,  the  Sandwich  Islanders  calling  their 
chambera  the  House  of  Nobles  and  House  of  Representatives. 

The  British  Colonial  legislatures  essentially  follow  the  system 
of  the  British  Parliament.  The  South  African  republics,  the 
Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State,  have  two  houses,  the  mem- 
bers of  both  being  elected.  Their  legislatures  are  called  the 
Volksraad.  Egypt,  under  the  Khedive  as  ruler,  is  governed  by  a 
Chamber  of  Notables  who  are  selected  by  him.  India  is  governed 
by  a  British  Governor-General  and  an  Executive  Council  which 
he  appoints.  The  Asiatic  countries  generally  are  governed  in  a 
manner  similar  to  Russia,  that  is  to  say,  by  the  will  of  the  moiuirch, 
and  are  utterly  destitute  of  any  form  of  legislative  assembly. 

There  are  tliree  coordinate  branches  or  departments  in  our 
government  of  the  United  States  called  the  legislative,  the  execu- 
tive, and  the  judicial ;  the  fii*st  of  which  makes  the  laws,  the 
second  directs  their  execution,  and  the  third  determines  precisely 
the  meaning  of  those  laws. 

The  legislative  branch  consisting  of  two  houses,  or  bodies  of 
representatives,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  is  called 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  whose  general  po Wei's  are  set 
forth  in  Article  L,  Section  8,  of  the  Constitution  thus:  — 

Sect.  VITI. —  The  conj^ress  shall  have  power — 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises;  to  pay  the  debts,  and 
provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States;  but 
all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States: 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States: 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several 
States,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes: 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on  the 
subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout  the  United  States: 


COHPLSX  BEPUBLIOANISH.  829 

ft.  To  ooln  monej,  regulate  the  yalae  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix 
liie  standard  of  weights  and  measores: 

d.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  cur^ 
rent  ooin  of  the  United  States: 

7«    To  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads: 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts  by  securing,  for 
limited  times,  to  authors  and  inventors,  the  exclusive  right  to  their  respectlTe 
writings  and  discoveries: 

0.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  tlie  supreme  court:  to  define  and  pun* 
ish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seas,  and  offences  against  the 
law  of  nations: 

10.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules 
concerning  captures  on  land  and  water: 

11.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use 
shall  be  for  a  longer  period  than  two  years: 

12.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy: 

13.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  tlio  land  and  naval 
forces : 

14.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  tlie  Union, 
suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions : 

15.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  for 
governing  such  parts  of  tliem  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  tlie  United 
States;  reserving  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of  the  officers, 
and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia,  according  to  the  discipline  prescribed 
by  congress: 

10.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such 
district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular 
States  and  the  acceptance  of  congi*ess,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by 
the  consc*iit  of  the  legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the 
erection  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  build- 
ings :  —  And 

17.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  bo  necessary  and  proper,  for  carrying  into 
executicm  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  constitu- 
tion in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  officer 
thereof. 

Tlie  Constitution  provides  that  Congress  must  meet  at  least 
once  a  year.  Tlie  time  when  it  assembles  is  fixed  by  law  on  the 
first  Monday  in  December  of  every  year.  The  President,  how- 
ever, is  authorized  by  Article  II.,  Section  3,  of  the  Constitution, 
to  call  a  special  session  at  any  time,  whenever  "  in  his  opinion  there 
is  business  requiring  immediate  attention. ""  Congress  enacts  all 
the  laws  by  which  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States  as  a 
nation  are  governed.  It  represents  the  whole  people  as  well  as 
the  States  in  their  ^a^i-sovereig^ty,  and  hence  is  the  only  com- 
petent authority  under  our  republican  form  of  government  to 


880  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

make  the  laws  which  we  are  bound  to  obey.  This  first  cooi-dinate 
branch,  the  legislative,  is  divided  into  what  is  usually  called  the 
popular  branch  —  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  Senate. 

Respecting  the  House  of  Representatives,  Article  I.,  Section  2, 
of  the  Constitution  provides  that  it  shall  be  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  States,  and  the 
electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the  qualifications  which  are  requisite 
for  electors  of  tlie  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  legislature. 
No  person  shall  be  a  representative  who  shall  not  have  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  have  been  seven  yeare  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be 
an  inhabitant  of  that  State  in  which  lie  sliall  be  chosen. 

Each  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  is  elected  by  a 
direct  vote  in  the  congressional  district  which  he  is  said  to  I'epre- 
sent.  He  must  be  elected  by  either  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast 
or  by  a  plurality  according  to  the  law  of  the  State  in  which  the 
election  takes  place. 

The  congressional  districts  are  fixed  every  ten  yeai-s  by  tlie 
legislatures  of  the  respective  States  immediately  after  the  national 
census  is  taken,  because  as  representation  is  based  on  2)opulati(^n, 
when  the  latter  is  found  to  increase  or  diminish,  it  is  necessary 
to  increase  or  diminish  the  number  of  representatives  to  wliieli 
a  State  is  entitled  in  order  to  secure  as  nearly  as  possible  a  perfect 
equality  in  popular  re2)resentation  among  the  various  States. 

Congress  determines  tlie  recjuired  number  of  po])ulati()n  which 
constitutes  a  concfressional  district.  In  the  early  days  of  the 
republic  the  number  was  much  smaller  than  now.  Tlie  number 
of  members  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  the  population 
which  each  represented  at  different  decades  is  shown  by  the 
following  table  :  — 

ropulatlon. 

3:^,000 

33,000 

35,000 

40,000 

47,700 

70,080 

93,500 

127,941 

130,5;^^ 

151,900 


I>eca<le. 

Members 

1793  to  180:5 

105 

1803  to  1813 

141 

1813  to  1823 

181 

1823  to  18:33 

212 

18:5:l  to  1843 

240 

184:j  to  1853 

223 

1853  to  18(>.''. 

234 

1803  to  1873 

241 

1873  to  1883 

292 

1883  to  1893 

325 

COMPLBX  BEPUBLIGANISM.  881 

A  member  must  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  State,  btU  not  necessarily 
of  the  district  in  which  he  is  elected^  although  few  if  any  members 
heretofore  elected  have  not  been  residents  of  the  districts  which 
returned  them. 

A  member  of  the  British  House  of  Commons  represents  a 
geographical  district  which  was  last  fixed  by  Act  of  Parliament, 
in  1884,  containing  at  that  time  a  population  of  about  sixty-five 
thousand  people,  although  some  members  represent  boroughs  which 
contain  a  smaller  population,  but  none  less  than  fifteen  thousand. 
A  member  of  the  Swiss  and  National  Assembly  represents  about 
twenty  thousand  persons  in  the  canton  from  which  he  is  returned, 
and  in  most  countries  where  representative  government  obtains  a 
very  similar  rule  is  followed. 

The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  are  elected 
biennially.  Their  election  now  takes  place  in  all  the  States  of 
the  Union  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November,  though  formerly  it 
was  not  so  in  a  few  States.  Members  of  the  House  are  generally 
called  Congressmen,  which  is  quite  correct,  and  it  would  be 
equally  conect  to  designate  the  members  of  the  Senate  in  the 
same  way  since  both  bodies  form  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  but  the  appellation  "  Congressman,"  by  general  usage  has 
come  to  be  regarded  as  applying  to  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  alone. 

The  great  power  which  the  House  of  Representatives  exclusively 
possesses,  a  power  conferred  by  the  Constitution  itself,  is  that  all 
money  for  any  national  purpose  whatever  must  be  raised  by  virtue 
of  laws  which  it  must  originate.  It  is  a  cardinal  principle  of  our 
government  that  no  authority  or  body  save  the  immediate  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  alone  should  first  move  in  the  levying  of 
taxes  upon  the  people,  or  voting  away  their  money  for  any  purpose 
whatsoever. 

During  the  recent  Chilian  difficulty,  for  instance,  if  the  Execu- 
tive and  the  Senate  had  been  united  in  favor  of  war,  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  a  vote  of  a  majority  of  one  could  have  prevented 
war  iy  simply  refusing  to  vote  the  means  to  carry  it  on.  Of  course 
the  members  thus  voting  would  have  assumed  the  responsibility^  of 
their  action  in  the  face  of  their  constituents  who  would  very  soon 
at  the  ballot-box  have  an  opportunity  of  expressing  themselves 


832  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

regarding  the  conduct  of  their  representatives,  should  they  come 
forward  for  re-election. 

Another  power  exclusively  exercised  by  the  House  of  Repi-e- 
sentatives  is  the  impeachment  of  the  President  and  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  judges  of  the  United  States  Courts  for 
crimes  and  misdemeanors.  In  cases  of  this  nature,  the  House 
proceeds  by  passing  a  resolution  containing  the  formal  charges 
against  the  party  impeached,  which  charges  are  laid  before  the 
Senate  sitting  as  a  High  Court  of  Judicature  to  determine  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  accused,  who  is  summoned  to  appear 
before  it  and  answer  to  the  charges. 

The  House  selects  a  committee,  or  managers,  as  they  are  termed, 
to  prosecute  the  case,  which  they  do  by  procuring  the  attendance 
of  witnesses,  by  examination  of  the  same,  and  cross-examination  of 
tlie  witnesses  of  the  accused,  and  by  sucli  other  ways  as  are  allowed 
in  ordinary  courts.  Happily  but  few  trials  of  impeachment  have 
been  held  in  this  country,  the  most  celebrated  being  that  of  Presi- 
dent Johnson  in  18G8. 

By  far  the  most  important  member  of  the  House  is  the  Speaker. 
After  a  new  House  assembles  and  the  roll  of  membership  is  called, 
his  election  is  the  first  business  transacted.  He  wields  immense 
power ^  second  onli/  to  that  of  the  Provident  of  the  United  States, 
He  is  usually  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  dominant  political  party 
in  the  House,  and  ho  appoints  all  the  committees  whose  duties  are 
to  consider  and  report  upon  every  legislative  matter  which  is  laid 
before  Congress. 

As  he  invariably  selects  a  majority,  sometimes  a  large  majority, 
of  his  own  l^arty  on  tliese  committees,  the  far-reaching  power  of 
his  position  may  be  perceived.  No  measure  can  reach  the  House 
until  it  is  first  passed  on  by  a  committee  which  he  has  appointed. 
It  is  in  the  power  of  the  majority  of  a  committee  to  report  such 
measures  as  tliey  favor  at  the  most  [>ropitious  time,  and  to  report 
such  as  they  are  opposed  to  adversely  at  the  most  unfavorable 
time. 

The  majority  of  each  conmiittee  has  practically  the  shaping  of 
all  legislation  introduced  in  the  House,  as  it  veiy  seldom  happens 
that  any  bill  favorably  reported  by  a  committee  is  defeated  or  even 
materially  altered.     So  important  is  the  ofiice  of  Speaker  regarded 


832  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

regarding  the  conduct  of  their  representatives,  should  they  come 
forward  for  re-election. 

Another  power  exclusively  exercised  by  the  House  of  Repi-e- 
sentatives  is  the  impeachment  of  the  President  and  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  judges  of  the  United  States  Courts  for 
crimes  and  misdemeanors.  In  cases  of  this  nature,  the  House 
proceeds  by  passing  a  resolution  containing  the  formal  charges 
against  the  party  impeached,  which  charges  are  laid  before  the 
Senate  sitting  as  a  High  Court  of  Judicature  to  determine  the 
guilt  or  innocence  of  the  accused,  who  is  summoned  to  appear 
before  it  and  answer  to  the  charges. 

Tlie  House  selects  a  committee,  or  managers,  as  they  are  termed, 
to  prosecute  the  case,  which  they  do  by  procuring  the  attendance 
of  witnesses,  by  examination  of  the  same,  and  cross-examination  of 
the  witnesses  of  the  accused,  and  by  such  other  ways  as  are  allowed 
in  ordinary  courts.  Happily  but  few  trials  of  impeachment  have 
been  held  in  this  country,  tlie  most  celebrated  being  that  of  Presi- 
dent Johnson  in  1868. 

By  far  the  most  important  member  of  the  House  is  the  Speaker. 
After  a  new  House  assembles  and  the  roll  of  menibershijj  is  called, 
his  election  is  the  first  business  transacted.  He  wields  immense 
poiver^  second  onhj  to  that  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
lie  is  usually  elected  by  tlie  votes  of  the  dominant  political  i)arty 
in  the  House,  and  he  ap[)oints  all  the  committees  whose  duties  are 
to  consider  and  re2)ort  upon  every  legislative  matter  which  is  laid 
before  Congress. 

As  he  invariably  selects  a  majority,  sometimes  a  large  majority, 
of  his  own  I)arty  on  these  committees,  the  far-reaching  power  of 
his  position  may  be  perceived.  No  meiisure  can  reach  the  House 
until  it  is  fii*st  passed  on  by  a  committee  which  lie  has  appointed. 
It  is  in  the  power  of  the  majority  of  a  committee  to  report  such 
measures  as  they  favor  at  tlie  most  propitious  time,  and  to  report 
such  as  they  are  opposed  to  adversely  at  the  most  unfavorable 
time. 

The  majority  of  each  committee  has  practically  the  shaping  of 
all  legislation  introduced  in  the  House,  as  it  veiy  seldom  happens 
that  any  bill  favorably  reported  by  a  committee  is  defeated  or  even 
materially  altered.     So  important  is  the  office  of  Speaker  regarded 


884  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

that  very  exciting  contests  generally  take  place  over  his  election. 
These  contests  in  some  instances  have  been  very  prolonged, 
notably  in  the  cases  of  General  Banks  in  1856,  and  Mr.  Penning- 
ton in  1860,  when  over  two  months  were  spent  before  an  election 
was  made  in  either  case. 

The  Speaker  is  entitled  to  vote  on  any  question  but  very  seldom 
does  except  in  the  case  of  a  tie,  when  he  is  obliged  to  determine 
the  issue  by  his  vote,  and  he  must  vote  when  any  question  is  to 
be  decided  by  ballot.  The  Speaker's  salary  is  eight  thousand 
doUai-s  a  year,  while  all  the  other  members  of  the  House  are  paid 
five  thousand  dollars  each. 

Of  the  important  committees  of  the  House  the  most  impor- 
tant are  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  and  the  Committee 
of  Appropriations.  The  first  named  is  the  committee  which  has 
charge  of  devising  ways  and  means  to  raise  revenue  for  the  support 
of  the  government.  This  is  done  chiefly  by  internal  revenue  laws, 
and  by  tariff  acts  which  lay  duties  on  products  imported  into  the 
United  States.  The  Committee  of  Appropriations  pass  nixyn  all 
measures  which  call  for  money  out  of  the  National  Treasury  for 
any  purpose  whatever  and  lience  its  great  importance.  It  prima- 
rily holds  the  pui*se-strings  of  Uncle  Sam's  strong  box. 

Immediately  after  electing  its  si)eaker  the  House  votes  for  it« 
otlier  officers,  which  consist  of  a  clerk,  a  sergeant-at-arms,  a 
doorkeeper,  a  postmaster  and  a  chaplain.  None  of  these  officials 
can  be  elected  from  among  the  niemlxjrs  of  the  House,  but  any 
citizen  not  liolding  a  salaried  office  under  the  national  government 
is  eligible. 

The  clerk  has  a  number  of  assistants  whom  he  appoints  and 
pays  for  their  services.  He  also  pays  the  regular  salaries  of 
persons  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  House  or  of  any  of  its 
committees.  His  most  important  business,  however,  consist^s  in 
keeping  the  docket  of  legislative  business  in  a  proper  manner,  so 
that  bills  come  up  in  tlieir  regular  order  of  precedence,  thus  fur- 
nishing tlie  Speaker  and  any  member  of  the  House  at  any  time  with 
a  correct  chart  of  the  progress  of  business.  He  also  calls  the  roll 
and  records  tlie  votes  wlien  a  yea  and  nay  vote  is  taken. 

The  sergeant-at-arms  is  an  official  wlio  is  supposed  to  represent 
in  his  own  person  all  the  so\eYii\g\\  iovee  of  the  House  when  he 


COMPLEX    REPUBLICANISM. 


acta  in  pursuance  of  its  oitlers  or  in  obedience  to  the  Siwaker. 
He  securea  oiiler  in  the  House  wlien  iiny  serioua  confusion  occura 
by  advancing  among  the  disorderly  niembera  with  the  ancient 
emblem  of  liJs  oflicu  —  the  ni;ice ;  he  li;is  power  to  ari-est  and  im- 
prison any  jn-jmber  for  a  gross  violation  of  the  rules,  and  keep  the 
offender  in  close  custody  until  releiised  hy  onler  of  tlie  Sjieaker 
or  the  House. 

His  power  of  ari-est,  liowever,  is  uliieflj'  exercised  on  occasiona 
when  it  is  found 
necessary  to  get  a 
(juoruni  of  ;hu 
House  ;  that  is,  the 
required  number 
with  which  to 
transact  business, 
when  besets  forth, 
commissioned  by 
the  Speaker  to  ar- 
rest every  alisent 
member  wliom  ln' 
may  meet  ami 
bring  Ijim  fortli- 
Avithl^-foietlieba;- 
of  the  House  tn 
give  a  siitisfai-torv 
excuse  for  non-at- 
tendiviice,  whicli  is 
a  grave  brcat^h  of 
the  rules.  In  ail- 
dition  111  tlicse  vei y  nntious  duties  I 
the  congressmen  tlicir  salaries 

The  door-keeper  of  the  House  i^  .uiotliei  iiuijortant  persoitage 
■who  is  allowed  to  apjjoint  a  number  of  assistants  to  aid  him  in 
the  jjerfonnance  of  liis  duties  He  exercises  general  supervision 
over  the  Hall,  or  meeting  plate  of  the  House,  the  committee  rooms 
adjoining,  and  tlie  galleries  to  whitb  the  public  is  admitted  The 
members'  desks,  chairs,  and  all  the  httings  and  equipments  pertain- 
ing to  tlie  House  are  in  his  ehaige.     He  allows  no  ou^  *ji  w^-s^%x 


1  also  tlie  official  ^\ho  pays 


886  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

on  the  floor  of  the  House  except  such  persons  as  have  a  right  to  be 
there. 

The  postmaster  receives  all  letters  for  the  members,  which  his 
assistants  deliver  as  soon  as  possible.  His  office,  that  of  special 
postmaster  to  the  House,  is  created  by  law  and  is  regarded  as  a 
very  honorable  position. 

The  chaplain  is,  of  course,  a  clergyman,  who  invokes  the  Deity 
preliminary  to  the  legislative  work  of  each  day's  session.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  his  only  other  official  duty  is  to  appear  at  the  funerals 
of  such  congressmen  as  die  at  the  Capitol.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  century  it  was  a  part  of  his  official  business  to  preach  a  sermon 
to  Congress  on  Sundays,  but  this  practice  has  been  discontinued 
for  many  years,  owing  chiefly  to  the  non-attendance  of  members. 

In  addition  to  his  salary  of  five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  each 
member  of  the  House  is  allowed  something  over  one  hundred 
dollars  a  year  for  stationery,  newspapers,  etc.,  and  also  a  travelling 
fee,  or  "  mileage,"  as  it  is  called,  which  is  fixed  at  a  i-ate  of  twenty 
cents  a  mile  for  every  mile  travelled  between  his  residence  and  the 
city  of  Washington. 

A  member  is  prohibited  from  holding  any  other  salaried  office 
under  the  national  government,  and  he  is  also  legally  incapable  of 
holding  any  salaried  office  created  by  the  Congress  of  which  he  is 
a  menil)er  until  the  term  of  life  of  that  House  of  Representatives 
has  expired.  No  member  can  legally  receive  any  pay  from  indi- 
viduals or  corporations  for  any  service  which  they  may  have 
rendered  in  the  House,  or  in  any  matter  in  which  the  United 
States  is  involved,  save  that  in  the  latter  case  professional  fees  as 
attorneys  in  the  courts  are  regarded  as  ])roper. 

They  are  also  piohibitcd  from  voting  on  measures  in  which  their 
private  interests  are  directly  affected,  such  as  railroad,  telegraph, 
and  other  corporations  in  which  they  are  shareliolders,  but  it  is 
alleged  that  breaches  of  this  prohibition  have  become  the  rule, 
and  observance  of  the  prohibition  the  exception,  and  this  allega- 
tion is  ])ased  on  some  substantial  grounds.  The  power  of  great 
corporations  affects  our  national,  state  and  municipal  legislators 
more  and  more  every  year  and  will,  till  a  change  in  our  system 
takes  place  and  industrial  equality  as  well  as  |>olitical  equality 
shall  be  firmly  established. 


838  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

Thfi  other  subdivision  of  Congress  is  called  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  According  to  Article  I.,  Section  3,  of  the  Consti- 
tution :  The  Senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
senators  from  each  State,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six 
years ;  and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote.  No  person  shall  be 
a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty  yeai-s 
and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he 
shall  be  chosen. 

The  equality  and  limited  sovereignty  of  the  respective  States 
of  the  Union  are  represented  by  the  Senate,  each  State  small  or 
large  being  entitled  to  elect  two  senators  to  that  body  and  no 
more.  Thus,  the  new  States  of  North  Dakota  and  South  DakoUv, 
with  populations  of  182,719  and  328,808  respectively,  are  repre- 
sented by  the  same  number  of  senators  as  the  States  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania,  the  former  with  a  population  of  5,997,853,  and 
the  latter  with  a  population  of  5,258,014. 

The  Senate  corresponds  with  the  Council  of  States  of  the 
Swiss  Confederation,  referred  to  elsewhere,  which  consists  of  two 
representatives  from  each  canton,  but  with  this  difference;  in 
Switzerland  they  elect  the  members  of  the  Council  of  States  for  a 
term  of  one,  two,  or  three  years,  as  the  cantonal  legislatures  may 
determine,  while  the  duration  of  office  of  our  senators  and  the 
method  of  their  election  is  established  by  constitutional  provision. 

By  constitutional  provision  also  the  vice-president  of  the 
United  States  presides  over  the  sessions  of  the  Senate,  while 
the  Swiss  Council  of  States  elect  their  presiding  officer.  The 
vice-president  is  not  allowed  to  vote  unless  in  the  case  of  a  tie 
vote  in  the  Senate,  when  he  is  obliged  to  decide.  When  he  is 
absent  for  any  cause,  the  Senate  elects  a  president  pro  tempore^ 
wlio  i)erf()rms  the  duties  of  the  office  until  the  return  of  the  vice- 
president. 

It  is  customary  at  the  beginning  of  every  session  to  elect  some 
senator  as  temporary  chairman  who  is  genemlly  called  upon 
whenever  occasion  re(|uires  to  take  the  chair  throughout  the  entire 
session  in  the  absence  of  the  vice-president.  The  vice-president 
is  paid  a  salary  of  eight  thousand  dollai-s  a  year;  the  membei-s  of 
the  Senate  each  receive  ftve  lV\o\iftM\d  doUai-s  a  year. 


'-  -^^"^fet 

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1 

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"'^jI'iS 

111 

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ii'^- 

840  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

The  other  officers  of  the  Senate  are  a  secretary,  sergeant-at- 
amis,  chaplain,  postmaster  and  libi-arian.  The  office  of  Secretary 
of  the  Senate  corresponds  to  that  of  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. The  secretary  keeps  the  roll  of  senators  and  is  the 
custodian  of  all  records,  papers,  bills,  petitions  and  resolutions 
which  come  before  the  Senate.  He  pays  the  senators  their  sala- 
ries, which  duty  is  perfonned  for  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  House.  He  has 
several  clerks  to  assist  him,  subject  to  his  direction  and  control. 

The  Sergeant-at-Anns  of  the  Senate  is  the  official  i*epresenta- 
tive  of  the  power  of  that  body,  and  his  authority  and  duties 
correspond  in  every  respect  with  that  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of 
the  House,  except  that  he  does  not  pay  the  senators'  saLaries  and 
that  he  has  control  of  the  door-keepei*s  of  the  Senate  and  all  tlie 
subordinate  employees  as  well  as  geneml  charge  of  tlie  furniture 
of  the  Chamber,  its  ante-rooms  and  lobbies. 

The  chaplain,  postmaster,  and  librarian  of  the  Senate  perform 
duties  exactly  analogous  to  the  similar  officials  of  tlie  HoiLse. 
The  Senate  does  not  pei-mit  its  presiding  officer,  the  Yice-[)resi- 
dent,  to  appoint  its  committees  as  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  does  in  his  Chaml)er,  but  tlu^y  select  a  special 
committee  for  the  purpose,  which  appoints  the  various  committees 
to  consider  and  report  upon  all  measures  laid  before  thein.  The 
senators  are  privileged  from  arrest  while  attending  to  their  duties, 
as  also  are  the  membei*s  of  the  House  by  constitutional  2)rovisi<)n. 

All  the  impoilant  official  appointments  made  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States  must  be  submitted  to  the  Senate  for  contlrnia- 
tion.  If  it  votes  in  favor  of  an  appointee,  the  pei*son  is  said  to 
be  '^confirmed/'  and  he  can  innnediately  assume  the  duties  of  the 
olfice ;  if  it  votes  to  reject,  the  pei'son  rejected  is  del)arred  from 
the  office,  and  thcj  l^resident  is  powerless  Avithout  the  consent  of 
the  Senate. 

This  exclusive  power  of  "consent"  Avliich  the  Senate  possesses 
also  extends  to  the  treaties  Avhich  are  made  with  foreign  nations. 
No  treaty  negotiated  between  the  President  and  government  of  a 
foreign  country  can  go  into  force  and  effect  until  it  is  ratified  by 
a  two  thirds  vote  of  the  Senate,  according  to  Article  H.,  Section  2, 
oi  the  Constitution,  whicli  says ;  "  The  President  shall  have  i)Ower, 


COHFLBX  KEPUBLICAinSH.  841 

bj  and  with  the  Advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  treaties, 
provided  two  thirds  of  the  senators  present  concur.*' 

As  a  general  rule  the  Senate  approves  all  treaties  submitted  by 
the  President,  but  a  notable  exception  occurred  in  1888  during 
the  administration  of  President  Cleveland.  The  latter  laid  be- 
fore the  Senate  nn  extradition  treaty  which  had  been  negotiated 
with  the  British 
Govern  ment, 
providing  for 
the  mutual  sur- 
render of  cer- 
tain offendei^s 
i^rainstthe  laws 
of  this  country 
and  Great  Brit- 
ain; but  it  was 
rejected  in  the 
Senate  by  a 
great  majority. 

The  ground 
of  objection  was 
that  some  of  its 
sections  would 
enable  the  Brit- 
ish Government 
to  secure  the 
extradition  of 
Irish  political 
offenders — tliat 
is  of  Irishmen 
who  might  vio-  ''"*='*''  ^ 
late  the  Special  Coercion  Act  which  applied  to  Ireland  only,  and 
to  no  otlier  portion  of  the  British  empire,  and  which  created 
many  new  offences  not  regarded  as  crimes  in  either  Great  Britain 
or  the  United  States. 

The  Senate  holds  what  is  termed  an  executive  session  whenever 
it  considers  the  matters  of  appointments  or  treaties,  which  means 
a  secret  session  at  which  each  senator  present,  as  well  as  the 


842  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

special  clerk  who  keeps  the  record,  is  sworn  to  preserve  secrecy 
respecting  the  proceedings.  At  the  beginning  of  our  government 
all  sessions  of  the  Senate  were  secret  for  a  period  of  five  years,  but 
this  obnoxious  practice  was  abandoned  and  all  of  its  sessions, 
with  the  exception  mentioned,  are  now  as  public  as  those  of  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

Tlie  Senate  is  the  high  court  of  the  United  States  for  the  trial 
of  impeachments  of  national  officials  before  which  the  House  of 
Representatives  present  their  accusation  and  prosecute  the  defend- 
ant until  judgment  is  rendered.  Of  late  yeare,  more  especially 
since  the  Civil  War,  the  Senate  has  been  chiefly  composed  of  very 
wealthy  men.  At  the  present  time  it  is  very  often  referred  to 
derisively  as  the  billionnaire  club,  for  it  is  alleged  that  many  of 
its  members  have  been  elected,  not  on  account  of  probity,  merit, 
or  statesmanlike  qualities,  but  solely  through  the  influence  of 
their  personal  wealth,  or  that  of  the  syndicates  or  corporations 
whose  special  interests  they  are  expected  to  subserve,  as  members 
of  the  highest  branch  of  our  national  legislature  where  the  votes 
of  the  two  senatoi-s  from  Nevada,  with  a  population  of  44,327 
souls,  have  the  same  weight  as  the  vote  of  all  the  thirty-four 
membeis  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  New  York  on 
every  question  which  comes  before  Congress,  save  an  original 
appropriation  or  tiix-levy  bill. 

A  movement  which  is  rapidl}^  gathering  strength  is  being 
agitated  in  many  parts  of  our  country  for  the  election  of  senators 
by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people.  Many  powerful  reasons  can  be 
urged  in  favor  of  this  change  in  the  method  of  their  election,  and 
hardly  one  sound  objection  can  be  offered  to  it.  The  nearer  the 
rej)resentatives  are  to  the  whole  body  of  voters,  the  greater  the 
responsibility  they  feel  and  the  more  strictly  they  can  be  held  to 
account.  The  senatoi-s  are  afar  off  from  the  people  now,  because 
elected  by  the  legislatures,  Avhich  have  been  time  and  again 
manipulated  to  elect  senators  who  would  never  be  elected  by  the 
people,  had  they  the  i)rivilege  of  the  selection.  This  change  of 
method  it  will  rec^uire  a  constitutional  amendment  to  bring  about, 
but  the  gain  to  the  public  will  l)e  worth  all  the  pains  taken. 

The  second  coordinate  branch  of  our  government  is  the  Execu- 
tive, or  President,  who  is  the  supreme  officer  to  see  that  the  laws 


COMPLEX  REPTTBUOANIBM.  848 

enacted  by  the  national  legislature  are  enforced.  Article  II.,  Sec- 
tion 1,  of  the  Constitution  provides  that  the  executive  power  shall 
be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  He 
shall  hold  liis  office  during  the  term  of  four  years,  and  together 
with  tlie  vice-president,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as 
follows:  Each  State  shall  appoint  in  such  manner  as  the  legisla- 
tui-e  thereof  may  direct  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole 
number  of  senators  and  representatives  to  which  the  State  may  be 
entitled  in  tlie  Congress;  but  no  senator,  or  representative,  or 
person  holding  an  office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United  States 
shall  be  appointed  an  elector. 

No  person  except  a  natural  born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution,  shall 
be  eligible  to  tlie  office  of  President ;  neither  shall  any  person  be 
eligible  to  tliat  office  wlio  shall  not  liave  attained  to  the  age  of 
thii-tv-five  yeai-s  and  been  fourteen  yeai-s  a  i*esident  within  the 
United  States. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  Ls  not  elected  by  a  direct 
vote  of  the  people,  but  by  '' electoi*s  *'  wlio  are  chosen  in  such 
manner  iis  the  legislatures  of  the  seveml  Stiites  shall  determine. 
A  State  legislature  l)y  a  committee  may  choose  the  electors  to 
represent  it  in  tlie  Electoral  College,  or  it  may  direct  the  governor 
to  ai)point  them,  or  have  them  selected  in  any  other  way.  But, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  "electoi-s"  in  every  State  are  voted  for 
directly  l)y  the  people  on  the  Tuesday  following  the  fii*st  Monday 
in  Novcm])er  of  every  presidential  year„ 

The  **clectoi-s  "  chosen  in  each  State  are  obliged  to  meet  on  the 
first  Wednesday  of  the  month  of  Decemlxir  next  ensuing  in  the 
capital  of  their  State  wherii  they  vote  for  President  and  vice- 
president.  A  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  totiil  Electoral  College 
is  required  to  elect.  If  no  one  voted  for  by  the  electoi's  receives 
a  clear  majority,  the  election  of  President  is  decided  by  the  House 
of  Representatives. 

After  the  electoi-s  in  the  several  States  have  voted  for  the  can- 
didates of  their  choice  they  make  three  lists  of  the  ballot  taken, 
which  they  enclose  and  seal  with  a  certificate  stating  that  they  are 
accurate.  Two  of  these  lists  are  addressed  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  one  of  which  is  forwarded  by  mail  and 


844  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

the  other  by  a  special  messenger.  The  third  list  is  deposited 
with  the  judge  of  the  district  couil;,  within  whose  jurisdiction  the 
election  has  been  lield. 

At  tlie  expiration  of  a  month  after  the  meeting  of  the  Electoral 
College  in  each  State,  if  nothing  is  heard  in  Washington  by  mail 
or  messenger  from  a  State,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
Senate  serves  notice  on  the  Secretary  of  Stite,  who  immediately 
procures  the  certified  list  in  the  custody  of  the  district  judge, 
which  is  laid  before  the  President  of  tlie  Senate.  Congress  then 
assembles  on  tlie  second  Wednesday  of  P'ebruary  to  count  the 
votes  of  the  Electoral  College. 

The  Senate,  with  much  formality,  lieaded  by  ite  president, 
preceded  by  the  sergeant-at-arms,  entei*s  the  hall  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  where  they  are  received  by  the  membei*s  of  the 
latter  body  standing.  The  President  of  the  Senate,  ascending  to 
the  speaker's  dais,  breaks  open  the  sealed  enveloi^es  containing  the 
returns,  which  he  announces  to  both  houses,  and  he  declares  who, 
if  any,  has  a  majority  of  the  electoml  votes,  and  is  consequently 
elected  President. 

In  case  no  person  has  a  majority,  the  House  of  Representatives 
alone  proceeds  to  elect  the  President,  wiiich  it  does  by  selecting 
by  ballot,  as  provided  in  the  Constitution,  from  among  the  three 
candidates  who  have  received  the  liighest  number  of  electoral 
votes,  such  candidate  as  it  prefers.  This  selection,  liowever,  is 
not  made  by  each  representative  casting  one  vote  for  liis  choice  — 
it  is  made  Jnj  the  mcijoritif  of  (he  rej)rexe)itativei<  from  each  State 
agreeiwj  on  a  eerfain  '*andhlate  for  whom  thej/  east  the  vote  of  then- 
State^  eiich  State  having  but  one  vote  on  such  an  occasion,  the 
members  of  tlie  minority,  liowever  large,  liaving  practically  no 
voic"c  in  the  nuitter. 

For  instance,  if  the  election  of  President  Avere  to  l>e  decided 
in  1H0-)  by  the  House  of  Re[)resentatives,  the  State  of  iVIassachu- 
setts  would  record  its  ])resi(lential  vote  for  a  Democrat,  seven  of 
its  rcpresentiitives  being  of  that  political  party,  while  it^  six 
Re])ublican  representatives  would  be  absolutely  powerless  to 
affect  the  lesult. 

In  case  no  candidate  for  the  vice-presidency  has  a  majority  of 
the  eiectoral  votes,  the  Senate  ahoosea  the  viee-p resident^  for  the  rea- 


846  THE   STORY    OF   GOVERNMENT. 

son  that  his  principal  duty  is  to  preside  over  that  body.  But  they 
must  choose  between  the  two  candidates  having  the  most  votes  for 
vice-president,  each  senator  voting,  the  majority  of  votes  b^ing 
required  to  elect.  And  in  case  the  House  of  Representatives 
fails  to  elect  a  President,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  vice-president 
elected  by  the  Senate  becomes  President,  none  having  been  chosen 
otherwise  according  to  the  Constitution. 

The  cliief  duty  of  the  President  is  to  see  that  all  laws  are  i)rop- 
erly  caiTied  out.  This  includes  not  only  the  acts  passed  by  Con- 
gress, but  the  organic  law  itself,  the  Constitution  as  well  as  all 
treaties  and  stipulations  entered  into  between  the  United  Statc»s 
and  foreign  countries.  He  is  commanded  by  the  Constitution  to 
lay  before  Congress'  from  time  to  time  infoimation  respecting  tlie 
state  of  the  country,  and  in  cases  of  emergency  lie  is  authorized 
to  call  a  special  session. 

He  is  formally  notified  by  Congress  at  the  opening  of  eveiy 
session  that  the  national  legislature  is  prepared  to  receive  any  com- 
munication Avhich  he  desires  to  lay  before  them,  whereupon  he 
sends  what  is  termed  a  message,  or  written  communication,  which 
deals  with  the  genci-al  condition  of  the  country,  or  calls  tluMr 
attention  to  some  matter  of  pressing  urgency,  and  is  of  greater  or 
less  length  according  to  the  inij)ortance  and  necessities  of  the 
subject  matter  wliich  it  contains  and  according  to  the  natural 
verbosity  of  its  composer.  Most  presidential  messages  are  so  long 
that  vciv  few  ])ei*soiis  read  tlieni. 

The  President  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  armv  and  navy  of 
the  United  States.  The  object  of  this  provision  in  the  Constitu- 
tion is  to  ensure  that  the  sovereign  authority  over  the  armed 
forces  of  th(i  countiy  sliall  always  ]-emain  in  the  pei'son  of  the  man 
wlio  is  elected  evcrv  four  years  bv  the  votes  of  the  country.  He 
appoints  onr  ministers  and  consular  oflieei*s  to  foreign  countries, 
receives  formally  all  forei<rn  minister's  accredited  to  this  country, 
and  under  his  direction  onr  State  department  grants  exequatur, 
that  is,  permits  to  depart  to  foreign  consuls  in  the  United  States. 
He  alone  is  authorized  to  negotiate  treaties  with  foreign  pow^ei-s 
which  he  must  lay  before  the  Senate  representing  the  States  for 
adoption  witliout  which  no  treaty  can  go  into  effect. 

T]iO  jjower  to  pardon  f<.)r  any  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  United 


848  THE   STORY   OF   GOVEKNMENT. 

States  belongs  to  tlie  President  as  supreme  ruler.  This  pardon- 
ing power  exercised  by  the  head  of  all  civilized  nations  corre- 
sponds in  a  great  measure  to  the  powers  allowed  courts  of  equity, 
which  afford  relief  in  cases  where  the  courts  of  law,  by  reason  of 
the  rigidity  and  universality  of  the  written  law,  fail  to  do  so. 
Violations  of  the  criminal  law  of  the  United  States  take  place 
from  time  to  time  through  ignorance,  or  some  other  powerful 
extenuating  circumstance  occurs  which  could  not  be  pleaded  in 
defence  in  court;  in  such  cases  the  President  in  his  discretion  can 
exercise  his  high  prerogative  — :  the  power  to  pardon  —  with  which 
he  is  invested  by  the  Constitution. 

Every  bill  passed  by  Congress  must  be  approved  by  the  Presi- 
dent. When  a  measure  passes  both  houses  it  is  submitted  to  him 
for  his  signature.  If  he  signs  the  bill  it  immediately  becomes 
the  law;  if  he  refuses  to  sign  he  returns  the  bill  to  Congress  with 
a  special  message  containing  reasons  for  withholding  his  signa- 
ture. When  he  refuses  to  sign  a  bill  he  is  said  to  be  exercising 
the  veto  power  given  him  by  the  Constitution.  A  vetoed  bill  is 
practically  dead,  unless  its  friends  in  Congress  can  secure  for  it  a 
two  thirds  vote  of  both  Houses,  when  it  becomes  law,  the  Presi- 
dent's veto  notwithstandincr. 

In  case  a  bill  passes  over  the  veto,  it  is  sent  by  Congress  direct 
to  the  State  department,  where  it  takes  its  place  among  all  other 
laws,  and  must  be  carried  out  precisely  iis  if  it  bore  the  signature 
of  the  Executive.  Tliis  right  of  the  President  to  veto  any  legisla- 
tive measure  passed  ])y  a  majority  of  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  as  well  as  by  a  majority  of  the  States  represented  by  the 
Semite,  seems,  under  a  republican  form  of  government,  to  be  a 
sin<]fular  anomaly. 

The  people  elect  men  to  enact  laws;  they  also  elect  a  certain 
man  to  execute  those  laws,  but  the  Executive  possesses  sub- 
stantially tlie  power  to  say  Avhat  laws  shall  be  enacted  by  the 
hnv-makers,  because  it  is  almost  impossible  to  secure  a  two  thirds 
vote  to  overrule  a  veto  in  lK)th  Houses  against  the  tremendous 
influence  of  the  President,  backed  by  the  official  patronage  and 
the  great  army  of  officials  dependent  upon  him. 

A  bare  majority  of  the  votes  in  both  Houses  can  enact  any  law 
which  tJie  President  approves;  if  he  disapproves,   a  two  thirds 


850  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

vote  is  required,  so  that  his  legislative  power  exercised  in  this 
negative  fashion  is  equal  in  a  House  of  three  hundred  members 
and  a  Senate  of  eighty  to  forty-nine  votes  in  the  one  house  and 
thirteen  in  the  other  respectively,  or  the  difference  between  a  bare 
majority  and  the  number  requisite  added  to  it  to  carrj'  a  measure 
over  tlie  veto. 

The  reason  for  so  much  legislative  power  in  the  liands  of  the 
Executive  does  not  appear  to  be  sound  to-day,  however  it  may 
have  been  at  the  time  the  Constitution  was  adopted.  The  pre- 
rogative of  British  monarchs  was  conferred  by  it  upon  our  Execu- 
tive, but  no  British  monarcli  has  exercised  tlie  veto,  since  the 
time  of  Queen  Anne  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  centuiy,  and  it 
is  very  certain  that  it  will  never  be  used  again  against  a  parlia- 
mentary act,  while  our  Presidents  have  used  it  with  impunity  to 
defeat  Treasures  to  which  they  were  opposed. 

The  Swiss  confederation  does  not  permit  its  executive  to  inter- 
fere in  any  direct  or  indirect  way  with  the  Federal  Assembly, 
and  the  veto  power  is  retained  by  the  people  themselves^  who  exercise 
it  at  the  ballot-box  under  the  law  of  the  Referendum,  which  is 
explained  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

The  President  cannot  l^e  tried  in  any  ordinary  court  for  an 
offence  against  the  law.  Provision  has  been  made,  liowever,  tliat 
if  he  offends  he  must  be  accused  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  tried  by  a  legal  process  called  impeachment,  by  the  Senate. 
If  lie  is  found  guilty  he  can  l)e  removed  from  office.  The  vice- 
president  is  subject  to  impeachment  and  removal  in  a  similar 
way,  as  well  as  certain  otlicr  officers  of  the  government. 

Tlie  salary  which  the  President  receives  is  iifty  thousand  doUai-s 
a  3'ear,  with  the  use  of  the  executive  mansion  in  Washington, 
called  the  White  House,  which  is  all  furnished  and  equipped  at 
the  expense  of  the  government.  The  public  treasurj^  also  pays 
the  salaries  of  his  two  secretaries,  two  clerks,  telegraph  operator, 
and  a  number  of  minor  employees  who  are  engaged  in  the  execu- 
tive mansion. 

The  President  appoints  the  members  of  his  Cabinet,  or  advisors, 
who  receive  each  a  salary  of  eight  thousand  doUai-s  a  year.  Each 
member  of  the  Cabinet  is  at  the  head  of  a  very  important  and 
extensive  department,  which  he  manages  under  the  direction  of 


COMPLEX   KEPUBLICANISM.  861 

the  President,  who  can  remove  him  at  any  time  he  sees  fit.  The 
Cabinet  officers  are  prohibited  by  law  from  taking  any  part  in  the 
proceedings  of  Congress,  unlike  the  members  of  the  Swiss  Execu- 
tive, who  are  permitted,  and  indeed  often  requested,  to  appear  on 
the  floor  of  either  house  to  explain  and  to  give  information 
respecting  the  transactions  of  their  departments,  and  to  advocate 
or  oppose  legislative  measures  2)ending,  but  who  are  not  alloAved 
to  vote.  There  does  not  appear  any  good  reason  why  the  privi- 
leges extended  to  the  Swiss  cabinet  could  not  be  adopted  in  the 
United  States  with  the  same  advantage. 

Since  our  executive  depaitment  comprises  the  working  machin- 
ery of  the  national  government  throughout  tlie  country,  as  well 
as  in  its  relations  to  foreign  countries,  a  brief  summary  of  the 
special  departments  into  Avhich  it  is  subdivided,  Avith  their  chief 
officials,  powers,  and  duties  Avill  be  in  order. 

The  Secretary  of  State  has  the  management  under  the  direction 
of  the  President  of  the  duties  appertaining  to  correspondence  with 
the  United  States  ministers  and  consuls  to  foreign  countries, 
with  the  representatives  of  foreign  powei-s  accredited  to  the 
United  States,  and  to  negotiations  of  every  character  rcdating  to 
foreign  affairs.  He  is  also  the  medium  of  corres[)on(lence  lx3tween 
the  President  and  the  chief  executive  of  tlie  several  States  of  the 
Union;  he  has  the  custody  of  the  great  seal  of  the  United  States, 
and  countor.>;igns  and  affixes  such  seal  to  all  executive  procla- 
mations, to  various  commissions,  and  to  warrants  for  pardon,  and 
the  extradition  of  fugitives  from  justice. 

lie  is  recrarded  as  tlie  fn-st  in  rank  amon^f  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  He  is  also  tlic  custodian  of  tlie  treaties  made  with 
foreign  states  and  of  the  laws  of  tlie  United  States.  He  grants 
and  issues  passports,  and  all  exe<piatui-s  to  foreign  consuls  in 
the  United  States  are  issued  through  his  office.  He  i)ublishes 
the  laws  and  resolutions  of  Conijress,  amendments  to  the  Consti- 
tution,  and  proclamations  declaring  the  admission  of  new  States 
into  the  Union.  He  is  also  changed  with  certain  annual  reports 
to  Congress  relating  to  commercial  information  received  from 
diplomatic  and  consular  officers  of  the  United  States. 

The  Secretary  of  State  is  aided  b}''  the  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  who  becomes  the  acting  secretary  in  the  absence  of  liis  chief. 


852  THE    STORY    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

Under  the  organization  of  the  department  the  assistant  secretary, 
second  assistant  secretary,  and  third  assistant  secretary  are  respec- 
tively charged  with  the  immediate  supervision  of  all  correspond- 
ence with  the  diplomatic  and  consular  officers  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  miscellaneous  correspondence  relating  thereto, 
and  in  general  they  are  intrusted  with  the  preparation  of  the  cor- 
respondence upon  any  questions  arising  in  the  course  of  the  public 
business  that  may  be  assigned  to  them  by  the  secretary.  A  chief 
clerk  has  the  general  supervision  of  all  the  clerks  and  other 
employees,  and  of  all  the  business  of  the  deimrtment. 

Tlie  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  is  charged  by  law  with  the 
management  of  the  national  finances.  lie  prepares  plans  for  the 
improvement  of  the  revenue  and  for  the  suppoi-t  of  the  public 
credit;  he  superintends  the  collection  of  the  revenue,  and  pre- 
scribes the  forais  of  keeping  and  rendering  public  accounts  and  of 
making  returns;  he  grants  warrants  for  all  moneys  drawn  from  the 
treasury  in  jDursuance  of  appropriations  made  by  law,  and  for 
the  payment  of  moneys  into  the  treasury ;  and  he  annually  sub- 
mits to  Congress  estimates  of  the  jirobable  revenues  and  disburse- 
ments of  tlie  government. 

Tlie  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  also  controls  tlie  construction  of 
public  buildings,  tlie  coinage  and  printing  of  money,  tlie  collec- 
tion of  statistics,  the  administration  of  the  coast  and  geodetic 
survey,  life-saving,  lighthouse,  revenue  cutter,  steamlioat  ins]^>ec- 
tion,  and  marine  hospital  branches  of  the  public  service,  and  fur- 
nishes generally  such  information  as  may  l>e  required  by  either 
branch  of  Congress  on  all  matters  2)ertaining  to  everjiihing  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  de2)artnient. 

There  are  three  assistant  secretaries  of  tlie  treasurv-  One  of 
these  has  general  supervision  of  tlie  Avork  assigned  to  one  of  the 
three  divisions  of  the  de[)artment,  called  the  Division  of  Appoint- 
ments, which  attends  to  public  moneys,  loans  and  currency, 
secret  service,  etc.  He  signs  all  letters  and  i)apers  relating  to 
the  business  of  his  division  as  assistant  secretary,  or  '"by  order  of 
the  Secretary,"  except  such  iKipei*s  as  by  law  require  the  signature 
of  the  secretary  himself,  and  lie  performs  all  other  duties  prescribed 
by  law  or  by  the  secretary. 

^Another  of  the  assistant  secretaries  lias  the  general  supervision 


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854  XH£  STOKT  OF   GOVEENMZSTT. 


'-'■i.  rSLLC 


of  the  work  ais»igiied  to  the  DiTision  of  Customs, 
rerenne  marine,  special  agents,  and  bniean  of  naTig&d  :*i..  He 
signs  all  letters  and  papers  relating  to  the  business  of  Ll>  iirisinn 
as  assistant  secretanr,  or  **bT  order  of  the  Secietarr,"*  eiori-i  5ueL 
as  by  law  requixe  the  signature  of  the  secretary. 

The  third  assistant  secretary  has  general  superrision  C4  the 
business  assigned  to  the  DiTisicm  of  Mails  and  Files,  whieL 
embraces  warrants,  estimates,  appropriations,  etc.  He  sigxts  all 
letters  and  papers  issuing  from  his  division  as  assistant  secretary, 
or  *"by  order  of  the  Secretary,"  except  such  as  require  the  signa- 
ture of  tlie  secretanr. 

Tlie  chief  clerk  of  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  supervises  under 
the  inmiediate  direction  of  the  secretarv  and  assistant  secretaries 
all  the  clerks  and  employees  connected  with  the  department.  He 
has  the  superintendence  of  all  buildings  occupied  by  the  depart- 
ment in  the  city  of  Washington,  the  transmission  of  the  mailsi, 
the  care  of  all  horses,  wagons,  and  carriages  employed,  the  direc- 
tion of  engineers,  machinists  firemen,  and  laljoren«,  and  tLe  ex- 
penditure of  the  appropriations  for  contingent  exjx'nses  *'f  the 
trefisun-  ^lejiartment.  He  lias  also  suixfivision  of  all  :'..e  •  rheia' 
corTes[)orideiK-e  of  the  secretary's  offi^-e  so  far  as  to  st-e  */:..:  ::  :> 
sUtted  in  com^ct  and  official  fonn.  the  enforeeinent  «»f  t':.-  jri^rral 
re^^ulatioiLS  of  the  dejiartment,  and  the  charge  of  all  1 ':>::.*->>  oi 
the  secretary's  oftice  not  assit^iied. 

Six  au'litors  are  apjxjinted  for  the  department  each  ••:  w:.. .ni  is 
at  the  head  of  a  division  bureau  assigne^l  to  piss  u>'ii  a  >|n-cial 
class  of  accounts,  the  whole  toi^ether  covering  all  the  rii:;inc:al 
transactions  of  the  United  States.  Two  comptrollers,  de>iL:nate«*I 
as  the  fii'st  and  second,  are  also  aj»{>ointed,  wliose  duties  are  t- 
re-examine,  revise,  and  certify  the  accounts  iv^xated  l»y  the 
auditoi-s. 

The  Commissioner  ai  Customs  levises  and  certifies  the  a<counts 
of  revenues  collected  fi-om  duties  on  imports  and  tonnage;  fines, 
j)enalties,  and  forfeitures  under  the  castom  and  navigation  laws, 
find  frrtm  other  sources  connected  with  custom  matters,  also  the 
accounts  oT  the  imiK>rtation  and  exi>ortation  of  goods  under  the 
warehouse  system,  and  many  other  kindred  matters,  and  he  also 
approves  an<l  liU^s  the  official  l>onds  given  In'  custom  officers,  and 


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I  -I 


I-   I*. 


f    ■'    :! 


COMPLEX   REPUBLICANISM.  859 

transmits   their  commissions.      Tliis  office  is  organized   in   two 
divisions.  Customs  and  Appointments. 

The  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  is  charged  with  tlie  receipt 
and  disbursement  of  all  public  moneys  that  may  be  deposited  in 
the  treasury  at  Washington,  and  the  sub-treasuries  at  Boston, 
New  York,  Pliiladelphia,  Baltimore,  New  Orleans,  San  Fran- 
cisco, St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  Cincinnati,  and  in  the  national 
bank  United  States  de[)Ositories;  is  trustee  for  bonds  held  to 
secure  national  bank  circulation,  and  custodian  of  Indian  trust 
fund  bonds;  is  agent  for  paying  the  interest  on  the  j^ublic  debt, 
and  for  paying  sahiries  of  members  of  tlie  House  of  Representa- 
tives. The  following  are  the  sub-divisions  of  the  treasurer's 
bureau : — 

Chief  Clerk. —  Receives  and  distributes  the  official  mail,  has  charge 
of  the  correspondence  and  the  disposition  and  payment  of  the  clerical 
force,  and  the  ciistody  of  the  records  and  fiU\s,  and  of  the  issue  of  dupli- 
cate clieeks  and  (h-afts. 

Cush  Dhnslon.  —  For  receipt  and  ])ayment  of  pubHc  funds  at 
Washington. 

Jssue  J)ivisio7i,  —  Completion  of  new  United  States  notes,  gold  and 
silver  certificates,  and  count  of  silver,  gold,  and  minor  coin. 

Jiedemptio/i  Division.  —  All  currency  except  national  T)ank  notes 
received  and  redeemed. 

Ijoaii  Division.  —  Interest  checks  ])re])ared  and  bonds  redeemed. 

Accounts  J)irisio/i.  —  The  accounts  of  the  treasurv,  the  sul)-treas- 
uries,  and  the  Unite«l  States  national  hanks  depositories  are  ke])t. 

National  Dank  Dirision.  —  lias  custody  of  bonds  held  for  national 
bank  circulation,  for  puhlio  deposits  and  various  ))ul>lic  trusts,  and 
makes  collection  of  senii-aniuial  duty. 

Ncitional  Bank  Iledeniption  Afjenci/.  —  Notes  of  national  banks  are 
redeemed  and  accounted  for. 

The  Register  of  tlie  Treasury  is  the  head  official  bookkeeper  of 
the  United  St.ites.  He  prepares  a  statement  which  shows  all 
receipts  and  (lis!)ursements  of  the  public  money  (except  those  made 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Post-Office  Department)  which  state- 
ment is  ti-aiLsmitted  annually  to  C^onorress  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  He  signs  and  issues  all  bonds  and  sends  to  the  Treas- 
urer of  the  United  Stat'js  schedules  sho^ying  the  names  of  persons 
entitled  to  receive  interest  thereon.     He  registers  all   waiTants 


860  THE   STORY  OF   GOVERNMENT. 

drawn  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  upon  the  Treasurer,  and 
transmits  statements  of  balances  due  to  individuals  after  the  settle- 
ment of  their  accounts  by  the  fii*st  comptroller  or  the  Commissioner 
of  Customs,  upon  which  payment  is  made.  The  bureau  of  the 
Register  is  sub-divided  into  the  following  divisions : — 

Loan  Dwision.  —  In  this  division  registered  and  coupon  bonds  are 
issaed  and  all  registered  bonds  transferred ;  it  also  has  charge  of  the 
conversion  of  coupons  into  registered  bonds,  the  ledger  accounts  with 
holders  of  registered  bonds,  and  the  preparation  of  schedules  upon 
which  interest  on  the  registered  bonds  is  paid. 

Heceipts  and  Kxpenditurea  Division, —  In  this  division  are  kept  the 
great  account  books  of  the  United  States  which  show  the  civil,  diplo- 
matic, internal  revenue,  miscellaneous  aud  public  debt  receipts  and 
expenditures. 

Note  Coupon  and  Currency  Division,  —  In  this  division  redeemed 
bonds,  paid  interest  coupons,  interest  checks,  and  interest-bearing  notes 
are  examined  and  registered.  Treasury  notes,  legal  tenders,  and 
fractional  currency  are  examined,  cancelled,  and  the  destruction 
thereof  witnessed  and  recorded. 

Interest^  ^xpeiise^  and  Warrafit  Division.  —  In  this  division  the 
interest  on  the  various  loans,  tlie  premiums  and  discounts  on  bonds 
sold,  and  the  expense  of  negotiation  are  ascertained.  It  also  receives 
and  registers  all  civil  accounts  and  civil  pay  warrants. 

The  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  has,  under  the  direcjtion  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  control  of  the  national  banks. 
The  sulxii visions  of  this  bureau  are:  — 

Orrjanization  Dimsion. — The  organization  of  national  banks. 

Issue  Division.  — The  preparation  and  issue  of  national  bank  circu- 
lation. 

Reports  Division,  —  Examination  and  consolidation  of  the  reports 
of  national  banks. 

RedemjJtion  Division. — The  redemj)tion  and  destruction  of  notes 
issued  by  national  banks. 

The  Director  of  the  Mint  has  general  supervision  of  all  the 
mints  and  assay  offices  of  the  United  States.  He  prescribes 
rules,  to  be  api)roved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  for  the 
transact  ion  of  business  at  the  mints  and  assay  offices.  He  reiru- 
lates  the  distribution  of  silver  coin,  and  the  charges  to  l)e  col- 
lected from  depositoi^.     He  receives  for  adjustment  the  accounts 


yOBK  POST  OFFICE.  —  1"50,   1800,   1 


862  THE  STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT, 

of  the  mints  and  assay  oifices,  superintends  their  expenditures  and 
annual  settlements,  and  makes  special  examinations  of  them 
whenever  deemed  necessary.  All  appointment43,  removals,  and 
transfers  in  the  mints  and  assay  offices  are  subject  to  his 
approval. 

The  purchase  of  silver  bullion  and  the  allotment  of  its  coinage 
is  made  by  him,  and  at  his  request  are  made  all  transfei's  of  the 
moneys  in  the  mints  and  assay  offices,  and  advances  from  appro- 
priations for  the  mint  service.  Tests  of  the  weight  and  fineness 
of  coins  struck  at  the  mints  are  made  in  the  assay  laboratory 
under  his  charge.  He  estimates  annually  the  values  of  the 
standard  coins  of  foreign  countries  for  tlie  guidance  of  the  custom- 
house officials  and  for  other  public  purposes.  He  also  prepares 
two  annual  reports,  one  for  the  fiscal  year,  printed  in  the  finance 
report  of  tlie  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  other  for  the 
calendar  year,  which  contains  the  statistics  of  the  yearly  produc- 
tion of  the  money  metals. 

The  Commissioner  "of  Internal  Revenue  makes  assessment  of  aU 
internal  revenue  taxes,  and  has  general  superintendence  of  their 
collection  and  of  tlie  enforcement  of  internal  revenue  laws,  the 
employment  of  internal  revenue  agents,  the  compensation  and 
duties  of  gaugei-s,  store-keepci>;,  and  other  sul)oi-dinate  officers, 
the  preparation  and  distribution  of  stamps,  instructions,  etc., 
the  analysis  of  food  and  drugs  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
tlie  i)avmeiit  of  the  bouiitv  of  su<jfar.  His  bureau  is  sub-divided 
into  eight  divisions,  which  are  designated  as  appointments,  law, 
tol)aeeo,  accounts,  distilled  spirits,  stanq^s,  assessments,  revenue 
agents,  and  sugar  bounty. 

The  S(^lieitor  of  the  Treasury  takes  cognizance  of  all  frauds  or 
attempted  frauds  on  the  customs  revenue.  He  is  charged  by  law 
with  duties  regarding  the  compromise  of  debts,  and  with  a  super- 
vision over  suits  for  the  collection  of  moneys  due  to  the  United 
States,  excepting  those  due  under  the  internal  revenue  laws.  His 
aj)]>r()val  is  required  of  official  bonds  of  United  States  assistant 
treasurei-s,  department  disbursing  clerks,  collectors  of  internal 
revenue,  the  secretary  and  the  chief  clerk  of  the  department  of 
a'jfriculture.  As  the  law  ollieer  of  the  treasurv  de])artment  many 
matters  are  referred  to  him  for  his  examination  and  oj^inion  aris- 


864  THE   STORY  OP   GOVERNMENT. 

ing  under  the  customs,  navigation,  banking,  and  registry  laws, 
and  in  the  administration  of  the  department. 

He  is  also  charged  by  law  with  the  supervision  of  suite  and 
proceedings  arising  out  of  the  provisions  of  law  governing  national 
banking  associations  in  which  the  United  States  and  any  of  its 
agents  or  officers  are  parties ;  also  with  the  charge,  release,  and 
sale  of  lands  acqjiired  in  payment  of  debt,  excepting  those  acquired 
under  internal  revenue  laws. 

The  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  is  an 
official  of  the  Treasury  Department.  He  is  charged  with  the 
survey  of  the  Atlantic,  Gulf,  and  Pacific  coasts  of  the  United 
States,  the  survey  of  rivers  to  the  head  of  tide-water  or  ship  navi- 
gation, deep  sea  soundings,  temperature,  currents,  etc.,  and 
observations  on  latitude  and  longitude  and  points  of  reference 
for  state  surveys.  Results  of  tliis  survey  are  published  annually 
which  embody  professional  papers  of  great  value,  notices  to 
mariners,  tide  tables,  charts  upon  various  scales,  including  harbor 
charts,  general  charts  of  the  coast,  and  sailing  charts,  chart  cata- 
logues, and  coast  pilots. 

The  General  Superintendent  of  the  Life-Saving  Service  is  also 
an  official  of  the  Treasur}^  Deimrtment.  He  supervises  the 
organization  aud  government  of  the  employees  of  the  service,  pre- 
pares regulations  and  fixes  tlie  number  and  compensation  of  the 
surf-men  at  the  several  stations  witliin  the  provisions  of  law,  and 
does  such  other  things  as  he  believes  requisite  to  promote  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  life-saving  service.  He  makes  an  annual  report  of 
the  expenditures  of  the  money  appropriated  for  the  maintenance  of 
tlie  life-saving  seivice  to  the  Secretaiy  of  the  Treasury,  l)y  whom 
it  is  laid  before  Congress. 

The  Supervising  Surgeon-General  is  charged  with  the  super- 
vision of  the  marine  hospitals  and  other  relief  stations  of  the  ser- 
vice, and  the  care  of  sick  and  disabled  seamen  tiiken  fi-om  the 
merchant  vessels  of  the  United  States,  and  from  the  vessels  of  the 
revenue  marine  and  lighthouse  services.  He  examines  and 
passes  upon  the  medical  certificates  of  claimants  for  pensions 
under  the  laws  of  the  life-saving  service.  He  has  also  the  direc- 
tion of  laboratories  established  to  investigate  the  cause  of  con- 
tagious diseases,  and  publishes  each  week  an  abstract  of  sanitarj' 


AJIKAUAM  X-INCOLM. 


866  THE   STORYT   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

reports  received  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  through 
the  State  Department  the  reports  received  fi-om  foreign  countries. 

The  Supervising  Inspector-General  of  Steam  Vessels  superin- 
tends the  administration  of  the  steamboat  inspection  laws,  pre- 
sides at  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Supervising  Inspectoi-s, 
receives  all  reports  and  examines  all  accounts  of  inspectors. 

Tlie  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  collects  and  publishes 
the  statistics  of  our  foreign  commerce,  embracing  tables  showing 
the  imports  and  exports  respectively  by  countries  and  custom 
districts,  the  rates  of  duty  on  impoi-ts,  and  the  amount  of  duty 
collected  on  each  article  or  class  of  articles,  the  number  of  immi- 
grants, their  nationality  and  occupation,  arriving  from  foreign 
countries,  and  the  number  of  passengera  departing  for  foreign 
countries,  with  much  other  information  of  kindred  tenor. 

The  publications  of  this  bureau  are  as  follows :  Annual  Report 
on  Commerce  and  Navigation ;  Annual  Report  on  Internal  Com- 
merce ;  Annual  Statistical  Abstract  of  the  United  States ;  Quar- 
terly Reports  on  Commerce,  Navigation,  and  Immigration; 
Monthly  Summar}^  Statement  of  Imports  and  Exports ;  Monthly 
Reports  of  Total  Values  of  Foreign  Commerce  and  Immigration ; 
Monthly  Reports  of  Exports  of  Breadstuffs,  of  Provisions,  of 
Petroleum  and  Cotton. 

The  Bureau  of  Engi-aving  and  Printing  is  under  tlie  Treasury 
Department.  It  designs,  engraves,  prints,  and  furnishes  all  of 
the  secui'ities  and  other  similar  work  of  the  government  printed 
from  steel  plates  (except  postage  stamps  and  postal  notes)  embi*a- 
cing  United  States  notes,  bonds  and  certificates,  national  biink- 
notes,  internal  revenue  and  custom  stamps,  ti-easuiy  drafts  and 
checks,  disbirrsing  officers'  cliecks,  licenses,  commissions,  patent 
and  pension  certificates  and  portraits  of  deceased  membei's  of  Con- 
gress and  other  public  officei*s  authorized  by  law. 

Tlie  Secretary  of  War  is  the  official  head  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment of  the  United  Stiites  under  the  President  as  commander-in. 
chief,  and  he  perfonns  such  duties  tis  tlie  President  desires  iH?lative 
to  tlie  militiuy  service.  lie  has  chief  supervision  of  all  the  esti- 
mates of  appropriations  of  money  to  be  expended  for  the  depart- 
ment, and  for  army  supplies  and  mtions,  and  tmnsportation  of 
troops,  and  such  other  expenditures  iis  he  is  allowed  by  law  to 


COMPLEX    REPUBLICANISM.  867 

make.  He  lif^  also  oflBcial  chai'ge  of  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Poiut,  of  the  national  cemeteries,  the  Board  of  Ordnance 
and  Fortification,  and  the  publication  of  the  official  records  of  the 
Civil  War. 

He  also  attends  to  all  matte i*s  relating  to  river  and  harbor 
improvements,  the  prevention  of  obstruction  to  navigation,  the 
establishment  of  harbor  lines,  and  he  approves  all  bridges  author- 
ized by  Congress  to  be  built  over  navigable  waters  in  the  United 
States.  An  assistant  secretary  of  war  aids  the  secretary  in  attend- 
ing to  the  duties  of  the  office.  A  chief  clerk  attends  to  the  official 
mail  and  correspondence  of  tlie  department  and  to  such  other 
duties  as  may  be  required  by  the  secretary. 

The  military  bureaus  of  the  department  are  supervised  and 
directed  by  officei's  of  the  regular  army  as  follows:  Adjutant- 
general,  inspector-general,  (juartermaster-general,  commissary^- 
general,  surgeon-general,  paymaster-general,  chief  of  engineers, 
chief  of  ordnances,  judge-advocate-general,  and  chief  signal  officer. 

The  Secretaiy  of  tlie  Navy  is  at  the  head  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, attending  to  all  duties  which  may  be  assigned  by  the  Pi*esi- 
dent,  and  he  has  general  superintendence  of  the  construction, 
equipment,  and  employment  of  all  the  war-ships  of  the  United 
Stiites.  He  is  aided  by  an  assistiiut  secretary  and  a  chief  clerk 
who  has  charge  of  all  the  correspondence  of  the  department. 

The  naval  bureaus  of  the  department  are  in  charge  of  officers 
of  the  navy,  and  are  as  follows:  Bureau  of  navigation,  yards 
and  docks,  equipment  and  recruiting,  ordnance,  construction  and 
repair,  steam-engineering,  medicine  and  surgery,  provisions  and 
clothing,  judge-advocate-general,  and  marine  corps. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  who  is  the  head  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior,  supervises  all  business  relating  to  patents 
for  inventions,  bounty,  and  pension  lands,  public  lands  and  sur- 
veys, education,  railroads,  the  census,  Indian  reservations,  etc. 
He  is  aided  by  two  assistants  who  have  certain  specific  duties 
assigned  them.  A  chief  clerk  has  general  supervision  of  the 
clerks  and  other  employees  of  the  department,  and  of  all  its  corres 
pondence  and  papers.  Under  the  jurisdiction  of  this  department 
the  following  important  officials  conduct  the  duties  of  their  respec- 
tive offices. 


868  THE   STORY   OP    GOVERNMENT. 

The  Commissioner  of  Patents  administers  the  patent  laws, 
supervises  the  issuing  of  lettera-patent,  and  the  registi-ation  of 
labels  and  trade-marks.  A  corps  of  skilled  assistants  aid  him  in 
attending  to  business  of  the  office.  The  Commissioner  of  Pen- 
sions who  examines  and  adjudicates  on  all  claims  for  pensions 
made  according  to  law.  The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  attends  to  the  survey,  management,  and  sale  of  the  public 
lands,  and  the  issuance  of  titles  for  the  same. 

The  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  superintends  the  various 
tribes  of  Indians  in  the  several  States  and  Ten-itories.  Tlirough 
agents  he  attends  to  the  annual  distribution  of  rations  to  such 
tribes  as  may  be  entitled  thereto ;  he  has  charge  of  the  general 
management  of  their  schools  and  other  duties  of  a  general  charac- 
ter prescribed  by  law.  The  Commissioner  of  Education  collects 
statistics  showing  tlie  progress  of  education  througliout  the  Union* 
its  form  and  character  in  the  various  portions  of  tlie  countiy,  and 
all  such  information  as  may  tend  to  promote  the  diffusion  of 
intelligence. 

The  Commissioner  <^f  Railroads  is  tlio  official  to  whom  tliose  rail- 
road (•()r[)()rjitions  ri'iutrt  whose  roads  are  located  wholly  or  partly 
north,  south,  or  west  of  the  iMissouri  River,  and  to  wlioni  tht* 
L^iiitiMl  States  Governinvnt  has  cfraiited  anv  loan  for  buildintr  or 
e(|uipping  tlu^  said  roads;  he  is  authorized  to  examine  their  books 
and  accounts  at  least  once  a  year,  aud  at  such  other  times  as  Ik* 
deems  iiecessarv,  aud  to  furnish  such  information  as  he  m:iv  deem 
ex[)(Mlieut  for  the  interest  of  the  governnuMit  in  his  annual  report, 
which  uuist  be  madci  to  the  Secretary  of  tli(i  lutericn*  on  the  tii-st 
day  of  \oyeuil)er  of  each  year. 

The  Dinu-torof  tlu^  (reoh)<ifical  Survey  attends  to  the  classifica- 
tion  of  i)ul)lic  lauds,  the  examination  of  the  geological  stmctnre, 
miueial  resources,  aud  products  of  the  national  domain  The 
Superiuteu(l(uit  of  i\n)  Census  superintends  the  taking  of  the  cen- 
sus of  the  Ignited  States  every  tenth  year,  and  its  arrangement, 
classiiication,  aud  compilation  for  th(»  pul)lic  information. 

The  Postniiuster-General  is  the  head  of  the  Post-Offiee  Depart- 
ment, of  Ayhich  he  is  the  director  aud  manager.  He  appointed  all 
offieei's  and  employees  of  the  department  except  the  four  assistant 
postmixsters-general,  who  are  appointed  by  the   President  by  and 


870  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate ;  he  appoints  all  post- 
mastera  whose  compensation  does  not  exceed  one  thousand  dollars, 
makes  postal  treaties  with  foreign  governments  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  President,  awards  and  executes  con- 
tracts, and  directs  the  management  of  the  domestic  and  foreign 
mail  service.  Each  of  the  assistant  .postmasters-general  has 
charge  of  a  great  division  containing  a  large  number  of  sulxlivis- 
ions  which  is  thus  an-anged  for  convenience  and  the  despatch  of 
business. 

The  Attorney-General  is  the  head  of  the  Department  of  Justice, 
and  is  the  first  law  officer  of  the  government.  He  represents  the 
United  States  in  all  legal  matters;  he  gives  his  advice  and 
opinion  on  questions  of  law  when  they  are  required  by  the  Presi- 
dent, or  by  the  heads  of  the  other  executive  departments  on  ques- 
tions of  law  arising  from  the  administration  of  their  respective 
departments;  he  also  exercises  a  general  superintendence  and 
direction  over  United  States  attorneys  and  marshals  in  all  judi- 
cial districts  in  the  States  and  Territories,  and  he  provides 
special  counsel  for  the  United  States  whenever  requii*ed  by  any 
department  of  the  government. 

A  chief  clerk  witli  a  number  of  subordinates  assists  in  conduct- 
m^^  tlie  clerical  business  of  the  department.  The  Solicitor-Gen- 
enil  aids  the  attorney-general  in  the  legal  duties  of  his  office 
and  in  his  absence  acts  for  him.  Tliere  are  four  a^ssistant  attor- 
neys-general wlio  assist  in  all  the  legal  duties  wliich  come  under 
the  supervision  of  the  attorney-general. 

The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  is  the  head  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  He  luis  superintendence  of  all  public  business  con- 
nected with  the  agricultural  industry,  lie  appoints  all  pei^sons 
employed  in  his  department,  except  the  assistant  secretary  and  the 
Chief  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  whose  appointments  are  made  by 
the  President.  There  are  a  <jfreat  number  of  sub-divisions  in  this 
department  such  as  the  Weather  Hureau,  the  Bureau  of  Animal 
Industry,  the  Botanical  Division,  the  Division  of  Vegetable 
Pathology,  the  Chemical  Division,  the  Seed  Division,  etc.,  each 
with  its  appropriate  chief  officer  who  attends  to  certain  s{>eeified 
duties  under  the  direction  of  the  seci-etarv. 

The  Commissioner  of  Lal)or  is  the  liead  of  tlie  Deimrtment  of 


COMPLEX   REPUBLICANISM.  871 

Labor,  whose  chief  duties  are  to  secure  useful  information  on 
matter  of  importance  in  the  relations  of  labor  and  capital  in  the 
United  States.  The  collection  of  facts  regarding  the  hours  of 
labor,  wages  paid  to  men  and  women,  cost  of  living,  housing  of 
the  wage  earnei-s,  the  cost  of  production  and  distribution  of  pro- 
ducts, and  such  like  come  witliin  the  scope  of  his  duties. 

He  is  especially  charged  to  investigate  the  causes  of  and  facts 
relating  to  all  controversies  and  disputes  between  the  eniployei-s  of 
labor  and  their  employees,  and  is  authorized  to  obtain  information 
which  may  be  useful  even  from  foreign  countries.  He  is  obliged 
to  report  annually  the  doings  of  his  department  to  the  President 
and  Congress  and  also  at  such  other  times  as  special  information 
may  be  desired  by  either  authority. 

An  Interstate  Commission  is  established  with  authority  to 
inquire  into  the  management  of  the  business  of  all  common  car- 
riers who  are  subject  to  the  provisions  of  '"An  act  to  regulate 
commerce/'  which  became  law  on  February  4,  1877,  and  which 
has  jurisdiction  generally  over  rates  on  intei'state  traflic,  to  decide 
questions  of  unjust  discrimination  and  of  undue  preference,  and 
to  enforce  all  the  provisions  of  the  act. 

The  United  States  Civil  Service  Commission  makes  recrulations 
for  the  examination  of  all  employees  who  enter  the  civil  service  of 
the  nation.  A  Court  of  Claims,  the  government  printing-office. 
Board  on  Geographic  Kames,  Bureau  of  American  Republics,  and 
the  Inter-continental  Railway  Commission,  with  certain  limited 
duties  assigned  to  each,  of  minor  importance,  make  up  the  balance 
of  all  the  bureaus  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  Executive. 

Respecting  the  third  coordinate  branch  of  the  government  — 
the  Judiciary — Article  III.  of  tlie  Constitution  provides:  — 

Skctiox  1 .  Tlie  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  sliall  be  vi'sted  in 
one  Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may 
from  time  to  time  ordain  and  establisli.  The  judges,  both  of  the  su- 
preme and  mferior  courts,  sliall  hold  tlieir  offices  during  good  behavior, 
and  shall  at  stated  times  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation 
which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

SEr.  2.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  in  law  and 
equity  arising  under  this  constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
and  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  he  made  under  their  authority — to 


872  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and  consuls,  to 
all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction ;  to  controversies  to 
which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party ;  to  controversies  between 
two  or  more  states ;  between  a  state  and  citizens  of  another  state ;  be- 
tween citizens  of  different  states ;  between  citizens  of  the  same  state 
claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  states,  and  between  a  state,  or 
the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or  subjects. 

In  all  cases  aflF^cting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall  be  a  party,  the  Supreme 
Court  shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases 
befoix3  mentioned,  the  Supreme  Court  shall  have  appelate  juris- 
diction, both  as  to  law  and  fact;  with  such  exceptions  and  under 
such  regulations  as  the  Congress  sliall  make. 

The  power  herein  vested  in  the  Supreme  Court  is  now  exercised 
by  nine  judges,  who  arc  called  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  the  tribunal  itself  is  oiBcially  designated  the  Supreme  Bench. 

Tlie  head,  or  presiding  Justice  of  the  Bench,  is  called  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States.  The  President  of  the  United  States 
nominates  the  judges  of  all  the  United  States  courts,  which 
noniiuatious  uie  submitted  to  tlio  Spirit;',  as  it  is  neces-^ary  that 
the  hitter  sliould  couiirm  eai-h  appointment,  otherwise  it  is  of  no 
oft'ect.  Wlieiiever  the  Senalv'  I'efuses  to  endoi'se  an  appointment, 
the  President  generally  submits  the  name  of  some  other  person  for 
tlu?  olhe(\ 

The  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Couit  are  iinal ;  it  is  the  highest 
aulhoritv,  tlie  court  of  last  resort.  .Vfler  it  decides  what  is  the 
law  on  any  disputed  question,  tlie  whole  power  of  the  nation 
stands  ready  to  enforce  its  decision.  Even  Congress  may  ])ass  a 
measure  and  tlie  President  sign  it.  hut  if  the  Supreme  Couit 
declares  it  to  1h^  unconstitutional,  it  is  null  and  void.  Tlni  court 
is  iiidepeiidciit  as  well  as  supreme  1:1  tlu*  judicial  sphere.  It  does 
not  depend  on  (\)ngress  or  tlie  President,  as  each  judge  when 
api)oiiite(l  holds  his  oHice  dui'ing  good  behavior  and  cannot  ho 
removiMl  exce})t  by  impeaehnient,  in  the  manner  provided  by  the 
Constitution.  The  court  cannot  initiate,  nor  make,  nor  execute 
any  laws.      It  can  onlv  (h^cide  upon  laws  ali'eadv  made. 

A  majority  of  the  court— that  is  of  the  judges  composing  it  — 
decides  every  (piestion  which  comes  up  for  adjudicaticm.      This  is 


874  THE   STORY  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

called  I'endering  the  decisioa  of  the  court,  which  is  written  out  by 
one  of  the  justices  selected  for  that  purpose,  in  appropriate  lan- 
guage, alleging  reasons  and  citing  precedents  for  the  new 
decision  given,  which  will  serve  itself  as  a  precedent  for  the  final 
interpretation  of  the  law  in  the  future. 

When  one  or  more  of  the  judges  constituting  a  minority  of  the 
Bench  cannot  concur  with  the  majority,  a  dissenting  opinion  is 
written  out  and  placed  upon  record  with  the  other  in  the  official 
reports  of  the  court,  but  the  dissenting  opinion  does  not  affect  in 
any  way  the  interpretation  of  the  law. 

The  regular  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Court  are  held  in  Wash- 
ington from  the  middle  of  October  till  May,  when  the  judges 
separate,  each  going  into  a  different  section  of  the  country  to  pre- 
side over  the  sessions  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Courts. 
Special  sessions  of  the  court  may  be  held  at  any  time  as  the  jus- 
tices determine.  Each  judge  is  paid  a  salary  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  the  chief  justice  receiving  five  hundred  dollars 
additional.  Provision  has  been  made  by  Act  of  Congress  that  a 
justice  who  has  served  ten  years  on  the  Bench  and  is  seventy  years 
of  age  may  retire  on  a  })ensi()U  equivalent  to  his  salary  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life. 

Wliile  the  Supreme  Court  determines  liually  all  (questions  rela- 
tive to  tlie  Constitution,  and  to  such  other  mattei's  as  are  set  fortii 
in  Article  III.  of  that  instrument,  Conirress,  bv  virtue  of  its  eon- 
stitutional  power,  lias  established  national  eourts  of  inferior  juris- 
diction, viz:  Courts  of  Appeal,  Circuit  Courts,  District  Couils, 
and  Commissionei's*  Courts. 

The  Courts  of  Appeal  were  established  in  1801  to  decide 
definitely  certain  (dasses  of  cases  which  formerly  were  appealed  to 
the  Su[)renie  Court,  thus  relieving  the  latter  from  the  enormous 
pressure  of  l)usiness  which  threatened  to  blotdv  the  judicial  wheels. 
The  whole  country  is  divided  into  nine  judicial  divisions  each 
having  a  Circuit  Court. 

These  divisions  are  afjfiiin  subdivided  into  districts,  eacli  having 
a  District  Court.  The  Coniniissionei*s'  Court  is  the  tribunal  of 
lowest  jurisdiction  aniong  them  all.  Each  of  these  courts  has  the 
limits  of  its  jurisdiction  clearly  prescriU'd  by  law;  its  own  judge, 
or  l)ench  of  judges,  its  clerks,  and  other  olHcials. 


COMPLEX   BEPUBLICANISM.  876 

In  the  Territories  of  the  United  States  special  national  eom-ts 
are  also  maintained  wliich  adjudicate  upon  all  questions  arising 
within  the  territorial  domain,  and  having  judges  and  other  court 
officials  appointed  by  the  President.  All  the  courts  of  the  United 
States  in  every  part  of  the  country  follow  the  same  rules.  They 
are  governed  exclusively  in  their  proceedings  by  the  statute  law 
enacted  by  Congress,  and  consequently  they  are  not  affected  by 
the  dissimilarity  of  the  laws  of  the  respective  States  in  which  they 
hold  their  sessions.  The  limits  of  their  jurisdiction,  however, 
are  explicitly  defined,  and  they  cannot  invade  the  field  of  the 
State  tribunals  within  the  legal  domain  of  the  latter,  except  in 
those  particular  instances  reserved  in  the  Constitution. 

The  most  difficult  thing  to  a  foreigner  to  comprehend  respect- 
ing our  government  is  the  relation  which  our  States  bear  to  the 
nation,  and  the  limited  universal  jurisdiction  of  the  latter 
throughout  the  Sbites.  This  difficulty  disappears,  if  it  is  clearly 
understood  that  the  nation  has  no  authority  or  power  whatever, 
except  such  as  has  been,  or  may  be,  specially  delegated  to  it  by 
the  States  and  expressly  stated  in  the  Constitution. 

All  power  in  our  country  comes  from  the  people  of  the  respec- 
tive States  who  have  deemed  it  wise  for  the  connnon  welfare  to 
surrender  certixin  powers  which  they  originally  possessed  to  the 
nation  wliich  now  exercises  them.  The  nation  has  no  riglits  or 
authority  except  such  as  have  been  thus  conferred  in  explicit 
terms  by  the  States,  and  it  cannot  take  away  any  power  which 
the}''  still  retain.  In  some  countries  tlie  national  governments 
confer  and  take  away  the  people's  riglits  as  tliey  see  fit  ;  with 
us,  the  people  remain  sovereign. 

The  ninth  and  tenth  amendments  to  the  Constitution  are  very 
explic^it  ou  this  point,  showing  how  very  strictly,  indeed  jealously, 
the  people  guarded  against  any  usurpation  of  power  l)y  our 
natioiiiil  government.  The  ninth  amendment  declares:  "The 
enumeration  in  tlie  Constitution  of  certain  ricfhts  shall  not  be  con- 
strued  to  deny  or  disparage  othei-s  retained  by  the  people."  And 
the  tenth  amendment,  with  notable  clearness  and  precision,  says, 
"The  powei*s  not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitu- 
tion, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are  reserved  to  the  States 
respectively,  or  to  the  people." 


876  THE   STORY   OF    GOVKRNMENT. 

Those  powei-s  only  wliich  liave  been  considered  neeessarj*-  to 
ensure  the  common  safety,  welfare,  Jind  convenience  of  the  people 
of  all  the  States  have  been  surrendered  to  Congress  which  repre- 
sents the  nation.  The  eighth  section  of  Aiticle  I.  of  the  Consti- 
tution, with  the  constitutional  amendments,  define  the  i)owers 
which  Congress  alone  shall  exercise.  These  i)Owei's  have  been 
stated  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter  and  in  all  other  respects 
each  State  of  the  Union  is  sovereign  within  its  own  Ixirdei-s;  it 
can  enact  such  laws  as  the  people  see  fit,  but  they  nuist  not  con- 
flict with  laws  passed  by  Congress  in  the  proper  exercise  of  its 
constitutional  power,  nor  can  a  State  establish  any  other  than  a 
republican  form  of  government,  because  the  Constitution  pro- 
hibits it  from  doing  so. 

The  form  of  our  State  governments  is  very  similar  to  that  of 
the  national  government.  Each  State  has  a  written  constitution, 
and  a  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  dei)artment.  The  execu- 
tive of  a  State  is  called  the  governor;  he  is  elected  by  the  })eople 
by  direct  vote,  except  in  one  or  two  States,  for  a  term  fixed  by 
themselves,  in  some  cases  for  one,  iu  othei's  for  two  or  three  vears. 
lie  sees  that  all  laws  of  the  State  are  eai'iied  out,  and  is  eom- 
mauder-in-eliief  of  (lie  militia,  or  armed  volunteers,  whirh  he  cdn 
call  out  for  seivice  iu  eertain  exigenei(\s  ])reserilKMl  l)y  law.  lie 
also  i)oss(isses  {\w.  })ower  of  veto  over  sueh  leLcislative  measures  as 
he  deems  opj)()se(l  to  th(;  public;  welfare. 

The  leii^islature  of  a  Slate  consists  of  two  liouses,  an  upper  and 
a  lowtM*  liouse,  desiLriuited  resneetivelv  as  tlie  Senate  and  House  of 
KeprescMitatives,  thoUL»li  in  some  States  tlie  latter  is  eaUed  tlie 
Asseml)lv.  The  members  of  both  hous(\s  arc;  ehosen  direct Iv  bv 
tlie  people.  A  senator,  represent ini^  a  much  lai'L'i'er  district  than 
a  memher  of  the;  lower  house,  is  voted  for  bv  a  nnieh  larcrer  mini- 
ber  of  ])eople,  and  hence  the  Senate  is  always  much  smaller 
numerically  than  the  House  of  Kepresentatives.  Tlu;  duty  of  a 
State  Ic'jislature  is  to  make  all  laws  reiruhitiu'''  the  internal  con- 
cerns -of  the;  State.  It  is  the  authority  which  grants  ehartei*s 
to  business' eorj)()rations  and  cities,  and  it  exercises  control  over 
l)anks,  insurance  com[)ani(»s,  and  every  piihlic  and  quasi-public 
undertaking  carried  on  Avilhin  its  jurisdiction. 

In  some  States  the  legislatures  are  elected  every  year,  and  hold 


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COMPLEX  BEPUBLICAKIBK.  881 

umual  sessions,  while  in  others  biennial  elections  and  sessions 
are  the  rule.  Very  recently  in  some  sections  of  the  country, 
moyements  have  been  made  towards  securing  triennial  and  even 
quadrennial  elections  in  certain  States.  It  is  claimed  by  the 
advocates  of  less  frequent  elections  and  sessions  tliat  the  turmoil 
and  excitement  of  political  campaigns  is  a  great  hindrance  to 
business,  and  that  more  perfect  legislation  could  be  expected  from 
men  chosen  for  three  or  four  years  than  from  those  chosen  for  one 
year.  These  claims,  however,  are  generally  made  by  the  agents 
and  attorneys  of  corporations  and  syndicates  who  frequent  the 
lobbies  of  our  State  Houses,  endeavoring  to  secure  special  legisla- 
tion in  the  interest  of  their  employera. 

The  frequency  of  our  elect  ions  in  these  daj's  of  gigantic  corpora- 
tions who  bring  influences  of  various  kinds  to  bear  on  the  mem- 
bers of  our  legishitures  is  the  great  safeguard  and  tower  of  defence 
of  the  people.  The  annual  political  campaign  is  a  great  educator 
of  the  masses,  and  the  legislator  newly  commissioned  by  them 
more  truly  undei'stands  and  elosel}"  represents  the  views  of  his 
constituents  than  one  who  is  removed  from  them  by  a  term  of 
two,  three,  or  more  yeai"s. 

The  honest  and  intelligent  legislator  has  no  fear  of  appearing 
before  his  constituents  frequently  for  re-election;  tlie  dishonest 
man  may  well  dread  tlie  ordeal.  There  never  was  a  time  in  the 
histoiy  of  our  counliy  wlien  it  has  Ix'sen  so  necessaiy  for  the  peo- 
ple to  keep  tlie  closest  supen^ision  over  tlie  doings  of  their  repre- 
sentatives, and  to  express  their  opinions  often  at  the  ballot-box 
on  measures  and  men,  than  at  the  present  time,  owing  to  the  new 
colossal  forces  of  corporati?  power  which  wield  such  a  tremendous 
and  sinister  influence  in  our  legislative  halls. 

The  judicial  dei)artnieiit  of  each  State,  consisting  of  courts  and 
judges  ranging  from  the  court  of  last  resort,  or  Supreme  Tribunal, 
down  to  the  lowest  in  jurisdiction,  administers  the  law  of  the 
State.  The  highest  court  in  a  State  determines  finally  all  ques- 
tions relative  to  the  constitution  of  the  State,  that  is  to  say  it 
interprets  the  constitution,  and  all  legal  matters  coming  before  it 
on  appeal  from  the  lower  courts. 

The  constitution  is  the  organic  law  of  each  commonwealtl),  and 
a  legislature  cannot  enact  a  law  which  will  be  operative  against 


882  THE   STORY   OP   GOVERNMENT. 

it.  If  the  constitution  requires  alteration  or  amendment  of  any 
nature,  it  must  be  altered  or  amended  by  the  whole  people  of  the 
State,  themselves  voting  directly  on  the  matter.  The  laws  of 
each  State  vary  as  a  rule  from  those  of  the  other  States,  and  the 
law  of  one  is  of  no  force  in  any  other. 

Because  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  and  the  dissimilarity 
of  their  laws,  the  national  Constitution  provides  for  the  regula- 
tion of  certain  general  matters  by  the  United  States  Congress ; 
and  also  that  the  public  statutes  of  each  State  shall  be  recognized 
and  respected  by  all  the  others.  No  Stjite,  for  instance,  can 
impair  the  validity  of  a  legal  contract  made  in  another  State,  nor 
can  it  reopen  in  its  courts  a  case  which  has  been  decided  by  a 
competent  tribunal  in  some  other  State,  because  the  national  Con- 

a 

stitution  has  so  provided  to  prevent  the  confusion  which  would 
result  from  such  a  condition.  Congress  representing  the  nation 
manages  the  affairs  that  are  common  to  all  the  States,  while  the 
latter  attend  to  everything  else. 

In  the  sparsely  settled  districts  of  the  country  not  included  in 
any  of  the  States,  Congress  establishes  a  government  usually  upon 
the  petition  of  some  of  the  people  wlio  live  there.  The  governor, 
judges,  and  other  principal  officers  of  the  territory  are  then  nomi- 
nated by  the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  The  people 
elect  their  own  legislature  which,  with  the  appointed  governor, 
conduct  territorial  matters  very  much  as  the  States  do.  Indeed, 
a  Territory  is  simply  an  embryo,  or  infant  State  ;  it  only  requires 
age  and  growth  to  become  one. 

Each  teiTitory  sends  one  delegate  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  Wasliington  to  look  after  its  interests,  and  make  Congress 
acquainted  with  the  wants  of  his  constituents.  These  delegates 
cannot  vote  on  any  question,  but  they  can  speak  on  the  floor  of 
the  House,  and  otherwise  exercise  whatever  influence  they  possess 
on  legislation  in  wliich  they  are  interested. 

The  power  of  Congress  over  the  Territories  is  supreme  in  everj' 
way.  A  law  made  by  a  Territory  becomes  invalid  whenever  Con- 
gress says  so.  A  territorial  legislature  might  pass  a  law  similar 
to  that  of  a  State  contiguous,  but  if  Congress  disapproved  of  it, 
it  would  be  null,  while  the  same  law  in  the  State  could  not  be 
interfered  with. 


COMPLEX   REPUBLICANISM.  883 

When  a  territory  grows  large  in  population  and  desires  to  be 
admitted  a  State  of  the  Union,  its  legislature  calls  a  convention 
which  adopts  a  constitution.  Tliis  constitution  is  then  pre- 
sented to  Congress,  with  a  petition  asking  that  the  territory  be 
permitted  to  enter  the  Union  of  States.  As  soon  as  this  is 
allowed,  the  new  State,  although  its  population  may  not  be  one 
twentieth  of  some  of  the  older  States,  is  entitled  to  two  members 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  indicative  of  its  equal  sover- 
eignty with  the  other  States.  She  is  entitled  to  as  many  mem- 
bers in  the  lower  House  of  Congress  as  her  i)opulation  gives  her 
the  right  to  choose  and  no  more. 

In  closing  this  necessarily  brief  exposition  and  explanation  of 
the  complexities  of  the  republicanism  under  which  we  live,  we 
should  fail  in  our  duty  to  the  subject  and  most  of  all  to  the 
American  people,  if  we  did  not  point  out  in  clear,  unmistakable 
terms  the  grave  perils  in  the  path  of  our  progress  to  which  allu- 
sion was  made  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 

We  began  our  national  life  with  the  fairest  auspices.  The 
natural  wealth  of  the  country  was  fairly  well  distributed.  No 
wide  extremes  of  riches  and  of  poverty  dazzled  and  disturbed  the 
public  vision.  Patriotism,  pride  in  our  country  or  in  our  countiy- 
men  —  a  just  pride  then  —  was  no  mere  catchword  or  political 
excuse  for  oratorical  display,  but  was  a  vital,  throbbing,  pei*sonal 
fact.     To  be  an  American  was  greater  than  a  king. 

To-day,  how  many  Americans  are  ^practically  free  ?  For,  if  a 
man  is  dependent  on  the  will,  or  wish,  or  whim  of  another  to  give 
him  work,  and  has  no  certainty  that  his  work  will  be  continuous, 
is  he  not  really  a  slave  ?  Yet  many  of  the  men  who  suffer  just 
such  a  degrading  dependence  risked  their  lives  thirty  odd  years  ago 
to  abolish  slavery  ?  They  did  abolish  the  slavery  of  colored  men 
and  blotted  out  the  word  as  a  legal  and  technical  term.  But  the 
thing  remains. 

Remains  with  regained  and  with  increasing  vigor  —  a  servitude 
not  merely  of  the  semi-civilized  and  ignorant  mass  of  an  alien  race, 
but  a  subjection  of  white  men,  and  women,  and  children  to  a  few 
taskmasters,  a  very  few  profiters  and  promoters  of  an  industrial 
system  just  as  absurd  as  it  is  cruel  and  degrading. 

We  indulged,  especially  in  New  England,  in  a  vast  amount  of 


884  THE   STORY   OF   GOVERNMENT. 

virtuous  indignation  over  the  evil  of  black  slaverj,  and  we  spent 
many  noble  lives  and  much  treasure  to  remove  the  motes  from  the 
eyes  of  our  Southern  brother's.  But  no  unpartisan  observer  will 
deny  that  the  condition  of  colored  men  mider  the  regime  of  the 
planter  aristocrat  was  far  better  on  an  average  than  that  of  the 
lower  classes  to-day  in  any  of  our  large  cities.  What,  then, 
awaits  the  republic  ? 

The  masses  are  discontented,  and  they  have  a  right  to  be  so. 
For  huge  monopolies  since  the  war  have  crawled  into  existence 
and  coiled  themselves  around  the  legislature,  the  judicial  bench, 
the  pulpit  and,  worst  sign  of  all !  around  the  press.  The  middle 
classes,  to  be  sure,  are  tolerably  prosperous,  and  a  small  pei-sonal 
prosperity  salves  their  consciences  into  silence. 

But  theirs  is  a  fool's  paradise,  for  numerically  they  represent 
only  a  tenth  of  tlie  population  and  tlius,  with  the  working  class 
who  represent  nearly  nine  tenths  on  one  side,  and  the  plutocrats 
who  represent  about  one  seventieth  on  the  other,  the  middle  classes 
are  between  the  upper  and  nether  millstone,  and  are  liable,  unless 
they  wake  up  in  time  and  liiusten  to  efTect  a  change  in  tlie  system, 
to  l)e  ground  into  powder  by  dynamite  in  tlie  liantLs  of  an  enraged 
populace  wliose  only  Jack  for  present  action  is  the  lack  of  a 
leader. 

There  is  one  cure  for  many,  not  for  all,  the  evils  of  our  present 
situation,  and  this  cure  would  also  Ix*.  a  preventive  of  a  worse 
condition  of  the  body  politic.  This  remedy  is  a  simple  one  and 
the  number  of  pc^-sons  who  see  its  virtue  increases  every  day. 
That  is,  to  take  all  the  large  businesses  which  directly  concern  the 
masses  out  of  the  tricky  hands  of  private  enterprise,  and  make 
them  parts  of  the  machinery  of  the  government,  like  the  post-oJHce, 
for  instance. 

Railroads,  telegniplLs,  telephones,  expresses,  mines  of  all  kinds, 
ought  to  be  owned  and  operated  by  the  general  government  at 
cost  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  people.  All  means  of  su[)plying 
light,  heat,  and  pure  water  should  belong  to  the  cities  and  towns ; 
likewise^,  of  course,  all  franchises  for  public  conveyance  such  as 
hoi^se  or  electric  care. 

After  these,  some  other  businesses  that  affect  the  health  of  the 
pgople  might  wisely  be  done  by  the  village,  town,  or  stixte.     By 


COMPLEX  REPUBLICANISM.  886 

this  method  a  growth  of  true  and  valuable  individualities  would 
he  stimulated  and  a  sufficiently  large  field  for  the  free  play  of 
better  individual  effort  would  remain  to  yield  a  rich  harvest  for 
the  race  in  the  present  as  well  as  the  future.  If  some  of  these 
things  are  not  done  speedily,  it  needs  no  special  gift  of  prophecy 
to  predict  a  tremendous  crash  of  national  disaster,  for  the  Ameri- 
can people,  as  we  noted  before,  are  unquestionably  growing  very 
discontented. 

And  you  who  are  one  of  the  toiling,  moiling  millions,  you  who 
live  in  a  poor,  ill-furnished  liouse,  who  suffer  from  cold  in  winter 
and  have  no  bathtub  to  keep  you  clean  from  the  daily  sweats  of 
your  vacationless  summer,  you  who  would  like  to  work  a  trifle 
less  and  to  know  a  trifle  more,  you  who  would  like  to  live  with  just 
a  little  more  dignity,  a  little  more  decency  —  you  say  the  Ameri- 
can masses  have  a  right  to  be  discontented.  A  riglit?  Yes,  and 
in  truth  it  is  their  highest  duty  to  be  so,  for  discontent  is  one  of 
the  noblest  words  in  tlie  American  language.  Nay,  more,  it  is  not 
a  mere  word.     Discontent  is  the  Divine  Mother  of  Progress. 


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