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next; in brutal acts at Venice。 The monks broke and removed the
simple stone placed over the remains of Father Paul; and when it
was replaced; they persisted in defacing and breaking it; and
were only prevented from dragging out his bones; dishonoring them
and casting them into the lagoon; by the weight of the massive;
strong; well…anchored sarcophagus; which the wise foresight of
his admirers had provided for them。 At three different visits to
Venice; the present writer sought the spot where they were laid;
and in vain。 At the second of these visits; he found the
Patriarch of Venice; under whose rule various outrages upon
Sarpi's memory had been perpetrated; pontificating gorgeously
about the Grand Piazza; but at his next visit there had come a
change。 The monks had disappeared。 Their insults to the
illustrious dead had been stopped by laws which expelled them
from their convent; and there; little removed from each other in
the vestibule and aisle of the great church; were the tombs of
Father Paul and of the late Patriarch side by side; the great
patriot's simple gravestone was now allowed to rest unbroken。
Better even than this was the reaction provoked by these
outbursts of ecclesiastical hatred。 It was felt; in Venice;
throughout Italy; and indeed throughout the world; that the old
decree for a monument should now be made good。 The first steps
were hesitating。 First; a bust of Father Paul was placed among
those of great Venetians in the court of the Ducal Palace; but
the inscription upon it was timid and double…tongued。 Another
bust was placed on the Pincian Hill at Rome; among those of the
most renowned sons of Italy。 This was not enough: a suitable
monument must be erected。 Yet it was delayed; timid men
deprecating the hostility of the Roman Court。 At last; under the
new Italian monarchy; the patriotic movement became irresistible;
and the same impulse which erected the splendid statue to
Giordano Bruno on the Piazza dei Fiori at Rome;on the very spot
where he was burned;and which adorned it with the medallions of
eight other martyrs to ecclesiastical hatred; erected in 1892;
two hundred and seventy years after it had been decreed; a
statue; hardly less imposing; to Paolo Sarpi; on the Piazza Santa
Fosca at Venice; where he had been left for dead by the Vatican
assassins。 There it stands; noble and serene;a monument of
patriotism and right reason; a worthy tribute to one who; among
intellectual prostitutes and solemnly constituted impostors;
stood forth as a true man; the greatest of his time;one of the
greatest of all times;an honor to Venice; to Italy; and to
humanity。 Andrew D。 White。
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Then came the death of the Empress Frederick。 Even during her
tragic struggle with Bismarck; and the unpopularity which beset
her during my former official term at Berlin; she had been kind
to me and mine。 At my presentation to her in those days; at
Potsdam; when she stood by the side of her husband; afterward the
most beloved of emperors since Marcus Aurelius; she evidently
exerted herself to make the interview pleasant to me。 She talked
of American art and the Colorado pictures of Moran; which she had
seen and admired; of German art and the Madonna painted by Knaus
for the Russian Empress; which Miss Wolfe had given the
Metropolitan Museum at New York; and in reply to my
congratulations upon a recent successful public speech of her
eldest son; a student at Bonn; she had dwelt; in a motherly way;
upon the difficulties which environ a future sovereign at a great
university。 In more recent days; and especially during the years
before her death; she had been; at her table in Berlin and at her
castle of Kronberg; especially courteous。 There comes back to me
pleasantly a kindly retort of hers。 I had spoken to her of a
portrait of George III which had interested me at the old castle
of Homburg nearly forty years before。 It had been sent to his
daughter; the Landgravine of Hesse…Homburg; who had evidently
wished to see her father's face as it had really become; for it
represented the King; not in the gold…laced uniform; not in the
trim wig not in the jauntily tied queue of his official portraits
and statues; but as he was: in confinement; wretched and
demented; in a slouching gown; with a face sad beyond expression;
his long; white hair falling about it and over it; of all
portraits in the world; save that; at Florence; of Charles V in
his old age; the saddest。 So; the conversation drifting upon
George III and upon the old feeling between the United States and
Great Britain; now so happily changed; I happened to say; 〃It is
a remembrance of mine; now hard to realize; that I was brought up
to ABHOR the memory of George III。〃 At this she smiled and
answered; 〃That was very unjust; for I was brought up to ADORE
the memory of Washington。〃 Then she spoke at length regarding the
feeling of her father and mother toward the United States during
our Civil War; saying that again and again she had heard her
father argue to her mother; Queen Victoria; for the Union and
against slavery。 She discussed current matters of world politics
with the strength of a statesman; yet nothing could be more
womanly in the highest sense。 On my saying that I hoped to see
the day when Germany; Great Britain; and the United States would
stand together in guarding the peace of the world; she threw up
her hands and replied; 〃Heaven grant it; but you forget Japan。〃
The funeral at Potsdam dwells in my mind as worthy of her。 There
were; indeed; pomp and splendor; but subdued; as was befitting;
and while the foreign representatives stood beside her coffin;
the Emperor spoke to me; very simply and kindly; of his sorrow
and of mine。 Then; to the sound of funeral music and muffled
church bells; he; with the King of Great Britain and members of
their immediate family just behind the funeral car; the
ambassadors accompanying them; and a long procession following;
walked slowly along the broad avenue through that beautiful
forest; until; in the Church of Peace; she was laid by the side
of her husband; Emperor Frederick the Noble。
CHAPTER XLIII
BERLIN; YALE; OXFORD; AND ST。 ANDREWS1901…1903
Darkest of all hours during my embassy was that which brought
news of the assassination of President McKinley。 It was on the
very day after his great speech at Buffalo had gained for him the
admiration and good will of the world。 Then came a week of
anxietyof hope alternating with fear; I not hopeful: for there
came back to me memories of President Garfield's assassination
during my former official stay in Berlin; and of our hope against
hope during his struggle for life: all brought to naught。 Late in
the evening of September 14 came news of the President's
deathopening a new depth of sadness; for I had come not merely
to revere him as a patriot and admire him as a statesman; but to
love him as a man。 Few days have seemed more overcast than that
Sunday when; at the little American chapel in Berlin; our colony
held a simple service of mourning; the imperial minister of
foreign affairs and other representatives of the government
having quietly come to us。 The feeling of the German peopleawe;
sadness; and even sympathywas real。 Formerly they had disliked
and distrusted the President as the author of the protective
policy which had cost their industries so dear; but now; after
his declaration favoring reciprocity;with his full recognition
of the brotherhood of nations;and in view of this calamity; so
sudden; so distressing; there had come a revulsion of feeling。
To see one whom I so honored; and who had formerly been so
greatly misrepresented; at last recognized as a great and true
man was; at least; a solace。
At this period came the culmination of a curious episode in my
official career。 During the war in China the Chinese minister at
Berlin; Lu…Hai…Houan; feeling himself cut off from relations with
the government to which he was accredited; and; indeed; with all
the other powers of Europe; had come at various times to me; and
with him; fortunately; came his embassy counselor; Dr。 Kreyer;
whom I had previously known at Berlin and St。 Petersburg as a
thoughtful man; deeply anxious for the welfare of China; and
appreciative of the United States; where he had received his
education。 The minister was a kindly old mandarin of high rank;
genial; gentle; evidently struggling hard against the depression
caused by the misfortunes of his country; and seeking some little
light; if; perchance; any was to be obtained。 In his visits to
me; and at my return visits to him; the whole condition of things
in China was freely and fully discussed; and never have I exerted
myself more to give useful advice。 First; I insisted upon the
necessity of amends for the fearful wrong done by China to other
nations; and then presented my view of the best way of developing
in his country a civilization strong enough to resist hostile
forces; exterior and interior。 As to dealings with the Christian
missionaries; against whom he showed no fanatical spirit; but
who; as he thought; had misunderstood China and done much harm; I
sought to show him that the presump