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Autobiography Of Andrew Dickson White

Andrew Dickson White

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THE DE VINNE PRESS

THE DE VINNE PRESS

The ``Military Tract'' of New York. A settlement on the headwaters of the Susquehanna. Arrival of my grandfathers and grandmothers. Growth of the new settlement. First recollections of it. General character of my environment. My father and mother. Cortland Academy. Its twofold effect upon me. First schooling. Methods in primary studies. Physical education. Removal to Syracuse. The Syracuse Academy. Joseph Allen and Professor Root; their influence; moral side of the education thus obtained. Gener

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LIST OF PORTRAITS OF THE AUTHOR

LIST OF PORTRAITS OF THE AUTHOR

ITHACA, 1905 Photograph by Robinson, Ithaca SARATOGA, 1842 From a daguerreotype CORNELL UNIVERSITY, 1878 Photograph by Sarony, New York...

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VOLUME II

VOLUME II

THE HAGUE, 1899 Photograph by Zimmermans, The Hague OXFORD, 1902 Photograph by Robinson, Ithaca...

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW DICKSON WHITE

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW DICKSON WHITE

At the close of the Revolution which separated the colonies from the mother country, the legislature of New York set apart nearly two million acres of land, in the heart of the State, as bounty to be divided among her soldiers who had taken part in the war; and this ``Military Tract,'' having been duly divided into townships, an ill- inspired official, in lack of names for so many divisions, sprinkled over the whole region the contents of his classical dictionary. Thus it was that there fell to

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CHAPTER II

CHAPTER II

At the close of my year at the little Western New York College I felt that it was enough time wasted, and, anxious to try for something better, urged upon my father my desire to go to one of the larger New England universities. But to this he would not listen. He was assured by the authorities of the little college that I had been doing well, and his churchmanship, as well as his respect for the bishop, led him to do what was very unusual with him—to refuse my request. Up to this period he had a

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CHAPTER III

CHAPTER III

My arrival in this world took place at one of the stormy periods of American political history. It was on the third of the three election days which carried Andrew Jackson a second time into the Presidency. Since that period, the election, with its paralysis of business, ghastly campaign lying, and monstrous vilification of candidates, has been concentrated into one day; but at that time all the evil passions of a presidential election were allowed to ferment and gather vitriolic strength during

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CHAPTER IV EARLY MANHOOD—1851-1857

CHAPTER IV EARLY MANHOOD—1851-1857

On the first day of October, 1851, there was shuffling about the streets of Syracuse, in the quiet pursuit of his simple avocations, a colored person, as nearly ``of no account'' as any ever seen. So far as was known he had no surname, and, indeed, no Christian name, save the fragment and travesty,—``Jerry.'' Yet before that day was done he was famous; his name, such as it was, resounded through the land; and he had become, in all seriousness, a weighty personage in American history. Under the l

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CHAPTER V

CHAPTER V

Arriving at the University of Michigan in October, 1857, I threw myself into my new work most heartily. Though I felt deeply the importance of the questions then before the country, it seemed to me that the only way in which I could contribute anything to their solution was in aiding to train up a new race of young men who should understand our own time and its problems in the light of history. It was not difficult to point out many things in the past that had an important bearing upon the prese

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CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VI

On the evening of New Year's Day, 1864, I arrived in Albany to begin my duties in the State Senate, and certainly, from a practical point of view, no member of the legislature was more poorly equipped. I had, indeed, received a university education, such as it was, in those days, at home and abroad, and had perhaps read more than most college-bred men of my age, but all my education, study, and reading were remote from the duties now assigned me. To history, literature, and theoretical politics,

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CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VII

During my second year in the State Senate, 1865, came the struggle for the charter of Cornell University, the details of which will be given in another chapter. Two things during this session are forever stamped into my memory. The first was the news of Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865: though it had been daily expected, it came as a vast relief. It was succeeded by a great sorrow. On the morning of April 15, 1865, coming down from my rooms in the Delavan House at Albany, I met on the stairway a

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CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER IX

During the two or three years following my senatorial term, work in the founding and building of Cornell University was so engrossing that there was little time for any effort which could be called political. In the early spring of 1868 I went to Europe to examine institutions for scientific and technological instruction, and to secure professors and equipment, and during about six months I visited a great number of such schools, especially those in agriculture, mechanical, civil, and mining eng

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CHAPTER X

CHAPTER X

Having finished my duties on the Santo Domingo Commission, I returned to the University in May of 1871, devoted myself again to my duties as president and professor, and, in the mass of arrears which had accumulated, found ample occupation. I also delivered various addresses at universities, colleges, and elsewhere, keeping as remote from politics as possible. In June, visiting New York in order to take part in a dinner given by various journalists and others to my classmate and old friend, Geor

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CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XI

At various times after the death of Mr. Lincoln I visited Washington, meeting many men especially influential, and, first of all, President Grant. Of all personages whom I then met he impressed me most strongly. At various times I talked with him at the White House, dining with him and seeing him occasionally in his lighter mood, but at no time was there the slightest diminution of his unaffected dignity. Now and then he would make some dry remark which showed a strong sense of humor, but in eve

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CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XII

The successor of Garfield, President Arthur, I had met frequently in my old days at Albany. He was able, and there never was the slightest spot upon his integrity; but in those early days nobody dreamed that he was to attain any high distinction. He was at that time charged with the main military duties under the governor; later he became collector of the port of New York, and in both positions showed himself honest and capable. He was lively, jocose, easy-going, with little appearance of devoti

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CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIII

The following spring, visiting Washington, I met President Cleveland again. Of the favorable impression made upon me by his career as Governor of New York I have already spoken, and shall have occasion to speak presently of his Presidency. The renewal of our acquaintance even increased my respect for him. He was evidently a strong, honest man, trying to do his duty under difficulties. I also met again Mr. Cleveland's opponent in the previous campaign—Mr. Blaine. Calling on Mr. William Walter Phe

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CHAPTER XIV

CHAPTER XIV

McKINLEY AND ROOSEVELT—1891-1904 During the summer of 1891 came a curious episode in my life, to which, as it was considerably discussed in the newspapers at the time, and as various sensational news-makers have dwelt upon it since, I may be permitted to refer. During several years before,—in fact, ever since my two terms in the State Senate,—various people, and especially my old Cornell students throughout the State, had written to me and published articles in my behalf as a candidate for gover

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CHAPTER XV

CHAPTER XV

As I looked out upon the world during my childhood, there loomed up within my little horizon certain personages as ideals. Foremost of these was the surpliced clergyman of the parish. So strong was my admiration for him that my dear mother, during her entire life, never relinquished the hope, and indeed the expectation, that I would adopt the clerical profession. Another object of my admiration—to whose profession I aspired—was the village carpenter. He ``did things,'' and from that day to this

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CHAPTER XVI

CHAPTER XVI

It must be confessed that all was not plain sailing in my new position. One difficulty arose from my very youthful, not to say boyish, appearance. I was, indeed, the youngest member of the faculty; but at twenty-four years one has the right to be taken for a man, and it was vexatious to be taken for a youth of seventeen. At my first arrival in the university town I noticed, as the train drew up to the station, a number of students, evidently awaiting the coming of such freshmen as might be eligi

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CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVII

To Trinity Hall at Hobart College may be assigned whatever honor that shadowy personage, the future historian, shall think due the place where was conceived and quickened the germ idea of Cornell University. In that little stone barrack on the shore of Seneca Lake, rude in its architecture but lovely in its surroundings, a room was assigned me during my first year at college; and in a neighboring apartment, with charming views over the lake and distant hills, was the library of the Hermean Socie

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CHAPTER XVIII

CHAPTER XVIII

On the first day of the year 1864, taking my seat for the first time in the State Senate at Albany, I found among my associates a tall, spare man, apparently very reserved and austere, and soon learned his name—Ezra Cornell. Though his chair was near mine, there was at first little intercourse between us, and there seemed small chance of more. He was steadily occupied, and seemed to have no desire for new acquaintances. He was, perhaps, the oldest man in the Senate; I, the youngest: he was a man

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CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XIX

Although my formal election to the university presidency did not take place until 1867, the duties implied by that office had already been discharged by me during two years. While Mr. Cornell devoted himself to the financial questions arising from the new foundation, he intrusted all other questions to me. Indeed, my duties may be said to have begun when, as chairman of the Committee on Education in the State Senate, I resisted all efforts to divide the land-grant fund between the People's Colle

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CHAPTER XX

CHAPTER XX

On the 7th of October, 1868, came the formal opening of the university. The struggle for its charter had attracted much attention in all parts of the State, and a large body of spectators, with about four hundred students, assembled at the Cornell Library Hall in Ithaca. Though the charter had required us to begin in October, there had seemed for some time very little chance of it. Mr. Cornell had been absent in the woods of the upper Mississippi and on the plains of Kansas, selecting university

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CHAPTER XXI

CHAPTER XXI

The first business after formally opening the university was to put in operation the various courses of instruction, and vitally connected with these were the lectures of our non-resident professors. From these I had hoped much and was not disappointed. It had long seemed to me that a great lack in our American universities was just that sort of impulse which non-resident professors or lecturers of a high order could give. At Yale there had been, in my time, very few lectures of any sort to unde

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CHAPTER XXII

CHAPTER XXII

In close connection with the technical departments were various laboratories. For these, place was at first made here and there in cellars and sheds; but at last we were able to erect for them buildings large and complete, and to the opening of the first of these came Mr. Cleveland, then Governor of New York, and later President of the United States. Having laid the corner-stone of the Memorial Chapel and made an excellent speech, which encouraged us all, he accompanied me to the new building de

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CHAPTER XXIII

CHAPTER XXIII

Still another new departure was in some respects bolder than any of those already mentioned. For some years before the organization of Cornell, I had thought much upon the education of women, and had gradually arrived at the conclusion that they might well be admitted to some of the universities established for young men. Yet, at the same time, Herbert Spencer's argument as to the importance of avoiding everything like ``mandarinism'' —the attempt to force all educationalinstitutions into the sa

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CHAPTER XXIV

CHAPTER XXIV

Thus far I have dwelt especially upon the steady development of the university in its general system of instruction, its faculty, its equipment, and its daily life; but it must not be supposed that all was plain sailing. On the contrary, there were many difficulties, some discouragements, and at times we passed through very deep waters. There were periods when ruin stared us in the face—when I feared that my next move must be to close our doors and announce the suspension of instruction. The mos

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CHAPTER XXV

CHAPTER XXV

To this work of pressing on the development of the leading departments in the university, establishing various courses of instruction, and warding off attacks as best I could, was added the daily care of the regular and steady administration of affairs, and in this my duty was to co&lt;o:&gt;perate with the trustees, the faculty, and the students. The trustees formed a body differently composed from any organization for university government up to that time. As a rule, such boards in the

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PART V

PART V

AS ATTACH&lt;E'&gt; AT ST. PETERSBURG—1854-1855 While yet an undergraduate at Yale, my favorite studies in history and some little attention to international law led me to take special interest in the diplomatic relations between modern states; but it never occurred to me that I might have anything to do directly with them. Having returned to New Haven after my graduation, intending to give myself especially to modern languages as a preparation for travel and historical study abroad, I s

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CHAPTER XXVII

CHAPTER XXVII

AS ATTACH&lt;E'&gt; AND BEARER OF DESPATCHES IN WAR-TIME—1855 The spring of 1855 was made interesting by the arrival of the blockading fleet before the mouth of the Neva, and shortly afterward I went down to look at it. It was a most imposing sight: long lines of mighty three- deckers of the old pattern, British and French,—one hundred in all,—stretched across the Gulf of Finland in front of the fortresses of Cronstadt. Behind the fortresses lay the Russian fleet, helpless and abject; an

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CHAPTER XXVIII

CHAPTER XXVIII

Returning from Russia and Germany, I devoted myself during thirteen years, first, to my professorial duties at the University of Michigan; next, to political duties in the State Senate at Albany; and, finally, to organizing and administering Cornell University. But in the early winter of 1870-71 came an event which drew me out of my university life for a time, and engaged me again in diplomatic work. While pursuing the even tenor of my way, there came a telegraphic despatch from Mr. William Orto

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CHAPTER XXIX

CHAPTER XXIX

My next experience was of a quasi-diplomatic sort, in connection with the Paris Exposition of 1878, and it needs some preface. During the Centennial Exposition of 1876 at Philadelphia, I had been appointed upon the educational jury, and, as the main part of the work came during the university long vacation, had devoted myself to it, and had thus been brought into relations with some very interesting men. Of these may be named, at the outset, the Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil. I first saw him in a

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CHAPTER XXX

CHAPTER XXX

In the spring of 1879 I was a third time brought into the diplomatic service, and in a way which surprised me. The President of the United States at that period was Mr. Hayes of Ohio. I had met him once at Cornell University, and had an interesting conversation with him, but never any other communication, directly or indirectly. Great, then, was my astonishment when, upon the death of Bayard Taylor just at the beginning of his career as minister to Germany, there came to me an offer of the post

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CHAPTER XXXI

CHAPTER XXXI

My acquaintance at Berlin extended into regions which few of my diplomatic colleagues explored, especially among members of the university faculty and various other persons eminent in science, literature, and art. Writing these lines, I look back with admiration and affection upon three generations of Berlin professors: the first during my student days at the Prussian capital in 1855-1856, the second during my service as minister, 1879-1881, and the third during my term as ambassador 1897-1902.

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CHAPTER XXXII

CHAPTER XXXII

My first glimpse of Bismarck was obtained during one of my journeys through middle Germany, about the time, I think, of the Franco-Prussian War. Arriving at the Kissingen junction, we found a crowd gathered outside the barriers, and all gazing at a railway-carriage about to be attached to our train. Looking toward this, I recognized the face and form of the great North-German statesman. He was in the prime of life—sturdy, hearty, and happy in the presence of his wife and children. The people at

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PART V-IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE (Continued)

PART V-IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE (Continued)

Appointment by President Harrison. My stay in London Lord Rothschild; his view of Russian treatment of the Jews. Sir Julian Goldschmidt; impression made by him. Paris; the Vicomte de Vogue; funeral of Renan; the Duke de la Rochefoucauld. Our Minister, William Walter Phelps, and others at Berlin; talk with Count Shuvaloff. Arrival in St. Petersburg. Deadening influences: paralysis of energy as seen on the railways; little apparent change in externals since my former visit; change wrought by emanc

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CHAPTER XXXIV. INTERCOURSE WITH RUSSIAN STATESMEN—1892-1894

CHAPTER XXXIV. INTERCOURSE WITH RUSSIAN STATESMEN—1892-1894

Last days of Sir Robert Morier at St. Petersburg; his last appearance at Court. Count de Montebello. Husny Pasha. Marochetti. Count Wolkenstein. Van Stoetwegen and his views regarding peace in Europe. Pasitch, the Servian Minister; his two condemnations to death. Contrast between the Chinese and Japanese representatives. Character of Russian statesmen; their good qualities; their main defects. Rarity of first-class men among them; illustrations of this view from The Hague peace programme and fro

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CHAPTER XXXV. "ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN" IN RUSSIA—1892-1894

CHAPTER XXXV. "ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN" IN RUSSIA—1892-1894

The "Minister of Public Enlightenment," Delyanoff; his theory and system. Hostility of sundry Russians to the Russian-Germans; evident folly of this. Woronzoff-Daschkoff and General Annenkoff. The Caucasian railways and the annexation of Bokhara. Galkin Wraskoy and the prison system Orloff Davidoff, "the funniest thing he saw in America." Professor Demetrieff's account of the murder of Peter III and of the relation of Catherine II to it. Prince Serge Wolkonsky; his ability and versatility; his t

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CHAPTER XXXVI. MY RECOLLECTIONS OF POBEDONOSTZEFF—1892-1894

CHAPTER XXXVI. MY RECOLLECTIONS OF POBEDONOSTZEFF—1892-1894

My desire to know Pobedonostzeff; his history; his power. Public business which led to our meeting; his characteristics; reasons for his course; his view of the relations of the Russo-Greek Church to the Empire; his frankness in speaking of the Church. His hostility to Western civilization. His discussion of revolutionary efforts in Russia. His theory of Russian public instruction. His ultra-reactionary views. His mingled feelings regarding Tolstoi. His love for American literature; his paradoxi

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CHAPTER XXXVII. WALKS AND TALKS WITH TOLSTOI—MARCH, 1894

CHAPTER XXXVII. WALKS AND TALKS WITH TOLSTOI—MARCH, 1894

Moscow revisited. Little change for the better. First visit to Tolstoi. Curious arrangement of his household. Our first discussions; condition of the peasants; his view of Quakers; their "want of logic." His view of Russian religious and general thought. Socrates as a saint in the Kremlin. His views of the Jews; of Russian treatment of prisoners. His interest in American questions. Our visit to the Moscow Museum; his remark on the pictures for the Cathedral of Kieff; his love for realistic relig

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CHAPTER XXXVIII. OFFICIAL LIFE IN ST. PETERSBURG—1892-1894

CHAPTER XXXVIII. OFFICIAL LIFE IN ST. PETERSBURG—1892-1894

Difficulty in securing accurate information in Russia; the censorship of newspapers and books; difficulty in ascertaining the truth on any question; growth of myth and legend in the Russian atmosphere of secrecy and repression. Difficulties of the American Minister arising from too great proneness of Americans to believe Russian stories; typical examples. American adventurers; a musical apostle; his Russian career. Relation of the Legation to the Chicago Exposition; crankish requests from queer

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CHAPTER XXXIX. AS MEMBER OF THE VENEZUELAN COMMISSION—1895-1896

CHAPTER XXXIX. AS MEMBER OF THE VENEZUELAN COMMISSION—1895-1896

The Venezuelan Commission; curious circumstances of my nomination to it by President Cleveland. Nature of the question to be decided; its previous evolution. Mr. Cleveland's message. Attacks upon him; his firmness. Sessions of the Commission; initial difficulties; solution of them. The old question between the Netherlands and Spain. Material at our command. Discreditable features of the first British Blue Book on the subject; British "fair play" in this and in the Behring Sea question. Distribut

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CHAPTER XL. AS AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY—1897-1903

CHAPTER XL. AS AMBASSADOR TO GERMANY—1897-1903

Nomination by President McKinley. Light thrown upon his methods by appointments of second secretary and military attache. Secretary Sherman; his reference to President Johnson's impeachment. Judge Harlan's reference to Dr. Burchard's alliteration. Discussions with the German ambassador and others. Change of the American legation into an embassy; its advantages and disadvantages. First interview with Emperor William II; subjects discussed. His reference to Frederick the Great's musical powers. Th

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CHAPTER XLI. AMERICA, GERMANY, AND THE SPANISH WAR—1897-1903

CHAPTER XLI. AMERICA, GERMANY, AND THE SPANISH WAR—1897-1903

The Chinese question; German part in it; my duties regarding it, course of President McKinley and Secretary Hay. The exclusion of American insurance companies; difficulties. American sugar duties: our wavering policy. The "meat question"; American illustration of defective German policy. The "fruit question" and its adjustment. The Spanish-American War; attitude of the German press; my course under instructions; importance of delaying the war; conference in Paris with Ambassador Porter and Minis

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CHAPTER XLII. AMERICA, GERMANY, AND THE CHINESE WAR—1899-1902

CHAPTER XLII. AMERICA, GERMANY, AND THE CHINESE WAR—1899-1902

Ex-President Harrison visits Berlin; attention shown him by the Emperor and others; change in him since his Washington days. Difficulty regarding embassy quarters; moral. Bicentenary of the Royal Academy of Sciences—pomp and ceremony; picturesque appearance of delegates, conversation with the Emperor on the subject; his jocose statement of his theory of the monarchy. Coming of age of the heir to the throne; reception of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary; gala opera and opinion of the Chinese minist

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CHAPTER XLIII. CLOSING YEARS OF MY EMBASSY. BERLIN, YALE, OXFORD, AND ST. ANDREWS—1901-1903

CHAPTER XLIII. CLOSING YEARS OF MY EMBASSY. BERLIN, YALE, OXFORD, AND ST. ANDREWS—1901-1903

Assassination of President McKinley; its effect on German feeling. My peculiar relations with the Chinese minister at Berlin; our discussions: my advice to China through him; visits from and to Prince Chun, on his expiatory errand. Visit to Mr. Andrew Carnegie at Skibo Castle; evidences of kindly British feeling regarding the death of President McKinley seen during this English and Scotch journey; life at Skibo. America revisited; Bicentenary at Yale. Am chosen to honorary membership in the Roya

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CHAPTER XLIV. MY RECOLLECTIONS OF WILLIAM II—1879-1903

CHAPTER XLIV. MY RECOLLECTIONS OF WILLIAM II—1879-1903

My first knowledge of him, his speech as a student at Dusseldorf; talk with his father and mother regarding it. His appearance at court; characteristics. His wedding and my first conversation with him. Opinion regarding him in Berlin. Growth of opinions, favorable and unfavorable, in America. His dismissal of Bismarck; effect on public opinion and on my own view. Effect of some of his speeches. The "Caligula" pamphlet. Sundry epigrams. Conversation at my first interview with him as Ambassador. H

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CHAPTER XLV. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: I—1899

CHAPTER XLV. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: I—1899

Proposal of a Conference by Nicholas II. Reasons why the Netherlands were preferred to Switzerland as its place of meeting. General misunderstanding as to the Emperor's proposal. My own skepticism. Resultant feeling regarding the Conference. My acceptance of the nomination to it. Condition of things on our arrival at The Hague. First meeting of the American Delegation. Am chosen its president. General character of our instructions from Washington. American plan of arbitration. Preliminary meetin

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CHAPTER XLVI. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: II—1899

CHAPTER XLVI. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: II—1899

Apparent wavering of Russia regarding an arbitration scheme. Count Munster's view of the Russian proposals. Social gatherings. Influx of people with notions, nostrums, and whimsies. First meeting of the great committee on arbitration. Presentation of the Russian plan; its serious defects. Successful effort of Sir Julian Pauncefote to provide for a proper court. Excellent spirit shown by the Russian delegates. Final character of the American project for an arbitration plan. Festival given to the

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CHAPTER XLVII. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: III—1899

CHAPTER XLVII. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: III—1899

Festival given to the Conference by the city of Haarlem. Difficulties encountered by the American proposal for the immunity of private property at sea. Question as to what contraband of war really is in these days. Encouraging meeting of the great committee on arbitration and mediation. Proposal to the Secretary of State that the American Delegation lay a wreath of silver and gold upon the tomb of Grotius at Delft. Discussion of the Brussels Conference Rules. Great social function at the house o

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CHAPTER XLVIII. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: IV—1899

CHAPTER XLVIII. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: IV—1899

Declaration against an arbitration tribunal received from their Government by the German delegation; their consternation; Professor Zorn and Secretary Holls sent to Berlin; my personal letter to Baron von Bulow. Means by which the Conference was kept from meeting until the return of these two gentlemen. Festival given by the Netherlands Government to the Conference. Tableaux and dances representing art and life in the Dutch provinces. Splendid music. Visit to Leyden. Arrival of Speaker Reed of t

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CHAPTER XLIX. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: V—1899

CHAPTER XLIX. AS PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN DELEGATION AT THE PEACE CONFERENCE OF THE HAGUE: V—1899

Celebration of Independence Day at Delft in the presence of the entire Conference and of eminent Netherlanders; speeches by the Netherlands ministers and American delegates; telegram from the King of Sweden. Impressive character of the service; the wreath placed upon the tomb; breakfast given by our delegation to the Conference, at the City Hall of Delft. Presentation of the American Memorial in behalf of the immunity of private property on the high seas; my speech in its favor: friendly answer

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CHAPTER L. HINTS FOR REFORMS IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

CHAPTER L. HINTS FOR REFORMS IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE

My connection with the Diplomatic Service at periods during the last forty-five years. Questions which have been asked me regarding it; reasons why I have not thought it best to reply fully; reasons why I can now do so. Improvement in our service since the Civil War; its condition during various administrations before the Civil War; sundry examples. Mr. Seward's remark. Improvement in the practice of both parties during recent years. President Cleveland's worthy effort. Better public sentiment a

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PART VI-SUNDRY JOURNEYS AND EXPERIENCES

PART VI-SUNDRY JOURNEYS AND EXPERIENCES

Usefulness of various journeys to me. Excursion through central and western New York in 1838—in middle Massachusetts, Boston, and New York City in 1842. Impression made by Trinity Church. Beginning of visits to Saratoga in 1843; life there; visits of Archbishop Hughes, Father Gavazzi, Washington Irving, Mr. Buchanan; the Parade of Mme. Jumel. Remarkable progress of the city of New York northward as seen at various visits. First visit to the West. Chicago in 1858; the raising of the grade; Mr. Ge

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CHAPTER LII. ENGLAND REVISITED—1885

CHAPTER LII. ENGLAND REVISITED—1885

Reason for going abroad after my resignation of the Cornell Presidency in 1885. "Tom Brown" at sea; sundry stories of his. Southwest of England. Visit to the historian Freeman at Wells. The Bishop and his palace. The Judge's dinner. The Squires in the Court of Quarter Sessions. A Gladstonian meeting; Freeman's speech; his defense of the last Abbot of Glastonbury. Bishop Bickersteth at Heavitree and Exeter. The caves at Torquay and their lessons. Worcester Cathedral and Deanery. "The Bungalow" of

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CHAPTER LIII. FRANCE, ITALY, AND SWITZEBLAND—1886-1887

CHAPTER LIII. FRANCE, ITALY, AND SWITZEBLAND—1886-1887

Mme. Blaze de Bury. From Paris to the Riviera. James Bryce. George von Bunsen. Sir Charles Murray. Lord Acton; discussions with the latter; his wide range of knowledge; his information regarding Father Paul, the Congregation of the Index, etc. Sir Henry Keating and the discussion at the Cercle Nautique of Cannes. Lord Acton's view of Napoleon. Florence; talks with Villari. Naples; the Doctrine of Intercession as shown in sundry pictures. Amalfi. Sorrento; the Catechism of Archbishop Apuzzo; Fran

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CHAPTER LIV. EGYPT, GREECE, AND TURKEY—1888-1889

CHAPTER LIV. EGYPT, GREECE, AND TURKEY—1888-1889

A great sorrow and disappointment. Court of Appeals decides the Fiske suit, June, 1888. Reasons for going abroad. Scotland revisited. Memorable sermon at St. Giles in Edinburgh. Cathedral towns revisited. Sermons at Lichfield. The House of Commons; scene between the Irish leaders and Mr. Balfour. A political meeting in Holborn. Excursions to Rugby; to the home of Gilbert White; to the graves of Gray, Thackeray, and others. A critic of Carlyle at Brighton. Cambridge; interesting papers regarding

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CHAPTER LV. MEXICO, CALIFORNIA, SCANDINAVIA, RUSSIA, ITALY, LONDON, AND BERLIN—1892-1897

CHAPTER LV. MEXICO, CALIFORNIA, SCANDINAVIA, RUSSIA, ITALY, LONDON, AND BERLIN—1892-1897

My stay of two years in America. Lectures at the University of Pennsylvania. Archbishop Ryan's Latin pun. The Mohonk Conference and President Hayes. Excursion with Andrew Carnegie to Mexico, California, and Oregon. Meetings with Cornell students. Cathedral of Mexico. Our reception by President Porfirio Diaz and his ministers. Beauty of California in spring. Its two universities. My relations with Stanford; pleasure in this visit to it; character of its buildings; my lectures there. Visit to Salt

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PART VII-MISCELLANEOUS RECOLLECTIONS

PART VII-MISCELLANEOUS RECOLLECTIONS

Twofold characteristics of the central route from New York to Niagara. The lake country of western New York. The Onondaga Valley; characteristics of its people; their agitation in the autumn of 1869. Discovery of the "petrified giant." My visit to it; my skepticism; its causes. Evolution of myth and legend. General joy in believing in the marvelous origin of the statue. Gradual growth of a skeptical view. Confirmation of suspicions. Desperate efforts to resist skepticism. Clear proofs of a swind

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CHAPTER LVII. PLANS AND PROJECTS, EXECUTED AND UNEXECUTED—1838-1905

CHAPTER LVII. PLANS AND PROJECTS, EXECUTED AND UNEXECUTED—1838-1905

My early reverence for authors. Youthful tendency toward literary studies. Change in this respect during my stay at Yale. Difference between the Yale and Harvard spirit. Senator Wolcott's speech on this. Special influence of Parker and Carlyle upon my view of literature. My purpose in various writings. Preparations for lectures upon the French Revolution and for a book upon its causes; probabilities of this book at present. "Paper Money Inflation in France," etc. Course of lectures upon the hist

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PART VIII-RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT

PART VIII-RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT

Religious ideas of the settlers in central New York. The Protestant Episcopal Church; its relations to larger Christian bodies. Effects of revivalism in them. My father and mother. A soul escaped out of the thirteenth century into the nineteenth, Henry Gregory. My first recollections of religious worship; strong impressions upon me; good effects; some temporary evil effects. Syracuse. My early bigotry; check in it; reaction. Family influences. Influence of sundry sermons and occurrences. Baptism

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CHAPTER LIX. IN THE NEW ENGLAND ATMOSPHERE—1851-1853

CHAPTER LIX. IN THE NEW ENGLAND ATMOSPHERE—1851-1853

Influence of New England Congregationalism at Yale. Butler's "Analogy." Revivals. Sermons and prayers in the college pulpit. Noble efforts of sundry professors, especially sermons of Horace Bushnell and President Woolsey. The recital of creeds. Effects of my historical reading. Injury done the American Church at that period by its support of slavery; notable exceptions to this. Samuel J. May. Beecher. Chapin. Theodore Parker. Influence of the latter upon me. Especial characteristics of Beecher a

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CHAPTER LX. IN THE EUROPEAN ATMOSPHERE—1853-1856

CHAPTER LX. IN THE EUROPEAN ATMOSPHERE—1853-1856

Student life in Europe. My susceptibility to religious architecture, music, and the nobler forms of ceremonial. Beauties of the Anglican service. Sundry experiences in European cathedrals and English university chapels. Archbishop Sumner. Bishop Wilberforce. My life in a Roman Catholic family in Paris. Noble work of the Archbishop of Paris. Sibour; his assassination. German Protestantism as seen in Berlin. Earnest character of Roman Catholic worship in central Germany. The Russo-Greek Church as

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CHAPTER LXI. IN LATER YEARS—1856-1905

CHAPTER LXI. IN LATER YEARS—1856-1905

My relations with Professor Fisher at New Haven; his good influence. My interest in church work as a professor at the University of Michigan; am asked to select a rector; my success. Readings in ecclesiastical history; effect of these. Sale's Koran. Fra Paolo Sarpi's "History of the Council of Trent." Dean Stanley's "Eastern Church." Bossuet, Spalding, Balmez, Buckle, Lecky, Draper, the Darwinian hypothesis. Special influence of Stanley's "Life of Arnold," Robertson's Sermons, and other works. G

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CHAPTER XXXIII

CHAPTER XXXIII

During four years after my return from service as minister to Germany I devoted myself to the duties of the presidency at Cornell, and on resigning that position gave all time possible to study and travel, with reference to the book on which I was then engaged: "A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology." But in 1892 came a surprise. In the reminiscences of my political life I have given an account of a visit, with Theodore Roosevelt, Cabot Lodge, Sherman Rogers, and others, to President

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CHAPTER XXXIV

CHAPTER XXXIV

To return to Sir Robert Morier. There had been some friction between his family and that of one of my predecessors, and this had for some time almost ended social intercourse between his embassy and our legation; but on my arrival I ignored this, and we established very satisfactory personal relations. He had held important positions in various parts of Europe, and had been closely associated with many of the most distinguished men of his own and other countries. Reading Grant Duff's "Memoirs,"

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CHAPTER XXXV

CHAPTER XXXV

Still another department which interested me was that known as the "Ministry of Public Enlightenment," its head being Count Delyanoff. He was certainly a man of culture; but the title of his department was a misnomer, for its duty was clearly to prevent enlightenment in the public at large. The Russian theory is, evidently, that a certain small number should be educated up to a certain point for the discharge of their special duties; but that, beyond this, anything like the general education of

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CHAPTER XXXVI

CHAPTER XXXVI

On arriving at St. Petersburg in 1892 to take charge of the American legation, there was one Russian whom I more desired to meet than any other—Constantine Pobedonostzeff. For some years various English and American reviews had been charging him with bigotry, cruelty, hypocrisy, and, indeed, with nearly every hateful form of political crime; but the fact remained that under Alexander III he was the most influential personage in the empire, and that, though bearing the title of "procurator-genera

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CHAPTER XXXVII

CHAPTER XXXVII

Revisiting Moscow after an absence of thirty-five years, the most surprising thing to me was that there had been so little change. With the exception of the new gallery of Russian art, and the bazaar opposite the sacred gate of the Kremlin, things seemed as I had left them just after the accession of Alexander II. There were the same unkempt streets; the same peasantry clad in sheepskins; the same troops of beggars, sturdy and dirty; the same squalid crowds crossing themselves before the images

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CHAPTER XXXVIII

CHAPTER XXXVIII

The difficulties of a stranger seeking information in Russia seem at times insurmountable. First of these is the government policy of suppressing news. Foreign journals come to ordinary subscribers with paragraphs and articles rubbed out with pumice or blotted out with ink; consequently our Russian friends were wont to visit the legation, seeking to read in our papers what had been erased in their own, and making the most amusing discoveries as to the stupidity of the official censorship: paragr

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CHAPTER XXXIX

CHAPTER XXXIX

Early one morning, just at the end of 1895, as I was at work before the blazing fire in my library at the university, the winter storms howling outside, a card was brought in bearing the name of Mr. Hamlin, assistant secretary of the treasury of the United States. While I was wondering what, at that time of the year, could have brought a man from such important duties in Washington to the bleak hills of central New York, he entered, and soon made known his business, which was to tender me, on th

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CHAPTER XL

CHAPTER XL

On the 1st of April, 1897, President McKinley nominated me ambassador to Berlin; and, the appointment having been duly confirmed by the Senate, I visited Washington to obtain instructions and make preparations. One of the most important of these preparations was the securing of a second secretary for the embassy. A long list of applicants for this position had appeared, several with strong backing from party magnates, cabinet officers, and senators; but, though all of them seemed excellent young

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CHAPTER XLI

CHAPTER XLI

During the early days of this second official stay of mine at Berlin, Russia had, in one way and another, secured an entrance into China for her trans-Siberian railway, and seemed to have taken permanent possession of the vast region extending from her own territory to the Pacific at Port Arthur. Germany followed this example, and, in avenging the murder of certain missionaries, took possession of the harbor of Kiao-Chau. Thereby other nations were stirred to do likewise,—England, France, and It

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CHAPTER XLII

CHAPTER XLII

An interesting event of this period was the appearance in Berlin of ex-President and Mrs. Harrison. The President had but recently finished his long and wearisome work before the Venezuela Arbitration Tribunal at Paris, and was very happy in the consciousness of duty accomplished and liberty obtained. Marks of high distinction were shown them. The sovereigns invited them to attend the festivities at Potsdam in honor of the Queen and Queen Mother of Holland, who were then staying there, and treat

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CHAPTER XLIII

CHAPTER XLIII

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 anxiety—of 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.

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WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON.

WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON.

OYSTER BAY, September 15, 1902. On the day you open this you will be seventy years old. I cannot forbear writing you a line to express the obligation which all the American people are under to you. As a diplomat you have come in that class whose foremost exponents are Benjamin Franklin and Charles Francis Adams, and which numbers also in its ranks men like Morris, Livingston, and Pinckney. As a politician, as a publicist, and as a college president you have served your country as only a limited

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FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE. NEWBURY, N. H.,

FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE. NEWBURY, N. H.,

August 3, 1902. I have received your very kind letter of the 21st July, which is the first intimation I have had of your intention to resign your post of ambassador to Germany. I am sorry to hear the country is to lose your services in the place you have filled with such distinguished ability and dignity. It is a great thing to say—as it is simple truth to say it—that you have, during your residence in Berlin, increased the respect felt for America not only in Germany but in all Europe. You have

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CHAPTER XLIV

CHAPTER XLIV

At various times since my leaving the Berlin Embassy various friends have said to me, "Why not give us something definite regarding the German Emperor?" And on my pleading sundry difficulties and objections, some of my advisers have recalled many excellent precedents, both American and foreign, and others have cited the dictum, "The man I don't like is the man I don't know." The latter argument has some force with me. Much ill feeling between the United States and Germany has had its root in mis

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CHAPTER XLV

CHAPTER XLV

On the 24th of August, 1898, the Russian Government proposed, in the name of the Emperor Nicholas II, a conference which should seek to arrest the constantly increasing development of armaments and thus contribute to a durable peace; and on the 11th of January, 1899, his minister of foreign affairs, Count Mouravieff, having received favorable answers to this proposal, sent forth a circular indicating the Russian view as to subjects of discussion. As to the place of meeting, there were obvious re

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CHAPTER XLVI

CHAPTER XLVI

May 25. This morning a leading delegate of one of the great European powers called and gave me a very interesting account of the situation as he sees it. He stated that the Russian representatives, on arriving here, gave out that they were not prepared with any plan for a definite tribunal of arbitration; but that shortly afterward there appeared some discrepancy on this point between the statements of the various members of their delegation; and that they now propose a system of arbitration, me

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CHAPTER XLVII

CHAPTER XLVII

June 4. We have just had an experience which "adds to the gaiety of nations." Some days since, representatives of what is called "the Young Turkish party" appeared and asked to be heard. They received, generally, the cold shoulder, mainly because the internal condition of Turkey is not one of the things which the conference was asked to discuss; but also because there is a suspicion that these "Young Turks" are enabled to live in luxury at Paris by blackmailing the Sultan, and that their zeal fo

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CHAPTER XLVIII

CHAPTER XLVIII

June 16. This morning Count Munster called and seemed much excited by the fact that he had received a despatch from Berlin in which the German Government—which, of course, means the Emperor—had strongly and finally declared against everything like an arbitration tribunal. He was clearly disconcerted by this too literal acceptance of his own earlier views, and said that he had sent to M. de Staal insisting that the meeting of the subcommittee on arbitration, which had been appointed for this day

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CHAPTER XLIX

CHAPTER XLIX

July 4. On this day the American delegation invited their colleagues to celebrate our national anniversary at the tomb of Grotius, first in the great church, and afterward in the town hall of Delft. Speeches were made by the minister of foreign affairs of the Netherlands De Beaufort; by their first delegate, Van Karnebeek; by Mr. Asser, one of their leading jurists; by the burgomaster of Delft; and by Baron de Bildt, chairman of the Swedish delegation and minister at Rome, who read a telegram fr

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CHAPTER L

CHAPTER L

In view of a connection with the diplomatic service of the United States begun nearly fifty years ago and resumed at various posts and periods since, I have frequently been asked for my opinion of it, as compared with that of other nations, and also what measures I would suggest for its improvement. Hitherto this question has somewhat embarrassed me: answering it fully might have seemed to involve a plea for my own interests; so that, while I have pointed out, in public lectures and in letters t

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PART VI

PART VI

From my boyhood I have been fond of travel, and at times this fondness has been of great use to me. My constitution, though never robust, has thus far proved elastic, and whenever I have at last felt decidedly the worse for overwork or care, the best of all medicines has been an excursion, longer or shorter, in our own country or in some other. Thus it has happened that, besides journeys into nearly every part of the United States, and official residences in Russia, France, Germany, and the West

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CHAPTER LII

CHAPTER LII

In 1885, having resigned the presidency at Cornell, after twenty years of service, I went to Europe; my main purpose being to leave my successor untrammeled as to any changes which he might see fit to make. He was an old friend and student of mine whom, when the trustees had asked me to nominate a man to follow me I had named as the best man I knew for the work to be done; but, warm as were the relations between us, I made up my mind that it was best to leave him an entirely free hand for at lea

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CHAPTER LIII

CHAPTER LIII

New Year's day of 1886 found my wife and myself again in Paris; and, during our stay of nearly a fortnight there, we met various interesting persons—among them Mr. McLane, the American minister at that post, whom I had last seen, over thirty years before, when we crossed the ocean together—he then going as minister to China, and I as attache to St. Petersburg. His discussions both of American and French politics were interesting; but a far more suggestive talker was Mme. Blaze de Bury. Though a

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CHAPTER LIV

CHAPTER LIV

While under the influence of the greatest sorrow that has ever darkened my life, there came to me a calamity of a less painful sort, yet one of the most trying that I have ever known. A long course of mistaken university policy, which I had done my best to change, and the consequences of which I had especially exerted myself to avert, at last bore its evil fruit. On the 13th of June, 1888, I was present at the session of the Court of Appeals at Saratoga, and there heard the argument in the suit

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CHAPTER LV

CHAPTER LV

Arriving at New York in the autumn of 1889, I was soon settled at my accustomed work in the university,—devoting myself to new chapters of my book and to sundry courses of lectures. Early in the following year I began a course before the University of Pennsylvania; and my stay in Philadelphia was rendered very agreeable by various new acquaintances. Interesting to me was the Roman Catholic archbishop, Dr. Ryan. Dining in his company, I referred admiringly to his cathedral, which I had recently v

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PART VII

PART VII

The traveler from New York to Niagara by the northern route is generally disappointed in the second half of his journey. During the earlier hours of the day, moving rapidly up the valleys, first of the Hudson and next of the Mohawk, he passes through a succession of landscapes striking or pleasing, and of places interesting from their relations to the French and Revolutionary wars. But, arriving at the middle point of his journey,—the head waters of the Mohawk,—a disenchantment begins. Thencefor

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CHAPTER LVII

CHAPTER LVII

Among those who especially attracted my youthful admiration were authors, whether of books or of articles in the magazines. When one of these personages was pointed out to me, he seemed of far greater stature than the men about him. This feeling was especially developed in the atmosphere of our household, where scholars and writers were held in especial reverence, and was afterward increased by my studies. This led me at Yale to take, at first, much interest in general literature, and, as a resu

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PART VIII

PART VIII

When the colonists from New England came into central and western New York, at the end of the eighteenth century, they wrote their main ideas large upon the towns they founded. Especially was this evident at my birthplace on the head waters of the Susquehanna. In the heart of the little village they laid out, largely and liberally, "the Green"; across the middle of this there gradually rose a line of wooden structures as stately as they knew how to make them,—the orthodox Congregational church s

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CHAPTER LIX

CHAPTER LIX

At Yale I found myself in the midst of New England Congregationalism; but I cannot say that it helped me much religiously. It, indeed, broadened my view, since I was associated with professors and students of various forms of Christianity, and came to respect them, not for what they professed, but for what they really were. There also I read under an excellent professor—my dear friend the late President Porter—Butler's "Analogy"; but, though it impressed me, it left on my mind the effect of a st

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CHAPTER LX

CHAPTER LX

Leaving Yale in 1853, I passed nearly three years in Europe; and observation of the effects resulting from the various orthodoxies in England, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy developed my opinions in various ways. I was deeply susceptible to religious architecture, music, and, indeed, to the nobler forms of ceremonial. I doubt whether any man ever entered Westminster Abbey and the various cathedrals of Great Britain—and I have visited every one of them of any note—with a more reverent feeling

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CHAPTER LXI

CHAPTER LXI

On my return to America I remained for a short time as a resident graduate at New Haven, and there gained a friend who influenced me most happily. This was Professor George Park Fisher, at that time in charge of the university pulpit, an admirable scholar and historian. His religious nature, rooted in New England orthodoxy, had come to a broad and noble bloom and fruitage. Witty and humorous, while deeply thoughtful, his discussions were of great value to me, and our long walks together remain a

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LIST OF PUBLICATIONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS ESPECIALLY HISTORICAL

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS ESPECIALLY HISTORICAL

The Greater Distinctions in Statesmanship. Yale Literary Prize Essay, in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1852. The Diplomatic History of Modern Times. De Forest Prize Oration, in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1853. Qualifications for American Citizenship. Clarke Senior Prize Essay, in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1853. Editorial and other articles in the "Yale Literary Magazine," 1852-1853. Glimpses of Universal History. The "New Englander," Vol. XV, p. 398. Care of the Poor in New Haven. A Repor

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