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theodore roosevelt-第62章

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 At another time when the Kaiser wished him to come and chat; Roosevelt replied that he would with pleasure; but that he had only twenty minutes at the Kaiser's disposal; as he had already arranged to call on Mrs。 Humphry Ward at three…thirty。 These reminiscences may seem trifling; unless you take them as illustrating the truly Democratic simplicity with which the First Citizen of the American Republic met the scions of the Hapsburgs and the Hohenzollerns on equal terms as gentleman with gentlemen。

Some of his backbiters and revilers at home whispered that his head was turned by all these pageants and courtesies of kings; and that he regretted that our system provided for no monarch。 This afforded him infinite amusement。 〃Think of it!〃 he said to me after his return。 〃They even say that I want to be a prince myself! Not I! I've seen too many of them! Do you know what a prince is? He's a cross between Ward McAllister and Vice…President Fairbanks。 How can any one suppose I should like to be that?〃 It may be necessary to inform the later generation that Mr。 Ward McAllister was by profession a decayed gentleman in New York City who achieved fame by compiling a list of the Four Hundred persons whom he condescended to regard as belonging to New York Society。 Vice…President Fairbanks was an Indiana politician; tall and thin and oppressively taciturn; who seemed to be stricken dumb by the weight of an immemorial ancestry or by the sense of his own importance; and who was not less cold than dumb; so that irreverent jokers reported that persons might freeze to death in his presence if they came too near or stayed too long。

All this was only the froth on the stream of Roosevelt's experience in England。 He took deep enjoyment in meeting the statesmen and the authors and the learned men there。 The City of London bestowed the freedom of the city upon him。 The Universities of Cambridge and Oxford gave him their highest honorary degrees。 At the London Guildhall he made a memorable address; in which he warned the British nation to see to it that the grievances of the Egyptian people were not allowed to fester。 Critics at the moment chided this advice as an exhibition of bad taste; an intrusion; if not an impertinence; on the part of a foreigner。 They did not know; however; that before speaking; Roosevelt submitted his remarks to high officers in the Government and had their approval; for apparently they were well pleased that this burning topic should be brought under discussion by means of Roosevelt's warning。

At Cambridge University he exhorted the students not to be satisfied with a life of sterile athleticism。 〃I never was an athlete;〃 said he; 〃although I have always led an outdoor life; and have accomplished something in it; simply because my theory is that almost any man can do a great deal; if he will; by getting the utmost possible service out of the qualities that he actually possesses 。 。 。 。 The average man who is successfulthe average statesman; the average public servant; the average soldier; who wins what we call great successis not a genius。 He is a man who has merely the ordinary qualities that he shares with his fellows; but who has developed those ordinary qualities to a more than ordinary degree。〃

The culmination of his addresses abroad was his Romanes Lecture; delivered at the Convocation at Oxford University on June 7; 1910。 Lord Curzon; the Chancellor; presided。 Roosevelt took for his theme; 〃Biological Analogies in History;〃 a subject which his lifelong interest in natural history and his considerable reading in scientific theory made appropriate。 He afterwards said that in order not to commit shocking blunders he consulted freely his old friend Dr。 Henry Fairfield Osborn; head of the Museum of Natural History in New York City; but the substance and ideas were unquestionably his own。

Dr。 Henry Goudy; 〃the public orator〃 at Cambridge; in a Presentation Speech; eulogized Roosevelt's manifold activities and achievements; declaring; among other things; that he had 〃acquired a title to be ranked with his great predecessor Abraham Lincoln'of whom one conquered slavery; and the other corruption。'〃 Lord Curzon addressed him as; 〃peer of the most august kings; queller of wars; destroyer of monsters wherever found; yet the most human of mankind; deeming nothing indifferent to you; not even the blackest of the black。〃

This cluster of foreign addresses is not the least remarkable of Roosevelt's intellectual feats。 No doubt among those who listened to him in each place there were carping critics; scholars who did not find his words scholarly enough; dilettanti made tepid by over…culture; intellectual cormorants made heavy by too much information; who found no novelty in what he said; and were insensible to the rush and freshness of his style。 But in spite of these he did plant in each audience thoughts which they remembered; and he touched upon a range of interests which no other man then alive could have made to seem equally vital。

On June 18th Mr。 and Mrs。 Roosevelt reached New York。 All the way up the harbor from Sandy Hook; he was escorted by a vast concourse of vessels; large and small; tugs; steamboats; and battleships。 At the Narrows; Fort Wadsworth greeted him with the Presidential salute of twenty…one guns。 The revenue…cutter; Androscoggin; took him from the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria; on which he had crossed the ocean; and landed him at the Battery。 There an immense multitude awaited him。 Mayor Gaynor bade him welcome; to which he replied briefly in affectionate words to his fellow countrymen。 Then began a triumphal procession up Broadway; and up Fifth Avenue; surpassing any other which New York had seen。 No other person in America had ever been so welcomed。 The million or more who shouted and cheered and waved; were proud of him because of his great reception in Europe; but they admired him still more for his imperishable work at home; and loved him most of all; because they knew him as their friend and fellow; Theodore Roosevelt; their ideal American。 A group of Rough Riders and two regiments of Spanish War Veterans formed his immediate escort; than whom none could have pleased him better。

His head was not turned; but his heart must have overflowed with gratitude。

Later; when the crowds had dispersed; he went into a bookstore; and some one in the street having recognized him; the word passed; and a great crowd cheered him as he came out。 Telling his sister of the occurrence; he said; 〃And they soon will be throwing rotten apples at me!〃



CHAPTER XXI。 WHICH WAS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?

Did those words of Roosevelt spring from his sense of humorhumor which recognizes the topsy…turvy of life and its swift changes; and still laughsor from the instinct which knows that even in the sweetest of all experiences there must be a drop of bitterness? Whatever their cause; they proved to be a true foreboding。 He had not been home twenty four hours before he perceived; on talking with his friends; that the Republican Party during his absence had drifted far from the course he had charted。 〃His policies〃 had vanished with his control; and the men who now managed the Administration and the party regarded him;
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