按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
sh fleet off Sandy Hook。 Everybody talked of it and of nothing else。 I went to a dinner of 300 men all of different callings and I do not believe one of them spoke of anything else。 Cabmen； car conductors； barkeepers； beggars and policemen。 All talked war and Venezuela and the Doctrine of Mr。 Monroe。 In three days the country lost one thousand of millions of dollars in values； which gives you an idea how expensive war is。 It is worse than running a newspaper。 Now； almost everyone is for peace； peace at any price。 I do not know of but one jingo paper； The Sun； and war talk is greeted with jeers。 It was as if the people had suddenly had their eyes opened to what it really meant and having seen were wiser and wanted no more of it。 Your brother； personally； looks at it like this。 Salisbury was to blame in the first place for being rude and not offering to arbitrate as he had been asked to do。 When he said to Cleveland； 〃It's none of your business〃 the only answer was 〃Well； I'll make it my business〃 but instead of stopping there； Cleveland uttered a cast iron ultimatum instead of leaving a loophole for diplomacy and a chance for either or both to back out。 That's where I blame him as does every one else。
Sam Sothern is in Chicago and we all wrote him guying letters about the war。 Helen said she was going to engage 〃The Heart of Maryland〃 company to protect her front yard； while Russell and I have engaged 〃The Girl I Left Behind Me〃 company with Blanch Walsh and the original cast。
We sent Somerset a picture of himself riddled with bullets。 And Mrs。 Hicks made herself famous by asking if it was that odious Dunraven they were going to war about。
My article was a very lucky thing and is greatly quoted and in social gatherings I am appealed to as a final authority。
The football story； by the way； did me a heap of good with the newspapers and the price was quoted as the highest ever paid for a piece of reporting。 People sent for it so that the edition was exhausted。 The Journal people were greatly pleased。
Yvette Guilbert is at Hammerstein's and crowds the new music hall nightly； at two dollars a seat。 Irving and Miss Terry have been most friendly to me and to the family。 Frohman is going to put 〃Zenda〃 on in New York because he has played a failure； which will of course kill it for next year for Eddie； when he comes out as a star。 I have never seen such general indignation over a private affair。 Barrymore called it a case of Ollaga Zenda。 They even went to Brooklyn when Eddie was playing there and asked him to stage the play for them and how he made his changes and put on his whiskers。 Poor Eddie； he lacks a business head and a business managerand Sam talks and shakes his head but is little better。 Lots of love and best wishes for the New Year。
DICK。
CHAPTER IX
MOSCOW； BUDAPEST； LONDON
The years 18961897 were probably the most active of Richard's very active life。 In the space of twelve months he reported the Coronation at Moscow； the Millennial Celebration at Budapest； the Spanish…Cuban War； the McKinley Inauguration； the Greek…Turkish War and the Queen's Jubilee。 Although this required a great deal of time spent in travelling； Richard still found opportunity to do considerable work on his novel 〃Captain Macklin；〃 to which he refers in one of his letters from London。
As correspondent of the New York American； then The Journal； Richard went from Florence； where he was visiting me； to Moscow。 He was accompanied by Augustus Trowbridge； an old friend of my brother's and a rarely good linguist。 The latter qualification proved of the greatest possible assistance to Richard in his efforts to witness the actual coronation ceremony。 To have finally been admitted to the Kremlin my brother always regarded as one of his greatest successes as a correspondent。
En routeMay 1896。 DEAR CHAS：
The night is passed and with the day comes 〃a hope〃 but during the blackness I had 〃a suffer〃 I read until twofive hoursand then slept until five when the middle man who had slept on my shoulder all night left the train and the second one to whom Bernardi was so polite left me alone and had the porter fit me up a bed so that I slept until seven again Then the Guardian Angel returned for his traps and I bade him a sleepy adieu and was startled to see two soldiers standing shading their eyes in salute in the doorway and two gentlemen bowing to my kind protector with the obsequiousness of servants He sort of smiled back at me and walked away with the soldiers and 13 porters carrying his traps。 So I rung up the conductor and he said it was the King's Minister with his eyes sticking out of his headthe conductor's eyesnot the Minister's。 I don't know what a King's Minister is but he liked your whiskey I am now passing through the Austrian Tyrol which pleases me so much that I am chortling with joy None of the places for which my ticket call are on any mapbut don't you care； I don't care I wish I could adequately describe last night with nothing but tunnels hours in length so that you had to have all the windows down and the room looked like a safe and full of tobacco smoke and damp spongey smoke from the engine； and bad air。 That first compartment I went in was filled later with German women who took off their skirts and the men took off their shoes。 Everybody in the rear of the car is filthy dirty but I had a wash at the Custom house and now I am almost clean and quite happy。 The day is beautiful and the compartment is all my own I am absolutely enchanted with the Tyrol I have never seen such quaint picture book houses and mills with wheels like that in the Good for Nothing and crucifixes wonderfully carved and snow mountains and dark green forests The sky is perfect and the air is filled with the sun and the train moves so smoothly that I can see little blue flowers； baby blue； Bavarian blue flowers； in the Spring grass。 Such dear old castles like birds nests and such homelike old mills and red…faced millers with feathers in their caps you never saw out of a comic opera The man in here with me now is a Russian； of course； and saw the last Coronation and knows that my suite is on the principal Street and attends to my changing money and getting an omelette I can survive another night now having had an omelette not so good as Madam Masi's but still an omelette I have now left Munich and the Russian and a conductor whom I mistook for a hereditary prince of Bavaria； with tassels down his back； has assured me he is going to Berlin； and that I am going to Berlin and much else to which I smile knowingly and say mucho gracia； wee wee； ya ya； ich ich limmer and other long speeches ending with 〃an er〃
DICK。
May 15th； 1896。 Moscow。 DEAR CHAS：
We left Berlin Monday night at eleven and slept well in a wagon…lit。 That was the only night out of the five that I spent in the cars that I had my clothes off； although I was able to stretch out on the seats； so I am cramped and tired now。 At seven Monday morning the guard woke us and told us to get ready for the Custom House and I looked out and saw a melancholy country of green hills and black pines and with no sign of human life。 It was raining and dreary looking and then I saw as we passed them a line of posts painted in black and white stripes a half mile apart on each side of the train and I knew we had crossed the boundary and that the line of posts stretched from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea and from the Pacific to the Caucasus Mountains and the Pamirs。 It gave me a great thrill but I have had so many to…day； that I had almost forgotten that one。 For two days we jogged along through a level country with meanthatched huts and black crows flying continually and peasants in sheepskin coats； full in the skirt and tight at the waist； with boots or thongs of leather around their feet。 The women wore boots too and all the men who were not soldiers had their hair cropped short like mops。 We could not find any one who understood any language； so as we never knew when we would stop for food； we ate at every station and I am of the opinion that for months I have been living on hot tea and caviar and hash sandwiches。 The snow fell an inch deep on Wednesday and dried up again in an hour and the sun shone through it all。 So on the whole it was a good trip and most interesting。 But here we are now in a perfect pandemonium and the Czar has not yet come nor one…fifth even of the notables。 It is a great city； immense and overpowering in its extent。 The houses are ugly low storied and in hideous colors except the churches which are like mosques and painted every color。 I confess I feel beaten to night by the noise and rush and roar and by so many strange figures and marvellous costumes。 Our rooms are perfect that is one thing and the situation is the very best。 If the main street were Fifth Avenue and Madison Square the Governor's Square； his palace would be Delmonico's and our rooms would be the corner rooms of the Brunswick； so you can see how well we are placed。 We can sit in our windows and look down and up the main street and see every one who leaves or calls upon the Governor。 We are now going out for a dinner and to one of many cafe…chantants a