Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 1.djvu/17

 A PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION. xiii find in this volume the mighty autocrat Nicholas wield- ing absolutely in his own almost worshipped person the whole strength of his vast dominions; and then turn- ing from the book to their newspapers, they learn that the Russian Emperor of this day is supposed to love peace and order — supposed to love honour and the observance of good faith between nation and nation, yet apparently loves all this in vain, because his power falls short, and the cattle are now driving the herdsman.* Yet even whilst still in the act of observ- ing the immense change thus wrought, one can discern after all a close likeness between the volitional forces which acted upon the Eussia of 1853 and those which govern her now. These pages abundantly show that, although the strong will of Nicholas (if only he could definitively know it) was absolute law in all Eussia, his own mind was the theatre of a breathless strife, being rudely drawn to and fro by the conflicting desires which alternately had the mastery over him ; and that yet, in every one of his varying — nay, opposite — moods, lie was thoroughly, thoroughly Russian, being some- times indeed a Eussian statesman, sometimes a Russian fanatic, sometimes a Eussian encroacher with a wild the present day was given to the world on the 20th of last October, by Prince W. Mestchersky. The Prince assures his readers that Russia is now a Democracy with 'liberty, equality, and fraternity' all complete ; hut it is loyal, he says, and religious, and not there- fore deserving to he confounded with the Democracy of the French Revolution. He plainly agrees that it is a Democracy not applying its energies to Home politics, but attending— on grounds of fratei- uiiv — to foreign affairs.
 * A very able and interesting account of the political liussia 01