It would be interesting, and perhaps not wholly unprofitable, to bring
together the various attempts that have been made to shadow forth the
approaching crisis in the political world. As literary curiosities, such
things may be worth preserving; and I therefore send you a few samples as a
contribution.
The first is from the Abbé De la Mennais, whose words, uttered about twenty
years ago, are thus given in a provincial paper:
"England, like all other countries, has had her period of
aggrandisement; during a whole century Europe has seen her dawning
above the horizon until, having attained her highest degree of
splendour, she has begun to decline, and this decline dates from the
day of which the fall of Napoleon, due principally to her exertions,
marked the most brilliant period of her glory. Since that time her
policy has undergone a striking change, which every year becomes more
evident. Instead of that vigour and promptitude of resolution of which
she used to give so many proofs (though they could not all be praised
alike, because there were more than one act repugnant to morality), she
is now timid, she hesitates, she labours painfully through the dark and
crooked paths of diplomacy, and substitutes intrigue for action;
incapable, it would seem, of taking a decisive part at the right
moment, even on the most momentous occasions. The English nation has
evidently lost its strength, or the belief in its strength; and as to
actual results, one differs not from the other. Look at this England,
so haughty, so wedded to her interests, so skilful formerly in
defending them, so bold in extending their influence over the whole
world; look at her now in the presence of Russia. Humbled, braved by
that young power, one would say that she trembles before its genius.
The Czars exercise over her a species of fascination which disturbs her
councils and relaxes the muscles of her robust arms. The conquests of
the Russians in the East menace the possessions of England in India;
they close the Dardanelles to her fleets, they shut out her commerce
from the mouths of the Danube and the shores of the Black Sea. After
what fashion would she have resisted these things thirty years ago?"
The next quotation is from Alison's _History of Europe from the Fall of
Napoleon_, published in 1852. In chap. i. p. 68., after citing some lines
from Gray on _Education and Government_, he thus proceeds:
"It will be so to the end of the world; for in the north, and there
alone, are found the privations which insure hardihood, the poverty
which impels to conquest, the difficulties which rouse to exertion.
Irresistible to men so actuated is the attraction which the climate of
the south, the riches of civilisation, exercise on the poverty and
energy of the native wilds. Slowly but steadily, for two centuries, the
Muscovite power has increased, devouring everything which it
approaches--ever advancing, never receding. Sixty-six millions of men,
doubling every half century, now obey the mandates of the Czar; whose
will is law, and who leads a people whose passion is conquest. Europe
may well tremble at the growth of a power possessed of such resources,
actuated by such desires, led by such ability; but Europe alone does
not comprise the whole family of mankind. The great designs of
Providence are working out their accomplishment by the passions of the
free agents to which their execution has been intrusted. Turkey will
yield, Persia be overrun by Muscovite battalions; the original
birth-place of our religion will be rescued by their devotion; and as
certainly as the Transatlantic hemisphere, and the islands of the
Indian Sea, will be peopled by the self-acting passions of Western
democracy, will the plains of Asia be won to the Cross by the
resistless arms of Eastern despotism."
I shall conclude with two or three extracts from a pamphlet, published some
time last year at Toronto, and bearing the significant title, _The coming
Struggle among the Nations of the Earth; or the Political Events of the
next Fifteen Years, &c._ The writer begins by interpreting, as applicable
to the present times, the prophecies of Ezekiel, Daniel, and the
Apocalypse, from which he foretells the following events:
1. The seizure of Constantinople, and overthrow of Turkey by the Emperor of
Russia.
2. War between France and Austria: overthrow of the latter, and consequent
destruction of the Papacy.
3. The conquest of the Horns or Continental Powers by the Emperor of
Russia.
4. Britain rapidly extends her Eastern possessions, prevents the occupation
of Judea, and completes the first stage of the restoration of the Jews.
The writer then continues in the following strain:
"Turning his eyes eastward on the wealth and prosperity of the
countries under British protection, the triumphant conqueror of Europe
will conceive the idea of spoiling them, and appropriating their goods
and cattle. Scarcely is this idea formed, than its execution is begun;
and sudden and terrific as a whirlwind he enters the 'glorious land.'
So sudden and unexpected is his onslaught, that the British power is
unprepared, and Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya fall into his hands.
"Meanwhile, Britain has been making strenuous efforts to stop the
progress of this gigantic Napoleon; and every soldier that can be
spared is sent away in the direction of the rising sun. But what can
the British army do against such a host as the Russian autocrat has
around him? Brave as the officers and men may be, what success or what
renown can be gained in such an unequal conflict? In the critical
emergency, the parent island sends a cry across the Atlantic, 'Come
over and help us!' Swiftly is the sound borne over the waves, and soon
an answering {560} echo is wafted back from the shores of Columbia. The
cause is common, and the struggle must be common too. 'We are coming,
brother John, we are coming,' is the noble reply; and, almost ere it is
delivered, a fleet of gallant vessels is crossing the Pacific, with the
stars and stripes gleaming on every mast. Another force is on its way
from the far south, and soon the flower and strength of Anglo-Saxon
race meet on the sacred soil of Palestine. The intelligence of their
approach reaches the sacrilegious usurper, and he leads forth his army
towards the mountains that rise in glory round about Jerusalem. The
Jews within the city now arm themselves, and join the army that has
come from the east and west, the north and south, for their protection:
and thus these two mighty masses meet face to face, and prepare for the
greatest _physical_ battle that ever was fought on this struggling
earth. On the one side the motley millions of Russia, and the nations
of Continental Europe, are drawn up on the slopes of the hills, and the
sides of the valleys toward the north; while, on the other, are ranged
the thousands of Britain and her offspring; from whose firm and regular
ranks gleam forth the dark eyes of many of the sons of Abraham,
determined to preserve their newly recovered city or perish, like their
ancestors of a former age, in its ruins.
"All is ready. That awful pause, which takes place before the shock of
battle, reigns around; but ere it is broken by the clash of meeting
arms, and while yet the contending parties are at a little distance
from each other, a strange sound is heard over head. The time for the
visible manifestation of God's vengeance has arrived, his fury has come
up in his face, and He calls for a sword against Gog throughout all the
mountains. 'Tis this voice of the Lord that breaks the solemn
stillness, and startles the assembled hosts. The scene that follows
baffles description. Amid earthquakes and showers of fire, the
bewildered and maddened armies of the autocrat rush, sword in hand,
against each other, while the Israelites and their Anglo-Saxon friends
gaze on the spectacle with amazement and consternation. It does not
appear that they will even lift their hand against that foe which they
had come so far to meet. Their aid is not necessary to accomplish the
destruction of the image. The stone, cut without hands, shall fall on
its feet and break them to pieces; and then shall the iron, the clay,
the brass, the silver, and the gold, become like the chaff of the
summer threshing-floor, and the wind shall carry them away. The various
descriptions which we have of this battle, all intimate that God is the
only foe that shall contend with the autocrat at Armageddon. John terms
it, 'the battle of that great day of God Almighty;' and we believe the
principal instrument of their defeat will be mutual slaughter. The
carnage will be dreadful. Out of all the millions that came like a
cloud upon the land of Israel, only a scattered and shattered remnant
will return; the great mass will be left to 'cleanse the land,' and
fill the valley of Hamongog with graves."
I refrain from quoting the remarks made by Napoleon, at St. Helena,
respecting Russia, and the likelihood of her ultimately subjugating Western
Europe, as your readers must be familiar with them from the writings of
O'Meara and others.