Christianity and Patriotism
To say nothing of the millions of working days wasted on these celebrations, of the wholesale drunkenness of all who took part in them, encouraged by all the authorities; to say nothing of the senselessness of the speeches that were made, the most insane and cruel things were done and no one took any notice of them.
Several dozens of people were crushed to death, for instance, and no one thought it necessary to mention it. One correspondent wrote that a Frenchman told him at a ball that there was hardly a woman to be found in Paris now who would not have betrayed her
feelings, because we see in her a great nation which has in the past continually stood before the whole world as the champion and herald of the great ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, which has been foremost also in daring efforts to embody these great ideals in life; and the better part of the youth of Russia has always been ready to pay respect to France as the leader in the struggle for the future welfare of humanity. But we do not regard such celebrations as those of Cronstadt and Toulon as a fitting cause for such expressions of respect. "On the contrary, these celebrations manifest a melancholy, though we hope temporary, fact—the betrayal by France of her grand historic rôle: the land that once called upon the whole world to break the fetters of despotism and offered its fraternal assistance to every people in revolt for emancipation, is now burning incense before the Russian Government which systematically checks the normal and organic development of national life, and mercilessly and unscrupulously crushes every movement of Russian society towards enlightenment, towards freedom, and towards independence, The demonstrations at Toulon are
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