80 POLITICAL LIFE-II 



probably owing to some temporary sanitary efforts, and 

 that interregnum, fortunately for us, was coincident with 

 our stay there. But the disease set in again shortly after 

 ward, and a college friend of mine, who arrived on the 

 day of our departure, was detained in the hotel for many 

 weeks with the fever then contracted. The number of 

 deaths was considerable, but, in the interest of the hotel, 

 the matter was hushed up, as far as possible. 



The following autumn I returned to New Haven as a 

 resident graduate, and, the popular lecture system being 

 then at its height, was invited to become one of the lec 

 turers in the course of that winter. I prepared my 

 discourse with great care, basing it upon studies and 

 observations during my recent stay in the land of the 

 Czar, and gave it the title of &quot;Civilization in Russia.&quot; 



I remember feeling greatly honored by the fact that 

 my predecessor in the course was Theodore Parker, and 

 my successor Ralph Waldo Emerson. Both talked with 

 me much about my subject, and Parker surprised me. 

 He was the nearest approach to omniscience I had ever 

 seen. He was able to read, not only Russian, but the 

 Old Slavonic. He discussed the most intimate details of 

 things in Russia, until, at last, I said to him, &quot;Mr. 

 Parker, I would much rather sit at your feet and listen 

 to your information regarding Russia, than endeavor 

 to give you any of my own.&quot; He was especially in 

 terested in the ethnology of the empire, and had an 

 immense knowledge of the different peoples inhabiting 

 it, and of their characteristics. Finally, he asked me 

 what chance I thought there was for the growth of 

 anything like free institutions in Russia. To this I an 

 swered that the best thing they had was their system 

 of local peasant meetings for the repartition of their 

 lands, and for the discussion of subjects connected with 

 them, and that this seemed to me something like a germ 

 of what might, in future generations, become a sort of 

 town-meeting system, like that of New England. This 

 let me out of the discussion very satisfactorily, for 



