As I Remember
benefactor, Mr. Sumner, by opposing, in a caustic manner, his views in
reference to the conduct of the Civil War, and by other similar
indiscretions was making new enemies almost every day.
The intense bitterness and intemperance of Gurowski in the expression of
his views is well illustrated in a conversation quoted by one of his
friends in _The Atlantic Monthly_ more than forty years ago. It had
reference to a period preceding the Civil War when the "Fugitive-Slave
Law" was engrossing the attention of the country. "What do I care for
Mr. Webster," he said. "I can read the Constitution as well as Mr.
Webster." "But surely, Count, you would not presume to dispute Mr.
Webster's opinion on a question of constitutional law?" "And why not? I
tell you I can read the Constitution as well as Mr. Webster, and I say
that the 'Fugitive-Slave Law' is unconstitutional--is an outrage, and an
imposition of which you will all soon be ashamed. It is a disgrace to
your humanity and to your republicanism, and Mr. Webster should be hung
for advocating it. He is a humbug or an ass--an ass, if he believes such
an infamous law to be constitutional, and if he does not believe it, he
is a humbug and a scoundrel for advocating it."
The Count's sarcastic reference to Secretary Seward is equally amusing.
It seems that one of his duties, while in the State Department, was to
keep a close watch upon the European newspapers for matters of interest
to our government, and also to furnish the Secretary of State, when
requested, with opinions on diplomatic questions, or, as Gurowski
expressed it, "to read the German newspapers and keep Seward from making
a fool of himself." The first duty, he said, was easy enough, but the
latter was rather difficult!
In 1854 Gurowski published his book, "Russia as it is," which was soon
followed by another work entitled, "America and Europe." Both of them
met with a favorable reception, but, after losing his government
position, it became a difficult matter for him to eke out a maintenance,
and his disposition, if possible, became still more embittered. At an
evening party I took part by chance in an animated discussion upon the
subject of dueling. Suddenly my eye lighted upon Count Gurowski, who had
just entered the room. Calling him to my side I asked him in facetious
tones how many men he had killed. He quickly responded, "Wonly (only)
two!"
Count Gurowski's fund of knowledge was in many ways highly remarkable,
especially upon his favorite theme of royalty and nobility, past and
present. He was intensely disliked by the Diplomatic Corps in
Washington, many of whose members regarded him as a Russian spy, a
suspicion which, of course, was without the slightest foundation. Baron
Waldemar Rudolph Raasloff, the Danish Minister, once refused to enter a
box at the opera where I was seated because Gurowski was one of the
party. The Count seemed to be in touch with sources of information
relating to diplomats and their affairs which were unknown to others--a
fact which naturally aroused dislike and jealousy. He once announced to
me, for example, that the _attaches_ of the French Legation were in a
state of great good humor, as their salaries had been raised that day.
I once heard a member of a foreign legation say to another: "Gurowski is
an emanation of the Devil." "The Devil, you say," was the response,
"why, he is the Devil himself." In discussing with a foreigner the
Count's exile by the Russian government, I said that I knew of relatives
of his in high position in Russia. Evidently controlled by his
prejudices, he replied: "It must be a family of contrasts, as his
position in this country is certainly a low one." If he intended to
convey the impression that the Count was "low" in his pocket, his
statement was certainly correct, but not otherwise. It is true that his
unhappy disposition made him more enemies than friends, but he was by no
means devoid of admirable traits, even if he so frequently preferred to
conceal them. The finer side of his nature and his pleasing qualities
only were presented to my sister, Mrs. Eames, who always welcomed him to
her house. One day when he called the condition of his health seemed so
precarious that she insisted upon his becoming her guest. He accepted
the invitation, but did not long survive, and in the spring of 1866 his
turbulent spirit passed away while under my sister's roof. Much respect
was paid to his memory and the most distinguished men and women in
Washington attended his funeral. He is buried in the Congressional
Cemetery, where a crested tablet surmounts his grave. Little was
generally known of his immediate family relations, but Robert Carter,
one of his most intimate friends and the author of the article in _The
Atlantic Monthly_, already referred to, states that he was a widower and
had a son in the Russian Navy and a married daughter in Switzerland.
Early in life his brother, Count Ignatius Gurowski, met the Infanta
Isabella de Bourbon, sister of the Prince Consort of Spain, while she
was receiving her education at the _Sacre Coeur_ in Paris, and eloped
with her. They were pensioned by the Spanish government for a while
under Queen Isabella's reign and made their home in Brussels. I have
heard, however, that when Isabella was forced from the throne the
pension ceased and their circumstances became quite reduced. It is said
that the Prince Consort, Ignatius Gurowski's brother-in-law, suggested
to him soon after his marriage that it might be well for him to be
created a Duke of the realm. This friendly offer was declined with
indignation. "I would prefer," said Gurowski, "being an old Count to a
new Duke!"
Sometime ago I saw the statement in a newspaper to the effect that
descendants of Ignatius Gurowski were living in the United States. This
suggests, although remotely, the inquiry heard many years ago: "Have we
a Bourbon among us?"--referring, of course, to the last Dauphin, whom
many believed to exist in the person of the Rev. Eleazer Williams, who
resided in St. Lawrence County, New York. The Rev. Dr. Francis L. Hawks
had such an abiding faith that Williams was actually the Dauphin that he
wrote an article in 1853 for _Putnam's Magazine_ expressive of his
views. If the newspaper story and Dr. Hawks's claims be true, this
country has accordingly been the retreat of more than one member of the
ill-fated Bourbon family. Several years ago I was surprised to hear it
stated that the father of Kuroki, the famous Japanese General, was a
brother of Adam and Ignatius Gurowski. This information, I am informed,
came from a nephew of General Kuroki who was receiving his education in
Europe. "My uncle Kuroki," he is said to have written, "is of Polish
origin. His father was a Polish nobleman by the name of Kourowski, who
fled from Russia after the Revolution of 1831. He finally went to Japan
and married a Japanese. As the name of Kourowski is difficult to
pronounce in Japanese, my uncle pronounced it Kuroki. The General's
father, upon his death bed said to him that perhaps some day he would
be able to take vengeance upon the Russians for their cruel treatment of
unhappy Poland."
One of the most notable men of my acquaintance in Washington was Caleb
Cushing. I first met him when he was Attorney-General in President
Pierce's Cabinet, and the friendship formed at that time lasted for many
years. He was among the guests at my wedding, and Miss Emily Harper,
whom he accompanied, told me that he especially commented upon that
portion of the service which reads, "those whom God hath joined
together, let no man put asunder." His remarks evidently appealed to her
as an ardent Roman Catholic. Ralph Waldo Emerson declared Mr. Cushing to
be the most eminent scholar of the country, and Wendell Phillips went
still further and said: "I regard Mr. Cushing as the most learned man
living." His habit was one of constant acquirement. He was what I should
call "a Northern man with Southern principles," an expression which
originated in 1835, and was first applied to Martin Van Buren. I have
heard Cushing defend slavery with great eloquence and although, like
him, I was born and bred in the North, I regarded that institution, in
some respects, as far less iniquitous than the infamous opium trade
which so enriched British and American merchants, and of which I saw so
much during my life in China.
It must have been from his Pilgrim forefather that Mr. Cushing inherited
a decided antipathy for Great Britain, and it was once said that he
carried this prejudice so far that he refused to visit England. This
statement, however, is untrue, as I have before me an amusing article,
written many years ago by his private secretary, during his mission to
Spain, which contradicts it. He gives some amusing incidents connected
with his visit of a few days in London when he and Mr. Cushing were _en
route_ to Spain. "Mr. Cushing's headwear," he writes, "was a silk hat
which must have been the fashion of about the time he discarded
umbrellas. It was slightly pointed at the top and there was, so to say,
no back or front to it and there was no band for it. As I knew he
intended paying several visits, I asked him if he would not exchange his
hat, which at the time was thoroughly soaked, for a new and lighter one.
The old man took off his ancient hat, examined it critically and then
said slowly and deliberately, as if delivering an opinion on the bench,
'No, sir, I think that I shall wait and see what the fashions are in
Madrid.' It was said with much earnestness, as if it had been a state
question. A third person would have found it irresistibly funny, but
there was nothing laughable in it to General Cushing. In fact, his sense
of humor was of a very grim order." He also writes: "The old man was an
inveterate smoker, and yet, during the whole period of my intercourse
with him, I did not see him light a score of fresh cigars. He bought
them, that is certain, but he must have been averse to lighting them in
public for he almost invariably had a stump between his lips. Ask him if
he would have a cigar and the answer would be, 'Thank you, sir, I think
I have one,' and out would come a dilapidated case, from which he would
shake from one to half a dozen butts as the supply ran."
While Cushing was Attorney-General under President Pierce, he formed a
friendship with Madame Calderon de la Barca, of whom I have already
spoken, who, upon his arrival in Madrid, was one of the first persons to
greet him. She was then a widow and occupied a high social position at
the Spanish court. Cushing and she thoroughly enjoyed the renewal of
their earlier friendship in Washington, and the last visit he made in
Madrid was when he bade her a final farewell. In 1843, and prior to his
mission to Spain, Mr. Cushing was appointed by President Tyler Minister
to China, where his able diplomacy has been the subject of recognition
and admiration to this day. He carried with him the following
remarkable letter which he was charged by the President to deliver in
person to the Emperor. It may have been--who knows?--the first lesson in
occidental geography submitted to the "Brother of the Sun and the Sister
of the Moon and Stars." Had the President of the United States been
called upon to address a country Sunday School, he could hardly have
exhibited a more conscious effort to adapt himself to the level of his
hearers. This is the letter:--
I, John Tyler, President of the United States of
America--which states are Maine, New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois,