not come and see you,' he said, 'so very sorry, but I was prevented.
Look at my thumbs!' and he held up both his hands with the palms
outwards. I looked at his thumbs, but I could not understand. 'See how
small they are,' he went on; 'people with such little thumbs can never
do what they intend to do, they always let themselves be prevented;'
and he laughed so kindly that I felt as if his visit had been paid all
the time and quite understood the validity of the excuse."*

*"Blackstick Papers," 1908

It is seldom that the national characteristic reveals itself so
playfully; it is more likely to lead to tragedy. This cardinal fact
may militate greatly against Russia's position as a world-power in the
future, as it has in the past. Her capacity for passive resistance is
enormous--Napoleon learned that, and so did Frederick. A remarkable
illustration of it was afforded by the late Japanese war, when Port
Arthur held out long after the possible date assigned by many military
experts. For positive aggressive tactics Russia is just as weak
nationally as her men are individually. What a case in point is the
Duma, of which so much was expected! Were a majority of that Duma
Anglo-Saxons, we should all see something happen, and it would not
happen against Finland. One has only to compare it with the great
parliamentary gatherings in England's history.*


* Gogol said in "Dead Souls," "We Russians have not the slightest
talent for deliberative assemblies."

Perhaps if the membership were exclusively composed of women, positive
results would show. For, in Russian novels, the irresolution of the