No one could be guided by a better example than we have had in the Reverend Father John, of Kronstadt, {285} who, though he began life without any protection, and as a very poor and humble parish priest, attracted the whole Russian nation, inspiring a faith that approached the miraculous. Hundreds come daily to salute his grave and pray for his soul. Similar parish reforms ought to be introduced everywhere in Russia, and it is a real blessing that the Metropolitan of Petrograd supports this movement. Had this been done already, the importance of it would have been realised not only in home policy, but also in questions of international significance. In former days members of such brotherhoods jealously pursued the severe dictates of the ordinances of the Church. It is evident that the chief enlightenment and prosperity of every Christian country lies in the moral conscience of her people in respect to the Church, as the arbiter of Power and Light. {286} CHAPTER XX RUSSIA AND ENGLAND A New Era--The Russian Ideal--The Trick of Double Nationality--Lord Kitchener's Legacy--The Armenian Inventor--The Kaiser and Double Nationality--The Future of Prussia--Russia's Hope of Victory--Germany's Influence on Anglo-Russian Friendship--Days of Suspicion--Lord Clarendon's Opinion--An ex-Cabinet Minister's Boast--Russian Memories of England--A Glorious Future At the time I left England in May, 1914, there was, of course, no thought of the coming calamity. I wished to return in the autumn of that year to follow my usual habit of spending the winter in London; but the declaration of this unexpected war changed all my plans, and I remained in Russia, returning in the late autumn of 1915. It has been a great happiness to me to see how the friendship between England and Russia has become realised, and how with all the sufferings and mutual anxieties it becomes stronger day by day. The idea of an Anglo-Russian alliance has inspired me a good portion of my life. It is what I have worked for--my dream, my ideal. The war takes an intolerably long time and is a great strain. The sacrifice of men is terrible; the cost unprecedented. We have undergone much and lost much. Our Russian soldiers are equal in {287} bravery to the British, the French, the Belgians and the noble Serbs. We are inspired by the same high ideal, and therefore we must win. The new conditions of warfare have horrified the world--the suffocating gases, the atrocities, the diabolical machinery. Our task is not easy, but I do not think anyone in Russia doubts the final result. In spite of the new German weapons, the terrible cost, the German intrigue and corruption, and the tremendous sums that must have been secretly economised by Germany for the purpose of bribery, we shall win.