"You shall know soon, my dear." Then the beautiful smile came to the President's firm lips and overflowed into his deep-set eyes as he said to Tom: "The highest honor the old Romans could give to a fellow-citizen was to decree that he had 'deserved well of the Republic.' That can be said of your father now. He has deserved well of the Republic. Before long, the world will know what he has done. Until then," he turned as he spoke to his wife, "until then we'd better not talk about it." This talk was in early June of 1863. By September the whole world, or at least all the governments of the world, did know what Mr. Strong had done after Lincoln sent him abroad. The whole world saw the symbol of his work, without in many cases knowing what the symbol signified. That symbol was the famous visit of the Russian fleet to New York City in September of 1863. The governing classes of both England and France were in favor of the South during our Civil War. The English and French Empires were jealous of the growth of the Republic and wished to see it torn asunder. France hoped to establish a Mexican Empire, a vassal of France, if the Confederacy won. England needed Southern cotton and could not get it unless our blockade of Southern ports was broken. The people of both France and England had little to say as to what their governments would do. Many distinguished Frenchmen took our side and the mass of Englishmen were also on our side, but the latter were helpless in the grip of their aristocratic rulers. They testified to their belief, however, splendidly. In the height of what was called "the cotton famine," when the Lancashire mills were closed for lack of the fleecy staple and when the Lancashire mill-operatives were facing actual starvation, a tiny group of great Englishmen, John Bright and Thomas Bayley Potter among them, spoke throughout Lancashire on behalf of the Northern cause. There was to be a great meeting at Manchester, in the heart of the stricken district. The cost of hall, lights, advertising, etc., was considerable. Someone suggested charging an admission fee. It was objected that the unemployed poor could not afford to pay anything. Finally it was arranged to put baskets at the door, with placards saying that anyone who chose could give something towards the cost of the meeting. When it was over, the baskets were found to hold over four bushels of pennies and ha'pennies. The starving poor of Lancashire had given them, not out of their abundance, but out of their grinding want. This was the widow's mite, many times multiplied.