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"HOLDING A CANDLE TO THE CZAR."
England was anything but pleased when the Czar Alexander, of Russia,
showed his friendship for the United States by sending a strong fleet
to this country with the accompanying suggestion that Uncle Sam, through
his representative, President Lincoln, could do whatever he saw fit with
the ironclads and the munitions of war they had stowed away in their
holds.
London "Punch," on November 7th, 1863, printed the cartoon shown on this
page, the text under the picture reading in this way: "Holding a candle
to the * * * * *." (Much the same thing.)
Of course, this was a covert sneer, intended to convey the impression
that President Lincoln, in order to secure the support and friendship
of the Emperor of Russia as long as the War of the Rebellion lasted, was
willing to do all sorts of menial offices, even to the extent of holding
the candle and lighting His Most Gracious Majesty, the White Czar, to
his imperial bed-chamber.
It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the Emperor Alexander, who
tendered inestimable aid to the President of the United States, was
the Lincoln of Russia, having given freedom to millions of serfs in
his empire; and, further than that, he was, like Lincoln, the victim of
assassination. He was literally blown to pieces by a bomb thrown under
his carriage while riding through the streets near the Winter Palace at
St. Petersburg.
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Stories and Anecdotes About the Life of Abraham Lincoln
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