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Show A MYSTERIOUS EVENT. There is, and for six months has been, running in the Atlantic Monthly, the diary of Gideon Welles,- who was Secretary, of tho Navy under President Lincoln during tho War of tho Tte: hellion.- Mr. Welles was an active, efficient; ef-ficient; secretary, loyal to tho cause, a man of great grasp of mind, vast common com-mon sense, and extensive attainments. His diary is one of the great things of tho war, and its high value must, in time, bo fully recognized. J Lis comment com-ment on current events is a record of his privato thoughts and good judgment. judg-ment. His estimate of generals in the army as their work was developed in tho Cabinet meetings, is the judgment that history lias pronounced upon them, except that opportunity for judgment iu detail was his beyoud most, and he has gone into detail in the strengthening of the case in every instance, in-stance, in a way that; cannot fail lo be of great service to future historians. What ho thought about McClellan, about Mead, about ironkor, about Hal-lock, Hal-lock, is practically about whan overy one thinks of thent now, and his judgment judg-ment of events nnd of tho value of taking advantage of opportunities is so keen, so correct, and so well stated, that this diary is indeed a trcasuro to the public. ' Jn the installment of this diary in ! the .Inly Atlantic there is a paragraph that reopens an old discussion without throwing any light; upon a widely discussed dis-cussed and oven yet mysterious occurrence. occur-rence. Under date of Friday, September Sep-tember 25, 1S(M. Mr. Welles records: The. Russian fleet has come out of the Baltic and is now In Xow York, or a largo number of tho vessels have arrived. ar-rived. They are not to be confined to tho Baltic, by a northern winter. In .sending them to this country at this time .there Is something significant What will be its effect on Franco and tho French policy we shall learn in due time. II may moderate it may exasperate. exasper-ate. God bless the Russians! Most extraordinary things have been said about, that visit of the Russian fleet to Now York, in the fall of 1SG.'?. The most generally accepted explanation explana-tion of it has been, and this was corroborated cor-roborated in a talk with the Czar himself him-self some years later, that the visit was intended as a marie of friendship to tho United Stales, and of bin good will toward this Nation in the struggle it, was making to preserve the Union ami put down the rebellion. Other ver sions have gone lo the extreme of saying that the Russian fleet arrived in New York with orders which put it at the service of President Lincoln in certain contingencies; those contingencies contingen-cies being suggested ns the recognition of the Confederacy by Great Britain or France, 'or both. This view would, however, presuppose an alliance of lVnsive and defensive between Russia I and the Lulled blates, winch, in tacl, 1 never existed. It is. therefore, in the highest degree i improbable, if not practically impossi-- impossi-- ble, that Iho Russian Hoot, could have . arrived with any such orders. But ; that its arrival was welcomed with i deuj) feeling and enthusiasm in this country, there is not the least doubt, and' the outburst of Secretary Welles, "God bless the Russians!" coming from a man of stcadfastncss; cool-blooded, cool-blooded, and of phlegmatic disposition, surely ought, to moan something far be yond the ordinary. Precisely what it did mean is not explained in this portion por-tion of the diary. Perhaps the outburst out-burst may be explained later on; for certainly if any significance, beyond a mere disposition to show a friendly regard toward the Unitod Slates, was involved in that visit, Naval Sccro-. tary Welles would bo the one who would naturally know of il. 1 For a great many years thero have been curious and speculating views about somo of the mjsf orious events of the wnr, nnd Iho inquirers have I been particularly curious about the J visit of the Russian licet at that time; C and if subsequent entries in Secretary 5 Welles 's journal will clear up that jj mystery, then this journal will prove I of even more value and interest than the entries in the portions of the diary which have already been published, i important and interesting though these S entries certainly aro. Secretary Welles I will prove a further benefactor to his g count ly, and will satisfy a widespread 51 curiosity, if ho is able to throw any light upon tho visit of the Russian flcol to American waters in the fall cf 1SG3. |