The Sun.
London, England, 1831-07-19 00:00:00

THE LATE GRAND DUKE CONSTANTINE.

His Imperial Highness was the eldest son of the
unhappy Emperor Paul, and was born May 8, 17799
consequently he completed his 62d year about
the period of his dissolution. The Grand Duke
was therefore considerably the senior of the reigning
Emperor, who is only in his 35th year. His High-
ness formed a matrimonial alliance, in 1796, with
the Princess Julia of Saxe Coburg, sister of the
reigning Duke of Saxe Coburg, her Royal Highness
the Duchess of Kent, and his Majesey Leopold 1.,
King of the Belgians. This union, however, did
not turn out as happy as was expected, the diepre
sitions of the illustrious couple being in tee highest
degree dissimilar, and at length the marriage MIS
dissolved in March, 1820, in order to enable the
Grand Duke to unite himself to the Countess of
Grudzeiska, who, upon her nuptials, was created by
the Emperor Alexender Prince-s of Lowicz. Prior
to the Polish revolution the Grand Duke chiefly re-
sided at Warsaw, having been selected to fill the
duties of King's representative in Poland in the
autumn of 1825. General Diebitach proceeded to
Warsaw to notify to his Highness the dissolution of
the Emperor Alexander, and his consequent acces-
sion to the throne of the Czars. The " Forster of
the Balkan" returned in a short time to St. Peters-
burgh, with letters from the Grand Duke, expressive
of his resolution to take the first oath of allegiance
to his brother Nicholas as Autocrat of all the
Russias ; thereby confirming the solemn renuncia-
tion which he had made on the 24th of January,
1822. The character attributed to the late Viceroy
of Poland was that of a despot of the most arbitrary
and unbending school. His Highness's notions of
subordination and blind submission to military autho-
rity are said to have been the most exaggerated that
any man has entertained in Europe for centuries
past, his father, perhaps, alone excepted. His horror
of political rights and Constitutions was as ex-
treme as the incapacity of his intellects to compre-
hend them. His rigorous exactions about a cotefol-
mity with his whimsical regulations on the mode of
wearing regimentals, were among the peculiarities
of his overbearing character. lie has frequently
sent officers in arrest for the offence of leaving a
single button out of its hole. At the theatetis of St.
Petersburgh his principal occupation was to espy
the officers of his own regiment of Huleus, and if,
through the means of his Flans, he thought he per.
ceived, in some remote corner, any of them eras not
bound up at all points, in the crirtret conformity
with his latest regulations, an Aide-tle-Camp was in-
stantly despatched to the offender, with orders to
place him immediately under arrest. The extreme
littleness of mind implied by this petty mode of
harraising and tormenting those around him Con-
etantine evidently inherited from his father. Upon
one occasion, when the Grand Duke wes on parade
surrounded by a numerous retinue of General Offi-
cers, he espied a distinguished officer, corn:rending
a cavalry regiment, at some distance from him, with
his uniform coat unbuttoned. His Highness imme-
diately called the Colonel forwaid, and, in that
rough tone which was peculiar to him, asked him
how he dared to appear in his presence in disha-
bille ? The Colonel expleined *that, not being
strictly on duty, and feeling much oppresLed by the
heat, he did not think he would have been called to
account because his coat was not entirely buttoned
up to his neck. This answer raised the Grand
Duke's anger to its highest pitch. He stru, k the
uefortuinate officer a violent blow on the ,ace, and
ordered him to prison. To submit to smith a de-
grading outrage was more than any ni ii, of the
Colonel's sensitive feelings could andure,- ens vie
following day he terminuted his exi-tene e f'et-ii!rT
in a letter which he addressed to a fair Co _ no:::ro
he was no .egee
in the eyes, of the whole army, and .
worthy to be allied to ker.
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whom he was engaged, that he
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