The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-03-30
MURDERS IN THE ROYAL FAMILY

MURDERS in THE RO1AL rAhlLf
OF RUSSIA.
We extract the following interesting ac-
count of murders in the royal family Of Rus
STA, from the Philadelphia Ledger:
The first surmisp, on the announcement
Of the death of the Gar, WIS that he had
fallen Il victim to some conspiracy. There
would seem, however, to be no ground for
this suspicion. Yet the almost universal sus-
picion of murder was not extraordinary, when
it is considered how many of the royal line
of Russa have died violent deaths. What
with the dissensions among the Imperial
family, and what with the eonspiraeies on the
part Of the nobility to remove an obnoxious
Car, no dynasty of civilized princes has ever
suffered so much from the steel and cord,
since the days Of the Roman Caesars. Tai
leyrand's famous definition of the character
OF the Russian Government, that il was ~
despotism tempered BY assassination" was
true ms it was witty, or rather, was witty be-
cause of its truth. During the early period
of Czarism, Dearly every Emperor destroyed
some rival or was himself destroyed. Even
in the last century, the murder OLA Russian
| prince almost universally attended or prece-
ded the accession of new monarch to the
throne. The bloody drama was opened by a
| father killing his own son. and closed by n
son eonsenting to the murder Of his father
The incident TO which we first alude, was
the secret execution of Alexis, only son Of
Pete7 the Great, BY order of his father, A. d.,
l7l9. The Prince was hostile to the new
measures introduced by the Car, favoring
| the old BOyar party, which adhered TO the
ancient usages and customs Of his country.
For this Peter resolved TO dsinherit him.
| Alexis, knowing what this meant, fled abroad,
but being discovered. was dragged back to
RUSSIA, compelled 10 renounce the succession,
tried by secret judges, and barborously pnt
to death. ...
The next great tragedy which occurred in
| the Romanoff family, was the murder of Peter
the Third, by direction of his wife, who i'm
mediately assembled the throne as Catharne
the Second. This woman, celebrated no less
for her prohigate life than for her political
genius, was the grandmother of Nicholas
| Her instrument in the assassination OF her
husband was Prince Alexis Orloff, one of her
paramours, man Of gigantic stature, who
subsequently unbushingly paraded himself
| through Europe, and was viewed with terror
and curiosity every where rs the person who,
when the Emperor resisted, had throttled the
unhappy Prince with his own hand. A broth
er of this monster went TO Italy, where Il
! Princess of the Romanoff line resided, whom
Catharine feared in consequence OF her bet.
| ter title to the throne, and having inyeiged
the poor girl into Il mock marriage, trapped
her on board of Russian frigate, and car
ried her n prisoner to Constradt. The mis-
cradle victim Of this atrocious perfdy was
drowned in her cell subsequently by an mum
dation of the Neva.
The parrcide to which we allude was the
murder of Paul the First, father of Nicholas,
with the knowledge if not the commence of
Alexander, the predecessor OF the late Gar.
Paul was set upon at night, in his chamber
and assassinated after a prutractcd struggle,
in which he fought with desperate resolution,
though unarmed and in his shirt. AT the
period of this bloody tragedy, Nicholas was
an infant. But his elder brother, Alexander,
was young man, and was, il is generally be.
| lieved, aware Of what was about TO occur
Rene rse for the act is said to have embitter-
ed the closing days Of Alexander. II is as
serted BY some historians that even this
| Prince fell n victim tn violent death. IL is
certain that he died suddenly, when on II tour
in the Crimea; and rs he had become quite
unpopular with large party in his domin-
ions, ii is not impossible that he was poison
ed In all these cases of assassination, it
was at first given out that the Gar died of
appoplexy, nor did the truth appear until the
lapse of years had rendered harmless the
publication of the facts. In n despotism like
Russia, when Prince is to be deposed, there
is generally no course left but to take his
life. lie cannot safely be asked TO abdicatc,
for he would be bold man who could thus
"bel the cat" and while he lives, even after
abdcation, there is always danger of revolu-
ton in his favor. Hence Talleyrands re-
mark.