The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1855-04-05

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From the Neg York Herald.
. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE
LATE EMPEROR NICHOLAS.
NICHOLAS PAuLovITcH, the son of Paul The
First and Maria Fevdorowna, was the llf-
, teenlh sovereign OF the Romanof dynasty,
il the imperial historians are 10 be believed
In reality he was the eighth sovereign ol
the Holstein-Gotorp dynasty, the Romanoff
race having become extinct with Peter III
The Hostens are of German descent their
name is even difficult Of pronunciation 10
Russian lips. Nicholas, aware that the Mus.
covie pride would feel but little fatiered TO
owe The sacred person of their sovereign 10
The detes,ed race OF Nemeiz, (Germans,) al
WAYS carefully suppressed his real family
| name. The courtiers maintained, in spite
| of all proof 10 the contrary, that the blood
flowing in the veins of the Gar was Rus
sian 10 the last drop. Golovne, however,
| informs us that tho poet Pouchkin was OF a
contrary opinion. " Ho had" says Colo.
vine, ga habit Of illustrating the nationality
of the reisning family in whimsical manner.
He would pour into case a glass Of pure
red wine in honor of Peter l., whose Russi-
an origin could not be disputed. He should,
Justly speaking, have stopped there, and
turned the glass upside down but, faithful
to The principle of the Russian government,
which makes the Gotorps pass for the Ro-
| maEoGs, he would pour in another glass
| Of wa,er--in honor of the Catharlne II.
! Princess of Anhal,. This time he should,
pe,,hsps, have pouled glass of wine, but
fearin.- 20 compromise himself, would pass
on aud pccr another glass of water for Maria
Fevdorovn,e, lhe mother Of Nicholas |. /;
! lben a fourth, fov the reisnns Empress; and
he obtained at las, hquor 90 slightly hinged
with red that he would excite general
laugh when he called r,oon his audience to
decide as 10 whether it w.S wine OF "S'oF
he was showing 'hem, and ,y..Ne'hef' py COM
parison, the resning Czars wei fea''y nus
slams or Germans" This Musc>'''He pleas
anlry had The merit Of expressing tho exact
truth with reference 10 the ultra natioha.' pre-
tensions of the Emperor Nicholas.
II is, however, curious to remark, by the
spay, ,bs. ia spii, of iha ssrnng deSira of thsf
sons OF the Golofp race 10 pass for Roman
offs, they do not carry il so far as 10 aban.
don the titles that belong TO them as repre-
senta,ives of tue elder branch of Holstein;
thus Nicholas invariably added 10 the quail
tcalions attached 10 the CZarate those of
Heir of Norway, Dcke of Schleswg, of Slo-
mar, of Dilmorsen, and Oidenburg.
Nicholas was twenty-nine years Of age
when he came 10 the throne. Born the year
of Ca,harine's death, (l796,) he had been
educated under the eye Of his excellent
mother, The Empress Maria, from whom he
had derived sound religious instruction and
high moral principle, Childhood had veied
from MIN the awful tragedy which closed his
fathers life, and the great wars which ter
minated with the burning Of The Kremlin.-
/ Warned by The example Of his brothers, his
marriage had beer delayed ill he attained
his majority, when he was united 10 Louise
Charlotte, daughter of Frederick William
H., of Prussia, a lady whose amiable char
ac,er and fond affection have never been
questioned.
From The period of bis marriage till his
accession he had, like ell members Of the
royal family, devoted himself 10 military
studies. He lived retired, and spent most
of his time in the barracks. II does not ap.
pear that he derived much fruit from his per-
severance. He never was good general,
and frequently displayed such want OF skill
as 10 expose him TO the rdicule Of his Off
GERS. II we are 10 believe the works of
some of his countrymen, he nearly contrved
TO Illustrate the success of his own army in
1928, by his ill-judged Interference, and III
Iudicious manGuvTes.
The very day of his accession, the most
formidable revolt that Russia had known
since the days OF Michael Romanoff broke
out in The Capital. II was not formidable
by its strength or the skill by which ii was
marked; couple of thousand officers and
men Of intellect composed its entire force,
and their plans were woiully defective. But
il differed from all former instructions in lis
principle. They had been family quarrels
for power, court intrgues, outbursts of nsub.
ordination among the soldiery-this was the
FIRST direct blow struck for popular rights
The ann OF Ryleiei in the north, and Postal
in the south, was 10 supercede the autocra-
cy OF the Czars by constitutional monarchy
They wanted freedom for themselves and
their fellow countrymen; and though they
foresaw that the struggle might involve the
death Of the Gar, this they regarded as a
mere incidental consequence, aid not The
main object of their movement They would
have accepted even Constantine, had he of.
fered them constitutional guarantees for then
natural rights. An insurreclicn on this ground
was new and startling event for Russia.
On the 25lh of December The oath was &c
be administered 10 the regiments. Instead
of swearing, several abandoned their bar
racks and marched 10 the great square in st
Petersburg on which the statue of Peter The
Great rests, shouting, Harrah for Constan
tine They might as well have shouted
Hunah for the Pope so far as their purpose
went--but all insurgents must have rally.
, ing cry. Confding his son 10 loyal Fin