Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1865-05-04
M(istsllaneous,
ASSASSINATION IN HISTORY.
The Murder Of Kings and Rulers


"Sud stories of the death ofltlngs;
How some have been dcposcd, some slain in war;
Some haunted by the ghosts they have deposed;
some poisoned by their wives, some, sleeping,
All murdered For within the hollow crown
Keeps death his court H6kpede
Murder i, the primcval crime, and from
the day Cain smote his brother and brought
death into the world it has borne the heaviest
curse Of Divine and human law. The mali
cious killing Of human being is the highest
ofcnsc in the calendar Of human sin. The
position Of the person killed may have, in
the imperfect judgment of men, much to do
with fixing the degree of guilt but before
the final tribunal the monarch and the beg
gar are alike, and however prominent or
humble the victim the judgment upon the
slayer will be the same. The killing of a
king is only more atrocious than the killing
of bcggar because Of the widespread and
destructive effect it has upon others. The
history Of the world is full Of rcgicides, but
in no instance that we can now recall, has
good been produced by the crime. The
eldest primcval curse still hangs upon mur-
der, and no good purpose can be subScrvcd
by it, Many wicked and atrocious tyrants
have fallen by the hand Of the assassin, but
the result anticipated from their murder was
never realized many wise and moderate
rulers have persisted in the same way, and
confusion, anarchy and ruin almost invari
| ably followed. Ancient history, the dubious
record ofthe human race before it emerged
from the shadow of barbarism is particular
ly prolific Of regicides There were then no
other remedies for private and public wrongs
but the assassin knife and the history OF
IA thousand kings is briefly recorded in the
single sentence They were born they
ruled arbitrarily, and they were murdered.
Their government might be described as tho
government of Russia has been, by saying
that it was .despotism tempered by assas
snation." In Oriental countries rulers II.
rarely died natural deaths rs they lived natu
raj lives. II is from these fiery regions tha
modern language receives the word "assas
l., sin, and the common belief is that it is de
- rived from the word 'hdSchiS," an opiat,
q which produces luxurious and frenzicC
species ot lntoXlcation; and this drug wa
n given to bands of murdercrs in Asia by thci
leader for the purpose Of exciting them t.
: the dark crimes which made every ruler il
the old world shuddcr.
In the eleventh century band or rathe
IA sect-ior murder was the cardinal poin
=; in their rcligion-had complete possesso
Of the mountains Of Syria, from whith the
emerged at the bidding of their chief, an
murdered whomsoeyer he designated s
81 formidable was this band and so extensiv
: their operations, that their daggers lurke
= in every court in Europe, and the terror c
their name made every prince tremble tc
. himself The original society of assassin
was founded in 1890 by llasSan Sebek, VIII
was called the "Old Man oftho Mountains,
g, from his residence among the mountain,
and his successor assumed the same title -
The society existed for one hundred an
sevcnty-two years-though changing tssca
of power several timcs-and in Syria alon
- ut one time numbered 10000 members
male and female, all devoted to the work o
murder, and particularly to the murder G
, public men. The number of murders com
= mittcd by these fanatics was incalculablc -
They were finally oxtirpatcd by lIolago
Khan in the twelfth century. Similar SC
ceties existed in Arabia long aftertho "Ol
e. Man of the Mountains" had disappeared
: and n long line of Mahomet' successors ic
beneath their daggers
Rome was frequently relieved from tn
horrors of the most brutal dospotisms b
n the hand Of assassins, and as often plunge
into confusion and misery by the murder
comparatively good rulers.
The most conspicuous instance of frcgicil
q in Roman history, and the one which ismo
. frequently cited as an example and justi
cation of the crime, was the assassination
,, julius Caesar by Junius Brutus and his 90
iederatcs. The pen Of Shakespeare has to
. the tale with as much accuracy AS was pc
' sible and more dramatic fire than any 9th
!. could expect to. Caesar, the greatest of q
-. Roman conquerors, after having fought fl
w. pitched battles-oi the most desperate 4
scription of all the ancient battles and aft
having slain, as is estimated, |, l92, 900 me
Is, was stabbedin the Senate Chamber at Ron
on the 18th of March forty five years bctc
the birth of Christ He was accused
80 having overturned the liberties of his cou
try, but it is pleaded for him that Rome b
~ really lost its liberties before his timo. Il
~ people were corrupt tactious and fanatic
Louis Napoleon, in his current history
Casar, finds tho principal vindication OF
}. hero, in the fact upon Cpsar's death Roi
= was plunged into anarchy and civil war, a
- given over TO despotism and plunder. L
extenuation of Brutus is that hewas proml
cd TO the deed by motives ofpurest patri'
, ism, and it is undoubtedly true that he mea
{ il for the best for his country; but it
doubtful whether, il the final judgment
mankind could be taken, he would be jus
= fed, or whether his folly and ingratitu
would not be condemned more than
patriotism has been applauded. II seel
sure that the maniac who slew Preside
Lincoln relied upon the popular notion abe
Brutus to justify himself, but all can {
po. how ill-judged this expectation was, and h.