Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-12-17

hundred ways made himself famous By
doing those things which historians love
to chronicle.
[ Meanwhile, his genius for governing
upon the Gluiskan system lay dormant
It was not dead, but slept, and after its
nap Of thirteen years it awoke one day,
refreshed. Anastatia, the beautiful Queen
whose influence had been supreme for so
long time, died, and Ivan was free
| again. He recalled an old Bishop who
had been banished for his crimes, and
consulted him as to his future course.
If you wish to be truly sovereign"
said this eminent pTelate, never seek a
counselor wiser than yourself; never re-
ceive advice from any man. Command,
but never obey; and you will be a terror
to the boyards. Remember that he who
! is permitted to begin by advising is Ger
tain to end by ruling his sovereign"
Here was advice of a SORT suited to
VANS taste and education, and for reply
ne kissed the good Bishops hand, say
ing:
My own father could not have spoken
more wisely"
That the Gar spoke sincerely his
faithfulness in following the Bishops
precepts abundantly attests
His Ministers and advisers being man
ifestly wiser than he, and therefore not
at all the proper kind of people to
have about, he straightway banished
them. He then began diligent search
for their partisans, some of whom he
put to death, cOndemning others to i'm
prisOnment and torture He next turned
his attention to his own household,
which he was resolved upon ruling abso-
lutely, at least, if not well. One of the
Princes made himself disagreeable by de-
Ginning to participate freely in the pleas
ures of the place, and for the sake of do
nestle harmony Ivan had him poniarded
while he was at his prayers. Another so
far overstepped the bounds of courtesy
and prOpriety as to demonstrate with one
of the new favorites upon his improper
conduct, and Ivan, in order that there
might be no chickering's and hard feelings
in his family, slew the discourtcous
Prince with his own hand.
He was in the habit of carrying an iron
rod about with him, and he had a play
full way of striking his friends with it
now and then, merely for amusement.
His pleasantries of this and other like
sorts were endless. One day Prince
Boris, a boyard, came to pay his respects
TO the Car, and as he bowed to the
ground, according to custom, Ivan, seiz-
Ing a knife, said: God bless thee, my
dear Boris; thou deservest a proof of
my favor" and with that he kindly cut
the nObleman's ear off.
When Prince Kurbsky, whom he had
threatened with death, fed to Poland
and wrote him a letter thence telling
him pretty plainly what he thought of
him, the Car playfully struck the bearer
Of the missive with his iron rod, as a
preliminary to the reading of the letter,
anC the blood flowed cOpiously from the
mans wounds while Ivan pondered the
words of his rebellious subject. He
then became convinced that the boyards
generally sympathized with Kurbsky,
and to teach them better he put a good
many of them to death by torture, and
deprived many others of their estates.
His alarm was very real, however, for
he was phenomenon Of abject coward
ice. He therefore fed to a fortified
place in the midst of a dense forest,
where he remained month, writing
letters to the people telling them
that he had abdicated and left
them to their fate as a punish
ment for their disloyalty and their
crimes. Singularly enough, his flight
terrified the people. He had taught
them that he was their god as God was
his, and his flight to Alexandrovsky
seemed to them a withdrawal of the pro-
lection of Providence itself. Business
was suspended. The courts ceased to
sit. The people were in an agony of
| terror. A large deputation Of boyards
and priests journeyed to Alexandrovsky,
and besought the sovereign to return
and resume his holy functions as the
head of the church, that the souls of so
many millions might not perish. Exact
ing Of clergy and mobiles an admission of
his absolute right to do as he pleased,
and promise that they would in no way
interfere with or resist authority, he re-
turned to Moscow. Here he surrounded
himself with body guard Of despera-
does, 1000 strong at first, and afterward
increased to 5000, whose duty it was to
| discover the Cars enemies and to sweep
them from the face of the earth. AS
emblems Of these, their functions, each
member of the guard carried at his
| saddle bow a dogs head and a broom.
! As the punishment of the Cars enemies
included the coniscation of their proper
| ty large part of which was given to
| the guards themselves, these were always
| singularly successful in discovering the
! disaffection Of wealthy mobiles, discover
ing it oftentimes before the mobiles them
selves were aware of their own treason
| able sentiments.
| Feeling unsafe still, Ivan built for him
self new palace outside the walls of
! -