The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1875-04-25

HIS rcal career. Ills extraordinary
capacity for ruling an empire on
the principles taught him by the
Prince Gluisky, was now about to
show itself in al it's greatness. a
criminal of Novgorod, feeling him.
self aggrievcd by the authorities of
that city, who had incarccratcd
him for time, wrote o letter offer
ing to place the city under Polish
protection. This letter he signed,
not with his own name, but that
of the Archbishop; and, instead Of
sending it to the King of Poland, to
whom it was addressed, he sccrcted
it in the Church of st. Sophia.
Then going to Alexandrovsky, he
told Ivan that treason was contcm-
plated by tho Novgorodians, and
that the reasonable letter would
be found behind the statue of the
Virgin, in the church. Ivan sent q
messenger to find the letter, and
upon his return the Czar began his
march on the doomed city. Hap
pening to pass through the town
of Kuhr, on his way to Novgorod,
he put MI its inhabitants to death,
with the purpose, doubtless, Of
training his troops in the nrt of
wholesale massacre, before rcquir-
ing them to practice it upon the
people of Novgorod. Finding this
system of drill an agreeable one.
he repeated it upon his arrival ut
the city of Twer, and then, i'll
border that the other towns along his
ronte might have no reason to
complain of partiality, he bestowed
upon all of them like manifesto
ton of his imperial regard.
1t is not my purpose to describe
in detail the elaborate and inge-
NOUS cruelty practiccd in the
massacre OF the Novgorodians.
The story is sickcning. Ivan first
heard mass, and then began the
butchcry, which lasted for many
days, was conducted with the ut
most dehberation and ingenious
cruelty, and ended in the slaughter
OF 10000 people. Ivan had select
cd certain prominent citizens, to
tho number of several hundred,
whom he reserved for public and
particularly cruel execution at
Moscow. Summoning the small
and wretched remnant of the popu-
latlOn to his presence, he besOught
their prayers for the continuanc &C
and prosperity of his realm, and
with gracious words of farewell,
took his departure from the mur-
dered city. The execution in Mos
COW of the reserved victims, was o
scene too horrible to be described
III these pages. Indeed, the half
OF lvan's cnornities may not he
told here at all. and even the his
torlans content themselves with the
barest outlines Of many parts of
his career. He thought himself in
some sense IL deity, and blasphcm-
onsly asserted that his throne was
surrounded by archangels, pre-
cisely Us Gods. Identifying him
self with the Almighty, he claimed
exemption from the observance of
Gods laws, and, in defiance of the
fundamental principles OF the
Greek Church. of which he was thu.
head, he married seven wives. BE-.
licv.ng that he might with cunal
lnlpunitv insult the moral sense of
other nations, he actually sought
to add England's Queen, Elizabeth,
to the list of his spouscs. And he
was so far right in his estimate OF
his power to do as he pleased, that
the virgin queen, head of the Eng
hsh Church, while she would not
herself become one of his wives
consented to assist him, and select.
ed for his eighth consort Mary
Hastings, the daughter of the Earl
OF Huntington. She came nca,
bringing about n marriage between
the two Ill the face of the fact that
the two, churches, of which Ivan
and She were respectively head
were agreed in condemning 20.
lygnmy as heinous crime. For
one only of his heinous crimes Ivan
showed regret, if not remorse. His
Oldest and favorite son, when the
city of Pskof was beseiged bv the
Poles, asked that he might be en-
| f,o,ofc cI ,,,skt> H.