New Ulm weekly review., 1879-06-18
OUR EUROPEAN LIE ETTER.

WHERE. The BAsT1LLE IN ST..
PETERSBURG. Is HE A FRIEND OR
DETECTIVE!
St. Petersburg, Russia, May IS, TO-.
You will no doubt be surprised to
receive a letter from me from this
city Of the Cars, but suddenly SUM
moned to attend to some important
business in Stockholm, Sweden, and
unable to resist my desire to revisit
St. Petersburg, during these trouble
some times, where my stay will
however be very short. I arrived
here only two days ago. Thirteen
years have elapsed since [ last left
the harbor Of St. Petersburg for
America and this time has certainly
worked wonders-Then everything
quiet and peaceful, now
bombs petards and revolutionary
proclamations are the order of the
day. A reign Of terror exists. Gen.
Ghourka an old and trusted friend
of theC Czar has met W ith serious obs
tacle of his celebrated repressive meas
ures. It will be remembered that
not the least remarkable of these
was the order to place a watchman
before every door in the capitol.
The Nihilists have now posted a
proclamation under the very nose
of the police threatening all who
take service as special watchmen
with death, the consequence Of
which is that no men can be found
willing to accept the dangerous posts
and it is almost certain that if the
decree is to be carried out military
sentinel will have to be placed at the
door of every house. The air of St.
Petersburg is full of wild rumors Of
fresh assassinations and revolution
ary plots. Great CONSERVATION has
been caused by the arrest of a peas
ant with a letter in his pocket con.
tanning plan for an attack on the
Winter Palace and the Fort of St.
Peter and st. Paul. The result of
this has been the calling out of the
entire garrison under the command
of the Grand Duke Nicholas, while.
the revolulionists arc doubtless en-.
joying their grim hoax. It is stated
that the heir-apparent has received
several anonymous letters advising
him to leave the country if he wish
es to maintain neutral position in
the 'coming revolution. The trial
of the three Russian students on a
charge of disturbing public order
has resulted. in two of them being
sentenced to nine and one to four
months Imprisonment. General
Ghourka's measures have evidently
done more harm than good, and
such is the dissatisfaction at the uni.
versities, that the students are leav-
ing their classes en- ,nasse, and it is
probable that these institutions will
have to be shut up.
The gloomy fortress of Peter and
Paul promises in these troublous
times to play a prominent part in
connection with the revolutionary
movement in Russia. Founded by
Peter the Great, it early began an
evil career as the State prison of the
unfortunate Cesarevitch Alexis,
whom, rightly or wrongly posterity
believes to have been done to death
by the hands of his despotic parent.
Afterwards, it became the regular
place of detention for prisoners of
State, ahd, perhaps, for $50 years
the cells have never been without
their complement of inmates. In
Catherene's reign, the dungeons We're
more than once SO overcrowded that
whole patches had to be removed by
boat to the Schluessellburg fortress,
higher up the Neva, just as at the
present moment swarms are nightly
smuggled away from it's grim inter.
ior and despatched in hooded carts
to Siberia or Saghalien. Under the
sovereignty Of Paul, the number
slackened, but Alexander soon re-
plenished the prison, and at the mo.
ment Of his death at Taganrog the
vaults were crammed with conspira.
tors. The first efforts of the Deka.
brists after their revolt against Nj.
cholas were directed towards liber-
ating their friends in the fortress,
and, failing in the attempt, hun.
dreds were driven by the Cossacks
inside the gloomy walls. Through
out the rest Of the autocrat's reign
the fortress maintained it's evil re-
putatlon, and under his son, the
''Liberator,'' it's notority has rather
increased than otherwise. AS to the
number Of victims that have lived
and died within its limits during the
century and a half of its existance
nothing with certainty is known.
and probably the world will always
remain in ignorance of the suffer.
lngs of the unfortunates who have
rotted in it's noxious underground
vaults or perished in the lower cells
during the frequent inundations of
the Neva. Constructed on the most
approved principles Of Vauban, on an
island in the midst Of the city, it is
wholly inaccessible to attack, while
at the same time dominating every
avenue Of the capital branching
from it. In the winter, roads across
the ice connect it with the Winter
Palace opposite, and in the summer
a sloop of war is mostly anchord in
the river to preserve communication
between the fortress and the Imper.
ial Quay. While the army remains
loyal to the Czar the fortress will
always keep the city in subsection,
as from it's portals could issue at any
moment a force sufficient to auell
the fiercest street revolt.
There seems to be no donht fiat