Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-06-11
From Our REGULAR coresnondenll
Our EnrOnean Letter.

Our European Letter.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia. May 10, 1879.
You will no doubt be surprised to re,
eeive letter from me from this city of the
ears, but suddenly summoned to attend
to some important business in Stockholm
Sweden, and unable to resist my desire
to revisit st. Petersburg, during these
troublesome times, where my stay will
however be very short, 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 every.
thing seemed quiet and peaceful, now
bombs, petards and revolutionary procll.
nations are the order of the day. a reigr
of terror exists. General Ghourka, an ole
and trusted friend of the car, has me
with serious obstacle in the way of his
celebrated repressive measures. 1t will
be remembered that not the least remark.
able of these was the order to place q
watchman before every door in the capital
The nihilists have now posted proclama.
ton under the very nose of the police
threatening all who take service as special
watchmen with death, the consequence o.
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 tc
be placed at the door of every house. The
air of St. Petersburg is full of wild ru-
mors Of fresh assassinations and revolu.
tionary plots. Great CONSERVATION has
been caused by the arrest of Il peasant
with letter in his pocket containing a
plan for an attack on the winter palace
and the fort of St. Peter ana 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
revolulionisls are doubtless enjoying their
grim hoax, 1t is stated that the heir
apparent has received several anonymous
letters advising him to leave the country
If he wishes to maintain neutral position
IN the coming revolution" The trial Of
the three Russian students on charge OF
disturbing public order has resulted in
two of them being sentenced to nine and
one to four months Imprisonment. Gen.
eral Ghourka's measures have evidently
done more harm than good, and such is
the dissatisfaction at the universities, that
the students are leaving their classes en-
n'aSSc, and it is probable that these insti-
tutions will have to be shut up.
The gloomy fortress of Peter and Paul
promises in these troublous times to play
II prominent part in connection with the
Revolutionary movement in Russia. Found
ed by Peter the Great, it early began an
evil career as the state prison of the I'M
fortunate Cesarevitch Alexis, whom.
rightly Or wrongly, posterity believes to
have been done to death by the hands of
his despotic parent. Afterwards, it be-
| N'hio NV lOSui't pllCC vi uclGullOn lOl
prisoners of state, and, perhaps, for one
hundred and fifty years the cells have
never been without their complement of
inmates. In GATHERINGS reign, the dun
geons were more than once 50 ovcrcrowded
that whole patches had to be removed bv
boat to the Schusselburg fortress, higher
up the Neva, just rs at the present mo-
ment swarms arc nightly Struggled away
from its grim interior and dispatched in
hooded carts to Siberia or Saghalen
Under the sovereignty of Paul the num-
Der sackened, but Alexander soon replen-
ishcd the prison, and ut the moment of
his death ut Taganrog the vaults were
crammed with conspirators. The first
efforts of the Dekabrist5 after their revolt
against Nicholas were directed towards
liberating their friends in the fortress, and,
failing in the attempt, hundreds were
driven by the Cossacks inside the gloomy
walls. Throughout the rest of the auto.
Gratis reign the fortress maintained its
evil reputation, and under his son, the
Liberltor," its notoricty has rather
increased than otherwise. As 10 the num-
Der of victims that have lived and died
within its limits during the century and a
half Of its existence nothing with certainty
is known, and probably the world will
always remain in ignorance of the suffer-
ings of the unfortunatcS who have rotted
in its noXious underground vaults or per-
ished in the lower cells during the frequent
inundatons of the Ncva. Constructed on
the most approved principles Ct Vauban,
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 sloop of war is mostly an.
chored in the river to preserve commune
cation between the fortress and the impe.
rial quay. While the army remains Iowa
to the car the fortress will always keep
the city in suhjection, rs from its portals
could issue at any moment II force sufli-
cient to quell the liercest street revolt.
There seems to be no doubt that the
successor to the throne has received anon
ymous letters advising him to go abroad
if he wishes to maintain neutral position
in the impending revolution, aud similar
incidents ore reported from only too many
parts of the empire. Many corpses are
found having on their breasts the fata
slip with the terrible words, Doomed by
the Executive Committee" Already the
threat of the revoutionists is fulfilled
that the terror spread by the governmen
will be outdone by the terror inspired
by the dread executive committee The
Russian government is about to oper
negotiations with other states, will
Il view to treat those who attemp
| I