Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-03-10
From Our Regular Correspondent
Paris Letter.
PARIS, France, Feb. 80. 1880.

PARIS. France, Feb. 80, 1880.
A few days ago the Russian embassy
informed the project of police that the
man who bad attempted to wreck the
cars train at Moscow was staying in
Paris. This man, whose name is Hart
maun, was indeed living at n hotel in the
Rue de'Seine, and. as ever since his flight
from Russia, he had kept un constant
communication with his friends in that
country, the Muscovite police had had
little difficulty in tracing him to his quar-.
tiers. NJ. Andrieux, unwilling to seem to
hesitate in the fulillment of the request Of
the Russian ambassador, Immediately di
rected that Hartmann should be arrested
and his orders were carried out last Mon.
day afternoon in the Champs Elysees, as
the fellow was walking about with four Of
his friends. They all offered desperate
resistance, blows were freely exchanged
but finally the nihilist was captured, and
in the confusion that followed his allie:
effected their escape. The man first of all
said that his name was Mayer, and that
he was Prussian, then that he was d
Swiss, but there does not seem to be the
slightest doubt rs to his identity 1t is he
who, with his mistress, rented and occu.
pied the house where the electric appara
tGs was found that communicated by
means of q wire with the explosive mate
rial that wrecked the train which, by 0
singular accident, preceded instead Of
following that of the car.
Without attaching undue Importance to
the arrest made in Paris on the very eve
of the crime ut the winter palace at St.
Petersburg. it is, to say the least. singular
that some preparatory inkling of the con.
spiracy seems to have reached this plac ,.
Within the past two or three weeks it has
been said by men who are not in the habit
of speaking lightly that before the tetes OF
March the emperor would either have
given constitution Or would have ben
assassnated. We then heard that no
measures of clemency would mark he
anniversary, and this announcement was
quickly followed by the news of the delb.
crate attempt on the imperial family. We
now hear nothing but rumors of the prob
able abdication of the car. 1t is assumed
that the empress cannot live long, aid
that when she dies the car will take the
opportunity of resignng, on the plea tint
he must give way to his private grief. |
am bound to say that all the best informed
Russians scout these ideas as absurd. A
Russian official said to me last niplr
" Why, the emperor would not ablicate
even in his tomb" If it is so difficult to
believe in the possibility of the emperor S
abdication, it is still less easy TO have faith
in the efficacy Of constitution in a country
like Russia, where there is no middle class
and where the machinery of representation
is wanting. The actual agents of the
recent crimes are, for the most part, edu.
Gated men, while it is manifest that in the
official classes is found the greatest dis
content. A keen observer who was in the
Italian campaign in 1859, and who then
noticed that while the higher and educated
ranks looked on the French as liberators
the common people scarcely concealed
their sympathy for the Austrian Cypress
ors, remarked to me last night that Xix
phenomenon was TO he observed in Russi.
at the present moment. 1t now seems
clear that former attempt to mine the
winter palace was discovered early in this
month mt St. Petersburg, but the police
kept their information secret, for fear of
disturbing the emperor. Observing that
Cen Todleben declared that Il little more
dynamite would have destroyed the winter
palace, | may mention an observation
made by French military friend last
night. He inferred that no engineer officer
could have been concerned in the afhir,
for he would have better disposed his
combustible material. Had the quantty
employed been otherwise used, the whole
palace must have fallen to the ground. 1t
is needless to explain the plan which my
French friend would. under analogous
circumstances, have adopted.