Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-04-09
Something About the Heirs Apparent
to the Throne OF Russia.


the heir apparent to the Russian
throne, dating back TO the earliest ages
in the history of the Empire, is now re-
ferred to as the Czarewitch
As far back as the fifteenth century
there are instances wherein the Gar
/ and Czarewitch have had serious differ
ences, which i'm some cases resulted not
only in the Czarewitch being put under
lock and key, but in his being put out
of the way altogether.
In the old days of the Czars of Mos
COW the despot on the throne regarded
his presumptive heir with much the
same degree of jealousy as does the
| King of Burmah at this day the whole
group of his blood relations
1t seems now, as it has always SEEM
ed, to be necessary for the Gar and his
heir to be antagonistic in their opin-
ions. II the Gar was conservative his
son was sure to be a refOrmerj if he
| had Western ideas, the Czarewitch was
impressed they were wrong.
Ivan the Terrible, who reigned from
1888 to 1884, accused his son of form
inc q conspiracy to dethrOne him, and
in his anger struck the blow for which
he afterward invoked Heaven and earth,
/
any one who would cOniure back the
life Of his son.
Peter the Great and his son Alexis
entertained different opinions IN regard
to the reforms introduced by the father.
The Gar loved what he called "prog-
ress" and " European fashions" while
Alexis hated both, and on more than
one occasion intimated in public that
1 H.. IL I
do away with all Western fashions.
The result was that Peter excluded
his son from the succession. Alexis ap-
peared satisfied with the decision, and
declared his intention of spending the
remainder of his days in monastery.
In 1717 he escaped to Vienna, and
thence to Naples, but was induced to
return to Russia, where by the ukase of
February 2, 1718, he was disinherited.
Later he was formally accused of con-
spring against his fathers life and
throne, and on the confessions of his
mistress, his pot companions and his
, confessor, all upon the rack, he was
condemned to death.
According to one version the agita-
tion caused by the trial 50 seriously
affected his health that he soon after
, died in fits, June, 1718. There were
, rumors current at the time that his
death was not natural one, and the
Gar, to avoid scan dal, ordered the tria'
, to be published.
Another version of the death oi
Alexis, that given by Peter Henry
| Bruce, an Englishman, who, after
speaking of the Imprisonment and tria
r Of the Czarewitch, by his father, says
'On the next day his Majesty, attended
by all the Senators and Bishops, will
I several others of high rank, went to thu
+ fort and entered the apartments whert
3 the Czarewitch was kept prisoner
$ Some little time thereafter Marsha
1 Weyde came out, and ordered me to q
n to Mr.. Bears, the druggist, whose shOl
e was hard by, and tell him to make tn
t potion strong which he had bespoke, q
the Prince was then very i'll. When
Q delivered this message to Mr.. Bear h
= turned quite pale, and fell shaking
s and trembling, and appeared in the ut
y most confusion, which surprised me 81
o much that / asked him what was tn
g matter with him, but he was unable b
(. return me any answer. In the mean
II time tlA Marshal himself came in, muc
l. in the same condition with the druggist
d saying the Prince was very i'll of an az
>; oplectic fit. Upon this the druggist dc
t, livered him a silver cup, which tn
u Marshal himself carried into the Prince
W apartments, staggering all the way q
he went like one drunk"
h The wretched Czarewitoh struggle
l out of one convulsion into another
r, until he expired in great agony at fiv
Ie o'clock in the afternoon.
" The Car then ordered his corpse to b
,e laid in fine coffin and pail of ric
)r gold tissue to be thrown over it. "VeT
2, few," says Bruce, believed he died
q natural death, but it was dangerous fC
le people to speak as they thought
,u OF the death of this young man, Mo-
ht ley, in his "Peter the Great, says:
" at wasnot believed by manypeople
Of Europe at the time, and it is not believe
i'd by the Comte deSegur and the Marqu
re de Custine now, that the Prince die
IS a natural death--unless the catalept
90 convulsive fit, consequent upon eXtrem
at and protracted mental agony whiC
finally ended his life, can be called
g; natural and not violent death. A
rd sorts of stories were told at the tim
N. each more incredible than the othe
or and each disproving the other. III
IL; Czar was said to have knouted him
ne death with his own hands; to have poi
ct Oned him with potion which he sci
We Marshal Weyde to an apothecary
as shop in broad daylight to procure;
at have cut off his head, and then to hay
in had 1t privately sewedon again by MN
mt Cramer; in short, to have made WI
he with him by variety of means, all
which could not well have been tru
.ly and all of which are, under the circur
ut stances, extremely unlikely. To us
hit seems ridiculous to add new horror
he this terrible tragedy. We are not sur
W. either, that the supposed assassinatiC
he makes the matter any worse. 'Murd
nd most foul, as at the best it is, we a
up unable to see that the private murder
all whit more atrOciOus than the publ
nus solemn and judicial murder, of whi,
,as the Car stands accused and condemn,
at to all eternity"
III The Car Paul and his son, Alexa
nd der l., did not agree. The same is h
m, case with Nicholas and Alexander L
we the present Emperor, who succeeded
ne the throne in 1856. Nicholas threi
De- ened to disinherit Alexander and lea
= the throne to his brother Constantin
90. The past few years have shown III
,or Alexander and his son, in both pub
ST. and private affairs as well as in poll
m, cal matters, are opposed to each otht
of and it is no secret at the present til
Iet that their relations are not pleasant.
of The lack of harmony between faith
and son has been the occasion Of \
ere merous rumOrs, not few of which q
or / avid tI1J mi LOT