The sun., 1880-08-08
THE SONS or THE CzAR.
,.,,,,,eence. of IN "x.Attnche Of an Enn-
ba..y TO the Kus,inn Court.

U BY far the most pIohlihc'' VI t'0 hhp0-
,,oI family after the Car Is his son Alexander
,s,androvitch. The eyes Of all his country
sn are ,iuon him. He is regarded by many
y. Rnssa's Inst hope. Thirty. Avo years have
n,.sed over his hrnd. but he looks much older.
uo IA not a handsome man. His face is de-
nldsdly Calmuck In type. He is growing
..u on the temples and back OF the
hand. like tho Prince OF Wales and many
n,ber royal princes OF Europe. He has
bcayy square forehead, short fiat nose.
uspbiptopheian mouth. and a muddy com.
,lerion. The expression OF his countennnce IL
onrious mixture OF good nature and harsh
ness. His face general dcmeanor. and charac-
i ,cr present marked contrast to the noble form
md stately presence OF his father. Almost oil
he Romanoffs have preferred the military to
dyil attire. The hereditary Grand Duke hates
.uniform. and rarely wears one. Ho prefcrs
driving to riding solitude to company. the
sight OF workinginen to that OF courtiers. and
plain speech instead OF diplomatic hypocrisy
he has tue peculiar habit OF silently sucking
the head OF a silver mounted cane. which he
! seldom fails to carry. He is rather stout AMI
4 breads corpulence noarly as much as his grand
! ather Nicholas did.
4 Alexander Alexandrovtch is tho second son
/ OF the Emperor. The eldest boy. Nicholns AL
| exandrovitch. died at Nice. In 1865. The dead
Prince is said to have been n miracle Of good
4 ness and cleverness. 1t Ia n Russian super
stltion that the SONS OF the Gar must he men OF
contrasting character. As the mildness and
enlarged philanthropy Of Alexander II. were.
some thirty years ago. contrasted with the i'm
pulsive and eccentric temperament OF Constan-
tine. so parallels have been instituted between
Alexander Asxandrovitch md Nicholas Alex
androvitcb. with result not wholly favorable
oths former. The dead generally get the best
Of the living. Like his father the Grand Duke
Nicholas was considered a mild and amiable
! being one who would secure the obedience OF
/ bis subjects rather by his grace and Gallantry
than by despotic means. He was likewise re-
rarded as declared partisan of Western civili-
ation while the present hereditary Grand Duke
was. In the general opinion. the prototype OF
| his nationality. Nicholas was tall and slender.
and as handsome as his grandfather. His coun-
tenance had charm OF expression which cap
tiyated every one. and which is wholly absent
from the round and sensual features OF his
brother He was the pet Of his mother OF the
whole court and OF the nation. General sorrow
followed his death. The Russian people erect
ed temple in their hearts to his memory. and
greeted the ukase which declared Alexander
Alexandrovitch his successor to the title OF
Czarevitch with clear takens Of dissatisfaction.
The new heir to the throne. then 90 years
4 old. had all the odds against him. The nation
disliked him. Like all the Grand Dukes OF
Russia not destined to sit on the throne his
education was exclusively military. 1t was
serious obstacle to his becoming a good SOW
ereign. He had no scientific instruction. aud
no knowledge OF foreign languages except
French. or politics and sociology lie knew
next to nothing. He was inclined to a lie OF
pleasure rather than one OF labor. To acquire
the necessary qualifications for his new calling
was serious task. He had hardly time for it.
He was obliged to enter at once upon the duties
| Of Crown Prince. He had seat in the Coun-
! oil OF State. He was forced to take an interest
10 executive affairs and in questions OF public
4 policy. and to show by deeds and words that he
was endowed with as much judgment as his
hmented brother. Though not always equal to
u the occasion. his wisdom surpassed all expecta-
| tons. and he can to-day boast OF being the only
Prince OF his house who commands the respect
Of ali parties and the love o. ths people.
History occasionally repeats itself. As Alex
ander H.. when simple Czarevitch professed
more liberal opinions than his father. SO does
Alexander Alexandrovitch entertain views far
more In keeping with tho progress OF our age
than those OF the reignng Emperor. AS the latter
fought for a moro liberal policy against Mich
clas, so has the present Czarevitch always adj
vocated the adoption OF measures that would
further the liberties OF his fellow citizens. He
has occasionally sided 80 openly with the revo-
lutionists as to be suspected OF an affiliation
with their secret societies.
Alexander Aiexandrovitch inherited even his
wife from his brother. Maria Sophia Fred
erika Dagmar. Princess OF Denmark was be-
trothed to Nicholas few months before his
death. With his parents she stood at his death
bed. She promised him that she would become
his brothers. bride. Her noble character and
beauty kindled the fame OF love In Alexander's
heart. This love. born OF and nurtured in grief
has proved strong and true. The Czarevitch
and Princess DaGmar. now Maria Feodorovna.
seem to love each other more to-day than when
they became husband and wife. fourteen years
ago. The name Of Alexander is coupled with
no scandal. 1t seems incredible to any one
who knows the Romanofs. He is pointed out
as model husband and father. He blesses his
brothers memory for bequeathing him such
wife. He Is happy in the Antchkine palace
with his wife and children. An aids-de-camp
told me that there were no clouds In their love.
He had heard his Hlghness say: Il cannot
complain OF being the Czarevtch. since am
the husband OF Princess Dagmar."
The Danish origin OF this lovely woman may
account for the anti German feelings OF her
husband. She Is too noble to invite him to ac-
tons which might endanger his peace and the
welfare Of her adopted fatherlnnd; but she
wept bitter tears when hercountry lost all hopes
OF recovering Schleswlg- Holstein. Those tears
probably aroused her husband. Popular spirit
10 Russia was opposed to Germany. Once
only has he tried TO hide his dislike OF Prince
Bismarck and OF the Prussian court. That was
seven years ago. when the Emperor William
visited st. Petersburg.
The Czarevitch has always been a jealous
partisan OF the national cause and q decided
hdmirer OF KatkoN and other patriots. In the
winter OF 1857 -6S he WAS Chairman OF the Com
mtre Of Relief Tor the northern provinces o.,
Russia. then sorely tried by famine. The com
% %mItes vas politically antqGonistic to Wal;
onlen. AS Chairman. the hereditary Grand
Duke was responsible for the fall Of the Gov
ernor. This action led 10 the first quarrel be-
tween the Emperor md the Czarevch. Since
that time there has been no close harmony be-
tween them.
Encouraged by its victory the national party
Of Moscow recognized the Crown Prince as its
leader. He had lively CORES pond"nce with
Ivan AEsakof. the publicist. A political ques-
lions OF vital interest freely discussed. The
secret police intercepted some Of the letters.
Gount Schouyalou showed them TO the Emperor.
He suspected a conspiracy Tho Czarevitch
was summoned to APPEAR before the Emperor,
who ts said to have been az severe ns his father