St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-04-22
CORRESPONDENCE.

| NICE. L RANCE. AldGcIi 1901.
There is probably no place outside OF
| the Russian Empire where the assassin
alton of Alexander III. has caused so Sc
we're a shock as here at Nice. The Rus
sian "colony," though less numerous
than the English, and perhaps the
| American, is composed of people of rel
atively higher social position and great
er wealth. Nice has become the fash
ionable rendezvous in winter of many
families intimately connected with the
Russian eOuIt, or who hold places in
the government of the Empire and
their mode of life here is such as to
make itself felt very strongly, not only
upon the native population, but also
upon the entire foreign colony.
The late Empress came to Nice in the
winter of l864-5, in charge of the Care
wich, her eldest son, who was i'll with
consumption, and who died here in the
spring of the latter year. He had been
betrothed to a daughter of the King OF
Denmark, and finding his death APP
preaching, sent for her to join him here.
On her arrival, he made known to her
| his hopeless condition, and proposed, as
his dying request, that she should ac-
cept the hand of his younger brother,
! Alexander, who would become, after, his
death, heir to the throne. To this she
consented. That brother is now the
Car and she is the Empress. On the
death of the Czarewich, the large man
sion in which he died was purchased 10y
the imperial family and razed to the
ground. In its place beautiful mortu-
AIRY chapel has been built in memory OF
the deceased, and is held in reverent
regard by all loyal Russians. Through
the influence and liberality of the late
Empress a cOmmOdious church was
erected in the city for the Russian com
munIty, and regular services are held
there according to the rites of the Greek
church. During the years since that
time the Russian colony has increased
in numbers and Importance, many
wealthy families making this their per
manent winter residence, erecting cost
ly mansions or villas, and living in 6
style beftting their station of nobility
or aristocracy, as it exists in their OWL
land. There is seldom a year when some
members of the imperial household are
not here or in the neighbOring town o
Cannes. At the time of the recent as
sassinatiOn, the whole Russian cOmmu
nifty in Nice was engaged in a round o
brilliant iGtes given in honor of the
Grand Duke NichOlas-brother of thu
late Czar-who was spending part o
the winter here with his two sons. Th'
late Cars sister, the Queen of Wurten
berg is at Cannes.
E The news of the Cars death reached
the Grand Duke Sunday afternoon, tw,
hours after the shocking event, and ar
rangements were at once made for
funeral ceremony at the Russian churcI
the following morning. This took plac
with much solemnity; after which tn
Grand Duke left 10y express train for st
Petersburgh.
1t is not my purpose to write NOR
concerning the horrible deed whicl
e startled all the world. The subject vii
have been exhausted before this reache
you. l will only say that the entir
Russian colony here have been throw
! into CONSERVATION. Their sorrow seem
sincere and every Russian-man, wo
. man and child-is clothed in deepes
. mourning, as though their nearest rela
;, tive had been cut down.
), Do they give single thought to til
l. 200, 900 poor wretches who are said t
have been banished to Siberia durin
the last year, as victims of official ty
2 rannyP l doubt it. And yet, thes
" wealthy, gay-hearted representatives c
i Russian high life are among the mos
amiable of people, full of generous i'm
c pulses, affable and sympathetic, hospi
II table and easily reached by all classes
!, rich or peor, high or low. Their fault
rs or foibles are such as are easily oveI
(, looked by an indulgent public, anC
! with a majority of people, render theI
all the more popular. They are blindl
: addicted to pleasures of all kinds-ir
nocent and otherwise-are without big
- purpose, and are extravagant in exper
Il diture. Their fondness for gambling
II notorious, aud their opportunities fc
N indulgence of this passion at Nice an
q Monaco are boundless. One Princess
n in the course of tive seasons ran throuc
20 a fortune of seven millions of francs :
the tables of Monte Carlo at Monac
Last year an officer of Russian 90,
ernment frigate on this station, lost
a single evening $1,000 francs belongiu
to the ships purse, and could find Z
better way out of bis embarrassment
is than TO return on board at midnigl
and blow his hrains ont with a rsvolva