Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-03-16
Assassination OF the Russian Gar.

Uneasy lies the head that wears {
crown" The aphorism Of Henry ". il
strikingly exemplifed FIVE centuries aftei
the time when the hero of Shakespeare,
play, in the agony Of the trials Of kingship
gave it utterance. Nihilsm in Russia, so
cialism in Germany, and the same spirit
under various names in Spain, Italy and
Austria, has ceaselessly bombarded the head
of royalty, and now, after many attempts and
many signal failures, nihlism has succeeded
in its diabolical purpose and taken, by as
sassination, the life of the czar of all the
Russias. The telegraph briefly states that
as the emperor was returning from a parade
on Sunday afternoon about two O'Clock, a
glass bomb, charged with nitro-glycerine,
was thrown under the czar's carriage, which,
exploding, tore away the rear end of the
vehicle. The czar alighted, and while stand.
ing in the street a second bomb fell at his
feet, its explosion SCATTERING both his legs
The car was driven to his palace. All at
tempts to save him were in vain, and at half
past four he breathed his last. A cossack
OF the guard accompanying the car and a
passer-by were killed, and others who were
wounded have since died. The assassins
stood on opposite sides OF the street, dis
charging their fatal missiles in succession.
They were Immediately arrested. The pub.
lished bulletin Of the emperor's physician
states that both legs were broken below the
knees, the lower part of the body severely
injured and the left eye torn from its socket.
The assassins were disguised as peasants,
and reports state that one Of them was so
severely handled that he has since died.
Alexander III. was the son of the car
Nicholas and was born in 1918, and on the
death of his father in 1855, became emperor
Of all his vast domain. Russia was at this
time engaged single-handed in the Crimean
war against the combined forces of England,
France, Turkey and Sardinia, with Austria
passively hostile. On the return of peace
in 1856 Alexander was crowned at Moscow
and Immediately began to relax the rigor of
his fathers despotic reign. Among the
measures which he instituted to ameliorate
the condition Of the people, the emancipa-
tion of the serfs must rank as his greatest
and most benefcent act. He had conceived
this measure in his earliest youth. He ST.
fenced the opposition of the serf.owners by
intimating to them that If there was to be a
revolution it had better begin at the summit
than at the bottom of society. Their eman-
cipation was decreed March Sd, 1861, and
carried out within the following two years.
Repeated attempts to take his life, dating
back to 1866, have been made. The explo-
sion in the winter palace last year is fresh
in the minds Of news readers. His numer-
Gus escapes were so remarkable as to make
it almost seem that he led charmed life.
Americans will remember him kindly for
his friendly refusal in 1862 to join Louis
Napoleon in recognizing the southern con-
federacy and for his formal expressions of
sympathy for the Union cause. His son,
Alexander III. now thirty-three years of
age, is his successor. He is man of pure
morals, and his instincts seem to point
towards wise and benefcent government.