Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-03-25
ASSASSINATION OF PAUL 1.
HOW History Repeats Itself I'm the
Tragedies of the RomanOff DE.
nasty

Alexander IL g death casts the bulk of
the Russian people into sincere mourn
ing; not so. however, did the death of
his grandfather Paul l., who likewise
died violent death eighty years ago.
When the news of his assassination be-
came known in st. Petersburg the city
put on gala appearance, sounds of joy
and revelry reverberated through the
streets, soldiers and tradesmen and peas
ants and mobiles fraterniZed; the clergy
rang the bells in almost unseemly iubi-
lee, and the religious services held osten
sibly to express sorrow for the event, in
reality were thank offerings to the Al
mighty for permitting the sending thither
before his time of one of the cruelest ty-
rants that ever sat upon a throne.
1t was in this same month of March
that Paul /. died According to the
Russian calendar yesterday was the 1st
of the month. The anniversary of Pauls
death will fall on the 18th, or according
to our reckoning on the 23d Alexander
fell victim to the DEGREES of a secret
society which has been aiming at his life
persistently for years. Paul fell in con-
sequence of conspiracy gotten up
within his own palace and abetted if not
aided by his son, the late Cars father.
Paul was the son of the great Catherine
and her husband, Peter the Third.
Catherine hated him as only she could
hate a son, and the wonder is that she
did not have him killed. She stopped
short of murder, but she forbade him her
presence, had him educated at distance
from the capital. kept him in ignorance
IF nd IoH
him with spies. She tried to disinherit
him, but failed. She ordered him
to marry the women she selected for
him, the first being Princess of Hesse-
Darmstadt and the second of Wurtem-
burg. The latter bore him four sons
and five daughters, the eldest of the
former being Alexander l., who sue
ceeded him as Gar, and who fought the
Napoleonic wars Nicholas, the father
of Alexander IL, was the third son. the
second being the still living Grand Duke
Constantine, who declined the throne
The antipathy shown by Catharine for
Paul begat like antipathy in his breast,
which was by no means decreased when
his children were taken away from his
care and educated under his mothers
direction in the capital, to which
he was forbidden to approach
nearer than thirty miles. When
Catharine died, therefore. and he
became Gar, his first act was
to order funeral honors to be paid to his
father, whose death had been brought
about by his mother. A blind hatred for
everything his mother had done was the
animating principle of the first part of
his five years reign He went so far as
to disband the army because she had or
gained 1t declared peace because the
wars were begun by her Generals, and
even released KOsciusko and other Pc
fish state prisoners because they had
been arrested on her sign manual. Some
of his subjects considered him stark mad
while others hailed him as the Moses of
Russian liberalism. The latter were the
most disappointed in the end.
He was lamentably ignorant, thanks
to his mothers care, and his slightest
whims and caprices were dignified with
the name of law. Not only was he
guilty of the most CALLING acts of petty
tyranny to those surrounding his throne,
but he tried to keep modern ideas out of
his Empire by Theoretically sealing it up
against all Europe. He started out to
fight Napoleon, but when his armies
were beaten he tried to revenge himself
on his chief ally Great Britain, andsac-
tually succeeded in forming a coalition
against her, comprising Denmark, Swe-
den and Prussia. He, however, ex-
pected all the continental monarchs to
join him, and ne challenged all those
who refused to do so to single combat a
circumstance that did more than any,
thing else to spread the belief that he |
was insane. He had made himself the |
laughing stock of Europe and the best |
hated men in Russia in a very short |
time.
His death was brought about by a |
number of MOBILES, who all had suffered |
more or less from his caprices. The |
chief of them were Counts Pallen and |
Zuboff, Generals Benningsen and Ur. |
croft, and Colonel Tatischeff. Alexan-
der, his eldest son, knew of the con-
spiracy, but it was represented to him as |
having no other object but to compel |
Paul to abdicate on the ground of men
tai incapacity. Everything had been
prearranged; Alexander was ready to
assume the reigns of government; the /
army was prepared for the change and the
very air of St. Petersburg seemed to be |
1ull VI CApCCGdHCJ. 4AS COusplTdIOrS
forced their way, late at night, into
Pauls bedchamber, and demanded that
he should resign the throne there and
then. They had drawn up letter to
that effect for him to sign, but he re-
fused to take the pen. whereupon Zu-
botf knocked him down with clenched
fist and knelt upon him. The others
likewise assisted in the work until not a
sign of life remained Alexander was
in an adjoining room all the time, and
it is not yet settled whether he did not
calmly listen to Paul's death groan.
Paul was personally not a handsome
man to look upon, and that probably |
had something to do with his fastidious
mothers aversion for him. His sons
were all tall, handsome men, and his
grandsons likewise. His features have,
however, reappeared in his great grand.
children, and notably in those Of him
who is now Alexander Ill, Car of all
the Russias.
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