The Russellville Democrat., 1881-12-08
TO PROTECT THE GEAR.
4 Secret Society Called the Holy Brother
 hood Formed for that Purpose.

A Secret Society Called the Holy Brother
 hood Formed for that Purpose.
 St Petersburg Letter to the London Daily News.
 Perhaps one of the most extraordinary signs of the times illustrating the unhap py and unhealthy condition of things in the Russian empire, is the recent insti- tuition of secret society, for which the model and precedent must be sought rather in the middle ages than in the actual nineteenth century. This new society is known as the Swiataia Drou- jina, or Holy Brotherhood, its object being to protect the person of the Elm peror and to maintain the existing order in the form of autocratic rule. If is stated that the idea of this institution originated with NJ. Pobedonotseff, with the special approval of an imperial grand duke, and that the principal con tributors of funds are a wealthy prince and well known Jewish banker, a sum of S00000 rubles having been already subscribed. To organize and direct it's operations the experienced services have been secured of M. Schmidt, for merly assistant to the Chief of Third Section. and NJ. poopln, late head of the St. Petersburg Detective Police, who is now at Kief M Schmidt re- mains at St. Petersburg. where the so. ciety is now at work, and has already signalized itself, Lot so much by the capture of Nihilists, as by innocei tly arresting members of the ordinary se- cret police That such arrests should take place will appear more comical than credible to English readers, but will be easily be understood in Russia and in other parts of the continent, where the French system of dgeais pro uocdteurs is better known. As instances of such blunders, it is currently reported that an agent of this class, woman in the service of the secret police, and a member of the Holy Brotherhood hap pening to travel in the same railway carriage to Pavlovsky, and having sue ceeded, as they imagined, in eliciting | from each other dangerous or inconven- l tent expressions of views i'll the course of their conversation; found themselves both under arrest before nightfalI. Each had denounced the | other to their respective chiefs.
 Another instance in the same direc. | ton is reported to have occurred during the last few days, when mem- Der of the brotherhood eagerly repaired ! to the Minister of the Interior to inform | him that they had succeeded in arrest i ing Nihilist in Paris. The co1nt | quietly asked his name. The name
 was given by the jealous brother, whose chagrn may be imagined when Count Ignatieff rejoined, 'He is my agent. The count had douhtless already been notified of the amusing situation in which one of his confidential agents had l been placed. Little is known of the operations of this brotherhood up to the | present time, except these arrests. But l if it is correctly stated that the head | quarters and first contingent of mem bers are from the St. Petersburg Imperi- al Yacht Club (so called, apparently, on the Mcus non lucendo principle, as the club has no connection with yachtingl, this is certainly one of the most curi
 ous and ominous features in connection with the society. On the one hand, it reads like a satire that the members of this club, comprising the 'j,tnedse land rieillesse) doree" of St. Petersburg, should | thus form themselves into Holy Broth erhood."
 While, on the other hand, what is to be said or thought of the state of society | in this country if members of one of it's most aristocratic clubs form themselves into a secret institution--in groups of | five, like the Carbonari-and engage to act as spies among their connections and | friends? For against whom else can their operations be directedP They surely can not expect to compass theii | objects by eavesdropping in the public streets, or by watching and listening | to the conversation of strangers in pub lie places of entertainment, or like the unfortunate railway travellers to
 Pavloysky, by drawing out chance fel' | low passengers. Well may the instinct of honorable gentlemen revolt against such an association when its true ob- | feet is made clear. A well known per
 son in St. Petersburg was asked by a | certain prince to become affiliated The prompt and indignant reply to the astonished apostle of the brotherhood
 was: "Why, you want me to be spy?' The prince naturally depricated such
 plain explanation of the situation; but | of course. could not gainsay Its truth
 With equal propriety and force. when
 well known General was asked to be-
 come a member, he is said to- have re-
 piled with simple and unanswerablf l iooic. "When 1 took the oath of al leeiance to the emperor l swore that
 would not belong to any secret society | Other officers of the army are not cred
 tied with equal intelligence and scrupu
 lousness. It is said that many, ifnot
 most, of the officers in the Simeonofsky
 regiment of the Guard have joined the
 society. Ot the Treobaiensky regiment 1 only few are believed to have joined
 It is, of course, impossible to report witt
 any certainty how many may have eE
 rolled themselves and wear the. ring
 which is the badge-the outward anc
 visable sign of ailiiation with this secre
 institution. The most considerate ex
 planation of the origin of the society il that, with an impulse of loyalty, many
 high. minded and well.intentioned mei
 have banded themselves together il
 critical times, without seeing the tru'
 character of the part they have thu
 lightly assumed.
 FROM the Atlanta (Ga.) Sunday Piono
 graph, The editor of the Pikes count,