The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-07-26
WHEN
CzAR NICHOLAS.
Stories Illustrative of His Soldierly Tastes
and Hatred of Shams.

Stories Illustrative of His Soldierly Tastes
and Hatred of Shams.
London Times.
In 184S, when instructions were raging all
over Europe riot broke out in ST. Peters
burg, owing to the unpopularity of Il police
officer. Nicholas jumped into a one-horse
sleigh, was driven to the scene of the dis
turbance, and, marching alone into the mob,
ordered that three ringleaders should sur
render. His terrible presence at once cowed
the rioters. Three men stepped out
went by his orders to the police Of
fee and were there hogged. The Gar
never showed mercy to mutineers, and no
doubt the men knew quite we'll what pun
ishment awaited them when they gave them
selves up. A few years before this, in 1874
when Nicholas paid visit to England, his
grim looks made our court uncomfortable
Lady Lyttleton, after saying in one of her
letters how grand and handsome he was
adds: "The only fault in his face is that he
has pale eyelashes, so that his enormous and
very brilliant eyes have no shade, besides
which they have that awful look impaired by
occasional glimpses of white above the eye
ball which gives him an expression of saw
age wildness. His face has an awkward
character of deep gravity almost sadness,
and a strange want of smiles" The Cars
military habits also caused establishment at
Windsor. After wearing civilian clothes for
. couple of days he begged the Queen to
permit JnaC he SnOulQ resume MS UNIFORM,
for he found the other clothes uncomfortable.
He slept on a leather sack stuffed with straw.
The first thing his Wallets did on being
shown his bedroom at Windsor Castle was
to go to the stables for clean trusses a pro-
ceeding which, as Baron Stockmar remarked,
''was pronounced by our Englishmen
to be affectation; but affectation or
not, the Emperor adhered to the practice
through life'' The Cars soldierly tastes
explain the quality of his rule AS obe-
dience is reckoned virtue in a soldier, Mich
olas was resolved that it should be regarded
as such by his subjects; and he also had in
him a strange notion of the patria potestas,
calling himself father OF his people, and
maintaining that his children" ought not
to feel degraded by any order he gave or any
punishment which he inflicted
One night at court bali a young prince,
Kortasow, made foolish remark, which the
Gar overheard. You'll walk up and down
the ballroom all night when the guests have
gone and cry out in a loud voice, II am
puppy said his Majesty, and the frightened
young gentleman did as he was hidden.
Horace Vernet, the French painter who was
at St. Petersburg when this happened. said
that the affair 'sickened him. so that
he declined an invitation which had been
given him to live in one of the imperial
palaces for a year while he did some
work for the Emperor. The Frenchman and
the Russian autocrat were not likely to agree
upon human dignity-a sentiment which the
Gar never took into his calculations.
Nicholas disliked books, and hated to hear
arguments in favor of his system He said
it was natural system, that needed no argu-
ment in its favor When told of Guizots
maxim, The best government is an intelli-
gent despotism," he remarked shrewdly
enough, that there can be no real despotism,
that is mastery without intelligence