Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1889-07-26
AN UNHAPPY AUTOCRAT.
a STRONG PICTURE or THE LATE
CAR OF RUSSIA
His Life and Experience in the Field
WILDLY Described by Newspaper Man.
An Enthusiastic Reception Given the
Unhappy Monarch.

I An Enthusiastic Reception Given tia
Unhappy Monarch.
! Alexander although as car commander
in-chief Of all the Russian armies, held n,
. definite position Of any kind in the field, hav
! ing assigned the actual command to hi
brother, the Grand Duke Nicholas. His lif
during the campaign was one Of extrem
simplicity and great seclusion- At SiInnitzi
while the members OF the imperial family
and the mobiles and generals Of the suite en-
joyed themselves, no matter how things vert
going on the field, the emperor was very sci
dom seen outside the little country house il
which he lived, except TO visit the hospitals
where were the Russian wounded, or for a
drive to some point commanding view Of 6
kong stretch of the Danube
MID THE CARNAGE OF WAR
After the disaster met with by Krudener
and Shackoskoy in front Of Plevna on the
S0th Of July, and Gourko's enforced retire
ment to the Bulgarian side Of the Balkans,
the imperial headquarters were moved vest
ward to a village called Gorni Studen, about
equidistant from Plevna, Sistova and Tirno-
va. Biela had become poisonous by reason Of
an utter disregard Of all sanitary precautions,
and the emperor had been ailing from low
fever, rheumatism, and asthma, the last his
chronic ailment At Gorni Studen he aban-
doned tent life, and only occasionally came to
the general table in the mess marquee. A
dismantled Turkish house was fitted up for
him after q fashion, and his bedroom was
tiny chamber with mud walls and a mud
aoor.
had a difficulty IN recognizing him, so
changed was he from the early days at Sim
nitza He had shrunken visibly, he stopped,
bis head had gone down between his shout
/ ders, and his voice was broken and tremulous
He was gaunt, worn and haggard; his ner-
vous system seemed quite shattered There
was hunted expression in his eye and he
/ gasped for breath in the spasms Of the asthma
that afflicted him l left him with the vivid
| apprehension that he was not to break the
spell that was said to condemn every Roman
of to the grave before the age of CO.
The spell of course was nonsense, yet it is
the fact that Car Alexander's father, and
the four male Romanofs Of the generation
preceding Nicholas, the sons Of the mentally
affected Emperor Paul, died before the at
tainment Of this age, and Of disease affecting
the brain
As epilepsy is the domestic curse Of the
Hapsburgs, so hypochondria is the family
malady Of the Romanoffs Alexander was a
prey to it in tie Gorni Studen hovei. But it
udu not us luu sway over MN.
The car was present in the field during
the six days struggle around Plevna in the
September Of the war. The sappers had con-
structed for him on little eminence out of
the usual line Of hostile fire sort Of lookout
place from which was visible great sweep
Of the scene of action Behind it was a mar
quee, in which was a long table, continually
spread with food and wine, where the suite |
supported nature jovially while men were
dying hard by in their thousands As for the |
car himself, after the first two days he |
neither ate nor drank. Anxiety Visibly de- |
voured him. he could not be restrained from |
leaving the observatory and going around |
among tho gunners / watched him on the /
little balcony Of the lookout place late on tho |
afternoon of the fifth day Of the struggle-it |
was his fate day, save the mark las he stood |
there in the sullen autumn weather, gazing
out with haggard, straining eyes, at the
efforts to storm the great Grivitza redoubt.
Assault after assault had been delivered; as
sault after assault had failed Now the final
desperate struggle was being made the for
lorn hope of the day The Turkish fire had
crushed down his Russians as they battled
their way up the slope slippery already with
Roumanian blood.
The pale face on the balcony quivered, and
the tall figure WINGED and covered. As no
stood the bearing Of his cross in solitary an
guish, he was spectacle of majestic misery
that could never DO forgotten.
MID REGAL sPLENDoR
After Plevna had fallen in December the
emperor returned to St. Petersburg, there to
be greeted with a reception, the likeof which
for pure enthusiasm / have never witnessed.
From the railway station he drove straight
to the Kasan cathedral, in accordance with
the custom which presents to Russian en-
perors that in setting out for or returning
from any enterprise they shall kiss the gilt
tering image Of the holy virgin of Kasan
which the cathedral enshrines. Its interior
was a wonderful spectacle. People had spent
the night sleeping on the marble floor that
they might be sure Of place in the morning
There had been no respect Of persons in the
admissions. The mujik In his skins stood
next the soldier noble whose bosom glittered
with decorations. The peasant woman and
the princess knelt together at the same shrine.
At the tinkle Of bell the great doors we're
thrown wide open, and ON the surge of cold
air was born great throbbing volume Of
jOunds, the roar Of the cheering of vast null
1tudes, the booming Of artillery, the clash of {
he pealing joy bells In stately procession j
he emperor reached the altar, bent his head l
md bis lips touched the sacred image When {
10 turned to leave the building the widest
'Onfusion Of enthusiasm laid hold Of the
hrOng. His people closed in about the car
i'll be had no power to move. The great 1
truggle was but to touch him, and the chnos I
4 policemen, officers, shrieking women and !
enthusiastic peasants swayed and heaved to a
nd fro; the emperor IN the center, pale, his i
ips trembling with emotion, just as had t
cen him when his troops were cheering him C
n tbs battle field; struggling for the bare /
disability to stand or move forward, for he v
'as lifted by the pressure clean of his feet c
nd whirled about helplessiy At length, ex- v
ricated by a wedge Of officers, he reached v
is carriage, only to experience almost as v
'onderful an ovation when he reached the d
aised portico of the Winter Palace AS for C
he czarevna, the lady who Is now empress b
Russia, her experiences at the winter pal "
ce were unique. As her carriage, following c.
nat Of the emperor, approached the terrace, n
be populace utilized it as point whence to il
% and cheer the emperor. Men scrambled Il
d to the horses the box, the roof, the wheels; &
rogress became utterly impossible A group L.
cadets and students, who lined the base Of Il
10 terrace, were equal 10 the occasion. They a,
ragged open the carriage door by dint Of Il
IMMENSE exertion; they lifted out the bright
title lady, who clearly was greatly enjoying
70 fun, and they passed her from hand to
and above their heads till the emperor =,
Iught her, lifted her over the balustrades !.
I'd set her down by his side ON the terrace
saw the metal heels Of her remarkably neat -
'ots sparkling In the winter sunshine over ..
o heads Of the throng. Forbes "
Camp and Quarters.n y
A Complicated Find. n
The following account of the discovar,y If -