New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-20
THE CZARINA'S INSANITY.
a,ryANDER ALONE in HIS GRIEF AND
ON RID TERMS WITH ALL HIS FAMILY.

:. tu.,nota that Alexander III is man of
.I,or mild and of a mind almost as power
ful as his physique Otherwise, ne would eno
-. L.,rr crnsbed under the accumulation of sor-
80 which have cast their shadows over his reign
IA have blichted his whole life. Sighted by both
sa.hor and mother. who for some reason loved him
.a- sss than anv Of their other children, his in
..nor and voutb were exceedingly sad lie be-
came still more distasteful to his parents AFTER
.be death of his elder brother, VINO expired al
Nice ON the eve of his marriage from tne enects
Of a maIady due to an unintentional blow lnrhcted
nv the present Gar in the course OF some rough
borseplay. man OF uncompromising honescy'
- - No effort TO hide his indignation at the
immortality and corruption whlch vert riie ooVn
.,norc the Imperial family and at Court here
sur;n9 tbe closing years of the last reign. He
80 ,horouehly out of touch with the regime which
,her nrevaied The disraceful neglect to which
bgs mother was subjected, and which ultimately
led 10 her DEATH created a deep impression on
his mind. notwithstanding all her GOODNESS toward
him: and when, few weeks after her DEMISE
her husband actually went so far as to contract
morganatic alliance with his mistress, the frln-
cess Jurieffsky, the relations between father anu
son became more strained than ever. The tragedy
which brought Alexander Ill to the throne elgho
years ago has been followed since then oy re-
neated attemnts 10 assassinate both himself and
those most dear 10 him. and though the efforts
of the would-be murderers have in each case been
frustrated the constant peril and the frequently
well-founded distrust of those with whom nc is
brought into contact have had very saddening
effect on his character and appearance.
The browning sorrow of his life has. however,
lust come upon him. His wife, to whom he Is
passionately devoted and who is the most gra-
cious and captivating woman that has ever
adorned a European throne, has become entirely
insane. Her nervous system had already been
completely shattered by the repeated attempts
on her husbands life, and since the terrible rail-
way accident at Borld couple of months ago.
when so many of her favorite attendants lost
their lives, her mental depression has increased 10
a most alarming degree. She passes whole days
in absolute silence; on other occasions she refuses
TO touch a morsel of food, while at times sue
eyen fails to recognize the members OF her family.
Her dementia has assumed the same aggravated
character as that which two years ago necessitaVco
the detention of Her Maiestys younger sister, tne
Princess Thyra, in private lunatic asylum near
Vienna for the space of eight months. Inc eA-
treme gravity of the Czarina's case can oest DC
estimated by the fact that at the request Oh the
Emperor and of his physicians Dr. Charcot. the
famous Partisan mad-doctor, and PROFESSOR Non
@~~-~
asylum at Dobling, near Vienna, who had charge
AZ the Duchess of Cumberland's case, have both
arrived in this city en- route to Gatschina seri-
ous fears are entertained that the Empress may
attempt to destroy herself, and she is watched
dsv and night without intermission by the physi-
cians and trained nurses. Her recovery IS ex-
tremely doubtful, for as long as her husband re-
mains ON the throne the danger of his assasslna-
tion will subsist; and hence she will never pc
permitted to enjoy any permanent relief from the
horrible anxiety which has wrought such havoc
in her brain.
Poor little Marie Feodorovna was the brightest,
urettjest and most charming Of clever old queen
Louise OF Denmark's daughters. Had she any
inJkling of the sad fate in store for her when on
the morning Of her departure from her father
palace at Fredensborg TO become the bride OF Alex
ander AIc,*rdrowitch at St Petersburg she drew
a diamond lag from her finger and scratched on
the windowpane of her little boudoir Nit elskede
Fredensborg, farwelll" My beloved Fredensoorg,
FAREWELL There were many at the time who made
gloomy predictions concerning the marriage. For
the Princess Dagmar had been betrothed to Alex
ander's eldest brother, who had died at Nice, and
only consented 10 marry her present husband in
accordance with the dying wishes OF her lance
It must be admitted, however, that she benefited
by the change For the present Gar is far
more noble and sterling character than his eldest
brother ever was, though perhaps less handsome
and refined-looking No breath Of scandal or in
trigue has ever clouded their marital relations,
and il is impossible to find anywhere n more af-
fectlonate and devoted couple than the Emperor
and Empress Of Russia.
A uainful feature of the present state Of affairs
4 the complete isolation of Alexander III in
his great grief There is utter absence Of
sympathy on the part of his cousins, his uncles,
and even Of his brothers. Indeed, for several
months past his relations with the Grand Dukes
Alexis and Vladimir have been decidedly strained,
and he makes no pretence of eoncealing his senti-
ments toward them. He thoroughly diSapproyed
of their conduct durirS their recent visit TO
paris. and of the people with whom they asso-
eiated while there. What, however, particularly
offended him was their failure TO return to Russia
ON hearing of the horrible railway disaster at
Bork. The catastrophe had been so terrible.
and the destruction of the Emperor, the Empress
snd their children so narrowly averted, that it
was only natural to suppose that the Cars
brothers would hasten to his side for the purpose
OF concentrating him on his proyidential escape.
They, however, preferred TO remain at Paris, and
none of the Cars relatives were present here at
St Petersburg to take part in the unparalleled
display of loyal enthusiasm which attended the
popular welcome home of the Imperial party
after the accident.
It is needless to state that their strange absence
ON so memorable an occasion gave rise to much
comment, and called forth a very pointed and
unmistakablc token of displeasure on the part Of
the Sovereign. During their stay at Paris the
Grand Dukes had been most hosl itably entertained
by Senator Polovtsov, who possesses a magnif-
cent chateau and park in the neighborhood of
Versailles. Besides being millionaire NJ. Polovt-
SOW is statesman OF considerable fame both at
home and abroad, and besides holding one of the
great offices Of state has until now been regarded
rs exceedingly powerful and influential In
mediately on hearing Of the railway accident
at Borld, he made arrangements to leave for