Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1889-09-20
Amiable Barbarians.
Theodore ChHd, m HUpe's Hdgd-iRe
f0g .Neptembsr


for September.
From the Tsar down To the humblest
muiik, the Russians are more or less bar
harians, from the point OF view of the re-
tiued West, but certainly most amiable
harbarians, 50 far as foreigners are con
cerned Their hospitality knows no limits
no trouble Is too great when il is ques-
tion of obiging a foreign visitor; but
charming as they are, you are constantly
being reminded of the wildness of their
real underlying nature by the strange
contrasts of delicacy and brutality, of
civilization and barbarism, which their
daily life offers To hear the Russians
talk about the unwritten contemporary
history of their social and national life is
like listening to the stories of the Arabian
Nights. The true narrative of Skobeleff7s
career and death and the narrative of the
circumstances of the assassination of the
late Tsar are far more thrilling and ex-
traordinary than print has ever told
As an example of the strange contrasts
of real Russia we will cite two anecdotes
that were related to Us by distinguished
official, whose intention was certainly not
to throw dust in our eyes, or even to as
tonish US beyond measure. The conver-
sation happened to turn upon General
Loris Melikoff, the famous chief of the
dreaded third section" The Emperor,
we were told by our informant had given
L0ris Melikoff unbounded power to act
against the Nihilists, and had virtually
created him vice Emperor, as Melikoff
himself used to say. Now, Melikoff had
discovered that one of the leading Nihilist
chiefs was in the habit of frequently visit
ing Count Tolstoi, the novelist, and one
day he went out to Tolstois country
house. Before the visitor had announced
himself, Tolstoi recognized him, and
said:
"You are Loris Melikoff chief of the
third section. Do you come to see me
officially, or as private man If you
come officially, here are my keys; search
open everything. You are free"
Il come not officially" replied Melikoff
VERY good" answered Tolstoi; and
calling two mujiks, he said to them,
Throw this man out of the house y
The mujiks obeyed Tolstoi to the letter,
and Loris Melikoff had to accept this
treatment, for in his way Tostoi is IA
mightier man than "our father the Tsar.
In the eyes of the Russian people he is an
exceptional being, being more than saint,
and almost IA saviour.
The mention OF LOriS MelikoG brought
mp another anecdote. Some twelve years
ago the Emperor sent for Melikoff and
announced to him that the plague was
raging in two villages of the empire, and
ordered him to do whatever was needful
with a view to stopping its ravages, at the
same time giving him unlimited powers.
Thereupon Loris Melikoff went first
of all to the Minister of Finance, in
formed him that he should perhaps require
a great deal of money in order to carry out
the Emperor's commands, and demanded
a credit of fifty millions of rubles. The
Minister of Finance made long face, but
was unable to refuse. Loris Melikoff
then posted to the villages in question, and
having observed the situation, he tele-
graphed for twenty fre-engines to be sent
from the neighboring towns, had the
pumps charged with petroleum, and or
dered the fremen to approach the villages
by night inundate the cottages with pc
troleum, set them on fire, and save no
body. The order was executed the cot
tages and their few hundred inhabitants
men, women, children, and cattle-were
burned to ashes, and those two villages
disappeared from the map of Russia and
from the registers of the empire The
measure was radical, hut it stamped out
the plague effectually Loris Melikoff
thereupon reported to the Emperor that
his commands had been executed and
then called on the Minister of Finance to
tell him that out of the credit of fifty mil
lions of 1ubles granted to him he had spent
only two hundred rubles to buy petroleum,
and that consequently his Excellency the
Minister could dispose of the balance.
In both of these stories which we have
reason to believe tn be literally exact we
find that curious mixture of the grandiose,
of Ostentation, and of barbaric reckless
ness which are characteristic of the Rus
sian temperament