St. Paul daily globe., 1890-12-29
INSANE GRAND DUKE.
rhe Eldest Uncle of the Gar
Suddenly Bereft of His
Reason.
An Adventurous and Disrep-
utable Career Drawing
to a Close.
Incidents in the Life of q
Prince Who Has Been a
Sore Burden.
He Is the Senior in Point of
Age OF the Reigning Rus
sian House.

long list OF royal and imperial person
ages in Europe who have become insane
and have been placed under restraint,
says st. Petersburg correspondent of
the New York Times. 1t is that of the
Grand Duke Nicolas Nicolaiwitch, the
eldest of the czar's uncleS and the
house of Russia.
Although suffering from cancer in
the cheek and throat, which had been
pronounced incurable, and which is
gradually eating its way toward the
jugular vein, the grHnd duke had per-
sisted in assuming command of the
troops engaged in the recent maneuvers
at Nolhynia. On the very day of the
conclusion of the operations he suddenly
and without the slightest warming be-
came raving maniac. The scene took
place III the imperial tent in the pres
ance of the czar, the czarina, and some
200 of the greatest military dignitaries
Or the empire, and was intensely
dramatic. Force had to be employed
before the grand duke, who is a giant
in stature and physique, could be over
powered. and before daylight on the
following morning he was on his way
10 the dreary and deSolate Don SteppeS.
where he Will remain in strict seeluSion
during the remainder of his days at the
chateau of Gen. Martinoff. The doctors
have all declared that the grand dukes
mind has completely gone, without any
possibility of recovery, and that his
death from the effects of the cancer
with which he is afflicted must neees-
sarily occur at q very early date.
Nicolas, who is now sixty years of
age, has had somewhat adventurous
career, and ii was not without good rea-
son that the cid chancellor, Prince GortS-
chakotf, was wont to describe him as the
enfant terrible of the imperial family.
Both his domestic and his official life
has been cnlIyened by number of ex-
ceedingly sensational scandals. Chief
among these were the revelations which
were brought to light i'll the course of
the trial Of MeSSrS. Gregr, HorwitZ IL
kochen, the contractors for the supplies
for the army of the Balkans during the
Turco-RuSsan war of 1861. Ehe firm
in question was accused and SubSe-
Quehtly convicted Of the most aStOunJ-
ing and outrageous frauds, and it was
proved i'll court that it had furnished
the sum of 2,000.000 rubles toward the
payment of the most pressing debts of
the grand duke i'll consideration of his
closing his eyes TO their enormous rOb-
berries while he filled the post of COM
mander-in-chjef of the alnly of the
Balkans. Hardened as the Russians
are to peccadilloeS of this kind. the dis
closures concerning the grand duke
were of sufficiently startling nature to
lead his brother, the late cZar, to order
him to leave the empire and remain
abroad for several years.
Nicolas had no sooner arrived at
Paris than he placed himself in commu-
nication with Nine. Adam and began
the publication i'll her NouveIle Revue
of series of articles destined to eX-
plain that his removal from the active
to the retired list of the army was ell
tirely due to jealousy of his remarkable
strategicaI talents Oh the part of less
successful generals, who had succeeded
in prejudicing his brother. the emperor,
against him. He likewise insInuated
that the latter was nothing more nor
less than a good-natured ass, subject to
influences that were, TO say The least,
very unfortunate.
This was 100 much even for Alexander
IL, VINO was admittedly the most easy
going and kind-hearted of monarchs.
Not only did he command the minister
III wal. 0Nlis W publish III
full the disgraeeful circumstances which
had made necessary the withdrawal
from Russia eff the grand duke, but he
also issued ukase depriving him of his
baton OF field marshal, of his rank as
inspector general OF the army, of his
honorary colOnelcieS, and even of his
presidency of the Imperial Agricultural
society. Not until a couple of years
after the accession OF the present EN-
peror 10 the throne was the grand duke
restored to his former offices and digni-
ties.
But it was not long before he was
again in trouble. The tragical suicide
and ruin of Baron FehleiSen, the we'll
known banker at st. Petersburg, four
years ago, were the result of his failure
to recover any part of the enormous
sums due to him on the proniSSOry
notes OF the Grand Duke Nicolas, to
whom he had imprudently advanced
several millions OF rubleS.
\ few months later the grand duke,
who was universally regarded as NOR
ally responsible for The baron's death,
was deprived by the emperor of the
control of the remains Of his once mag
nficent fortune, ana also of the control
Of his income, both of which were vest
ed in the hands Of trustees for the beng-
lit OF his faulty.
About two years ago, at the time of
The marriage of his son to the Princess
Of Montenegro, the Grand Duke Nicolas
became once more the subject of much
diSagreeable comment at court here.
His fragrant marital infidelities and
notorious liaisonS had led to the with
1rawal of his wife, the Grand Duchess
Alexandra, to a convent at Kiev. When
Ia L..
sacred city on the Dnieper for the pur-
pose of presenting her to his mother.
the latter announced her intention of
giving the bride a superb necklace of
pearlS which she herself had received
on the occasion of her marriage, thirty
years previously. AS the necklace had
been left at her palace i'll st. Peters
burg, she wrote to her husband. the
Grand Duke Nicolas, requesting HIM to
hand the necklace to her new daughter
in-Iaw, and likewise informed the car
of her gift TO the young princess.
Three months after the wedding the
latter happened to be present at court
ball in the Winter palace, when the en-
peror, during the course of chat, in
quired why she never wore the neck
lace of pearls which her mother-in- law
had presented to her. The Young
Slulib out ~ % heAS liiClCupOI IC
confess that her father-in-law had failed
TO hand her the jewels in question.
Much incensed, his majesty seized an
early opportunity to take his uncle
Nicolas to task OH the subject, and afte,
much questioning discovered that the
parure had been presented, along with
others OF his wife'S jewels, to woman
of questionable reputation with whom
his name had long been connected. The
woman III question had absolutely de
clined to return the gems. and the granG
duke had thus been unable to fulfill his
wife'S wishes with regard to their dis
posal. 1t was not until the car himseli
had dispatched Gen. Gresser. the chiel
of the st. Petersburg police, to Nine. N
with threats Of prison and Siberia thai
she finally consented, with exceedingI,
bad grace. to surrender the ieweIry O.
he Grand Duchess Alexandra.
Will Save Room.