The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-11
THE ABDUCTION OF A KING.
From All the Year Round.

! hlnS OF POlapu, IN the very MIDST OF war
saw, his own capital, was probably as au
| dacious an exploit as any body of con
! spirators ever conceived or accomplished
| Perhaps I should say nearly" accom-
| plished since at the last moment tn
! king effected his escape, but in its earle
! stages the attempt was completely sue
| cessful. The instigatorss of the offens
were the confederate Polish mobiles. VIII
! had never recognized Stanislaus as law
| fully elected, and, not without reason
| looked upon him as the mere tool of Rus
sian tyranny
The man who planned the details of thu
abduction was the celebrated Polish
patriot, Pulaski. He it was who engaged
body of forty Adventures to carry il
out, under the leadership of three daring
men-Lukowski, Strawinski and Kosinsk
whom he had won over, and who had
sworn to deliver up to him the king, dead
or alive.
Making their way by stealthy journeys
from CzitschOkow, in Great Poland, they
entered Warsaw, on Nov. 2, without haV-
ing been discovered. They were dis
guised as peasants in charge of carts
loaded with hay, under which were con-
cealed their saddles, weapons and ordi-
nary dress.
They all did not penetrate into the
heart of the city; some remained at the
gates The others, on the following evening,
collected, with due precautions, in the
street of the Capucius; for they calcu-
lated, from information received" that
the king would pass that way on return
ing to his palace at the accustomed hour.
And SO it happened
Between 9 and 10 o'clyck, leaving the
residence of his uncle, Prince Czartoriski,
to whom hehad been paying visit, the
king drove into the trap prepared for
him. His escort did not exceed some if
teen or sixteen grooms and troopers, and
an aide-de-camp rode with him in his car
riage.
Suddenly a number Of well-armed men
sprang out of the darkness and surround
ed both the carriage and it's escort, order
ing the coachman to pull up. Before he
could obey, shower of bullets clattered
about the vehicle, and struck down an
equerry who had posted himself on the
doorstep tc defend his master. The es-
cort had fed at the first shot; even the
aide-de-camp was gone; the king was all
alone. 1t was pitch dark night, and he
attempted to profit by the darkness; but
before he had taken half a dozen steps, a
rough Uand clutched hold of his hair.
1--WE have you now,p cried the man who
had stopped him; your hour is come ~
and pistol was discharged so close ia
his face that he afterward said he could
feel the heat of the fame. At the same
time sabre stroke was aimed at his
head, and cut through his hat and hair to
his skull. Meanwhile, the conspirators
had remOuuted their horses two of them
seized his collar and dragged him on be-
tween them, while they rode at full gal.
lop 500 PAGES through the streets of War
saw.
The alarm had by this time been given
in both the palace and the city. The
guards fastened TO the scene of the out
rage, but discovered only the kings hat,
soaked in blood. 1t was at once concluded
that he had been killed and his dead
body carried off by the murderers; the
city was filled with all kinds of dreadful
rumors.
The king was soon breathless and ex.
hausted with the cruel treatment to
which he had been subjected. He was
Enable to stand, and his captors were
obliged to mount him on horseback. Then
they proceeded at a still more rapid pace.
On reaching the city gate they found il
closed, so that the only means of escape
was by leaping the ditch. They did not
hesitate. The king was, of course, com
PEELED to follow their example He
pushed his horse forward, but he fell in
the middle A second attempt, a second
failure, and the poor animal broke his
leg. Stanislnus was dragged out, COW
cred mud and greatly disorderd. Another
horse was provided, and the desperate
ride resumed. But not before they had
relieved him CT all his valua bles, leaving
only his handkerchief and tablets. Even
Lukowski shared in the plumber, snatch
ing the ribbon of the kings black eagle,
with the diamond cross attached to it.
Most of the conspira tors now dispersed
no doubt, in order to warn their chiefs of
the captive's approach. Only seven re-
manned, under the command of Kosinski.
The night had grown so heavy that thew
had lost their bearings, and knew not
where they were. Moreover, their horses
We're spent with fatigue, and would not
bulge a step further. The party were
compelled to alight, and forced the king
to do the same-though he had but one
boot, the other having stuck in the mud
of the city ditch.
For some time they continued to wander
about the fields, unable TO discover any
regular road, or to get out of the neigh
borhood of Warsaw. At length they re-
mounted King Stanislaus, two of them
holding him up in the saddle with their
hands, while third led the horse by the
bride. Thus they stumbled on, until the
king, perceiving that they had struck into
a path which led to q village called
Burskow, warned them that some Rus
sian soldiers were stationed there, who
would PROBABLY attempt his rescue.
Strange advice, You will say, for the king
TO have given TO his abductors; but it
was really dictated by consummate pru-
dence. He was reasonably afraid that on
seeing the Russian guard the conspira-
tors might have killed him and taken to
flight; whereas by informing them of the
danger to which they were exposing
themselves, he TO some extent gained
their confidence. And, as q matter of
fact, thence forward they treated him
with great lenity. Finding himself I'M
able to endure any longer the painful
posture they had forced upon him, he
begged them 10 provide him with a boot
and another horse To this they assented /;
and then resumed their journey over the
painless tracts, frequently retracing
their course without knowing il. until
they finally found themselves In the
wood OF Bielany, not more than league
from Warsaw.
Meanwhile the capital was scene OF
CONSERVATION and perplexity, The guards