Morning journal and courier., 1894-02-07
The Abduction of . King.

saw, his own capital, was probably as au-
 dscious an exploit ss any body of conspir-
 stors ever conceived or accomplished.
 Perhaps I should say "neariy" accom- | plishsd, since at the last moment the king
 effected his escape, but .n Its earlier stages
 the attempt was completely successful.
 The instigstors of the offence wsie the
 confederate Polish nobles, who had never
 recognised Stanislsus ss lawfully elected,
 and, not without reason, looked upon him ss the mere tool of Russian tyranny. The man who planned the details of the abduction was the celebrated Polish pstri- I ot, Pulaski. He it was who engaged 6 body of forty sdventursrs to carry 1t out | under the leadership of thIes daring men, LukoHski, Strsvinski and Kosinski. whom he had won over, and who had
 sworn to deliver up to him the king, dead or alive.
 Making their way by steslthy journeys from Czitschokow, in Great Poland, they | entered Warsaw, on the 2i of November, without having been discovered. They were dtsguiss ss peasants in charge of carts loaded with hay, under which were concealed their saddles, weapons and or dinary dress.
 They d,d not all penetrate into the heart of the city; some remained st the gates The others. on the following evening, col lscted, with due precautions, in the street of the Capuoins; for they calculated, ''from information received, ," tsat the king would pass that way on returning to his | palace at the accustomed hour.
 And so It happened.
 Between nine and ten o'clock, leaving l the residence of his uncle, Prince Czsrtor- iski, the king drove into the trap prepared for him. His escort did not exceed some fifteen or sixteen grooms ard troopers, and an aide de-csmp rode with him in his carriage.
 Suddenly @ number of well-srmed men sprsng out of the darkness. and surround ed both the carriage and its escort, order ing the coschman to pall uk Before he could obey, . shower of bullets clAttered about the vehicle, and struck down an ss query who had posted himself on the doorstep to de end his master. The escort bad fed at the frst shot; even the aide de- camp was gone; the King was sll alone. It was pitch-dsrk night. and he attempt ed to profit by the darkness; but before be hsd taken hslf-a dozsn rteps @ rou. b hand clutched hold of his hair. "Ws have you now," cried the msu who had stopped him; "you hour Is comel" and 6 pis,o.
 
 afterwards said he could feel the heat of the flame. At the same time & sabre l stroke was aimed at his head, aud cut | through his hst and hair to hIs rkull. | Meanwhile the onspirstors had Iemoun.ei | their horses; two of them se'zei his collar | and dragged him on between them, while
 they rode, st full gsllop, five hundred psees through the streets of Warsaw.
 The alarm had by this time been given in both the palace and the city. The guards hastened 10 the scene of the out rage, but discovered only the kings hat l soaked in blood. It was st once concluded that he had been killed. and his desd body | carried of by the murderers; the city was | filled with all kinds of dreadful rumors The king was soon breathless and ex- hsusted with the cruel treatment to which | he had been subjected. He was unable 10 | stsnd, and his captors were obliged to | mount him on horseback. Then they pro
 ceedsd at a still more rapid psea On
 reaching the city gate they found 1t closs d. | so that the only means of sscspe was by
 lesping the ditch. Taey did not hesitate I The king was of course compelled to fol- low their example. He pu-h-d his horse forward, but he fell in the middle. A second attempt, 6 second failure, and the poor animal broke his leg. Stsniolaus was | dragged out covered with mud and greatly | disordered; another horse uss provided | and the desperate ride resumed But not
 before they had relieved him of all of his
 valuables, leaving only his handkerchief
 and tablets. Even Lukow,ki shared in
 the plunder, susrching the ribbon of the
 kings black esgle. with the diamond cross | attached to 1t.
 Most of the conspirstors now dispsrsed;
 no doubt in order to warn their chiefs of
 the eaptive's approach. Only seven re- | mained, under the command of Kosinski.
 The night had grown SO heavy that they
 had lost their bearings, and knew not | where they were. Moreover, th.ir horses
 were spent with fstious, and would no,
 nudge a etsp further. The party were
 compelled to alight, and forced the king | to do the same-though he hsd but one
 of the city ditch.
 For some time they continued to wander
 about the fields, unable to discover any
 regular road. or to get ont of the neigh
 borhood of Warsaw. At length they re-
 mounted King Stanislsus, two of them
 holding him up in the saddle with thei
 hands, while third led the horse by the
 bridle. Thus they stumbled on until the
 king. perceiving that they had struck into
 path which led to a village called Burs.
 kow, warned them that come Russian sol |
 probably attempt his rescae. Strange ad.
 vice, you will say, for the king to have l given to his sbd ductors; but 1t was really dictated by consummate prudence. He . | waa reasonably afraid that on seeing ths Russian guard the eonspirstors might have killed him and taken to flight; whereas by informing them of the danger to which they were exposing themselves, he to som.
 extent gained their confidence. And, as
 matter of fact, th-ncstorward they treated
 him with great lenity. Finding himsei unable to endure sny longer the painful
 posture they had forced upon hip, b, , begged them to provide him with 6 boo and another hor.e. To this they sseente
 and then resumed their journey over th
 psthless tracte, frequently retrscing thei course without knowing 1t, until the finally found themselves in the wood o
 Bielsny, not more than lesgus from War ' saw.
 Meanwhile the capital was & scene 0 - consternation and perplexity. The guard
 were afraid that If they pressed the pur 2 suit of the csptors, the lstter, In thei [ rage, might put the king to death unde f cover of the darkness. ca the oths
 hand, by delaying. they gave them time t ,- convey their victim to some secure retres. ]. whence 1t might not be possible to rescu '. him. At last several nobles mounted thei IT horses and followed up the traces of th
 conspirstors until they reached the poin where the king had crossed the ditch ,,s There they picked up his pslisse, vbic d the king had lost in the scuffis. and as .t was blood-spotted and shot-torn, it cor . nrmed them in their belief that the kin
 was no more. -....
 Stapislaus and his osptors were sti - wandering in the wood of Bi-lsny, whs H. they were suddenly alsrmsd by the sound ST of Rassisn patrol. After holding sho copferepee together four of them disa, . peared, leaving Kosinski and two othe
 with the king. A quarter of an hour lat