New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-07-08
NOT "GOOD RISKS"

e',N ,,sfortune of one kind and another appear
- collect by preference the palaces Of royalty
tho great ones Of the earth for their vista
''..s That this is the case has been brought
- - The public mind with more than ordinary
- nv the assassination Of NJ. Sadi-CarnOt, the
.S,a president Of a great Republic to succumb
,iolent death the other two being Abraham
,,.coln and James A. Garfield. The power of
..,ef magistrate OF a nation such as the United
c..,as or France. the prestige. the dignity and
49, aninence Of his office are SO great that they
-,amhle and sometimes surpass even those of
..ou,ned monarchs. and hence II is not unnatural
40, the Elected or the People should be called
~ - share the perils that encompass the
tainted If The Lord. and that not only the thrones
q soyereigns. but the chairs OF Presidents should
institute par excellence the post of danger the
s.,rt Of all others against which every attack
So the enemies Of society is directed.
r,s indeed a sinister spectacle that the palaces
=, the rulers Of the earth present. and they may
u..u he said to be perennially darkened by what
:. s0urat!vely known As "the shadow Of death"
rLa for instance. France alone. Four of
a.. rr,ers since the beginning OF the present
.r,urv have died in exile namely, the
FIRST ard Third Napoleon. King Charles and
wing Louis Philippe. The fate Of their heirs
has beer even more sad. beginning with the
lung King OF Rome and ending with the
pu,ca Imperial and the Comte de Chambord.
M these two. the former was killed by the Illus
u South Africa. and the Comte de Cham6ord.
,,o,,n - his followers as King Henri " sue
o,robed 10 poison Louis Philippes son, the Duo
TOreans. had his neck broken by a carriage
occident in the Rue de Ia Revolte at Paris. while
Knr Char!es's son. the Due de Berri, was
poniardel at the Opera.
The Empress Josephine is also known 10 have
.,,c,ur7bed to poison. believed to have been adj
-,riste~ed by those interested in preventing her
from communicating to Car Alexander the
nroofs which she possessed of the evasion o. the
nounb,n. Louis XVII. from the Temple prison.
ord If his being still alive. This is guaranteed
nv Sir James Wylie the celebrated Scotch ply
stefan Of Emperor Alexander.
In ne,ghboring Spain revolution has followed
-evoi,,.ion in rapid succession since the be-
ginning Of the century. old Queen Christina
derived Of her regency. was driven into exile
and her daughter Queen Isabella. forced
+usntv years later 10 follow her into banishment
offer being daposed. King Amadeus was forced 10
abdicate and 20 leave the country in midwnter
thA tourney resulting in the death Of his delicate
Queen. Prince Henry of Bourbon was killed in
duel at Madrid. Queen Mercedes IS popularly
believed to have been poisoned. and King Alfonso
was carried off SO suddenly and mysieriously,
ot.er ool,. a few hours illness. that there has
always been a suspicion of foul play These 10y
~ means exhaust the number Of tragedies that
have been visited upon The royal house Of SPAN
during the las. fifty years the shocking suicide
Of the husband # the lnfanta Isabella in her
presence being one q the mos; terrible Of them
all In the neghboring kingdom Of Portugal we
end no less than six members of the reigning
family carried off in quick succession by a potent
Abyssinian poison in the latter part # tne nfues
and the beginning of the sixties. poison which
was administered 70 the late King and 70 his
younger brother and which rendered them IN
vaids as long as they lived. True the official
statements OF their demise attributed the latter
10 other causes but nobody a. Lisbon believes
them and the popular accounts which are
familiar to nearly every Portuguese Of mature
years are credited in the Official circles Of every
court in Europe.
Plots to assassinate the present Gar have fol-
lowed one another So rapidly since his accession
70 the throne that doubt II any one save the
members Of his immediate family and circle has
kep, any record o. the number. His predecessor
was blown 10 shreds by nitro-glycerine after
repeated attempts - murder him, while Cars
Alexander and Nicholas are generally believed
to have succumbed 20 poison Indeed. there is
IS known to have died a natural death, the great
grandfather Of the present car. the sem.-de-
mented Paul. having been strangled by Count
Orlof and others Of MS courters. Moreover, We
see one Grand-duke II the Imperial house 81
Romanoff degraded for sacrilege and theft and
exiled 70 Siberia and two others. both uncles ~
Alexander H. dying demcutcd. Nor Is Aus
tria much better off. Besides Crown Prince
Rudolph whose violent end al Meyerling
still remains shrouded in mystery, there are
Archduke Macmillan. who was shot in Mexico.
Archduchess Charlotte and Archiuke Leopold
both under restraint as ncurabe unatics; Arch
duchess Mathilde burned 70 death, and Archduke
John. who has vanished from human ken, sailing
his back-panted bark into the great un-
known. There have been several attempts, too
10 assassinate the Emperor. the most notable
being that which is now commemorated by that
exquisite piece Of ecclesiastical architecture at
Vienna known as the Votive Church. Francs
Joseph severely wounded and had hand-to-
hand struggle with his wOuld-be assassin the
latter being finally disarmed and secured by the /
Irish born equerry Of His Majesty. Major O'Don-
nell who subsequently, sucked the blood from the
wound. fearing lest that the knife had been
poisoned
OF Bavaria, It Is scarcely necessary 10 speak
here the tragical death Of King Louis and the /
disgusting insanity Of King Otto being too famil- I
lar TO most readers to need more than passing !
reference The rulers Of Baden are Ike /
wise heavily oppressed by the hand Of mis- /
fortune, the Grand duchess being almost to-
tally blind and her daughter. the crown
Princess Of Sweden, in the last stages OF con- /
sumption. The elder brother Of the Grand-duke' |
moreover. died insane. after being depoSed from /
The throne Nor should / omit reference TO the
sanguinary legend according TO which the TgHt- |
ial heir 10 the throne OF Baden, the son OF Grand
duchess Stephanie was murdered by his uncles |
IN the gardens Of Ansbach. TO render possible the
accession Of the Protestant branch Of the family
In Holland we find one Prince Of Orange dying |
10 exile outcast: while another was not |
only cripple but 80 crazy that during the