Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-09-01

found a colony where all the lepers
might be gathered and treated with the
herb, and that she was the one to found
such n colony.
The Empress Frederick, to whose at
tention Miss Marsden's plan was
brought, was greatly interested and
wrote letters to mother Victoria, the
queen of England, and brother Albert
Edward, prince of Wales. The Mars
den record was looked up, and it was
found that she had served rs a Red
Cross nurse in the Russo Turkish war;
that she had, after that contest, resided
for some years in New Zealand, where
she had won fame and good will by her
work as nurse, and that she had also
tended the sick most faithfully in South
Africa
The royal minds were greatly prepos-
sessed in Miss Marsden's favor by this,
and the result was that in 1890, with
letters in her pocket that introduced her
to the czarina, she went to st. Peters
burg, where she was furnished with ev-
cry facility to do her work. The help
extended included n letter from the
highest imperial authorities and an es-
cort of soldiers during the time she
should journey in Siberia. OF her jour
neyings she gave most interesting &c
counts upon her return. She rode horse
back much of the time, booted, trOusered
and astridc, like n man. She suffered
cold, hunger and fatigue. Her course
often led through morass and painless
forests, and her road had sometimes to
be cleared in advance of her progress by
sturdy axmen.
She found about 300 lepers, all told,
and they were in frightful condition.
They lived in huts separate from their
fellows, they were insufficiently fed and
clad, and their lot was inexpressibly de-
plorablc. She did not find the healing
plant, but she heard Of it and believed
thoroughly i'll its existence. Neither did
she found the colony. 1t was necessary
for her to rest before entering upon that
part Of the work. Besides the ncedful
money must be raised.
So she returned to London, whence a
little later she came to America. Here
she declared that she proposed shortly
to investigate the lepers of Kamchatka,
who, she understood, were in even
worse condition than those of Siberia.
Sho made many friends in this country
was i'll 1892, and n short time after her
book, descriptive of her work among the
Siberian lepers, was issued.
Now comes the other side of the story.
Her book displeased III Russia, where it
was averred that there were no lepers
in Siberia-at least only a few-and
they, it was said, were not suffering for
want of attention, because they were
cared for by the imperial government.
Gross exaggeration of Siberian matters
generally, it was declared, were to be
found OH every page of the volume. An
investigation committee took the mat
ter up then, and its report has lately
been made public. 1t declares Kate
Marsden to be fraud. There are hints
of an intrigue between her and Rus
sian noble, and it is alleged that she
did not do half the great things she says
she did
She denies it all, says the present re-
port contradicts directly an earlier one.
and that she shall bring suit for libel
against Rev. Mr. Francis, pastor Of the
British church at ST. Peters
burg. chairman of the committee, and
NJ PobedonostZeff, procurator Of the
holy synod, who indorses the report
That Is the gist of the dark side Of
the story. but it should be added that
queer rumors concerning Miss Marsden
have also lately arrived in London from
New Zealand. The reader is at liberty
to form his own opinion