St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-11-08

THE CZAROwITZ's BRIDE.
hesitated to show himself to his people
when he thought the occasion demanded
it, and he oftentimes was accounted
even rash in his manner of doing this.
For instance, on several occasions when
members of his household died and not
ably when his English nurse passed
away, he attended the funeral services
like any common person, following the
hearse ON foot. It was his custom fire.
quently to drive a pair of horses over
the public highways, the czarina and
the whole family accompanying him in
an open carriage.
Perhaps the coronation of Alexander
III, all of the ceremonials of which
were determined by himself, furnished
as good an illustration of his character
as any incident in his life. He did not
formally assume the crown until 1888,
two years after the assassination of his
father. The ceremonies We're held on
May 26 in the cathedral Church of the
Assumption within the walls of the
Kremlin at Moscow, for though ST. Pc
tersburg is the capital of Russia the
elder city, in Difference to the patriotic
sentiment of old Russia, is still the cor
onation city.
The cZarina, or rather empress, for
the Russians do not now use the word
car habitually, presented a remarkable
contrast to her massive husband. She
is slender and petite, quite beautiful,
and with a refined and rather pensive
air. She was long considered the best
dancer in the imperial court and was
very fond of the amusement They had
various places of residence, the winter
palace being most noted, but both pre-
ferred Gatchina, near st. Petersburg.
Whenever they or either of them ap
peared in public there were tumultuous
demonstrations of joy, for the masses of
the Russian people are fanatically de-
voted to their White Father, as they call
him. The nihilists come from very
small section of the fairly we'll educat-
ed classes, and even the advocates of re-
form and a constitutional government
do not altogether include 10 per cent of
the Russian people.
Brave as Alexander III was, the con.
tinued danger of assassination finally
wore him out, as it has many another
brave man. He narrowly escaped at the
funeral of his father. At another time
there was an explosion in the palace and
again narrow escape. Finally occurred
the explosion on the railway to Moscow,
and the slightest of accidents alone pre-
vented the whole imperial family from
being blown into eternity. After that
the czar lived very secluded for long
time, and his only real satisfaction was
during his long visit to his father-in-
law in Denmark. There he was the good
uncle to lively gang of children, with
whom he romped and boated and ram
bled in the woods all day long.
After all, he died young, and now all
Europe is asking about his successor
There is even more contradiction in the
reports about him than in those about
his father. 1t is alleged that he is open
hearted, liberal and progressive, and
with equal force that he is too stupid to
have any marked characteristics and
will be ruled by his counselors and
priests. 1t is agreed, however, that he
is very devoted to his mother temperate
and chaste and studious, and so it is
taken for granted that, SO far as he is in
fuenced at all, it will be chiefly by his
attaches to the second son Of Alexander
III, the Grand Duke George. In his
youth he was delicate, but under the
active regime to which the princes were
subjected he grew vigorous and COM
pleted the prescribed course of studies
and military exercises.
An accident, fall while on a war
ship, injured his chest, and he became
consumptive. Nevertheless he served as
colonel of an infantry regiment and held
command of an ironclad, and as a naval
officer started to accompany his brother
In tour around the world. While in
Indian waters he fell from mast and
injured his spine He was ordered home,
stopped awhile at Athens on account of
his health, and not improving there
made voyage to Algiers, but in vain.
He was sent to region in the Caucasus
supposed to be favorable to consump
tives, and it was soon admitted that his
case was hopeless. His father, disguised
at the liberal tendencies of theczarowitz,
had designed to alter the succession in
favor of his second son, but instead the
second renowned his rights in favor of
the third, Grand Duke Michael, who
now stands next to the car.