Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-03-07
IVAN THE TERRIBLE.
a VISIT TO THE TOMB OF THE
MOST CRUEL OF RUSSIA'S
CARS.
A Vivid Picture of His Awful Crime

| In the Cathedral of the Archangel,
| within the walls of the Moscow Krem-
/ lin. is the tomb of Ivan the Terrible
! The first sovereign of Russia to bear
/ the title of Tsar (in our day CZar).
! The sepulchres of rulers and royalties
of less degree may here be counted by
J the score. Even in the annals of his
own country, Ivan (John) ", has
always figured under the sobriquei
! "The Terrible" There is tragic
interest in the name; even horror Is
not without is fascinating aspect.
This man mounted the throne in 1915,
/ lie was possessed Of marked ability,
/ His natural instincts were cruel, but
his reign gave ample proofs of the
/ highest talent, as well as the most fe-
I rocious temper-a remarkable contrast
Of character embodied in one man.
ivan was a human paradox. His first
! wife exercised wonderfully happy
/ influence over him, and during her life
time he never failed to show forth the
3 better qualities of his nature, but after
! her death the arch tiend of which he
was possessed broke loose. In reign
of thirty years he conquered Siberia,
! Astrakan and Kazan, and taught the
Tartars the indelible lesson of subju-
CATION. lie made war against Poland
{ because her king refused him his daugh-
I tcr's hand in marriage. He pillagcd
the churches of NovgOrod, the ancient
capital, and in 1870 put to death more
( than 30, 900 OF her unarmed citizens,
because they were suspected of seeking
an alliance with a Swedish prince.
The bodies of the slain choked up the
waters of the River Nalkhof. Famine
followed in the footsteps of massacre
and destruction. This forced the
! starving inhabitants. in a few instances,
, 10 alleged acts of cannibalism, which
so enraged the Gar that he ordered
the entire surviving population, 80, ,0O0
, or more, TO be wiped from the face of
! the earth. This same monster caused
! the acts and cpistles of the Apostle to
be translated into the Russian Ian
guage, and liberallv disseminated them
among his people. He likewise granted
J his subjects an admirable code of laws.
| \ messenger on one occasion presented
/ himself TO the Car as the bearer of 8
dispatch from one of his generals.
( The opening sentence betrayed the
fact that his arms had sustained de-
! feat, which, like a thunderbolt, caused
Ivan to plunge the pointed steel of his
stock through The foot Of the poor mes
. scngcr, piniouing him TO the floor.
I Ivan then commanded him to 90 on
reading, admonishing the unhappy man
q that if he manifested any signs of
pain he should a once be deprived of
/ MS life. This famous staff of Ivan the
. Terrible, which he ALWAYS carried, was
Il heavy baton, about two inches in di-
! ameter and fully four feet in length,
with weighted ball about the size of
a goose egg at the top, the lower end
being furnished with a sharply pointed
steel prod several inches in length,
something after the fashion of an Al
pine stock, but altogether more for
midable affair.
This description of Ivau's stock is
pertinent not only because it was the
plaything with which he was wont to
amuse himself in pinning to the floor
the feet of those who brought un-
welcome news, but that it was the
instrument of occasional private kill
ing. With this was committed his
historical crime, the murder of his own
3 son-a deed due sorely to his un-
govcrnable temper. The act itself is
presented 10 us in one of the most vivid
of pictures. Even that master of the
horrible, Ncrcschtschagen, whose per-
sonal experiences of the dreadful in
real life have been equalled by few
and possessed by none, could not have
put upon canvas a stronger scene than
this by Repin, in the Tretidkoff cOllec-
. tiOn at Moscow. We have before us
an audience room in the palace. The
! furniture is limited in quantity, the
walls and carpets are in bright colors,
! the curtains and all interior decorations
are eXqufsitely done. A large arm
/ chair is vacant. The young son, not
much more than a lad or 90 years OF
thereabouts, has entered and stands
before his father. The ofIense (God
/ alone knows what it was) has been
/ given, and so has the death blow.
/ Ivan's stock lies upon the rich carpet.
The blood is yet dripping from the
pointed steel, the exact imprint of
! which is seen in the left temple of the
/ boy. From the wound the red current
of life is gushing. The father is or
! the right knee, while upon the left the
/ dropping form of his son is supported
/ The pallor of death is fast sufusin2
/ the cOuntenance. Its icy print Is
already upon the face-a face in which
/ all the features or the father are strik-
ingly reproduced. Ivan places one
! hand over the wound, in the vain
effort to stop the flow of blood. He
seeks to undo the hasty act of five
seconds ago, but "too late' is written
( upon every line of that awful face.
/ The bloodshot eyes are glassed, as if
for the first time they had been turned
| within to gaze upon the horrors that
| had already brought destruction upon
his own soul. The expression is
frightful as every finger of that hand
is gradually thickening with the warm
blood of his own child.
The tomb of Ivan the Terrible is
covered with a black pail. He lies
near TO the main altar, and lights are
| perpetually burning before his picture,
: close at hand. He is said to have
| taken monastic vows in the closing
days of his life, which is recorded BY
! tradition to have ended in convent
walls. The sanity honors over his
body are still continued for the repose
of his soul. Let none begrudge him
( these prayers, for it would seem thai
If anyone ever needed them this mon.
ach did.
Boris Gudenof, the husband of his
sister, succeeded Ivan as regent for
the young Demetrius, the only surviv-
| ing son of the Gar and heir to the
throne. This boy, when scarcely ten
years of age, was murdered by order
of his cruel and ambitious uncle, and
his body now rests with the royal dead
/ of the Cathedral of the Archaugel.