The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-09-04


two hundred years ago, would seem to
have been the most unlikely as a resi-
dence for a Russian imperial princess.
Yet that there she came, lived and died
seems so we'll established that the inn
probable becomes the probable. Here
are the details of her most strange and
romantic story.
1t was in the early years OF the eigh-
teenth century. Peter the Great was
Car of Russia, and had established
his new capital, st. Petersburg, amid
the frozen marshes ot the Neva There
he laid out streets and parks, had
| made his people come and build their
houses had himself erected great build
| ings and palaces. and had collected the
| nobility about him in a brilliant court.
| In constant attendance at the cere-
monies and festivities of this fantastic,
semi -barbarous court was a French
! man. the Chevalier D'Aubont, young,
handsome, of noble birth and a men,
Der OF the French embassy.
There were pretty women at that
court and .the Chevalier was by no
means unmindful of them
Above all THESE beauties, however,
| there was one who shone resplendent,
| matchless and supreme in unrivaled
ioNeIInesS. SHe was the perfect typo
of what great princess should be- tall,
| stately and fair And she was a great
| princess, for she was the Czaritza, the
| young wife Of the CZarewltz, Alexis
Petrowitz During his stay at St. Pet
ersburg D'Auhont often saw her, spoke
with her and even danced with her at
| court balls, all the while admiring her
at such distance as was proper to their
| lived the man who, in the Chevalier's
place. could forget her features or ever
| mistake another for her? When. after
two years sojourn. he went away to
| France, he carried forever fixed in his
memory the image Of the beautiful
Russian so far above him, an image
that neither years nor change Of cir
| cumstnaces could ever din.
BANIsHED.
After leaving Russia the Chevalier's
| stay in France was but brief. Some
escapade brought down upon him the
| wrath of the powers that were 1t was
| not bad enough to earn him n cell in
the Bastile, or any deprivation of rank
but, as polite form of punishment. he
| was sent in command OF q body OF
troops in the French possessions on the
north shore of the Gulf OF Mexico. an
| effective banishment under the dis
| guise Of duty. After a lcng voyage
| D'Aubont landed with his soldiers at
Mobile. ana took charge of the post
| Out in that wilderness, cut out from
| civilization. living the rough life of n
| pioneer he perhaps often thought OF
the gala days in ST. Petersburg and OF
the lovely imperial princess there; but,
with half the world between them, his
widest dreams could have suggested
no thought of seeing her again.
While the fates were thus dealing
with the chevalier they We're no less
| busy with the CZaritza. There came
look of sorrow in her eyes as time
went on, for her life became most un-
happy. Her husband treated her bru-
tally. He was little less than a saw
age with a superficial veneer of civil
ization, and he had a touch of insanity
which caused his ancestor, Car Ivan.
to murder his own SON History re-
lates that, crushed beneath the daily
burden of indignities, too heavy to be
borne, the princess pined away and
died; that, after a grand funeral she
was laid away with the imperial
vaults, where she is supposed to rest
today. But legend, that flighty sister
OF history, who something's speaks
truths when the other babies, has ii
that the death of the cZaritza was a
pretense, in order that she might es-
cape from so much misery and sorrow:
that the court physician, an accom-
| plice, administered to her a potion
which put her in a deep trance resem-
bling death; while in this condition
the funeral services were held over
her, and she was laid away; that in
the night, after the obsequies. this
| physician and certain others penetrat-
ed into the vaults, revived her, and
assisted her in a flight to the frontier
beyond which she disappeared, an
atom lost in the universe of humanity
MYSTERIOUS PASSENGER.
About this time John Law, an ex.
patriated Scotchman, was playing
ducks and brakes with French finan.
ces, and was also engineering rea
estate schemes after q fashion that
would put the shame the puny opera.
tiOns of our modern boomers HI
dealt in states and empires instead o.
acre tracts and city lots. He hat
obtained large grants Of land in the
Mississippi valley and was energeti
cally engaged in inducing people to gC
as colonists and settle there. In tht
spring Of 1921 a ship, with some TIVE
hundred emigrants on board, laf
France for Mobile, from WHENCE the,
We're to journey overland to their new
country. These emlgrants were al
most wholly of the lower classes, peas
ants who had lost their holdings
paupers, cOnvicts who were given fres
dom to become colonists and those Will
broken fortunes or damaged character
seeking to begin new life in the wild
erness. On board this ship were rs,
women, one of whom at once attracted
attention by reason of her beauty an.
evident superiority over her surround
; ings; the other seemed to be a servan
! or an attendant. 1t was queer tina
: anyone of that motley crowd shoult
1 have a servant; but in the case Of tina
p queenly woman it seemed appropriat
. During all the long voyage she he'll
herself aloof from the rest. and ear
ried herself with such calm dign!t
that every one treated her with In
failing respect and Difference.
! Late i'm the simmer the emigran
1 | ship dropped anchor i'm Mobile bay. Th
Q | newcomers had to be landed in smal
0 boats, as the water close i'm shore wa
too shallow for the large vessel. Th
whole population Of Mobile gathered I
witness the disembarlIing. for the com
ing OF a ship from the old world wa
p then most rare and memorable event
/ There were all the garrison soldier
a | MI ha1 he fT I, ,gf