Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-12-11
WALHIAiLlLA, 81. CT
TOMB OF THE CzARs I'm RUSSIA. }
Interesting History Of the Royal Family Re;
i rnarkable Features OF Nicholas u, Etc.

Interesting History Of the Royal Family Re;
rrarkable Features OF Nicholas II, Etc.
st. Petersburg, November 29. ~
The multilated remsins of Alexander
II, the great liberator, lie in the,
sanctuary of st. Peter and St. Paul,
within the walls Of the fortress of
the Same name, which was built at
great expense, but which has always
been absolutely: useless because it
lies on an island in the center Of a
great city which would have to be
destroyeds before an attacking forco
could reach it. It has been used for
q century for the confinement Of
political prisoners and many q
tragedy has occurred withini it's walls.
1t is described in many stories of
Russian politics, including Tolstoi's
"Resurreotion." Writers of Russian
fiction usually send their Victims to
its dungeons and let them suffer
there until they are transferred to
the overland trains that take them
to Siberia.
The Church of st. Peter and St.
Paul has been the burial place of all
the czars since Peter the Great.
Their bones are placed in low tombs
OF marble without carving or other
ornamentation, so plain that they
look like packing boxes, and they lie
in rows in the order of their reigns,
awaiting the summons of the angel
of resurrection to the bar of iudg-
ment. The last car buried was
Alexander III, whose widow, the
dowager Dagmar, sister of the queen
of England, keeps fresh flowers upon
his tomb. He lies beside his father,
Alexander II, in whose coffin is the
hair of the Princess Dolgouroky, his
inorganic wife. She was considered
the most beautiful woman in Europe,
and her hair, which was of dark
Chestnut color, reached to her heels.
When her imperial husband was liy-
ing he admired it more than any
other of her many attractions, and
when he was buried, as an evidence
of her devotion, she cut her tresses
close to her head and laid them upon
his breast.
Unlike most of the mistresses of
kings, the Princess Dolgouroky was
of royal blood and distant connec-
tion of the czar, both having de-
scended from Michael Feodorovitch,
the first sovereign of the house of
Romanoff. Her name was Cathe-
rine, and she was the daughter of
Prince Michael Dolgouroky, who
held a distinguished position in the
army. After the death of his emp
ress, Alexander II married her, and
she lived publicly with him in the
palace, although she never asoended
the throne. In his will he left her
several millions of dollars. Out of
delicacy for the feelings of his legiti-
mate son and successors in power
she has since lived in France.
Alexander III was man of pure
life, the only czar that never kept a
mistress. He was devoted to his
wife, who was daughter of the
King of Denmark, and there never
was a more devoted family circle
than theirs. The Princess Dagmar
had been betrothed to his elder
brother, the late Crown Prince
Nicholas, who died of consumption
at Nice in 1866, and by the ministry
it was considered desirable that
Alexander III, his successor, as heir
apparent, should also inherit his
fiancee. Although the two young
people did not care particularly for
each other, they were well ac-
quainted, cherished mutual est, N,
and, realizing that the fate which
contro princes would require them
to make marriage of state some
time, saw no reason for declining the
arrangement and their engagement
was officially announced. Affection
developed with association, and the
devotion of Alexander III to his
empress was the theme of poets. 1t
ennobled both and gave their chill
dren the benefit of home and life
and an example that was beautiful.
Alexander III way a son of Anak
in stature, but did not possess the
broad craftsmanship and forethought
of his father. He was man of
sincere, convictions, honest intentions
and high purpose, but was dull, stub
born, stolid and conservative. Dur
ing his brief reignfhe was continu-
ally under the shadow of his fathers
fate. His persecution of the nihiliats,