The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-06-14

present Gears grandfather He was sno
at in Paris In 1867; he was shot at in hi
own capital in 1873 In the latter year
train in which he was supposed to be trav
cling was blown up by an elaborate min
beneath the railroad track. In 1880 de
structive explosion by dynamite occurred il
the imperial apartments in the Winter Pal
ace at St. Petersburg. once more the GA
was absent. Early in the. next year tn,
world WAS shocked by the news that thu
Nihiists had succeeded in their plots, anC
/ that Alexander II was dead.
He had been assassiuated by the explosion
OF bomb while driving from the parade Il
the Winter Palace on Sunday. March 10
1881. Grenevitsky. the man who threw the
fatal bomb. was killed in the explosion, bu
J several Of his low-Conspirators were ar.
rested and put 10 death or sent to Siberia
LUCK OF THE NAPoLEoNs.
! 1t is remarkable how many attempted as.
| sassinations have failed. even when they
have been planned by expert and resolute
men. The two Napoleons, uncle and nephew
! Were many times saved by what seemed the
direct interposition of Providence. AS early
as 1900 Damerville and twenty-four of his
! accomplices were arrested the day before
: the execution of their well-planned plot to
kill the First Consul. In the same year a
bomb burst in the Rue Nivaise fifty seconds
! before Bonaparte was expected to pass the
/ spot.
! In 1904 Moreau. Pichegru and George Ca
; doudal were arrested for conspiring against
| Napoleon. Cadoudal alone was proved gull
| ty. In 1879 a Protestant clergyman, Fred
| erick Slaby, walked up TO the Emperor,
| dagger in hand, and was only prevented
| from plunging it into his heart by the rapid
| interpostion of soldier of the guard. Ma
poleon offered Slaby a pardon, which he re-
fused. saying that he would never rest I'M
Ill he had accomplished his object.
Napoleon III escaped almost miraculously
from the knife of Greppo, the revolver of
Pianeri and the bombs of Orsini. Pianeri's
attempt was made in 1851 He actually
seized the bride of the Enperors horse, in
the Champ Elysees. despite the presence of
constant bodyguard of innumerable police
agents IN citizens clothes, and fired pistol
IN Napoleon's face The muzzle was so close
| that the shot burned the mustache, but
missed its aim. although Pianeri was re-
puted one of the best shots in Europe
orsini's bombs were hurled at the EN-
peror's carriage before the opera at dis.
lance of four PAGES. and though they killed
some hundred and fifty people standing
around the carriage, the carriage and its
occupants escaped.
orsini's attempt and its failure recall the
failure of similar attempt which Ffeschi
planned against Louis Philippe in 1886. The
King, followed by his sons and a brilliant
staff, was reviewing the troops on the
boulevards, when loud report shook the
houses. and Immediately the ground around
him was strewn with dead and wounded
among them Marshal Mortier, Due de Ire
wise The King and his sons We're unhurt
Fieschi was arrested in the little yard of an
adjoining house, whence he fired success
sion of rife shots through the blinds of the
third story. He was taken, tried. sentenced
and executed, with his accomplices.
ATTEMPT ON BISMARCK.
Another striking instance was presented
by young Blinds attempt upon the life OF
Prince Bismarck. Blind was an expert
marksman-he had won the Wimbledon Cup
yet, though he discharged the six cham
bers of his revolver while graphing with
the German Chancellor, none of them took
effect.
In England Queen Victoria escaped from
no less than five attacks upon her life, and
King Edward, when Prince of Wales, from
an attack made in Belgium. In Rome Pope
Plus TX barely avoided the gun of a man
hidden behind the Horses of Phidias near
the Capitol. In Germany Emperor William
1 was fired at by Nobiling on his way to
the unwilling of the colossal statue of Ger
mania In Spain Queen Isabella was wound
ed in the arm by the knife of the priest
Merino. vino aimed at her heart as she
was going il state to return thanks at the
sanctuary of Atecha for the birth of the
son who subsequently "usurped" her throne.
In Spain again. in the Gale Alcala. in Ma
drid, a ruftian. whose name was not known
and whose chief was killed on the SPOT by
a detective, fred in 1872. into the carriage
containing King Amadeus and his Queen
In Austria Emperor Francis Joseph mirac-
uiously escaped the dagger of an assassin
"A votive chapel was erected in Vienna on
the. spot a mark of thanksgiving to
Providence.
In short. up to a half century ago It
seemed as IL rulers and potentates were I'M
der the special protection of Providence and
bore a charmed life against bombs, bull
lets and daggers.
PROGRESSIVE ASSASSINATION.
With the assassination of Abraham LIN
coln on April IA. 1866 there began an ex-
traordinary series of successful assassina-
tons. which have progressed at almost q
geometrfcal ratio up to our day
Michael, Prince Of Servia, was mortalIy
wounded on June 10. 1865; Marshal Prim of
Spain on December Is, 1870; George Danboy.
Archbishop of Paris (by the COMMUNISTS.
on May "a, 1911; the Earl of Mayo, Governor
General of India, on February s, 1872: Sui
tan Abdul-Azz on June 4, 1876; President
Garfield, at Washington, on July Q 1851.
Lord Frederick Cavendish and T. II. Burke
in Phoenix Park, Dublin, on May 6. 1852:
President Carnot of France, at Lyons. in
1884; Stefan Stambuloff, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
in 1895; Empress Elizabeth of Austria at
Geneva. in 1898: King Humbert of Italy, at
Monza, in 1900, and President William Nc
Kinney. at Buffalo. N. Y. in 1901.
OF all these the murder of the Sultan
Abdul-Aziz. as already noted, bore the clos
est resemblance to the crimes that have
now sent thrill of horror through ciyiliza-
ton. That act df 1t was indeed a murder.
which has never been proved had distinct
political motive. Until the downfall of Ma
poleon ii, the Second Empire had been Tur-
keys main reliance. After Sedan the rival
Russian influence became all powerful at
Constantinople. When the revenues were
SO low as barely to pay interest on the pub.
nc oeot a revolt began in Herzegovina GS75),
ana soon extended to Russia An tmpera-
tive demand of the Powers for radica, re-
forms was embodied In the "Andrassy note
december 30. 1879. and the progressive con-
stitutional party (''Young Turkey') demand
ed the Sultan's abdication. He was deposed