The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-05-03
THE DOMAIN OF THE GAR
The Worlds Most Extensive Empire--The Laborious Evolu-
ton of the Slavs.-Houses of Rurick and Romanoff.

as the capital and the seat Of h
court. and the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
Noygo-od in its stead, with the Ioun-
dation OF the two otter principals
ties. Pskof and yiatka. down to the
year 1874, a period Of ITO a from
the death of Iaroslaf The Great
In that year such n calamity fell
upon Russia as dwarfed internal dis
sessions and fratracidal strtf-its
INVASION by the Mongols. OF whom the
old Russian chroniclers writes IN
those times there came upon US Tor
sins unknown nations. No one
could tell their origin. from whenc
they came. what religion they pro-
fessed-no one but God. and per-
haps wise men earned In books
II is. however. n very Temarkaole
fact that Russia brought upon Itself
the disasters Of his invasion and pun
ishment by the heavy hand of hat
Khan. by a spirit Of Quixotic generos-
ity, and In defiance OF the temperate
remcnstrances OF the Asiatic leaders,,
who had marched out of the Caucus
US to chastise h Palossti- We
nave come said the lieutenants OF
Genghis Khan by Gods
against our grooms and slaves. the
accused Palovsti. Be at peace with
US: we have no quarrel with YOU.
But the Russians still advanced TO
the aid OF their ~neighbors.
they were their hereditary
and encountered the Mongols on the
banks OF the river kalka. where they
met such a bloody dereat. such an
utter rout, as equalled almost the
overthrow of the Turkish Sultan
Bajazet by Tamarlane on the plains
of Angora. In the following year
Genghis sent his son Batu to complete
the and IL was not until
ra;-n Of Iran Ea1tfa from l32S
TO 1871, that the Tartar yoke was
relaxed. not by force OF arms but by
Ivan's dextrous diplomacy and poht-
ic art, though for more than one
hundred years after this re-
tired TO a convent and joined the
order of Monks, the Russians re-
manned the vassals and tribute payers
of the Mongols.
Then came to the throne the son
of Vasiti the Blind. Ivan the Great.
whom Rombaud calls the 'unifer OF
the Russian land" He grasped with
a strong hand the sceptre in 1862,
punished the rebellious, subdued the
refractory. solidifed the loose-jointed
principalities into one compact whole
and in 147S gave notice to the Mon
gol ambassadors that Russia would
pay no more tribute Constitution
ally brave Ivan III. preferr9d 10
win by diplomacy rather than by force
VI d lie paO At hhA~
it of lofty m~agnanimity. he was no
above actions which would have dis
graced the meanes of his subjects.
In his king-craft, his devious policy
and his pitiless tenacity OF purpose.
Ivan the Great bore no little resem-
blanc6t to his contemporary. LOUIS
XI. OF France.
vasitfs son succeeded him. a
w, the Terrible. His sway was
long and bloody; but, for all that. he
did more for the material develop
ment of Russia than any OF his pre-
decessors, while he added a vast ex-
tent of territory to its area. He sub
jugated Astrakhan and the karzan.
and reduced the whole of Siberia into
obedience to his rule; he established
the national guard, or standing army.
and strengthened his vast frontier
by a series OF posts or forts: ne in
vited foreigners to the country, VINO
might introduce their useful arts for
the betterment of his subjects; and
he formed a treaty with Queer Eli
zabeth then on the throne of Eng
land. This virgin sovereign appear
ed to lave a strange attraction Tor
the bloody-handed despot-
and we find him more than once
sending her embassies, and writing
her letters. One passage in his cor
respondence Is a little singular::"i
implore you, mighty Queen" he
writes, ito grant me your solemn
pledge Ca promise which Elizabeth
formally gave1 that il so be 1 am
cast out of my throne and my kingdom
dom of worship" Well might he
fear, who had caused the massacre
of $4,000 OF his subjects In the city
of Novgorod!
I can here only enumerate the
reigns of Frador, son OF Ivan ~. as
II ~b -
as a dove to a hawk; he was at once
monk in bigotry and saint In his prf-
vate virtues but not the man to rule
that turbulent people. After him
came Boris Gondonof. succeeded By
Vasili Chouiski. and he, after a ter
rible uprising Of the nations by Mich
ael Romanoff, who has given its
of Russia, though ii really comes from
Anastasia Romanoff. son OF Ivan h
Terrible.
Michael Romanoff assembled he
throne under fairer auspices than any
of those preceding him since h
Russians were disposed to welcome
him with enthusiasm. and yield
him obedience, for he had been their
choice in a great national assem-
bly, gathered at MOSCOW. But h
Tsar had neither the genius. the exr
perfence, nor the strength OF viii to
secure tranquility and happiness TO
his subjects. He was but fifteen
years of age, and vas only a TOOL In
the hands of his mobiles. Michael
succeeded by Alexis Mikhailo-
witch. who transmitted his sceptre to
his son Feodor AIexievitch, who
reigned for six years, from 1876 to
1852 Alexis had another son., des-
tined TO revoiutionize Russia and
startle Europe by the grandeur OF
his conceptions and the briiliancy
Of his achievements-Peter the
Great The reign Of Alexis" says
B1umbUu6 atu0y D summed \
three facts: the reaction against Po-
land and the union with Little Rus
STA: the struggle between the empire
and the Cossacks; the first attempt
at religious reform, and the growth
OF European influence"
Alexis was easy, indolent and