The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1904-02-26

OF prohibited Russian books, and one
Gr three recent volumes lies before me.
~ is a book to be read with profound
anlazeHent, for, though it is written
M tne style of a novel, the author as
serts that all the characters are real
Ilstotical persons, and all the events
described actually happened. For OBJ
vious reason the author hides his iden-
ulty under the initials IN. T."
NO reader would dare to be seen
win TINS volume anywhere in the Rus
san empire. Were it translated from
russian into any of the more familiar
european languages it would assuredly
create an immense sensation, for its
romantic realism throws a startling
iight on a period of history still within
the memory Of the multitudes. The
Title of the book, " Tainie Zeemniavo
Dvortsa,' is in itself wildly suggestive,
Tor it signifies Secrets of the Winter
Palace" Now, the winter palace of ST.
,peeersbnrg is too well known as the
mead center of the most awful system
OF bureaucratic despotism on earth.
what that system means and what 1T
involves has never yet been shown,
even by Tolstoy or Gorky, in colors so
glaring as those in this u~ntranslated
recital. The period is the reign Of
Nicholas l., winding up with the Cri-
mean war. England thus comes in for
many an alluSion.
The Storm.
This real character Of Car Nicholas
l. has never before been so graphically
illustrated. He appears in the opening
pages in his glooNnieSt and most re-
lentless attitude. The war had from
the first Inundated Russia in the eyes
of the world, but no reverses could
humble the arrogant autocrat who had
conceived himself to be a colossus cho-
sen by fate to determine the destiny
of E,urOnn. A violent tamneSt was
raging throughout the north at the
beginning of winter. The car, looking
from a window Of the winter palace,
contemplated the scene with morose
reflections. The waves Of the Neva,
dashing against the granite quays n
the walls of the fortress of st. Peters
Paul, only TO foam back in impotent
rage, seemed to him to symbolic the
tempeStuoUs assaults of the western
powers on the might and majesty of
Russia. The fate which had defeated
Napoleon would thwart them. At any
rate, he would never yield. Never
While J. live shall Russia conclude a
d~ishonorable peace!" That was the
only dictuln he would utter in the
,hearing of the family, counselors, min
listers or friends.
While the storm was raging Two
couriers were announced. One brought
news of fresh reverses in the Crimea.
The fall Of Sebastopol was hourly
leaIPt. he OlleT messenger UlOuSl III
a letter from MuraVieff, commanding
In Asia Minor, relating how; by the
cars intleXible orders, kars had been
assaulted, against the advice Of a
council of war. Though 5000 brave
Russian soldiers had persisted in the
attempt to storm the Turkish fortress,
1t had defied the fierce attempt.
Tho Witch of kieff.
1'LIr GoIh1a blow fla5 tho c2ar'c
naughty spirit with gloom. Disguised
as All officer, he went to consult a
fortune teller known in st. Petersburg
as the witch of Kieff." Russia is the
home of the g]rossest superstition, and
Nicholas groveled in fantastic credu-
lily. A strange experience awaited
him.. The grim old bag by degrees
stirred him to ~ungovernable fury.
How long do the fates ordain that
1 have to live?" asked the visitor.
You will die, as 1 shall, before the
%springtide comes" was the startling
response; a we shall both die OF
poison" But something else was in re-
serve. This fearful old creature, con-
sulting her necromantic apparatus
soon showed thai she we'll knew whc
the stranger was. She proceeded to his
horror to Croak out a story of dark
deeds that would have to be atoned fo1
by him who had wrought them, she
and those dearest to her having beer
the victims. She had in youth beer
beautiful, but her husband had beer
eXiled to Siberia to meet a miserable
fate in the Nertchinsk mines. The
widow and a daughter were beggareC
by the confiscation of all the property
and immured in a convent from Which
they escaped. But the girl was kid
mapped, and the disconsolata mothe,
was unable to trace her. Suddenly he:
daughter shone out as the star actres:
of the Russian STAGE; but her triumph
was of brief duration. Compelled t
become a mistress of the car, Mari
Assenkova became mother of his nat
ural son. She died at his birth, ant
on that day the boy mysteriously dis
appeared. The efforts of the secret 20
lice to trace the lost child had neve
succeeded. but" said the witch, wit
malignant leer, "he lives, and he will
be the avenger of the victims or GU
miseries and his own"
Again and again did the infuriate'
visitor command the woman to desls1
and at length, provoked beyond endur
ance, he seized her in his iron grir
hurled her across the room, and lef
her senseless on the floor. Hurrying t
his palace, the car ordered the chief 0
the secret police to apprehend the for
tune teller. He had p~assionately love
the beautiful actress, and intended tina
her son should be found, even II tn
secret Of his whereabouts had to b
dragged from the witch by torture. Blu
when the police arrived, old Marfoosh
Knocked them, showing them the glas
from which she had just taken poison
The most startling part of her com
munication to the ear was that hi
son had actually been, like his father
sent to suffer all the horrors of exile i
Siberia.
Ill.
The Founding.
The story grows more and more as
founding. Near the winter palac
dwelt the reigning favorite Of 3Nichola!
the beautiful Mile. Nelidoff, mother {
several of his sons and daughters. H
last visits to her were miserable epi
sodes, for his conversation, dark
limiting at his coming end. filled he
with dismay. To enrich his mistres
for whom he sighted his graceful an
devoted empress, the czar compelle
his minister of tinance to take surreE
tltiously from the funds raised for tn
st. Petersburg-Moscow railway SON
hundreds of thousands of roubles. The
unable to find solace any longer !
Nelidoff's society, and despairing {
the results Of his own statecraft,
e~ndeavored, by entreaties and threat
to constrain his chief physician to SUI