New-York tribune., 1905-01-08

matters In a moment of acute crisis in Bulgaria
some years ago, and lives happily with his NOR
ganatic wife, the widow OF enormously
wealthy tea merchant of Moscow.
AS for the much discussed Grand Duke Boris,
who. it is true, has been somewhat wild, it Is
only fair to him that it should be known that at
the very moment when. according to the stories
originated at Vienna Berlin. he had drawn
his sword upon General Kuropatkin at Harbin
he was winning the Cross of ST. George by car
rying dispatches across a fire swept zone for
the i'll fated General Count Keller, TO whose stan
he was attached, and who recommended him
for the distinction. the recommendation being
strongly indorsed by Kuropatkin, who has had
no stronger supporter at st. Petersburg all along
than Boris's father. the Grand Duke Vladimir
In writing this letter 1 cannot omit to mention
the most brilliant and gifted man that 1t has
ever been my lot to encounter-namely. the late
Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaiovitch, young
er brother OF the Liberator Gear He was so
liberal and progressive minded that he was fire.
quently charged with harboring revolutionary
sympathies and used to be known the Red
Grand Duke" 1t is notorious that he tire
less in his efforts to persuade his brother to
grant constitution. So clever man naturally
had numerous enemies, and his sharp wit and
sarcastic utterances dreaded by almost all
who were brought in contact with him. Moth
ing was more amazing than the manner in which
he wont TO disconcert prosy bores who were
presented to him for the first time. His eye
glass hung from his neck by a thin elastic cord.
and ever his nterlocutor had en-
barked some long winded speech he would
quietly give it imperceptible twitch. which
had the effect of sending the glass bounding up
to his eye, where II remained fixed without any
apparent effort action his part, save
slight bending forward of the head. He would
then gaze fxedly through the eyeglass at the
unfortunate speaker just though nothing had
happened. The effect OF this little manoeuvre
was generally completely to dsconcert the
presentee. whose utterances were cut short, not
only by the manner in which the monocle ap-
peared to fly UP to the grand dukes eye of its
own accord. but also by the fact that his i'm
perial highness seemed totally unmoved
thereby.
The Grand Duke Constantine who died about
twelve years ago. is I believe the only mem
Der of the imperial family who has ever been
in favor of the granting of constitution to Rus
STA. and it is worthy of note that neither Grand
Duke Alexander Michaeovitch nor Constantine
Constantnovitch, although both liberal in
their ideas, favors such step the part of the
Gar In this they are completely in accord with
Count Witte and with most of those other Rus
sian statesmen who are regarded abroad as
sessed Of the most expert knowledge of the
needs and requirements of the Russian people.
They all agree that many reforms needed,
and the one which they have most at heart.
namely, the liberation of the peasantry from
serfdom 10 their village "commune'-a serfdom
quite oppressive their former slavery to
their "Barine"-is about TO be granted,
the Emperor having given his appreciation to
the project of law embodying this reform eab-
Grated at his request by Count Witte, law
which will endOw the peasantry with the same
civic rights other Russian citizens and place
them a footing Of equality with the latter.
Not until they have become thoroughly accus-
toned to their freedom from the serfdom to
the mir commune" will they be quail
fed to take advantage of the constitution
which in due of time the Car Will con-
cede to his people. It's grant at the present
moment would be inOpportune Inasmuch as
the peasantry constitute over eight-tenths Of
the population, and would lack the knowledge
to avail themselves of the political rights con-
ferred upon them by the constitution the OBJ
ject in view-namely good government-would
be defeated, and something akin to chaos and
anarchy would result.
There are two mistakes always made here
in connection with Russia The first is the
judgment of its people and it's conditions by ex-
clusvely American standards. The other is
the unrestricted belief in every Ill natured story
circulated about the land of the Czar And
here the Russians are to a certain extent them
selves at fault, for in view of the ignorance
which prevails abroad concerning their country
is it not impolitic to proclaim rather than to
conceal national defects. and to profess such
pessimism? EX-ATTACHE-