The Washington times., 1906-07-22

over and over again in various Ian
guages and periods. what she has
been saying since the beginning OF
tme, that Il is rare indeed that she
has anything new 10 say. Now It Is
the Preobrajensky segment that
has failed the Car of Russia in an
emergency. More than a century
ago IL was The French Guard which
allied Louis NJ IN an emergency.
And centuries md centuries fore
that-during the irst Few centuries
# the Christian era, In fact-it was
the Praetorian cohort, some portion
or the whole Of Il. which made and
unmade Roman Emperors. The les
son seems to be that trusted troops
are never trustworthy. that In per
iods of upheaval. the imperial body
guard is always the first TO yield TO
the whisperings of treason, the first
% show iisloyalty, he first 10 be-
tray the ruler who would. and has,
staked his life on their good faith,
According to trustworthy infor-
tion the Emperor Nicholas recently
summoned the PTeobrajensky regi-
nent before 'he imperial palace at
PeterhOf, and in sarcastic address
expressed his regret at their evident
disloyalty in declaring sympathy
with the radical program OF the
dOuma. He ended by saying that he
would never again wear the uniform
Of the regiment. AS a matter Of
fact, he is. according to Burton
Holmes, only entitled 10 wear the
uniform Of one IF its first leuten-
PAts. The lecturer in describing the
great annual review or the first OF
EIay, says:
Among the first to march stifly
past their imperial commander are
the men of the illustrious regiment
10 which he Car himself belongs.
Even as Gar he still retains the
4Owly rank of first lieutenant. for
he had risen no higher in he mill
-ary grade when called upon to
mount the throne. He remains,
therefore. a lieutenant in this Pre-
oOTaiensky regiment'-and inciden-
tally ex-oficio commander-in-chief
of all the armies 0f all the Russias.
This PTeobrajensky regiment has
zen the Cars favorite of all those
that 90 to make up the Imperial
lard II has been the first bat
talon, and the discovery of its dis
affection was a crushing blow TO
che Emperor. He has ordered it's
name 20 be stricken from he .olls
Of the Imperial Guards. In addi-
ZION the soldiers and officers of the
battalion have been deprived for
ever of the special rights enjoyed
oy guardsmen. Hereafter he bat
talon will be designated The Spe-
,ial Infantry Battalion"
Twas ever thus
ii France, one hundred and four
teen years ago next month, the ua-
'iOia guard. who should have pro-
tected heir king with 'heir lives.
refused 70 fire On the people when
a mob under the leadership Of Dan
On attacked the Tuilieries. To be
sure, they labOred under the disad-
vantage of being without a leader.
or Mandat, their cOmmandant. had
been summoned before the insur-
rectiOnists, and because he would
not yield to heir demands killed as
he left the hall Possibly had he
been at their head the guard might
have behaved differently. Certainly
he would have staked his life on
their loyalty and courage.
As IL was il was the Swiss Guard
who gave a splendid exhibition Of
stanchness. A mere band OF hire
Iings they shed theii blood unQLes-
ttoning for a king who was not
theirs, 70 whom they owed no feal-
", and lay down heir lives unhesi-
tatingly for the abstract 1uty Of do
ing what they were paid to do. They.
10 use a modern phrase. made good"
aye, even magnihcently good.
Further back in the beginning of
he Christian era, there were the
Praetorian Cohorts, the bodyguard of
the Roman emperors. They we're a
picked body of troops who, in the
time of the republic. had formed the
guard of a general in command of
an army. The Latin word for gen
eral was "praetor." the generals
quarters in camp we're the "prae-
torium"-hence The lame Praetorian
Guards. The emperor vas like the
Car today, commander-in-chief. His
headquarters we're in Rome. and one
OF the 1rst acts If the first emperor
was the organization of this guard.
The command of the Praetorians
rested legally and nominally. with
he emperor. Out it vas practically
IN the hands If one or more colonels
or praefects. They we're divided into
hohorts or regiments Of 1000 men
each, horse and foot. In the time
Of Augustus here we're nine II