The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-12-25
CZAR'S CHARMED LIFE.
Miraculous Escapes Of Nicholas II From
Violent Death.

| emperor NICHOLAS may be said 10
bear charmed life. and there Is no
monarch in modern times nor prince
of the blood, who has had 80 many
hair-breadth escapes. For It now
yacht STANDARD was the result not Of
accident, but Of deliberate design.
The channel where the mishap oc-
Cured is notoriously dangerous, SO
much so that the little passenger
steamers running from st. Peters,
burg to the neighboring Finnish
ports, and drawing third as much
water as the imperial yacht, are
strictly forbidden to use it. This
prohibition is known to everybody in
Finland and is matter with which
every navigating officer of the Musco-
vite navy is acquainted.
Yet in spite of this the most ex-
perienced Finnish pilot took the huge
imperial yacht into the channel at
full speed, of course ripping up her
bottom on several rocks, which, in
spite Of what has been said to the
contrary, figure on every chart, Rus
sian as well as foreign. The boat
was going at the rate of fifteen
knots when she struck, and the force
was so great as to give her a heel of
twenty-four degrees. Fortunately
the sea was absolutely and phenome-
nally calm. If the ordinary fresh
Finnish weather had prevailed it
would have been a matter of the ut
most difficulty to have taken off the
women, and especially the children,
In boats.
The commodore in command of the
boat was the captain Of that solitary
cruiser of the i'll fated Baltic fleet
which managed after the victory of
Admiral Togo to escape northward
and to convey to Vladivostok the first
news of the destruction of the Rus
sian armada in the Sea of Tsushima.
The arrival of that one battle SCARED,
storm beaten cruiser in the bay at
Vladivostok in view of the crowds
to witness the advent of the great
Muscovite fleet which they had hoped
would break the naval power of Ja-
pan, turn the tide of the war and
transform defeat into victory, but
which proved to be such messenger
of evil, has furnished the inspiration
of several striking marine paintings.
The Cars escapes, so far as they
are known to the public, have been,
to say the least, dramatic and we'll
nigh miraculous, and there are many
others which from motives of policy
have remained shrouded in mystery.
One of the most sensational was the
wreck of the imperial special train
at Borki, in October, 1888, when the
destruction was so complete that II
seemed inconceivable that any one
could have escaped alive. Twenty
one were killed outright, including
several of the servants, who were in
the act of serving dishes to the late
Czar, seated with his wife and his
children at dinner. Grand Duchess
Olgas nurse was found with her skull
shattered, holding tightly clasped in
her arms the child, whose only injury
beyond the terrible shock to her ner.
vous system, was caused by dinner
fork, the prongs of which had pene.
trated deeply into her arm. Alex
ander III also sustained some slight
injuries, but the present Emperor
then a lad of twenty, suffered nc
harm at all. | need hardly add that
the destruction of the imperial trair
i at Borki was nothing more nor less
, than a carefully organized attempt
to wipe out of existence at one blow
: the late Emperor and all his children
, for no more deadly spot could have
been selected for the purpose thar
that where the wreck took place.
| Then there was that attempt upor
, the life of the present Car in ia
pan, when crazed and fanatic ia
panese ex-noble struck at him will
one of those terrible old two-handet
, japanese swords, the blades of which
, are so keen and so finely tempered
that they will slice without effort ;
silken handkerchief thrown up int
the air, and cut through tissue ant
! bone, inficting the most frightfu
, wounds. Nicholas, thanks to the in
tervention of his cousin, Primo,
George of Greece, who hit the would
be assassin a terrific blow on tn,
. head with his heavy walking stick
/. escaped with glancing wound OIL
I the head Had the sword strucl
true, and had it not been for Prime,
Georges interference, it must hav
!, cleft the head of Nicholas to th
, chin.
t Then, two years ago, when the EN-
peror, the Empress and his othe
relatives were presiding at the cere
mony of the blessing of the water
! of the Neva, the guns used in firinl
the salutes across the stream from
the opposite bank were found to b
loaded with shrapnel instead of blanl
!. cartridge, and several members o
the imperial encourage standing II
. the immediate vicinity of the Ca
v and Czarina were struck, while man