The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-12-12
CARS CHARMED LIFE.
Miraculous Escapes Of Nicholas Il From
Violent Death.


of the blood. who has had so many
hair-breadth escapes. For II now
turns out that the wreck of his steam
yacht STANDARD was the result not OF
accident, but OF deliberate design
/ The channel where the mishap oc-
Cured is notoriousiy 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 II. 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
W ab oO 3 tdL Go W BlNt ntI IL Ittl VI
twenty-four degrees. Fortunately
the sea was absolutely and phenome.
nally calm. II the ordinary fresh
Finnish weather had prevailed II
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 III 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
assembled on the neighboring heights
to witness the advent of the great
Muscovite fleet which they had hoped
would break the naval power of ia.
pan, turn the tide of the war and
transform defeat into victory but
which proved to be such a 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 1t
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
Car, seated with his wife and his
children at dinner Grand Duchess
Olga's 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 a 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 lad of twenty, suffered no
harm at all. l need hardly add that
the destruction OF the imperial train
at Borki was nothing more nor less
than 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 than
that where the wreck took place
Thnn x,,o.
the life of the~present Car in Ja-
pan, when crazed ard fanatic Ja-
panese ex-noble struck at him with
one OF those terrible old two-handed
Japanese swords. the blades of which
are so keen and so finely tempered
that they Will slice without effort a
silken handkerchief thrown up into
the air. and cut through tissue and
bone, inficting the most frightful
wounds. Nicholas. thanks to the in
terventipn of his cousin, Prince
George OF Greece. who hit the would
be assassin terrific blow on the
head with his heavy walking stick,
escaped with glancing wound on
the head. Had the sword struck
true, and had it not been for Prince
Georges interference. 1t must have
cleft the head of Nicholas to the
chin.
Then, two years ago, when the EN-
peror, the Empress and his other
relatives were presiding at the cere-
mony OF the blessing of the waters
OF the Neva, the guns used in firing
the salutes across the stream from
the opposite bank were found to be
loaded with shrapnel instead of blank
cartridge, and several members of
the imperial encourage standing In
the immediate vicinity of the Gear
and Czarina were struck, while many
OF the windows of the Winter Palace.
including the two at which the i'm
perial children were standing to wit
ness the ceremony, were shattered
Now we have the wreck OF the yacht
STANDARD. Truly the escapes of the
present Emperor of Russia from yio-
lent death may be described as mi
racnlous. .-Marquise De Fontenoy, In
New York Tribune.
Secret Of Happiness.
The secret of happiness In every
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