The Arvada enterprise., 1910-09-30

~ IMPRESS ALEXANDRA of Rus
u sia. the czar's wife, is the un-
happiest woman under the sun.
Her fata rnau wall nxnitn tho

IN IMPRESS ALEXANDRA of Rus
y sia. the czar's wife, is the un-
Il happiest woman under the sun.
80 Her fate may well excite the
deep sympathy of the civilized
world. for although she is victim of
that system of government that still
prevails in her husbands dominion,
she is an innocent sufferer for the ter
rible wrongs perpetrated by others.
The Empress Alexandra is said to
be high-souled, Hberal-minded, gen
erous and loving woman. She is In
= deep aympathy with the progressive
movement in Russia and she abhors
the crimes that have been committed
during her husbands reign and still
are being perpetrated in Russia day
by day. Yet, far from being able to
terminate them, she herself has been
struck down and her happiness de-
stroyed by that very system which
she would gladly abolish in the inter
est of others.
After the long summer cruise in the
Baltic sea, undertaken primarily In
the hope Of restoring her health, the
czarina was 80 weak that she could
not walk ashore, but had to be carried
IN an armchair. Now she rarely ven
lures outside the palace, but generally
is wheeled about the private grounds
in a bath chair. She is only thirty
six years old, but she is a complete
wreck. Much of her time is spent In
fits of depression, during which she
lies motionles In apatheuc despair.
Misery In Royal House.
Her life at the Russian court, which
has lasted for period of IA years,
has been one long series of ruthless
establishments. Her childhood aud
girlhood were spent in the happiest
possible circumstances. Her mother
was Princess Alice, the favorite daugh-
ter of the venerable Queen Victoria of
England, and her father was the royal
crown duke of the little state of
Hesse. Her earlier years were d.
vided between the delightful parental
home in the vicinity Of Darmstadt in
the genial atmosphere of southern
Germany. and in the refreshing air of
English liberty at Windsor. She was
brought up with perfect simplicity,
and as child she was encouraged to
forget the fact that her grandmother
was a queen and her father ruling
sovereign. She played games and she
rode and enjoyed with hearty good
spirits all the pleasures In which a
healthy girl can participate. Up to
the age of twenty-five her happiness
was unclouded.
In fto
search for a suitable bride for Mich
olas, the heir to the throne, decided
that Princes Alix of Hesse was the
most eligible young lady to be found
among the royal families of Europe.
Formal proposals accordingly were
made to the court of Hesse and no
end of pressure was brought to bear
on the reluctant Princess Alix to ac-
cept the future czar as her husband.
Nicholas came to visit her family at
Darmstadt, and created most unfa-
yorable Impression on his future
bride. She found him dull and unin-
teresting and rather unsympathetic.
He did not appeal to her interest in
any way, and 1t seemed to her that
life with this quaint little man as her
husband offered no charms at all.
But finally her opposition was over
come. Reluctantly and against her
own will she became the wife OF
Nicholas, and no sooner were they
welded than the death of Alexander
III. elevated her husband to the throne
Of all the Russias.