The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-07-29
ny la MARoUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

T is Grand Duke Nicholas Michnelaio-
Ntch OF RUSSIA who VIII undoubt-
L ediy win the prize OF $1,000. 600. 10
DC AWARDED by the Imperial Acade-
my of Sciences. fourteen years hence.
Tor the most meritorious history or tho
reign OF Alexander l. General Count
alexis kitchen. who died in 1894
left most extraordinary will. and II
is under the terms OF this Will that the
grand duke is destined to receive the
award above mentioned
IN count was the most faithful ana
pruta! agent OF the tyranny OF Emperor
fauI. from 1896 TO 1900. fie was the
terror Of the army, By reason of the
savage punlshmcnts with which nc Wis
ited the smallest oifensc, or the most
IN securing his removal from about the
person OF Gear Paul and II vas
shortly afterwards that the latter was
murcerec The passionate sorrow with
"h!cn Araktchen received the news a
sorrow which ne made no effort 70
conceal. led TO his being barished 10
siberia, along with other confidants and
particular adherents OF the murdered
IaiIoneroh. But some years later. when
Alexander !. began TO feel remorse re-
gardins the circumstances OF his faith
er death and under which he had been
brought to the throne. he recalled
AraktcheH. and made him one OF his
principal advisers. Indeed during the
last ten years OF Alexander's reinn
Araktcheff may be said TO have been
the incarnation OF the reaction which
charaeterized that epoch: an epoch
which produced the Holy Alliance
against the United States. and which
called into existence the Monroe doc
trine
The accession Of Nicholas I. brought
with II the downfall OF Araktchef For
n!thoush we are accustomed to look
upon Nicholas !. as the type of the
autocrat yet, compared TO his elder
brother. Alexander l., during the last
decade OF the latter's reign, he was a
lioerai' indulgent, and easy going mon
arch Araktcheff retired 10 his estates
where he survived for about eight
years longer. living. life of the most
profound p!ety and seclus!on and died
with his eyes fixed to the last upon the.
portrait of Alexander L. whom he hoped
TO rejoin In heaven. Whatever else
may be said about the man and OF the
extraordinary compound OF harshness
ana religious fanaticlsm. there was
something almost pathetic in his love
Tor Emperor Alexander, which he car
ried beyond the grave For when his
VIII was opened IT was found that n
sum OF $4,000 had been set aside I'M
der its terms. to accumulate at com
pound interest in the Imperial Bank.
until 1925.
This sum-" to quote the words Of
ne viii: lis intended as q reward for
mat writer, who. a hundred years af-
the uSdlH OF MS late Majesty
hlessed memory. shall write the best
mat is, the fullest most trustworthy.
and most eloquent history of Alexander
l.. Car OF all the Russias. and shall
be awarded by the highest literary
Institution In Russia. under whatso-
ever name then existing" and ito the
end that my pious patriotic request
shali not pass into forgetfulness. I or
dain that these provisions Of my will
with regard to this history shall he
advertised in the London. Paris and
Berlin newspapers every fifteen wears"
Now Grand Duke Nicholas Mich
aelaiovitch, who has already won nanv
i RI In Russia, and especially in
france, as historian, and as a
writer upon all sorts of remarkable
discoveries that he has made in the
archives of the imperial house OF
nonahoH and of the Russian govern
ment, is now busily engaged in writ
ing remarkable work covering the
reign of Alexander l.; and inasmuch as
ne has at his disposal sources OF in
formation which are open TO no other
historian. and is moreover equipped by
his past writings and researches in a
manner superior to that of any other
student of history, 1t may safely be
taken for granted that no one will be
able to excel in value the great work
upon which he is now engaged.
He is a very tall. striking looking.
man, so liberal in his ideas that ne is
known at ST. Petersburg as the Red
Grand Duke" and was a warm friend
of the author Tolstoi. who owed in
deed TO his influence at St. Petersburg
with both the late and the present
Emperor the immunity which he en-.
joyed from persecution by the govern
ment authorities. He Is through his
father. grandson OF Emperor Nioho-
las l., an uncle of the Crown prince Of
Germany who is very fond of him, and
brother or that Grand Duke Alexan-
der Michaelaiovitch who has translated
all Admiral Mahan's works into Rus
sian. and has distributed them free of
cost among his fellow officers of the
Russian navy.
He is the president of the Imperial
Geographical Society, and of the I'm.
perial Historical Society of Russia.
added to which he has all sorts of
foreign literary honors, including that
OF foreign member of the Institute OF
France. and of the French Academy OF
Science. In one of his recent works. A
compilation of the letters addressed by
the consort of Alexander l. to her
mother in Germany he managed to
effectnally set at rest the familiar
lesend.N according to which that mon
arch survived his alleged death in
1895 for nearly forty Seara. as q monk