The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-01-25
Behind the
Stats
Story of RcVenge For
"A Political Crime
BY EDWARD COOLIDGE

49," as'ttfNA 49, - - - 80 y 'atEAAN
Oue morning / started from luter.ak
IN 20 WALK 70 Thun, The road took
leads along the west bank Of Lake
i Thua, or Thunder lake, one Of the
! prettlest bodies Of water in Switzer-
/ land, From the road one has n per
4 petual view Of the BerneSe Alps, the
| Liger the Monk and the Jungfrau,
whose snowy peaks rising high in the
heavens may often be mistaken for
/ light clouds. The sun was shining ON
| the lake. over whose bosom the little
steamers running between luterlaken
and Thun loaded with tourists were
! passing back and forth.
Not far from lnterlaken the road
passes through "A tunnel in perpen
dicular elf that forms the bank of
the lake. While walking through this
tunnel | caught up with a youth who
Judging from his pack. was making a
foot journey the same us !. He spoke
to me In German, the language Of that
part of Switzerland but signified that
| did not understand him, and be re
peated his question in French.
How far is ii. sir, to ThunT
Ten or twelve miles, | believe
He was inclined to let Inc go OH
ahead of him; but, preferring compa-
ny. adapted my gait to his. He was
apparently not more than eighteen
years old. No beard had yet started
on his face, and his hair and complex
ion were fair. | took him for a Swede
or q Norwegian. though such light hair
and skin are common in northern Ger
many. We walked on together, chat
ting and enjoying the beautiful pan
Drama of the lake, the hills beyond and
still beyond these the mountains. For
awhile the young man was guarded i'll
his speech. He then discovered that |
was an American he had supposed
me to be an Englishman- and this
seemed to awaken confidence, though
It was not quite fellow feeling, for he
kept me still in ignorance as to who
he was or where he was going. |
knew, however, from his conversation
that he was highly educated and one
Of those persons who are born to think
deeply. was astonishcd at his familiar
ity with the various schools Of philos-
Ophy. Tnut he was a dreamer as well
az thinker was apparent from ideas
he advanced, which to me seemed a
century ahead Of the times.
st Meiringen we halted for lunch
con, eating sandwiches and drinking
beer at, a table under the trees in front
Of hotel. ac rested for an hour aft
CT luncheon, smoking, | my pipe, my
companion cigarettes (the usual form
OF smoke in that country.
The subject that most interested him
was America and how 10 get there. !
told him that it all depended on where
one started from and waited for him
to tell me from which point he would
begin. The Riviera was his reply.
Whereupon | informed him that from
any point on the Riviera-say Nice or
Mentone-one might by short rail
way journey reach Genoa, from which
port steamers are constantly leaving
for the United States. He seemed
much interested in this and more SO
when | told him that | had engaged
passage by that route myself When ]
asked him if he had any intention Of |
visiting my country he replied that he
had not
We reached Thun about o'clock. !
and, after refreshing ourselves with I
a glass of beer in the gardens Of the |
Kursaal, | went TO my hotel, my COM |
panien going | knew not where. One |
meets all kinds OF people travelling |
abroad, especially II one likes to form
acquaintances, as | do. OF all those
| have met in any Of my tours the
person who made the most impression
upon me was the young philosopher
about whom ! learned nothing.
| went by rail from Thun TO Paris
from there to Nice and from Nice to
Mentone. | found ut Mentone General
A., who had been minister Of the in.
terror in Russia. Indeed, stayed at
tie same hotel with him. Those who
knew toll me that several attempts
had been made upon his life by reyo-
utionists, or, as they were then called,
and that he was closely guard
ed. During his incumbency in Office :
be had sent hundreds Of people to
Siberia, besides those be had executed.
He had been prescribed by the Mill
SITS, they having vowed 10 kill him. !
asked why he should dread his enc ,
MES so far from home and was told ,
hat they could work TO better advan-
age beyond the Russian borders than
within them! In Russia the govern
nent could act directly. In other coun-
ries more or less red tape was neces-
AIRY 10 arrest a suspect, and before IL
ould be done an assassination might
axe place. General A. was spending ]
season at Mentone for his health. be
ng afflicted with some nervous disor.
er. IL seemed TO me that a man llv-
az In fear Of his life would be likely r
0 have nerve trouble. He was very
egular in his habits, going out to walk
} the morning and 10 drive In the aft =
moon. always attended by men In