Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1917-09-03
A ROYAL TRAGEDY
The Gloomy Paths That Led to
the End of the RomanoffS.
PLOTS OF A MODERN B0RGIA.
A Russian Writer'S Picture Of the GA
rins of Alexander H., Maria Feodo
rovna, and Her Ruthless Efforts tc
Grasp the Reins Of Power.

rina of Alexander H., Maria Feodo.
rovna, and Her Ruthless Efforts tc
Grasp the Reins Of Power.
In her book, Russia OF Yesterday
and Tomorrow" Baroness Souiny. wild.
ow of Russian nobleman, gives the
following behind the scenes glimpse of
the tragedy Of the last of the Romanoff
dynasty:
Gayety did not mark the reign OF
Alexander Ill. Shadows Of pale fear
followed the heavy czar and obscured
his life and that of Maria Feodorovna
the Danish princess. Her whole hope
was in the future, and with the atayism
OF queens who mixed poisons for their
husbands she dreamed of her own au.
tOcracy.
With the terrible ambition Of ruling
Russia the czarina did not prevent her
husband from heavy drinking. The
blulll uGull was weak.
Circumstances favored the hopes of
Maria Feodoroyna. Secretly she form
ed her party, the camarilla of Maria
FeodOrovna. Her sons were frail lit
tie boys with all kinds of inherited
Diseases The czarevitch, the stub
born little Nicholas, was no obstacle to
her. Her sons became men, and Alex
ander, Notwithstanding his heart dis.
ease, lived longer than the physicians
prOphesied. Maria Feodorovna became
restless.
All the czarina's schemes developed
rapidly. AleXanders enormous body
swelled and swelled. Day and night
he sat In his big armchair, tortured by
suffocation and worrying about Nicho-
las, who was so poor czarevitch.
Maria Feodorovna smiled on the
czarevitch's pseudo court She let her
camarilla nourish and support his idea
Of marrying dancer. Then, she was
sure. his light as cZar would never
burn, and Michael, who was sick and
good natured, would be only too glad
to leave the reins Of the government In
the hands of his mother.
The ministers revealed to the czar the
dangerous ideas of the czareyitch and
the Vaccinations of Maria Feodorov-
mas camarilla. He was still the czar,
though the dying czar. He summoned
Nicholas and forced on him his mar.
riage to the Princess Alix of Hesse.
Alexander III. expired. The pomp of
the funeral was over. The czarina
mother took up her residence at the
Annitschkof palace, the residence Of
the widows of the czars.
The czarina's hope was in the child
she was expecting. Her 6rstborn was
princess, and the poor czarina became
timid before sinister fate. She saw
herself and the czar drifting apart I'M
der the influence OF the czarina-mother
Her second child, so anyiously longed
for. came. Again little girl
The morning came when the sound of
all the bells, followed by the twenty
one gun salute. announced to all Rus
sia the birth of an heir.
The czarina mother, Maria FeodO-
rovna, had to carry the child, the unwel
come grandson who annihilated all her
efforts and her ambitions for her son
Michael. She held the little bit of
potential manhood in her arms, breath
ing on the babe wOrdless curses. Poor
little boy so ardently longed for and
then prosecuted at his entrance into
the world,
The czarina trembled for her new
happiness. Her little treasure had to
be watched. and even then she was
never sure which Of all the nurses or
ladies in waiting, bought by the czarina
mother, might betray her.
The camarilla never hesitated at as
sassination. Positively true is the sto-
ry that one morning when the car
evitch was put into his bath the czar
ina, in neighboring room, heard the
child utter a terrible scream, followed
by helpless whining. She rushed into
the nursery to find the boy lying In
his tub with blue face and desperate
ly struggling to get out of this death
bringing danger. The czarina snatch
ed her son out of ice water. The ter
rible mistake was attributed to the
nurse.
All that was not plotted by the an
archists the cruel. fantastic camarilla
invented. The little freedoms of the
young sovereigns were under terrible
espionage. For every theater party,
for every entertainment, they provided
cleverly arranged and dramatically dis
covered assassins.
The camarilla worked well. Terror
crept through the palace, crept through
the doors into the private rooms OF the
sovereigns. They fled from the CAPT
tai to bury themselves in the solitude
of Tsarsko Selo, nowhere sure that
plots would not be forged in their clos
est entourage.
And SO it was and SO the grim trag'
edy was enacted until the revolution
that sealed the fate Of the luckiess
dynasty.