The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-08-13

telling her that If she wished to save
Russia and her wv family she must
dismiss Rasputin and the Germans at
court and see that the army had am
munition.
Advice Enraged czarina.
She wrote this in Russian, which
was against Russian court etiquette
(Which admitted only French), and on
single sheets torn from a writing block
instead of on double paper-another
crime against etiquette.
Two more crimes were that she adj
dressed the letter to "Her Majesty"
instead of to "Her Imperial Highness,"
and posted 1t in Petrograd in the or
binary way instead of sending it
through Baron Fredericks, the court
minister, a sort of high priest for the
observance of etiquette, an old man of
recent German extraction, but a very
decent kind of person all the same.
In due time the cZarina received and
read the letter. She was furious
furious because so many rules Of ETH
quette had been broken, and still more
furious because the writer dared tell
her that she and her husband were
unpopular and were losing Russia.
81 shall never have any of the Rus
sian ~aristocracy to court again." she
cried angrily. II always hated them.
/ love only the poor people and the
soldiers. At my next ball / shall have
none put poor people and soldiers. The
soldiers adore me-"
She had this entirely false idea of
the soldiers devotion, because people
about the court used to "fake" CRATE
full letters to her from imaginary sol
diers. Thus, while the troops were al
ready cursing the imperial pair and
vowing revenge for all their sufferings,
for all the shortage of ammunition
and for often being sent to be butch
cred just because a general needed a
decoration, but had no artillery to
cover his attack, the cZarina was say
ing she "adored" soldiers and would
fill her ballroom with them.
She not only banished the princess
from court, but ordered that she and
her husband be exlled to Siberia. And
Prince and Princess V~asiItchikof1
would have gone to Siberia on foot In
the depth of winter but for Baron
Fredericks, who managed to get the
sentence softened to exile to the
princes estate in the heart of Russia
They were kept prisoners on their es'
tate till the revolution started a cou'
pie Of months later.
The incident shows how blind the
imperial family were till the last min
ute, and how the czarina, a German
by birth, had imbibed the autocra'
traditions of Catherine the Great and
Ivan the Terrible.
Drugged by Kaiser's Order.
The same information said that the
car was suffering from the effects OF
a terrible Thibetan drug when he
signed his abdication.
Everybody at the court knew it.
the princess said. HE signed his owl
abdication and his sons without 1
murmur, and we all knew him for al
obstinate man. For days afterwart
I ne was SIll IN u SldLe VI II Ohis
when he came to himself did he real
ize what he had done. Then 1T wa
too late. But his despair was terri
ble."
'Who drugged himT" was asked.
"A quack from Thibet, who ha'
risen to be the most influential perso
at court after Rasputin's DEATH" sh
answered. "He was a friend of Ras
putin and of Mile. Verou5ha, who ma
unbounded influence over the czarini
And the quack was paid by the kaise
to drug the cxar.
"Every one In Petrograd knows yer
well that the car would hav
signed a separate peace with German,
He was not a clever man, and had q
lowed all kinds of abuses to arise
the government, but he was a man {
honor. The kaiser knew he had I
get rid Of him. And the kaiser fo'
tered the revolution and had the CA
| dru9ged to hasten the anarchy ths
has ruin ed Russia"