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

member of the council Of the empire,
warn her. The princess is a good Rus
sian patriot, and, like many others,
was appalled, at the signs of coming
anarchy.
So much alarmed was she that she
wrote a personal letter to the czarina,
telling her that If she wished to save
Russia and her own family she must
dismiss Rasputin and the Germans at
court and see that the army had am
munition.
Advice Enraged czarlna.
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 Hlghness,"
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.
II shall never have any of the Rus
sian aristocracy to court again." she
cried angrily. 81 always hated them.
L 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 ali 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 exiled to Siberia. And
pr,nao end DrfpnacS VacfIfchfEaff
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 Oh 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 autocrat
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 Q
murmur, and we all knew him for an
obstinate man. For days afterwart
he was still In a state of stupor. Only
when he came to himself did he real
ize what he had done. Then it was
too late But his despair was terri
ble."
who drugged himT" was asked.
"A quack from Thibet, who hat
risen to be the most influential person
at court after Rasputin's DEATH" sh'
answered. "He was a friend of Ras
putin and of Mile. Verou5ha, who hat
unbounded influence yer the czarina
And the quack was paid by the kaisel
to drug the cxar.
Every one In Petrograd knows yer.
well that the car would never hav'
signed a separate peace with Germany
He was not a clever man. and had al
lowed all kinds of abuses to arise In
the government, but he was a man O
honor. The kaiser knew he had t,
get rid OF him. And the kaiser fos
tered the revolution and had the cza'
druSged to hasten the anarchy tina
has ruin ed Russia"