South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-03-12
BEHIND THE SCENES
and Leaders of Wartime Europe
By the Princess RddSiwin
Copyright, 1919

was 10 acquire such nOtOrlety under
me reign Of Nicholas ii, she had
not the slightest idea that her son
was acquainted with Fanny Lear;
otherwise, as she said later on, she
would never have raised the ques-
ton which was TO be followed by
such dire consequences. The fault
was that of her attendants, whO had
left her in ignorance of a fact which
it would have been infinitely better
for everybody hat she had been
made aware of. The emperor when
he heard that his sister-in-law's
property had been tempered with,
ordered an inquest to be made,
which resulted in his being inform
ed that Fanny Lear. who in the
meanwhile had been arrested. de-
! clared that the diamonds which she
was accused of having stolen had
been given TO her by the Grand Duke
Nicholas COnstantinowitsch, and
that not only did she say so to the
people who would have had the
right to ask her for explanations as
to how these jewels had come into
her possession, but that she went
about repeating the ~disgraceful
story right and left, so that after a
day or two the whole town had
been ringing with the details of this
unprecedented scandal.
If people had been wise. they
would have tried to hush it up. The
grand duke told his friends that
Fanny accused him wrongly, but
refused 10 say anything else in the
way of ~disavowal. He was a gentle
nan and preferred 10 keep silent.
The actress was expelled from St.
Petersburg and taken under police
escort 70 the frontier. whence she
made her way back TO Paris, where
she soon published a book which
was one of the scandals of the day.
The grand duke was summoned be-
fore the emperor, and no one knows
what happened during this
tuous interview. All that the world
heard was that he had been ordered
TO proceed TO Taschkent in Central
Asia and forbidden ever TO leave
that place. His name ceased TO be
mentioned in society and in court
circles, n all Ia one heard was
that he had been allowed a suffi-
cient income TO be able TO live com
fortably in his exile. but that strict
orders had been given to the mill
tary and police authorities of Tasch-
kent not TO allow him 10 enjoy any
of the privileges pertaining to him
as a member Of the imperial family.
In Exile.
Central Asia is anything but a
nice place 10 live in, if only on &C
count Of its climate. and one may
imagine how terrible it must have
appeared to a young man accustom-
ed to a different existence and who
had always had the best of sur
roundings TO find himself suddenly
thrown upon his own personal re-
sources in a half-savage country. At
first the grand duke was intensely
miserable, then after a time he be-
came r~econciled TO his fate. pro-
ceeded TO make friends with the de-
cen people, principally officials
whom fate had condemned 10 re-
side in that desolate spot of Central
Asia, and at last fell in love with the
daughter Of a police commissioner.
whom he proceeded TO marry with
out asking any ones law or leave.
This happened after the death Of the
Car Alexander II and just at The
time when ii was said that his sue
cessor was about 10 let bygones be
bygones and TO forgive his cousin at
the request Of the latter's mother.
who for years had been vainly pc
titioning for il.
After this last incident the career
OF Nicholas Constantinowitsch came
virtually TO an end and his fate was
sealed, perhaps in the way which
was the most agreeable to himself,
because he had become 50 used TO
his new surroundings hat il is not
likely ne would have liked 10 see a
change take place in his mode of
life. He had built a lovely house
not far from the town Of Taschkent.
and IL is there that he ended an eX-
istence which after the storms and
emotions Of its beginning. became
at last quite peaceful and even
happy. His marriage was a success
in so far that il gave him q COM
panion 10 whom he became extreme
~ attached and who helped him 20
forget n magnihcences Of the win
ter palace. Fanny Lear and all the
ed and marred his youth.