Evening star., 1923-11-30
New-F Found Letters Reveal
Romance of Nelson's Life

world fair at Chicago and delivered
number of lectures on Russian
history and conditions before the
lowell institute, in Boston: On his
perintendent of the Imperial The
aters of Russia. probably because in
MS younger days he had been one OF
the most celebrated amateur actors
on the banks of the Neva and had
won fame through his impersonation
Of Gar Feodor. in Count Tolstors
the heroes Of MOliere's comedies,
Of Of office were the unhappiest of his
thwarfed T d in a f6ousand h 9nad d3fgPenf hpssIf
ways and entangled in a perfect net
of corruption, immortality and in
trigue; When he engaged the serv-
at Petrograd and Delibes ballet, all i9 "syis
via" and to thus introduce. as he
said: a current of fresh air into the
stifing, yitfated atmosphere of the
Petrograd ballet system, he encoun-
tered so much opposition on the part
OF great personages interested in
this or that ballerina that he was
obliged to cancel his contract with
Diaghilef. who Immediately left the
country in order to continue his ca
reer as a ballet dictator in other
capitals; Matters finally came to an
Issue ts when when the prince posted up on
Petrograd the name of an imperial
parsonage by whose orders he bad
had to rescind the fine which he had
peen obl1ged to infiict upon a Polish
ballerina in punishment of some par
tlcularly nagrant breach of disct-
pline. AS the result OF this, he was
obliged to resign.
The wolkonskys trace back their
descent to Rurik. who is also the
original founder of the house of Ro-
manor. and have always ranked az
one OF the great dynasties of the old
Muscovite aristocracy, who consider
themselves quite as illustrious in
point of lineage as the Romanoffs.
The prince whose "Recollectfons'
have. just been published is the
grandson Of that wonderful old Prince
Sergius Wolkonsky, who was the
most Intimate friend and principal pa
tron of the great Russian poet Push
kin and one of the leaders of the So
called Decembrist insurrection OF
1925. which. composed mostly of The
great mobiles of the empire. objected
to the elimination of the CZarovitch
Constantine from the succession in
favor of his younger brother Nicholas,
and demanded the constitution TO
himself. Such was the ignorance, at
the time. of the soldiers and citizens
who were induced to join the rising
against Emperor Nicholas. that they
tion for which they were clamoring
was the name of the beautiful NOR
ganatic Polish wife OF Czarovitch
Constantine, instead of a liberal form
of government. Old Prince Sergius
Wolkonsky was condemned to death.
But the sentence was commuted to
penal servitude for life in Siberia
" * * =
While his mother remained at court
| as grand mistress OF the household
of the czarina and his elder brother as
minister of the imperial court, that
! is to say. occupying one of the high
! est offices in the land, Sergius and
his fellow conspirators who had es-
capped death We're dispatched, heavily
ironed and on foot TO the dreadful
Plago Datsk mines in Siberia, where
they were placed at work with the
| ordinary criminal convicts. There
| were no fewer than 121 of these great
mobiles thus punished for taking part
In the December revolution in favor
of representative forms of govern
ment, including the scions of the IL
lustrious houses of Narishkine, Trou-
betzkoi. Galltzine, etc, and in almost
every instance their wives obtained
permission from Emperor Nicholas |
to follow their unfortunate husbands
| into the wilds of Siberia, sacrificing
| for them, all the luxurtes, the rank
and the pleasures of life at Petro-
grad which they might otherwise
have continued to enjoy.
After about five years, that is to
| say, in 1880, Prince Sergius Wolkon-
sky's lot was alleyiated to the extent
that his heavy manacles were re-
| moved and he was transferred to q
penitentiary in the neighborhood OF
] Irkutsk, eventually being permitted
to live in q village nearby with his
wife