ONLY A NAME.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 261, 3 November 1928, Page 7 (Supplement)

ONLY A NAME.

AN OFFICER OF THE CZAR.

BURIED WITH POMP EST EMPTY

COFFIN.

Among the strange stories being dug i out of the archives of the Russia of the ! Czars by Soviet investigators and writers is one concerning Paul 1., the "Mad Czar, whose brief and stormy rule was brought to an end in 1801 by his assassination by a group of officers. This tale, as given in the German Press, runs as follows:— "One day Czar Paul was awakened from his midday siesta by a loud cry for help outside his door. He an<rri;v ordered his adjutant to give him°the name of the wretch who had dared interrupt the imperial nap. The adjutant was in a pickle for a moment, but a happy thought saved the day. He answered calmly that the offender was Lieutenant As Well As.' "Now this 'Lieutenant As Well As' had a strange history. He existed only on the rolls of his regiment, thanks to the mistake of a clerk who, in copying a regimental order containing the names of Lieutenants Petrof, Seminof, as well as Ivanof, had in error written the words 'As Well As' in capitals. When the mistake was discovered it was too late to make a correction, as the order was about to be submitted to the Czar for his signature. Consequently, the regimental commannder decided to enter •Lieutenant As Well As' on the rolls, so that the Czar would have no occasion to reprove him for the mistake. "This was the non-existent officer named by. the adjutant as the disturber of Paul's slumbers. The irate ruler ordered the offender to be sent to Siberia at once on foot and added a penalty of 100 lashes for good measure. There was nothing else to do but continue the game. An escort of four soldiers was sent to Siberia, and from every important stage of the route reports were dispatched to the Czar telling of the 'victim's' hardships. "About two years later the Czar suddenly recollected the case af the exiled officer and, in a moment of magnanimity, pardoned him. From then on Paul kept 'Lieutenant As Well As' in mind. Soon he made him a Major and a few months later a General. Then the affair began to get risky, as the Czar expressed his desire personally to meet his new General. As the members of his entourage dared not ask another officer to play the part of 'General As Well As,' the Czar was informed that the General was suffering from a serious illness, and a few days later it announced that the valiant warrior had died. 'General As Well As' was buried with full military honours. The whole regiment escorted the empty coffin to the grave; every detail was carefully observed and the name of the General was entered upon the list of dead dignitaries." ' —