THE LATE CZAR.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 17, Issue 17, 9 November 1894, Page 5

THE LATE CZAR.

In a recent article on the late Czar Mr W. T. Stead wrote in his • Beview ©f BeViews ' these results of hie persooal acquaint•nee with the deceased monarch : - "Not until his snccesssr sits on the Bussish throne *ill Europe know how much it owes to that silent, Btrong man who, for the last ten years years, has earned for him•elf the blessing of the •• Peacemaker.' Ttie Emperor has a horror of <war. He com manded, as izwewitcb, the army of the Lorn in tha Bulgarian campaign, and he saw enough of the realities of campaigning to recoil with his whole soul from the thought of War, the kimily human of agooa pm de/anilb, which are so strung in him, intensifying the repugnance with wbich nt contemplates any and every disturbaoce of the peace. It is hia ambition, ene of his : Ministers remarked to me, not to hi a grout ttvereign, but to be the sovereign of a great people, whose rtign was unstained by a •Ingle, war, He is not for peace at any orioe, but for peace at almost any price V ; o-lhpatible with national honor and the defence of the interests of Russia, which have been committed to his care. Since he came to the throne his voice, his influence, bis authority, have constantly been devoted to Scevent war. He is the natural ally, alike y constitution and by conviction, of any power that honestly seeks to maintain the peace. HIS ALLIES. $6BCe the Emperor's desire for a good __iderataritiing with the two powers in Europe which have everything to lose by war and nothing to gain, At the very beginning of his reign he met tbe German Emperor at Bkfotnewicze to renew these ties wbich had for nearly » hundied years bound Germany to Bussia in a natural but informal alliance. & that understanding he remained until the totted ••proofs" of Bismarck s duplicity "alienated him from his German friends; but after the demonstration of ihe forgery the Emperor has gladly sought to renew the former intimacy with his next-door neighbor, and to link Bussia with German ininence in the maintenance of the status quo His hope has always been that fcussia and Germany may get back to the position in which they stood at the Skiernewicze inter ▼iew Tne Emperor is notoriously desirous of coming to a good understanding and a hearty werking agreement with England. Ettseia, Germany, and England— if these $b,ee hold together, they will, he is con- " vinced, maintain the peace of the world. His BELATIONS TO __.ANCE. The Czar has no love for France or tbe trench Bepubltc on account of the R«publi- * banism and the support which the Bepublicft> I*ft has frequently given to Voles, Nihilists, and the other enemies of his ' ayiteity. But he distrusts it still more bedanseof the cewtant change of Ministry. '•France— what is France? To-day M. Oonstans, to-morrow M. Clemenceau. All that ie certain is tbat tbe Prime Minister today will be in Opposition tomorrow, and Witb such a people what can we do P" Tbat Was for seven years tbe altitude of the Czar. When, however, the French became more Settled, when General Boulanger was effaced, •nd when the fall of Bismarck gave some Sroßpect of tranquility to Germany, tbe Czar earned it possible to consolidate the peace of Europe by putting France under bond to keep the peace. If Busßia and Franoe have made friends publioly it is in order tbat tbe Czar may have an inside veto upon all French designs of war. The Orohnstadt rapprochement was sanctioned by him in order to strengthen his oontrol over French policy— in order, in Fhort, to render it impossible for France to ge to w*r for the lost proriuoe*, and at the same time render it * impossible for Germany to menace Franoe ' with extinction. When the French Ambassador at St. Petersburg last year ventured to suggest that the incident of tbe Empress Frederick's visit might be utilised as an occasion for war against Germany, he tfent away with a flea in his ear. lhe Czar takes seriously bis role of peacekeeper, and his acceptance of French overtures were prompted chiefly by a desire to inorease the ■ecuiity Europe enjoys ag&iußt war. General Caprlvi, it may be rembered, expresily accepted this view of the case. HIS SIMPLE FAITH. Ihe action of Alexander HI in opposing the union of the Rulgarias, because to have : - aptrtoved of it would have implied acquiese£ace l in a breaoh of faith, iB very charac teristic of the just man who sweareth to hia ' cw^-Uft and onangeth not. As he acted in this q_e£tioo, so will he act in others. He frill sacrifice his interests to his honor, and dDDOSe the realisation of a cherished object, ofßnsaian policy rather than consent to it at tbe price of a stain npon his fair fame as a man of honor and a gentleman. It is Qoiaotio, if you please ; but to the Emperor It is simply duty.. He distrusts long views. He is dominated: over by the practical duty which He. ready to bis hand. When any particular aot seems to him clearly wrong, he will not do it, be it never so convenient. The conscience of the Emperor, aod his , conviction that the future is in the hand of God, who will set him his task and show him His will from day te day are factors of the first importance in estimating the future ./' coarse ©f European politics. THB C_AB AT HOMBJ. In the Bussian Windsor, at Gatsohina, by the seaside at Peterhof, or in the Danish home at Copenhagen, the Emperor delights for a time to forget the cares of State in tbe society, pf his wife and children, He is wrfectly: idolised by bis family, and all Who serJe Aim in any way are overflowing in *rai-OOtbis kindly, unassuming disposition. ■'•''■'" A' dewed husband, whom not even his •.;' worst enemies have ever accused of a single /tttt'lt against bis wife, be is a moßt affection, ate father, the companion and friend of hie hoys Few more pleasant| scenes were described to me during my stay in Russia than that of the Czir of All the Busßias officiating as master of tbe children's revels in the happy family party that assembled lastaptomnat Copenhagen, superintending ftll tbeir games and participating in all the boyish sport. There was no romp so great as he. There were tbe English children, and tbe Greekßj.aud his own ; and a royal time they seem to have had of it. To these princes and princesses bis Imperial Majesty was p«#ly" Uwle easbV a&4 if *«' ,ip^ le

-a«ija 1 Uuuie Sasha I" ail ovt-.r tha p ace Sotnettmes be would stand up in the midst of the merry throng and challenge the youngsters to pull him down. One after another, and then altogether, the bevy of princes and princesses, grandchildren of tbe King of Denmark, would wrestle with the Czar and try to throw him over. But, although the struggle lasted until the whole party streamed with perspiration and the gardens rang with merry laughter, tbe Emperor never was thrown. The Greek princes are as sons of An_k, but the Czar is as Hercules for strength and muscle, and '« Uncle Sasha " always stood bis ground. " UNCLE SASHA " STANDS HIS GBOUND, And as it was in the pleasant playground in Denmark, co it is in the great affairs of State in Bussia. Alexander 111. staads his ground. All agree in declaring that, although be is slow to move, deliberate in the extreme, in making up his mind, when bis resolution is at once taken and h's foot is once put down, no consideration on earth will induce him to take it up Only on one condition wilt be reconsider a decision once formed. If it can be proved to bim tbat be nas been misinformed, if he is convinced tbat what he believed to be a fact, and allowed to Influence his opinion as inch, was no feet, out a fiction, then, with the honesty and sense of justice wbich are pre-emiuent characteristics, be will frankly and publicly own himself in the wrong. One of tbe most signal illustrations was afforded tbe world when Prince Bismarck convinced him tbat he had been deceived by the forged despatches from Bulgaria, It was rather a painful confession, wbiob a weak man would have made grudgingly, and after wbich he would bave modified &b little as possible the policy based on his mistake. Kot so Alexander 111, He felt that he had unwittingly been unjust to Frinoe Bismarck, and he acknowledged it, and frankly readjusted hiß policy in fa*or of Germany, SIS IBON NBRVB. The Emperor is a strong man, who takes short views. He sees what he believes to be . his duty from day to day, and he does it honestly to the best of bis ability, in the spirit of the maxim tbat " sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," and in the faith tbat. strength sufficient for the day will be given to bim from on High. It is a different feeling from that which prompted Matternioh's saying " Ajpres moi le deluge," for the Emperor feels that he and his are in the hands of God, who alone sees the end from the beginning, and will find tools to carry on His work when the day comes for that work to be done. That deep, silent, but abiding conviction has »rown mnoh upon the Emperor of late yews. In hie youth when he never expected to ascend tbe throne, for whioh his elder brother, to whom he was passion* ately attached, was carefully trained and educated, while his own education was comparatively neglected, he was full ot high and buoyant Bpirits, headstrong and vehement^ But since his brother's death and the shadows of great responsibilities whioh overhang tbe throne darkened over him, he bas become more and mere deeply impressed with a sense of the invisible and eternal world into whioh at any moment he may be hurled. The Emperor was summoned to tbe throne by dynamite, and also lives and reigns in the oouetant shadow of the fate which overtook his beloved father. People do not speak about it, but the shadow is thero, and the Emperor knowß it, but he goes about his daily work cheerful aud uupenurbed. When in 1887 th ttie Nihil'at attempt of March 13 cam within a bair - breadth of success, tb Emperor displayed tbe most absolute self command, ibe whole Imperial family wer to have been blown up on their way to the fortress of lit Peter and Paul when they went to the service of commemoration of tbe deatu of Alexander 11, It was at the station that tbe Emperor was informed that he bad just escaped oy the skin of bis teeth tiom a catastrophe similar to that wbich had destroyed his fattier. He went down to Gatscbina with bis wife and children, laughing and talking in the carriage aB if nothing had happened. Not until the children had left for the palace, and the Emperor 1 and his wife were driving alone tniough the park, did be break the news to ibe Empress, She, poor thing, of less nerve than _er husband, broke aown utterly and wept, Small wonder tbat a womau to whom tuus suddenly has been revealed tuft eh irgca mine over which she had so lately paused shuddered with horror, Not so her uusband. " I am ready," he said simply, " 1 will do my duty at any cost,"