NICHOLAS H., EMPEROR OF ALL THE RUSSIAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10908, 12 November 1898, Page 5 (Supplement)

NICHOLAS H., EMPEROR OF ALL THE RUSSIAS.

All the world lias been talking of late ot the young Emperor who has startled the diplomatists of Europe with a powerful appeal for the disarmament of the nations, and for the beginning of an era of universal peace. Probably 110 document has ever so taken the world by surprise as the weighty communication which Czar Nicholas addressed to the Governments of Christendom, and time may well prove that 110 document ever issued from a Royal Court has had such a momentous bearing on the affairs of the world as this.

Nicholas 11., the author of this message of peace, is in many ways the most fascinating figure among the Royalties of the world. There is something very picturesque in the thought of this studious, reserved, and highly sensitive young man being called to wield the power of a despot, and to guide the destinies of 100,000,000 of the human race.

One of his first acts as Emperor is indicative of his kindly nature. When his Ministers and all his retinue were thinking of the illumination of the Kremlin witß 500,000 lanterns, and of the glorious pa geantry which was to bring all the world to St. Petersburg, the Emperor was quietly laving aside £35,000 to bo divided amongst the charities of Moscow, and designing a scheme for the release of some of the more deserving prisoners. Ihe same happy trait in his character was exhibited not long ago at a charity bazaar in the Wintei Palace at St. Petersburg. The bazaar was for the benefit of some school children, and on a certain day the little ones were allowed to visit the palace and view the works of art, each child being presented with a lottery ticket. One of these tickets drew a valuable picture by a French artist, and 011 hearing that the winner was a little girl belonging to one of the poorest families in the city, the Emperor bought the picture for £800", which has been invested as a marriage portion for the fortunate child.

'Ihere is, indeed, no limit to the number of stories of this kind told of the great White Czar, and one can well believe them. 1 hough fate has made Lira an Autocrat, and placed him on a despotic throne, his nature is truly lovable, and he is said to strongly resent the severity of Royal " etiquette." Even a military escort is said to be hateful to him, and His Majesty is often to be seen walking alone in the streets of the Russian capital. On such occasions, however, it is commonly understood that the Czar invariably carries a revolver, a small weapon given him by his mother. Now and again sensational stories of plots against the Romanoff dynasty are Hashed over the wires, but the Czar has been singularly fortunate in this respect. Once, however. His Majesty came within an ace of assassination in a foreign country. He was travelling incognito in Japan, with Prince George of Greece as his companion. One day the Royal Princesit was before the Czar's succession— at Otsu, near Kioto, when there happened to be some religious festival going on. Somehow or other the Czarewitch incurred the displeasure of a Japanese policeman— by some unconscious breach of religious etiquetteand as they were passing down a narrow and crowded street, the defender of the law struck the young Prince, a blow on the head with his sword. The blood streamed down the Prince's face, and Prince George, on seeing what had happened, interfered at the supreme moment, undoubtedly saving the future Emperor's life.

" I thank God that I was there," Prince George wrote home to his father; " while the policeman still had his sword high in the air I gave liiir a blow so hard, that he had probably never experienced a similar one before. It was God who placed me there at that moment, and who gave me the strength to deal that blow, for had I been a little later the policeman had perhaps: cut of! Nicky's head."

"Nicky"— Emperor's name amongst his friends— himself bravely, or, in the words of Prince George, "stood it splendidly." The Mikado was profound in his apologies, and the policeman, who appears to have been a religious fanatic, was sentenced to imprisonment for life.

The Czar, it lias been said, is one of the saddest of monarchs, overwhelmed with the sense of his tremenduous power. "Goodbye, my dears," he once said as he left his English cousins at Copenhagen; "you are going back to your happy English home, and I go to my Russian prison." Sad words, truly, to fall from the lips of the Autocrat of ill the Russins, the Sovereign of a hundred and twenty million subjects, the ruler of onesixth of the earth's territory the wealthiest of all monarchs, and the master of a million men in arms. Tile Km per or is closely related to oui own Royal Family, being—though it is hard to realise it—the nephew of the Prince of Wales. The Queen is said to regard him with especial favour, and his visit to Her Majesty at Balmoral a few years ago is supposed to have been of the most affectionate character. The home life of the Czar is as simple as the life of a Sovereign well can be. Though he owns the largest private estate in the world— is said to cover 100,000,000 acres ! —he is never so happy as when at home with the Czarina and his two little girls. Both their Imperial Majesties have fallen in love with the English idea of home, and the happiest horn's of their lives are spent in a secluded mansion in l'eterhof Park.

English is said to be the language of the home, although the Czar is mastei of at least half-a-dozen languages, and the Emperor reads English, French, German, and Russian fiction with the greatest delight. Reading, cycling, and running are said to be his cliiei recreations, and a paragraph lias gone the round of the papers which says that every morning, as soon as it is light, the Czar enjoys a run of about half-a-mile. The Czar is the richest monarch in the world, though the Sultan has a larger income. His wealth is almost inconceivable, and is amazing enough to make even the Duke of Westminster feel poor. Every time the clock goes round—every hour, that is— the Czar's wealth goes up £300, and even while you read this sentence hi< riches increase by a sovereign. Nicholas 11., as has already been suggested, is likely to become one of the most popular Czars Russia- has ever had. Popularity is not possible in Russia, as we understand it- here ; but Czar Nicholas has given abundant indications that he has the welfare of his people at heart, and his people, we may be sure, will not withhold their loyalty if the promise of his early reign is carried out to the end. He is, in spite of his highly-strung nerves, well equipped for the high post to which he has been called. He has a great heart, full of deep, human sympathy He is said to have discovered that countless petitions from his people never reached him, and te have decreed, in consequence, that all future petitions shall be presented to him personally. He is the first Czar who has ever been through Siberia. During the famine of a few years ago, he was, by his own request, made President of the Relief Committee, and worked hard in the organisation of relief. As a boy, he was trained m languages and sciences rather than in the classics, the whole trend of his education being such as would equip him for the administration of Government. He hates militarism—as we al' know now—and his ambition is said to be to shine in history as Nicholas the Educator. His letter the other day to his old teacher, signed, " Your always unchanged, affectionate, and deeply grateful Nicholas," is a key to the sincerity of his character as a man, and the pronouncement in favour of universal peace — couched in language almost unparalleled in diplomacy for its intensity of feeling and its moral earnestness—throws a flood of light on his character as r monarch. It is difficult to think of him as : despot, and the universal verdict of all who have met him is, indeed, that he is the very best of good fellows.