Foreigners Guard Them.

Otago Witness, Issue 2202, 14 May 1896, Page 52

Foreigners Guard Them.

In consequence of bhe repeated attempts on the lives of the occupants of raosb continental thrones, a number of sovereigns have preferred to entrust themselves bo the care of foreigners rather than to their own subjreta. Thus tbe late Emperor Alexander had a special bodvgnar.i of Mahommrdan Tchorkers, or Tuikomano, who were scarcely ablo to utter a single word of Russian, and who regarded the Muscovites as the traditional and hereditary foes of their race. Moreover, he was invariably accompanied by a corps of Coreican secret police. The personal servants of the Czar and CzaiiDH, such as valets and maids, are all either Britons or D mcd, mostly the former. The Sultin of Tui key's pcsrsonal bodyguard bai lately unr!er o'one0 'one a radical transformation. Until recently it was composed almost exclusively of Arnauts and Albanians, but Abdul Hamid, having found reasons to distrusb Iheir fidelity, has filled their places by fanatical Candiotes, Bosnians, and Magyar renegades. Moors were formerly much in demand at foreign courts. ' For instance, there wjm no more picturesque feature at the Spauieh Court, under the reign of Queen Isabella, than her Moorish bodyguard. The Monteros de Espinosa are a body of men who, for the lasb 1000 years, have enj yed the exclusive privilege of watching over the slumbers of the kings and queens of Spain They are bouud by tradition to be natives of tbe town of Espii o?a, aud to have served with honour in the army. N&poleon I had a special guard of about a dozen Mamelukes, one of whom, Mahmoud by name, inv&iinbly lay across the threshold of the room in which the Emperor slept ; while, up to 50 yews ago, there was scarcely a single G.Tmau court which did nob have among its lvtiuue a corps of HeyJucks, or Moslem body- J guards of the rcigt-iug prince. Jo the^e ctrcuais'-ances, it is significant that the rulers of Great Britain have in general been j quite Bfctisßed to trust themselves to their own subject*.