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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1911)
THE SUNDAY OnEGOXIAX, TORTLAXD, AUGUST 13. 1911. a.........................----- 1. i i ix ii ii v i iiiii sc. -x. i u Amazing Story of How a Progressive Relative of Tsar Nicholas lives Forgotten in the Wilds of Tash Kent Hunting Now His Main Interest, but He Used to be the Terror of Reactionary Drawing Rooms Saved from the Dungeon by the Late Dowager Em press Name Was Removed from Family Records and Army Lists Alexander III Even Forbade Mention of It at Court Father Was Also an Exile for "Western Ideas" Grand DuKe NiKolai Hon stantinovitch Still True to Forward Opinions Hopes His Son Will See Russia Free. : : ODESSA. Aur- J.(SpclaL Reac tion strikes deep In Kussiaa life. But how deep on can only Jud from time to time when a discovery is mad that seems to tear aside for a mnrneot th veil of secrecy drawn for rvars before the skeleton cupboard of the Romanoffs. Such an Incident occurred a few weeks airo. when It became known that a Russian Grand Duke, relative of Tsar Nicholas bet lone HO forrotten. was still llYln In the wilds whither he was ex iled almost a veneration ago. lnce then I have been fortunate enough to meet Captain Harvey, an American with a rovlnc disposition and a taste for bis; Fame shootinir. the only foreigner who ra ever spent a nlsrht as the truest of this noble exile. Here Is his story, lust as he told It: Last Fall, whilst hunting In Russian Turkestan, the chase brought him near Tashkent, one of the last Russian out posts before the British frontier Is reached. Here. In a forest, he came upon a tall, whiskered man of sixty, accompanied by an attendant, who car ried his second gun. They fell Into conversation, the Rus sian speaking good English. Ills bear ing was not only that of a gentleman, but had In It something of authority, and as they neared the town he asked the American to come to his house and see some bear he had shot. Presently they approached a palace, built on the top of a hill, but so well masked with timber as to be hidden from the casual observer. On the terrace sat a woman with gray hair and a pleasant smile, whom the Russian Introduced as hla wife. They both puxxled me admitted Harvey. "There was something grand bout the roan, though I knew he was not a high official, for I had met them all. t told him my name, but he did rot tell me hla, and all the clue t bad was that his wife addressed him as 'Nikolai Konstantlnovltch' or Nlehol on of Konstantlne. he had not the grand air, and not the culture "knd knowledge of the world he showed. I could not get him to talk about himself, however skilfully I tried, and the palace, set In the wllds of Turkestan puzxled me Immensely." They were still chatting when night fell and Harvey rose to go. But his host and hostess would not hear of It. Harvey protested but feebly, for he had grown more and more Interested In this mysterious household, where LOOK Lyric by WILL A L Waei K.i 2. Xf hears l " . J a rtr r- fn . tv, tarif . tj. beat her liec-feM picked docet shoald Eaa U . MenUon of It at Court-Father Was Also an Exile ' lllh . Ml ' J'- s i . o tsi 1 is"-""" the wife as Is usual In Russia was so overshadowed by her husband, and the host's bearing was so out of keep ing with Turkestan. "Besides." remarked the host, grave ly carping his persuasion. I fear your exit from the park gates would be hard after dark!" "Whyr" asked Harvey, though the other man's tone did not Invite the queetlon. "Because there Is a strong guard outside" he answered dryly. and changed the subject. Admit Ills Identity. Harvey glanced from husband to wife and wondered If he had fallen among some mountain banditti, who meant to kidnap him for a ransom. But the host was calmly smoking and his wife's eye were cast dowra Still it was all weird and uncanny. The park around was pitch dark; the forest lay between It and the town. What did It mean? A servant had taken Harvey's gun when he 'entered' the terrace. Clearly there was fascination for an adventurous sportsman in such a rid dle; so the visitor felt a glow of pleas ure at the prospect of seelng It through. The evening meal was served In a spacious dining-room with the same dignified simplicity that characterised the whole house. The food waa good, the wines excellent. After supper, they vMt out on the terrace again, the host talking brilliantly of everybody but hlmsnlf and everything but Tashkent. When bis wife, who said but little, had gone In. the two men remained to gether In the dark and silence for some time. Then the Russian said . with startling suddenness: "Yon are won dering what It all means?" Harvey admitted hla curiosity, and was staggered to receive the quiet re ply: "I'm the Grand Duke Nlcolal Konstantlnoviteh." Harvey knew something of Russian history. "But-but-you-he-dled 30 years ago." he stammered. The Grand Duke laughed. . "That Is what my cousin Alexander III had circulated In retersbarg." he agreed. "In a way. It is true. Polit ically. I died 19 years ago. My exist ence came to a sudden end. You will no longer find my name In the lists of the Tsar's uncles, cousins and broth ers. At the age f 30. I was brought here, to the wllds of Turkestan, at the behest of the Iowager Empress. Alex ander lis widow. Alexander III. my first cousin, would have given me ME OVER CAREFULLY AND TELL ME WILL I DO? . ' , Gus Edwards Latest Song Success the Big Hit of Jardin de Paris D. COBB . cr Browa, Kit old tows, It said. the staga door led . . I " i . . ! 1 1 . I 1 1 rraph, ant, Aid that Par Eo I sneaked a la bif kit b M ; Mt of the cit the 1 U 7- - i't It Of eoana if ther Oaa dear. Who fives all those La : . t-1 7T .t ' - . - . - I "rd - 9-' W ' tm saF ' W W w C77dfct, KCJCX, by COT EDWARDS, ra..Jj International Copyrifkt Secured Used by peraisuo. MURRAY MUSIC Co.. New York ! T LA M LA JLk i A- - ' ' f 'it-J.v , . h WZA III . ! : b 4 : JSC I ' - vW8 S W ,. --.I3 W ;v lis other punlehment for my'liberal Ideas: the present Tsar, his son, has forgot ten all about me so much the better." "I have not spoken to a foreigner .since I left Petersburg. I cannot say how glad I waa to meet you in tne xor est this afternoon, for, when a young man. I had what were- then called 'western ldas.' They nearly brought nVi solitary confinement for life In a cell -of Schlusselberg Prison regardless of the fact that my father had been exiled for that very offense. So the Tsar determined to get rid of me. as his father had rid himself of my fathor before' me. "But what was to be done. Captain Harvey? It Is not so eay to get rid of a Grand Duke as you may suppose; for foreign opinion Is against their being shot. In the days of our great Catherine or even of my own grand father, Nicholas the First, things were different. Nowadays, the strangling of a Tsar's uncle' would lead to un pleasantness at foreign courts. "At first, Alexander III thought to send me to a dungeon of one of our rastles and keep me there for' life among the rats and damp: not much of a llfo for a young man of 0 with a taste for shooting and outdoor life. Even today, after 30 years of exile. I believe my cousin thought he was do ing the best thing for the country when he sent all who had western Ideas to Siberia. He would have sent me had he dared, but the dungeon plan ap pealed to him almost as much: People could be told I had gone to the shores of Finland for change of air. "But at last his mother persuaded Music by CIUS EDWARDS W. flrU drf- - n't think To. for - tans for tiTsi " . - i r hand . d me a laagh, whsa the "Fol - liei" r . bsaned. Now " If she could "gst by," Eo if 70a should b her. an - 7 "(how shop a doubt, way,. .... - him to send me here to Turkestan. There was no railway 30 years ago, so Turkestan was as remote as the North Pole today. Most of my fortune was confiscated, but the Dowager Empress helped me in this as well and 1 was, after a year's good behavior here, al lowed to enjoy a comfortable revenue. F'lll for the first few years I was ctfceely watched by the Governor-General of Tashkent, who had strict orders never to allow me outside the boun daries of a house and grounds near the town. But he made life as agreeable for me as he could and even in those early days his kindness enabled me to enjoy hunting expeditions, on which he always accompanied me. After some years I built this house. In the pattern of the' one I .was born in. It helped me to Torget many weary days. Of course, no letters were allowed to reach me from the outer world and I learned I had. by the Tsar's orders, been struck off the lists of his relations and the army, and the mention of my name was forbidden." Captain Harvey 'said he had been In the neighborhood for a month and never heard the Grand Duke mentioned. "The fact that I am forgotten has for a long time been In my favor," said Nikolai Konstantlnoviteh. ' "Gradually, the military surveillance slackened. It has now practically ceased, except that nobody Is allowed to leave my park gates after nightfall. A picket of sol diers Is always stationed there. Had you left us when you wished, you would have been arrested and brought up be fore the Governor-General. The pres ent Tsar, who has forgotten my exist pea , I Bear her so j wn wen j 1 w A And Pot J m Why tha Oh, 701 'TV vnne I With son poco riL 2T.24I.. took i ence and Is probably quite as reaction ary in ideas as his father who exiled me, 'might have been reminded of my presence, .and have made things un comfortable for me. I wish to remain forgotten at court." The grandson of the Iron Tsar paused. "On the other side of tne Atlantic" he resumed, "you know what freedom means. I hoped, as did my father be fore me, that Russia would know too. Like him. I was born too early. My son. who has not the right to be called a Romanoff, mt-y live to see It. My daughter is married to an officer here. They are as happy as I have been in my married life. My wife was the daughter of a military official In Tashkent and I married her five years after coming here." Next morning the American too leave of the Grand Duke. At lunch that day at the hotel Harvey met an official ' he knew and a little diplo matic questioning confirm the Grand Duke's story. Further, he learned that Konstantlne Nlkolaiviteh, his father, was also an exile for the last fifteen years of his life, for holding too liberal views about government. The Grand Duchess Alex andra Pavlovna, Konstantlne's wife, was not allowed to share her husband's exile In the Crimea. She lived in her villa at Petrovsk her husband ban ished to the Crimea and her son to Turkestan. During her last illness, however, her husband was allowed to visit her. He died soon after and the Tsar ordered his Crimean house to be searched for revolutionary documents; but before the officers arrived the place ary in Ideas as his latner wno exuea , f,S"J- - "(v j ' IBB me, might have been reminded of my H ; . S""?, ill presence, .and have made things nn- E f r .'.t&rsk-;. . ill comfortable for me. I wish to remain I - " Kx' ' ill forgotten at court." It . . ,X? :- "4 I H I The grandson of the Iron Tsar paused. :. ;Lb - , ' 111 "On the other side of tne Atlantic" he I fjgi , -f I SUB resumed, "you know what freedom rji . ' . - " v"' " Hn means. I hoped, as did my father be- tj . ris-V',. V 1 L VI UQ I , S ' J Ta. . cn and list ' And cozw' ea, eal . en Burnhart'i name, la big art - ten that -w " CHORUS. ok ms o - - ver ear - ful , ly, And tell m will I 4ot......... j- nn down, and add m tp,..., L-JJ, 1 I Ma Over Carefully Mk rsj-on-...... for sen - - m.a - Ul, "Two" ' for kind...... and -three" for gen V tie, Look m 'o - Tr eara. fol - ryT And tell ma will I -J gJJ I , I ' J 1 - 1 m lis- vMtnw j. fcvi 1 1 :MfeUTr . 'II - 'iZ. - 1 i. ' ' , B servant who had pledged his word to - late, JTiatfi the ha - ee for ma win nam Lata a iia - mono Jim lira - ay, FU make torn "sum" for 70s,.. I ROBERT T. FOWLER. - nine ontT.M weii, -tlfSf t I t fit do?.. Ve. S41.
