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But it was a terrible task that was thus thrust upon the young czar. As he rode to Moscow he saw on every hand the ravages of the Tartars and the COSSOCkS, who hilt] I‘Ohlwtl and murdered even within the gates of the capital. His subjects. Were gm. most backward Of any people who called themselves European. and most Western nations that not roe- ognize them as Europeans at all. The power of the crown was by no means well established or even well delin- ed; for the struggle over the succesâ€" sion had shaken it, and, moreover. the influence of the great nobles. the princes and the church authorities limited the activities of a sovereign. What we know to-day as Russia bdeod did not exist then. Seven The Romanms were an ancient family \vhnse early history is in- volved in obscurity. though traili- llnn :h‘rriln-s the origin if the house to Prussiaâ€"lint, the Herman Prussia of modern times. but the 0M Slmiw Prussia. For centuries the family. like uther princely or nvhle families, had liuut 0n its estates. More re- cently ll hail risen to vmim-itm»: tho- first of the seven wives of lum the- Terrible. the founder of Mus-«mm greatness. was a Rnnltinm. and his. able-st general was Michael's grand- father. Michael’s father, the Arch- bishop Philaret, was a national hero and might have become czar had he not been a churchman. One of Mich- nel’s chief claims to the throne was that he was a nephew of the late Cur Theodore. Moreover. the R0- manovs had been conspicuous for their virtues as well as for their ability; and the people (leniamled a Romanov for czar as much on the strength . of the reputation of the house as on its eminence. "If hr po'rsisto-d in his I‘me'aL Hwy would huh! him rvspunsiblv tn Gm! fur tho- uitnr dvstl‘uction 01' Mus- covy.” Thus in\’0k-'?d in “w uanw of l't-ligwn and of patriotism, lw finally agrmwl tn pm to Moscow and take up his untlvsirml crown. In that way “w ““9180 of “Omanov began. Altar that rwnt a national rouni-il of nohlns and rlrrgy gntlmrml and delilwratmt amt so-nt nit-sso-ngvrs throughout Russia to lrarn tho- opin- iOn of tho people" regarding a rulor. Finally thr- council chosr. Michael Romanov as war. and tho Moscow crowd confirmrd their choico. There View two peculiarities about tho choice. First. the newly rhnsvn rzar was an unknown hoy of sixtovn years; amt. SPCUINL no nun know whora ln- was; it, was not, in fart. until after a month's search that he was found in a monastery under the guardianship of his motlwr. No-ithvr ot' tho-m was willing to at't'vpt the honor thus thrust upon him. and for six hours tlw omissarirs of the Council plraolml. and ttwy won tlu-iz' point only wlmn they ileclarml that. Yet that remarkable scene ’was no more remarkable than the Situation that had caused it. Fifteen years earlier the Czar Theodore had died. â€"-in the words of the sentimental chrnnirler. “The last flower of the land of Russia had withered away,” -â€"and the line of Rurik. whirh had ruled the land for seven renturiee. l’ame to an Mill. The immediate re- sult was a oteeade amt a half of such anarchy as even the present condition of that unhappy rnuntry srareely equals. Four usurpers sue- ressiwl)‘ rlaimed the throne: the land swarmed with rohher hands: and fur the last three years of that “period of troubles" there was no ruler at all. The Swedes and the Poles took aolxantage. of the situation to extend their borders at the ex- pense of Russia. Sweden errupied the anrient eity of ngorml: l’elnnd Occumed Smolensk. and a Polish force aetually burned the greater part of the enpital nl' Museuw and intrenrhed itself in what remained of the Kremlin. 'l'he rhiel’ leaders of the people were a .Vmgnrml httlt'het' named Minin. rerlain rlergy ot’ the 'l'roitsk monastery, and the tlussarks under the remmnnd el‘ Prinre 'l‘ru- hetskni. It was the tlnssarks that finally t'mlseot the l’nles tn surrend- er. In that fashion the house of R0- mnnuv came to the imperial thmne. The event suggests the time when warriors elected their chiefs and tossed them up on their shields. 'l'lic let of February. 1613. was an extraordinary day in the history of Russia. Un thc morning of that day a great crowd of people of every rank and station assembled in the Red Square of Moscow to lletil‘ the spokesman for the national council which hail long been deliberating m’o-r the cnnice of a ruler for the distnrhml country. Presently a float nnhlo- and two or three of the spiritual members of the council appeared. "Whom" they asked. “Will you in :w for czar?" The ques- tion was hardly tlnished when a great shout went up: “Michael Themlorovitch! (M ichael, the Sun of Theodore!, Let him be tho- czar-j gosudar ot‘ the realm of Muscovy and the whole state of Russia!" THE HOUSE OF ROMANOV Having the Cossacks under the crown was important in many ways. for they were of great value in the growth of Russia; they were the cmtposts of the empire. When the Tartar power had begun to wane, the sturdy. hard-fighting Cossacks had pushed southward to settle along the river Don. They were virtually freem'en and elected their own lead- ers or hetmans; they waged almost continual war and gradually won The Cossacks Submit. To it Michael and his son Alexis 'St'i themselves during the seven- im‘llitl century: and while America was being: settled. while the Thirty Years' \V'ar was being fought in lilermany and the Civil War was go- iing on in England. while Richelieu and Louis XIV. were building up the ahsolutc monarchy of the Bourbons in France. those early Romanovs were laying the foundations of the power of their house and of modern Russia. Michael contributed chiefly by establishing the authority of. the crown and bringing order out of chaos; he devoted the thirty years of his reign to restoring Muscovy to something like an organized state. Alexis continued and extended the activities of his father. He had the laws codified and the text of the Scriptures revisedâ€"an act that gave church and state sounder basis for their work. He reorganized the ad- ministration. From the Poles he re- conquered the district known as Little Russia: he recovered Smol- ensk and Kiev; and he accepted the submission of the Cossacks to the authority of the crown. ind in thoir Village communities, or mil-s. and hold thoir land in common according to a custom that had van- ished in Wostm'n l‘lnropo contux‘ics ln-t'or'o. i Almw tho poasanta‘, and holding them in a stato of St‘l‘ftlttfll that in many case’s was litlli- lwtti-I' than slaw-ry was a nnmm'ons proud. rich. ignorant. nnbilit)’ of pt'incoly and hoyar families. who were" littlv acquaintml with Elli-opoan civiliza- tion as \w know it and littlo inclined to ro-cognizv any obligation to the stair, 'l'o ilot'onil tho country against‘ its Will‘likt‘ noighhors and to monhll out its tlth‘l'St‘ olvmo-nts a pom-Phil. wntralizwl Em‘opoan state» was a task t'rnm which any man haw shrunk. linomios surrnumloal Russia. 011 tho Wost tho warlike Lithuanians and tho Polos. with whom they wore llllltt‘t‘ during tho sixtoonth con- tnry, strovo to onlal‘go thoir borders at tho oxponso of Russia. ()n the north in tho samo porioll Swodon. whirl: was grmving in power under tho hunso ut' Vasa. asliil'od to pross forward from its possossiun of Fill- lnml and mako tho Baltic Soa a Swollish lako. Un tho south tho romnants of tho 'l‘artar powor. tho khnnato of tho tlrimoa and of Astra- khan limitml its lionmlarios. And still boyonll tho Tartars tho oncom- ing.r liorclos of tho 'l‘urks throatonoil all of I'Iasto'l'u linropo. 'l‘hus Mus- l'nV)‘. mon hol'm‘o tho «loath of Thon- lloro- and tho “l’oriocl ot' 'l‘rmililos." \tht‘ll it soomod that .it would fall bo- t'nro its ononiios. and in spito of its aolvnnro «luring tho sixtoonth con- tul'y, was hard put to it to maintain its inlloponllonoo. In tho- same. way in which the lmuso- of Hamburg had providml unity and a morasm'u nf [b01100 and gn\'vl"llnwllt fur ttw Normans. th'e hnusv nt' ananm; snvcwcting thv hnusv nt' Hurik. rvndvrml tho sanw St'I'Vtt't’ tn thv Slavs. But thv prob- lvm was far ditfvrvnt from ttw prob- lvm that had wnt‘mntmt the German rule-rs. The Romannvs had succeed- mt tn a strangv and [wrilous inheri- tanmrâ€"a hug», unt‘ormmt strohrh of tm'x'itm'y composed nf ditt'm'mt status amt peoylns and fur the most part inhabitmt by peasants whu liv- hundred years earlier. when the Norsemen were busy in Western Europe. founding dukedoms and principalities like that of Normandy under Rollo. their neighbors. the Mw-des. had invaded the lands to the southeast of them and there had es- tablished states, of which Novgorod was the most important. Thereafter various cities-«Pskm. Kiev. Smol- ensk. and Moscow among others-â€" sprang up as the capitals of petty states that were chietly concerned with wars with one another. Finally in the thirteenth century the Mongfils or Tartars. swept across the steppe region on the south and. establishing} there the power of their “great horde." i’lestroyed the city of Kiev and laid its rivals under tribute. For two hundred years and longer they dominated the Russian states til] at the close of the fifteenth century Ivan the Terrible raised his duchy of Moscow. or Muscovy, to such power as to defy the Tartars and conquer Novgorod. Tver and Vyatka. He married the niece of the last of the Bysantine eniperors and con- verted his people to Greek Christian- ity. And so at about the time of the discovery of America he established the state that we have come to call Russia. m i gh t Naturally in all of his reforms the conservative nobility, who were con- yim-ml lllal Russia was the grvalesl find most advanm-d country in the world, oppose-cl him; and at. the same lime he was obliged to contend with his enemies abroad. especially [’0- land and Sweden. 3 3 Charles Xll.. begun a long and bloody struggle to prevent Russia from ex- tending its power toward the Baltim? which Peter the Great had made the 1 goal of his ambition. But thel Swedes were not successful; Peterg urn Itm'olw. Ho vslablishvd “assum- hlivs" or I'N'd-ptinns. whom mvu and mmwn minglwl in sncivty as 0130- whm'v in l'lurupv; in Russia Hwy had bvvn kvpt svpnl‘atu al'tvr thv I'lastvl'n {ash ion. ity un that svl'vicv. Ht' own turned his attvntinns tn the lussor mstttms nt' his pmmtt‘. Ht! ftn't'trd men. to out tlwil' [wants or vtsv pay a line to “W guvm'nnwnt; hv forbade Um wvaring ”t “w tung- Urit'ntal t'at'tzm, HI‘ cloak. amt t'nl't'mt his Ilttlllt'h' to adapt, the «truss and vwn thv wig. 0r |)t‘l'llkt.‘, that \wrv ttwn t‘ashitmablt‘! in West- m-n liuropv. Ht.‘ vstablishod “assem- Mit's" tH' I't‘t't'ntitms \\'hnr.. mun nml in llm shipyards. Frnm England he prnrm-olml lo Vienna in his proper character of czar; and he was about. to go tn Vonirr when the news of tho rrvult ul‘ tlw Slrrllzi. 0r household guard. rallml him. homo. llrtnrning (.0 Russia. accompanied by Various mnn. chirlly English and Dutch sailnrs, shipwrights, soldiers and rnginm-rs. he began to put into effect the lrssons that. he had learn- ml. Ho reorganizrd the army after lhl- fashinn 0f Hm \Vnst; he abolish- ed the so-callcd patriarchate, or lwadship nl' the church. because it was too indemmdrnt of the crown; lw (,‘HIIHH'HPH tlw nobles to onlrr the service of llw slatc- and basml nnhil- It was only with the accessitm of Aloxis's son Peter in the year 1689 that the I'Iurnpoanizing Of Russia he- gan. H0 is the greatest of the Ro- manuvs. and um character in modern Eurnpuan history is more t-xtra- nrtlinary. When he had been czar for right. yt-nrs and haul sumrwhat rnstm'rd nrdrr in the kingdom, which had tuwn grratly disturbed after his t'atht-r's tlvath, he set nut on his tl'a\'t‘lSâ€"-«t.llt‘ strangnst journry that any prinrt- t-vrr undertnok of his own nmtion. Hr went first to Hot- lantt, wht-rr, untlrr tbr name of Peter Mikhailt'n'. hr wnl'krti in the Ship- yards of Saartlam. 'l‘hvncv hr went tn England. whvrt- he labored again The czar sat on his throne of “massy silver" and wore his crown “quite covered with precious stones” over 'a cap of black sable; his sceptre, his collar and his “vest” glittered with jewels; and his chief nobleS" were clothed from head to foot in white ermine. The two hundred boyars who sat about the hall were dressed in cloth of gold or silver or in velvet that blazed with jewels. It all seem- ed Oriental rather than European. But Russia under Alexis was scarcely yet a EurOpean power. An English ambassador describes the court of Alexis as presenting a scene not to be matched in any Western power; it was more like the court of one of the great monarchs of Asia. more and more territory. Toward the end of the sixteenth century one or them, Yermak, led a band of his “free companions” to the headwaters of the Volga to secure land there for ,their employers, the great trading ; house of Strogonov. Thence Yermak pushed forward into Siberia and be- gan the Russian advance into Asia, which coincided with the rule of the Romanovs. But the Cossacks were unruly people; they waged war no less with the Poles and even with the Russians than with the Tartars and the Turks. Even after they had accepted the suzerainty of the czar they rebelled er joined his enemies from time to time during the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries un- til they llnally accepted the situa- tion and in the nineteenth century became one of the greatest sources of strength to the monarchy. S. MacBETH DRUGGIST and STATIONER “’0 are sole agents in Durham “Sweetest laid" Candies. 'I‘h‘ out. container, which absor‘ds always dry and in fine comm SATIN HARD SATIN MINTS BUTTERN UT LADY FINGERS per lb. 50C. “’5’ them THE DURHAM CHRONICLE and basml nobil in Durham for the new and delicious indies. 'I‘hese Candies are kept in a pat- ch absor'ds all the moisture, keeping them flne condition. Hvr son Paul. who hocamv czar during thv Frmwh Rmnlutinn, suc- ceeded her 011 the thronv. For that great. mnwnmnt of course (Juthorhw had had no sympathy. But. though she had taken advantagn of it to push (thwart! the third and last. par- tition 01' Poland, sho hm! not cnmv into (juntlic't with tho Frmwh. Paul. however, was drawn into the war. 'l‘hv. Russian tll‘lllit‘s amwzn'ml int 'l'hings came to a head in the reign of Catherine IL. the wife of Peter Ill. 'l‘hat. great though bail empress was not. a Romanov by blood. She was a princess of the little German house of Anhalt-Zerbst, but she itlentitiml herself thoroughly with her adopted country. and her reign is one of the great periods of its his- tory. During her reign the partition of Poland gave Russia the greater part of Lithuania-Poland and brought it to the borders of Prussia; and two wars against the Turks and their allies the 'l‘artars incorporated the, Crimea into the empire and anâ€" nexed the northern shores of the Black Sea from Azov to the Dniester River. Moreover, Catherine encour- aged west-European influence in every way that she could; she brought French philHSOphers to the Russian court. and. by “Western culture and customs. so carried on the work of Peter the Great. favoring I Nevertheless, in spite of incompe- tent rulers, the impetus toward ex- pansion and Europeanization was not lost. Russian influence. was es- tablished in the declining kingdom of Poland; Russian armies took part in the Seven Years’ War and defeat- ed Frederick the Great of Prussia; and for the llrst time in history Rus- sian tronps were seen along the Rhine. Russian troops captured the port of Azov on the Black Sea. and Russian power pushed across Siber- ia. And the country, mingovernml and still backward and overrun by foreign adventurers, advanced in many ways-win the growth of cities and of eimimerce. in literature and with the founding of the lirst Rus- sian universities even in education. 'IVI ' VL, then Peter’s daughter Elizabeth and then her nephew and adopted heir, Peter, Duke of Holstein; and all came within about the same length of time as Peter the Great's rule had covered. But none of them was a ruler of great character or ability. For the most part favorites governed them; the will of the sov- ereign determined the succession. and revolution not without suspicion of murder often altered it. Russia seemed little more than an Oriental despotism governed, like Turkey, by palace intrigues. Catherine 11. But the path toward European customs and empire was long and hard. Peter the Great had no capa- ble successors of his own blood. To the throne came first his wife Cath- erine, then his grandson, the twelve- year-old Peter IL, then his niece Anna, then her great-nephew Ivan who was first defeated, finally fought his way to the sea and founded there a new capital, St. Petersburgâ€"“au eye." as he said, “to look out over Europe." He subdued the Cossacks; he captured Baku and gave his coun- try an outlet on the CaSpiau Sea; and when he died at the age of titty- three years, he had set Russia on the way that it was to follow from his day to our own. SKATES SHARPEN ED Circular and Cross cut Gummed and Sharpened isfastion Guaranteed. Machinist. Ito. Nearly opposite Post Office Cross cut Saws Sat,- r {991nm} ugly and Switzerland; and with that. 1' """"""""""""""" W I GRAIN WANTED We are in the Market for any quantity of MILLING OATS, PEAS, WHEAT, FEED OATS, . MIXED GRAIN, BARLEY, BUCKWHEAT For which we will Pay Highest Prices We have a stock of GROUND FEED ’ on hand I that we will sell cheap w‘hile it lasts 9 If you ve Grain or want Feed call us up N 0 Town Delivery Terms Cub BUSINESS HOURS: 8 am. to 5 pm. ROB ROY MILLS LIMITED PH:0NES Day 4, Nightsl. DURHAM, ONT. Alexander 1.. who first, allied him- self with Napoleon and who later became, through Napoleon's Russian expedition, the principal cause of his fall, was a liberal at the begin- ning of his reign. In 1815. when Russia received Finland and the greater part. of Poland as its share in the settlement. of Europe, the czar made Poland a constitutional mon- archy under his own rule with his brother Constantine as viceroy. But two great forces that affected the Romanov fortunes were at work in Europe in “EMS. The tirst was the spirit of nationality, the second was the spirit of democracy; and each influenced Russia. The Poles were dissatisfied with Russian rule; the liberal elements in Russia were dis- satisfied with autocracy; both con- spired and plotted revolution. And Alexander, who was under the influ- once, of the. great. conservative Aus- trian statesman Miettel‘nich. stood At his accession the character of the Romanoys and of their policy changed with the altered position of their country. The early heroes of the house, Michael, Alexis and espe- cially Peter the Great, with all their enlightened characteristics had in many ways seemed more Asiatic than Eur0pean, but during the eighteenth century the family had become rather more German than Russian and was wholly Europeaniz- ed. During the nineteenth century that combination of east and west largely influenced the house. First Alexander, then Nicholas 1., then Alexander 11., Alexander III. and tlnally Nicholas ll. to a degree rare among absolute sovereigns devoted themselves to the business of gov- ernment and t0 the good of their country as they saw it. circumstance it may be said that Russia finally emerged as a Euro- pean power. Disgusted with his al- lies, England and Austria, Paul con- templated making an alliance with the French, but. before he could car- ry out his plans he was assassinated. and his son Alexander I. came to the throne. COCKSHUTT AGENT - - DURHA‘ “EVERYTHING IN FARM MACHINERY" At. his We are in the Market for any quantity of MILLING OATS, PEAS, WHEAT, FEED OATS. ADAMS’ SLEIGHS and BRANTFORD CUTTERS WINTER IS COMING ! Are You Prepared? Renfrew_ Steel Ranges Gas Engines We have a good stock of In Nearly All Sizes J. SCHUTZ At his death in 1825 the liberal Russian otl‘icersattphpted a revolu- tion and urged their soldiers to pro- claim Constantine and a constitution, which the soldiers did, believing that the “constitutia” or constitution was Constantine’s wife. But Constantine. declined the throne. the revolt was suppressed and his brother Nicholas 1. came to the throne prepared to re- press ail liberal movements and to revive Russian nationality. The Polâ€" ish Revolution ot’ l830-32 was put down, and Poland was incorporated into the empire. Nicholas's plan to divide the Turkish possessions among the powers of Europe led to the Crimean War. and Russian corâ€" ruption and incompetence as reveal- ed in that struggle, it is said. led *directly to his math. For full particulars apply Grand Trunk Ticket Agents. out as the champion of absoluflm. Ar. Brandon! Ar. Hamilton Ar. Toronto “.10 am. 7.40 mm. Returning, leave Toronto 6.50 mm. and 5.02 pm. Parlor Bun‘et Ctr Pol- merston to Toronto on morning train and Guelph to Toronto on evemnx train. Lv. Lv. Lv. Lv. dom and distributing lands among the former serfsâ€"an act that he ac- complished at the same time as the American Civil Warâ€"he laid the foundations for modern Russia. But those reforms were not enough for (Continued on page 7.) His son Alexander ll. took up the task of reforming the condition at the peasants and by abolishing serf- JA_‘ _ Improved Train Sonics nun! nann- win" 1. Durham 7.“ u. 8.15 ’4 1. It. Pom: 7.38 an. 8.5!.” v. Pdtomon 8.38 un. 4.38.); 7. forum 0.15 In. 53...: r. morn 9.30 an. 5.10 N r. Guelph 9.45 an. 5.“ 3.1 “and”, January 11. “It. 1.00 pm. 1.00 Na. 8.51.”; 4.38.)... 531.111. 5.10 p... 5.“ jun. l0