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Page 3
He was walking in his gardens, and wishing to speak to one of the men who
was at work, he signalled to him to come to him. The gardener, proud of
his sovereign's notice, ran towards him at full speed. But a sentry, who
had not noticed the Czar's signal, fearing that the man was going to harm
the Emperor, fired his gun at him, and he fell dead at the Czar's feet.
Nicholas was terribly overcome by the dreadful mistake.
Some people say that his present illness is due to anxiety about the
Czarina, who is also ill, and again others say that the wound which
Nicholas received when he was travelling in Japan is the cause.
He was struck by a crazy Japanese, and would have been killed, had not
Prince George of Greece, the son of the present King of Greece, who was
with him, warded off the blow. As it was, the blow was heavy enough to
form a lump on the young man's skull, which has caused him great pain, and
which some people declare is troubling him now.
Whatever the cause, the Czar is ill, and in no state to attend to anything
but his own affairs. It is a sad pity just at this moment, when Europe
needs him so badly.
* * * * *
There is a little flurry in Siam.
Siam is in Asia, just below China, and next door to Burmah.
Some weeks ago a report came from Bangkok, the capital of Siam, that some
Siamese soldiers had fired upon and wounded our American Vice-Consul, Mr.
Kellett.
Our minister there protested, and sent word of the outrage to the King.
But the King of Siam did not take the slightest notice of the protest.
Then word was sent to Washington, with the request that an American
gunboat be sent to Bangkok, to teach the Siamese to respect United States
citizens.
The gunboat was despatched, and has duly arrived off Bangkok, but still
the King of Siam does not give any reason for the brutality of his
soldiers.
It is said that an American named Cheek, who owned some very valuable
property in Siam, died a short while ago, and named Mr. Kellett in his
will as the man who was to settle his property for him.
No sooner was Mr. Cheek dead, than the Siamese government tried to
prevent Mr. Kellett from settling his affairs, and did their best to stop
the sale of Mr. Cheek's property.
It is reported that Mr. Kellett would not submit to this interference, but
did his duty very thoroughly, and tried to make the Siamese government
behave honorably, too.
This enraged the Siamese, so the story goes, and they tried to kill Mr.
Kellett to get him out of the way.
The captain of the gunboat, Commander Reiter, has orders from Washington
to look into the whole affair, and if he finds that the story we have
heard is true, and that Siam is in the wrong, he is to insist that the
King makes proper amends.
The Siamese, having wounded the Consul of one country, soon after had
trouble with the representative of another.
The German Minister to Siam was attacked in the streets, not by soldiers,
as was Mr. Kellett, but by a mob.
The dispatches say that an American named Bennett put himself at the head
of the police, beat back the mob, and saved the German Minister's life.
The reasons for this last outrage have not been given, but in this case
the Siamese government has behaved very well.
An apology has been sent to the German Minister, and the King has
decorated him with some Siamese order.
Of course this makes us feel all the more surprised that the King does not
take any notice of the wounding of Mr. Kellett, but our gunboat is at
Bangkok, and if the King owes us an apology, he will be made to give it.
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