Two Chancellors Part 12

THE MISSION EXTRAORDINARY OF MR. FOX.

On Monday, the 16th April (according to the Russian calendar, the 4th), 1866, an attempt was made on the life of Alexander II., Emperor of Russia. The would-be a.s.sa.s.sin was a Russian named Dmitry Karakozoff, a member of the order of the Nihilists. The rescuer of the Czar was a newly-emanc.i.p.ated serf, Ossip Ivanovitch Komissaroff by name. The facts of the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination are as follows: In the morning of that day Komissaroff started for the chapel built by Peter the Great on an island in the Neva. The bridge between the main bank and the island had, however, been removed, and he therefore turned toward the palace quay.

On approaching the Summer Garden he joined the crowd of people waiting to see the Emperor pa.s.s. While trying to secure a favorable position, Komissaroff was attracted by a stranger who was attempting to force his way to the front, and who kept his right hand constantly in his coat pocket.

When the Emperor appeared, the man beside Komissaroff drew a pistol and aimed it at his Majesty. He stood so near that the shot would undoubtedly have proved fatal, had not Komissaroff struck up his arm and caused the weapon to be discharged in the air. Karakozoff was seized, and after trial, was executed on the 15th September. Komissaroff was made a n.o.bleman, and had gifts and orders showered on him by the score. Mr. Clay, our minister to Russia, delivered a congratulatory address to the Emperor at a special audience, and the Emperor returned his thanks to the President and the people of the United States.

In the mean time, Congress, remembering that Russia had given our nation its warmest sympathies and aid in our hour of peril, introduced a joint resolution, relative to the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination of the Emperor of Russia. The resolution was approved by President Johnson, and it was then resolved to send a special envoy in a national vessel to carry to the Emperor of Russia the congratulations at his providential escape.

For this delicate mission the Hon. Gustavus Vasa Fox, the a.s.sistant Secretary of the Navy, was chosen. At his own request it was determined to send him in a monitor, a cla.s.s of vessel which had never crossed the Atlantic, but in whose seaworthiness Mr. Fox trusted implicitly. For this purpose the _Miantonomoh_, a two-turret monitor, to be accompanied by two wooden men-of-war, was selected. On June 5, 1866, Mr. Fox left St. John, N. B., for Queenstown, arriving there on June 16th. Mr. Fox then left the _Miantonomoh_, and made short trips through England, Ireland, and France. He rejoined the squadron at Copenhagen on Sat.u.r.day, July 21st, and after having been hospitably entertained by the king, left on August 1st for Cronstadt. He arrived there on August 5th, and on the following day he went to St. Petersburg and paid his respects to Mr.

Clay, the United States Minister there. On the 8th the mission was received at Peterhof by the Emperor, a.s.sisted by Prince Gortchakof. Mr.

Fox addressed the Emperor, who replied to him through Prince Gortchakof. On August 9th his Majesty visited the s.h.i.+ps at Cronstadt.

For more than a month a series of dinners and b.a.l.l.s were given in honor of the mission, and Mr. Fox's progress throughout the country was a perfect ovation. He was made honorary citizen of all the large cities; he received delegations of peasants, and was honored with rich presents from the Emperor. The tact and eminent social qualities which he displayed, made this altogether unique mission successful, and greatly strengthened the warm ties which exist between the two countries. It will be seen that M. Klaczko erroneously calls Mr. Fox "a.s.sistant secretary of state."

FOOTNOTES:

[146] We have said: "How could he undertake to present to M. de Bismarck the _demands of the cabinet of the Tuileries_?" and M. Benedetti sees in the word undertake the insinuation of an initiative. We have, however, very explicitly said, _The demands of the cabinet of the Tuileries_, and we immediately added M. Benedetti's own expressions: "_I have provoked nothing_, still less have I guaranteed the success; I have only allowed myself to _hope_ for it." None of our readers could mistake the meaning of our words, nor, above all, see therein the insinuation which M.

Benedetti gratuitously credits us with.

[147] "_Del Conte Bismarck dice (M. de Benedetti) che e un diplomatico per cos dire_ MANIACO; _che da quindici anni che to conosce e lo_ SEGUE."--Report of General Govone, 6th April, 1866. La Marmora, p. 139.

[148] La Marmora, p. 110.

[149] See the _Revue_ of the 15th September, and the 1st October, 1868.