ALEXANDER (RUSSIA) 281 15 he was married to Louisa Maria Augusta, princess of Baden, who was somewhat younger still. This marriage was not a happy one. Catharine died three years afterward, and was succeeded by her -son Paul I., whose short reign was ended by murder, March 23, 1801. Alexander stands accused of having been ac- cessory to this crime. He was acquainted with the conspiracy, whose chief, Count Pahlen, persuaded him that his mother and his brother Constantino were in danger of losing their liberty, and even their lives, from the jealous suspicions of his half-insane father. Alexan- der, fully believing his father incompetent to reign, gave his consent to the dethronement, which alone was represented to be the aim of the conspirators. Once on the throne, the young czar attracted the attention of the world, and his generous qualities promised a brilliant future. He began by releasing and indemni- fying the victims of the violent injustice of his father, and recalled many who had been exiled to Siberia. He kindled civilization among the masses, made efforts to create a public spirit among the people, and accom- plished radical reforms in the administration. He abolished the secret tribunal established by Paul, suppressed the censorship, reorganized the board constituted by Catharine for the creation of a national code, ordered every minister to publish yearly reports, decreed the abolition of torture (which, however, contin- ued to be partially applied even under him), and renewed the ukase of Catharine in virtue of which hereditary estates could not be con- fiscated, and proclaimed that henceforth the czars should not give away estates with crown peasants, but lands alone. He prohibited. the public exposure of serfs in markets for sale, and allowed them to be sold only with the land to which they were attached. He chose for ministers men of large and clear minds, de- voted to his reformatory ideas. Among these were Czartoryski, Novosiltzoff, and Speranski. He was impressible, enthusiastic, and easily influenced, not steady and persistent. His mode of life was simple and unostentatious; his manners were- amiable, refined, and ele- gant. He concluded commercial treaties with various powers, and published new regulations for navigation. He protected the arts, and in order to stir up the intellectual powers of the people allowed his subjects of various classes, except those serfs who were private property, to select their own trades and pursuits. The raw products of Russia, and even some manu- factures, now began to appear in the marts of Europe. In 1809 he erected three universities, at St. Petersburg, Kharkov, and Kazan, and added to them afterward that of Dorpat for the German Baltic provinces. He also reor- ganized that of Wilna for his Polish subjects, whom at that early epoch he treated gener- ously, flattering them with hopes of the recon- struction of their kingdom. He founded many gymnasia and high schools, ordering their number to be increased to 204, with 2,000 sub- ordinate elementary schools; but this project was only partially executed. He was wont to travel over the country in every direction, see- ing persons of all classes and receiving their memorials. He scrupulously observed the ordinances of the national church, but later in life he became a pietist and mystic, at the same time that he turned against the liberal politics of his youth. At an early period in his career Alexander was entangled in the great events which shook Europe in the beginning of the present century. The greatness of Napoleon, then first consul, impressed his imagination. His father had commenced a friendly inter- course with Napoleon, which the son contin- ued. . On Oct. 8, 1801, he concluded a treaty of friendship, and when next year a general peace was established by the treaty of Amiens, the new territorial organization of Germany was regulated by the two. But when Napo- leon, after making himself emperor, violated the territory of Baden, announced his purpose to assume the crown of Italy, prepared to de- stroy the independence of the Batavian repub- lic, and occupied almost the whole coast of northern Germany, Alexander put forth a solemn protest along with a warning against a continuance in this course of usurpation. Finally, although a war was brewing between Russia and Turkey, and another actually wag- ing against Persia, Alexander entered the third coalition to overthrow Napoleon formed by Sweden, England, and Austria. On Oct. 5, 1805, a Russian army debarked in Pomerania, and at the same time another traversed Prus- sia, although that power was neutral. The battle of Austerlitz, Dec. 2, 1805, destroyed the coalition, and Alexander barely escaped be- ing made prisoner by a French general cutting . off the retreat of his escort. The czar pledged his written word of honor to this officer that an armistice had been concluded, which, how- ever, was not the case. The Russian troops retreated to Silesia, and Alexander returned to St. Petersburg to prepare new armaments, when his ally Francis of Austria made peace with the enemy. The czar, however, refused to ratify the treaty made in Paris by his minister D'Oubril, and formed an intimate alli- ance with Prussia. He conceived a Platonic affection for Queen Louise, to whose husband, Frederick "William III., he was bound by the ties of a strong friendship. This new coalition had no better luck than its predecessor. The Prus- sian forces were annihilated at Jena and Auer- stadt (Oct. 14, 1806), the Russian Marshal Ben- ningsen was beaten at Eylau (Feb. 8, 1807) and Friedland (June 14), and Kamenski was defeat- ed at Pultusk. The Russian armies reentered their own country, and the king of Prussia was left in possession of only the city of Memel, on the Russian frontier. At the same time, how- ever, the Russian arms were more successful in the war with the Turks. The Serbs rose against the Porte, and Admiral Seniavin
