Tue. Rex, Romaxors +3 Mevexs=o ex Revell Ca.
If the story of the Romanovs as told by Gleb Botkin, who was close until shortly is not the most important contribution to the historical study of that tragic family, it must surely rank among the most provocative. Three quarters of the book contains little that is new on the subject of the late Czar and his family, but, in the last quarter, when Mr. Botkin deals with the jeasz of the Indy whose Claims to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia caused such 2 sensation some years he pets forward what might as originally as sceptical as many others.
Mr, Botkin tells the story of how the Grand Duchess Anastasia went into the fatal room where the rest of her relatives were murdered, how she was fired at and fell to ithe ground and how when she endeavoured to regain her fect she twas hit with the butts of rifles and Ataud bdbant?) 16 One, mame, fort 20 bayonete thrust through her foot, enter which was pinned. to the ground dey ence al a7 3 from Te' would seem almost. impossible Nake van oid), nae 1 AM heads andi13 Me re wry"s thal she could have escaped, batt als alleged that when the dead were 10 Eiquia that isthe Quiet a Kfne Show Bier om ction Zeige] 2 inf2i Tool chat can] 4 Pish'on former 18 The" feminine Rot dead, ig her behind a hedge, snd of 3 down soldiers seeing that Anastasia. was carried off to be burned, one of the Hinear'oreasure tee-m'pro. fe down' wey for side ind later took her across the border aly"
Perippte a Sak 1 Too mach into Rumania and married her. 5 A"novel thing|20 Heraldic pow-|'"D" the investigation by. Sokoloff 32 Not an am. amp] 0p Which most of the acggunts of bilious—diree- {27 the massacre that have been pub-thu cry lished were based bad' been. mare stake} complete, the. possibility of such a story being true or not would not arise, but Sokoloff was not thorough as the importance of the matter justified, and his report is not precise enough to place the allegations of the claimant the title "beyond reasonable doubt one way or the other. The author suggests that this failure on the part of the investiga-for was due to some uneasiness as to his own personal safety in the locality and at the time when he vas carrying on his work. It is consequently not at this stage of a remarkable story that there is any particular cause for wonder; the incompleteness of Sokoloff's work undoubtedly gave an opportunity for a claimant to the title to establish her case, who despite earlier disbelief, was Jeonverted on meeting her somewhat later than the others, discounts the effect of his writing, Grandduke Cyril's hostility to Anastasia is alleged to be because of fear that Ihe would be supplanted in the loyalty of the emigres, particularly when" 2 Russian' monarchist organisation was reported to be considering proclaiming her as the Empress of all the Russias, an honour which Anastasia declined. Grand Duchesses Xenia and Olga, according to general opinion, were after the money supposedly in England, and Mr. Botkin suggests th Olga's original identification was actuated by a belief that the state fof the young claimant's health rendered it unlikely that she would. live Jong, and that when it oppe: fed she was actually improving health the affection of Aunt Olga underwent a sudden change.
Enough his been written above to indicate the story that Mr. Botkin has to tell. It would be more con-Vincing if his own bias were not 0 blatantly set forth on practically every page he has devoted to. the tease. Bad faith is either alleged or imputed against everyone who docs not as enthusiastically support. the laiment as he would have. But on his own showing Anastasia had a singular "faculty for making. enemies. "Like the Jate Empress," the author writes, "she suspected everybody of some' malicious intention, and suffered, alternatively, from attacks of unco seems to have quarrelled with everyone, even the loyal Mfr. Botkin who fell' ill from nervous exhaus-her service.
Mr, Botkin does not make out his ease "for the claimant. He undoubtedly believes in her himself but his' manner of writing, Als inability to discuss the fact he seeks to set up as dispassionately as the Dest interests of the woman he is seeking to assist would seem to require, detract from the value of the work and leave the reader with the impression that there ma something in what he contends but that it is impossible to be certain how far his statements of evidence have been coloured by" his very
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.