e banished to Siberia upon
absurd charges or mere caprice. The emperor issued manifestoes of a
whimsical character, one of which was directed against round hats, and
another against shoe strings. The glaring colors now used upon
bridges, distance posts, watch boxes, and other imperial property,
were of his selection, and so numerous were his eccentricities that he
was declared of unsound mind. In March, 1801, he was smothered in his
palace, which he had just completed. It is said that within an hour
after the fact of his death was known round hats appeared on the
street in great numbers.

Alexander I. endeavored to repair some of the evils of his father's
reign. He recalled many exiles from Siberia, suppressed the secret
inquisition, and restored many rights of which the people had been
deprived. His greatest abilities were displayed during the wars with
France. After the general peace he devoted himself to inspecting and
developing the resources of the country, and was the first, and thus
far the only, emperor of Russia to cross the Ural Mountains and visit
the mines of that region. His death occurred during a tour through the
southern provinces of the empire. Some of his reforms were based upon
the principles of other European governments, which he endeavored to
study. On his return from England he told his council that the best
thing he saw there was the opposition in Parliament. He thought it a
part of the government machinery, and regretted it could not be
introduced in Russia.

Constantine, the eldest brother of Alexander I., had relinquished his
right to the crown, thus breaking the regular succession. From the
time of Paul a revolutionary party had existed, and once at least it
plotted the assassination of Alexander. There was an interregnum of
three weeks between the death of Alexander and the assumption of power
by his second brother, Nicholas. The change of succession strengthened
the revolutionists, and they employed the interregnum to organize a
conspiracy for seizing the government.

The conspiracy was wide spread, and included many of the ablest men of
the day. The army was seriously implicated. The revolutionists desired
a constitutional government, and their rallying cry of "CONSTITUTIA!"
was explained to the soldiers as the name of Constantine's wife. The
real design of the movement was not confided to the rank and file, who
supposed they were fighting for Constantine and the regular succession
of