21 JUNE 1890, Page 2

It is rumoured in Berlin and Vienna that the Russian

police recently discovered that the fortress-palace of Gatschina had been undermined by the Nihilists. That does not sound true, as undermining requires time, opportunity, and con- siderable force ; but it is true that the Imperial. family quitted Gatschina for Peterhof suddenly and unexpectedly. All the symptoms, in truth, point to a Niltilist attempt of . . some kind, but that does not prove that the Czar Is serious

danger. His enemies are still a minute fraction of his people, and their organisation is weakened by their readiness to commit suicide. That diminishes the hold of their chiefs, as a man can always commit suicide before committing murder more easily than after it.