28 FEBRUARY 1880, Page 1

The reports from St. Petersburg are of the strangest and

most incredible character, but they all point to two facts. The citizens of the capital believe that some tremendous outrage— perhaps the firing of the city—will be attempted on March 2nd, the twenty-sixth anniversary of the Czar's accession, and the Secret Society is diligently spreading this belief. It is impossible to be certain, in the face of such exaggerations, but the evid- ence that a "day of flame "—long predicted in Russia—has been threatened for the 3rd is very strong indeed. The presumption, therefore, is that some great effort is intended for a day or two after, the calculation being that if the fixed day passes peacefully everybody will be off their guard. It is, how- ever, very difficult to see what the Nihilists can do that they have not done, more especially as the multitude are believed to be fairly roused, and to threaten, if any catastrophe occurs, a massacre of the educated. We must note, for the sake of full- ness, but we do not believe, the persistent rumours on the Continent that a domestic plot is mixed up with the Revolu- tionary conspiracy, and that the Nihilists are protected by very high personages indeed. These stories point at the Emperor's brother, the Grand Duke Constantine, formerly Governor- General in Poland—indeed, he is named in some telegrams— and have no other foundation than his reputation for Liberalism. A man does not wait twenty-six years to seek his brother's throne.