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VoL 5, No 6 |
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VoL 5, No 6 |
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by Father David Belden |
" It was Nicholas' gentleness that impressed itself on everyone
who met him - particularly the depth of kindness in his eyes, which no
one ever forgot. He had a presence that was second to none, so full of
quiet, an assured self-possession and dignity. But it was never inspired
fear. I think the reason for this was his eyes, so wonderful were they.
Of the most delicate shade of blue, they looked you straight in the face
with the kindest, tenderest, the most loving expression. His eyes were
so clear that it seemed as if he opened the whole of his soul to your gaze,
a soul that was so simple and pure that it did not fear your scrutiny.....
This was his great charm, and this was politically his great weakness." Sydney Gibbes, English tutor to the Russian Royal Family quoted in TSAR: The Lost World of Nicholas and Alexandra, by Peter Kurth, Little, Brown, and Company, 1995, p.31. Sydney Gibbes, the English tutor to the Russian Royal Family became an Orthodox priest after the Revolution, and kept his memories of the imperial family on their road to "Calvary" as the "most cherished possession" of his life. |