her
seance on the previous night--was now holding.

It appeared that a dinner had a week before been arranged by Prince
Galitzine, to which the Grand Dukes Nicholas Nicholaievitch, Constantin
Constantinovitch, and Michael Alexandrovitch, together with Generals
Arapoff, Daniloff, Brusiloff, and Rennenkampf, had been invited. At first
it was proposed to cancel the engagement owing to the critical position
of affairs, but on the suggestion of the Grand Duke Nicholas it was not
abandoned, for, as he pointed out, it would bring together the loyal
leaders of the army on the eve of great events, and that, after dinner,
views might be exchanged in confidence for the national benefit.

Now earlier that same day Rasputin had given me a note to deliver to the
Grand Duke Michael, whom I had failed to find, but was told that he was
to dine at Prince Galitzine's. So about half-past six o'clock I took it
to the prince's house, when, to my surprise, as I passed into the great
hall I saw the same fair-haired young man to whom I had delivered that
envelope in secret an hour before. He was one of the prince's servants,
but he had not seen me!

A sudden suspicion seized me. I asked to see the prince, and when shown
up to his room I delivered the note for the Grand Duke.

Then, having seen that the door was closed, I asked permission to say
something in strictest confidence, and told him of the mysterious
envelope I had delivered to his servant.

He heard me through, gave me his hand in promise that he would not
betray my confidence, thanked me, and dismissed me.

Next day the prince called me to him in secret, and told me that in the
possession of the young man was found a lady's silver powder-puff box
filled with what looked and smelt like toilet-powder. This, on being
examined, was discovered to be a most subtle and dangerous poison--one
evidently prepared by that diabolical poisoner, Badmayev.

The young man had been forced by his master to swallow some, and had died
in great agony. Thus it was proved that Rasputin and the camarilla had,
on the very night of the outbreak of war, plotted to sweep off at one
blow our most famous Russian generals, and leave our country practically
without any military leaders of experience and at the mercy of the Huns!

The vile plot would no doubt have succeeded, and the deaths put down to
ptomaine poisoning, as so many have been, had I not so fortunately
recognised the young valet as he crossed t