o his normal condition.

What if the Empress had known that the "miracles" in which she so
fervently believed were merely performed by the administration of certain
antidotes to the poison already given!

While at the palace on that occasion I witnessed some strange doings at a
spiritualistic seance to which Bossant, the notorious French medium, had
been commanded. The Emperor, Empress and their intimates were present,
including Rasputin and myself, and when the circle was formed and the
seance in full swing the Tsar consulted the spirit of his dead father as
to how he should act in the conduct of the war against Germany.

The reply, of course, arranged by the Empress and her friends, was
something as follows:

"Thou hast done well, my son, and thou art worthy the throne of
the Romanoffs. Continue to defend our beloved land. Trust in the
counsels of those about thee, of thy wife, of thy Ministers,
especially Stuermer, Protopopoff and Soukhomlinoff, as well as the
advice which the holy Father is ever giving thee. All have been
sent to thee as good and faithful guides. My blessing is upon
thee, O my son!"

Such was the "message" so cleverly given to the credulous monarch by the
traitors and intriguers about him. And alas! he believed truly and
absolutely, ignorant of the fact that some thousands of roubles had gone
into the medium's pocket as price of his connivance.

On returning to Petrograd late on Thursday night I found among the monk's
correspondence a letter from Madame Svetchine, a long, regretful letter,
in which she expressed the greatest sorrow for the words she had uttered
at the assembly of the sister-disciples, and begged to be forgiven.
Further, she announced her intention of calling upon the Father "upon a
serious and urgent matter."

I told him this, whereat he growled:

"Ah! the woman is coming to her senses. Yes. If she comes I will see her.
She is pretty, Feodor--pretty--yes, very pretty."

I drew a long breath. The unfortunate woman knew, no doubt, the serious
charge against her husband, but never dreamed that Rasputin was the cause
of that false accusation.

Just before I ascended to my room to retire--the hour being about one
o'clock in the morning--the telephone bell rang, and I answered it.

One of the officials at the War Office was, I found, at the other end.

"His Excellency the Minister has an urgent message to transmit to the
Father," said the v