whole Court
followed in deep mourning.

Such a scandal roused the ire of the people to fever heat, but it freed
me of my hateful compact, and I cut myself adrift for ever from the
fascinating Madame Vyrubova and her vicious circle.

* * * * *

Perhaps, in concluding this volume of strange and amazing reminiscences,
which I have written with the sole purpose of revealing the truth to
Europe, I cannot do better than summarise the career of Rasputin as
Alexander Yablonovski, one of our ablest Russian critics, has done. He
declared that the part of the Black Monk in history was an era in itself.

Practically the entire historic role of Rasputin consisted of the fact
that he united all Russia in a general hatred for the dark, irresponsible
forces.

The Imperial Duma, the Imperial Council, the united nobility, the social
organisations, the Press--all were permeated by the same conviction,
namely, that it was high time to remove from the Russian political arena
the Government gamblers.

More than that, Rasputin became even a matter of concern to Europe. The
foreign Press printed articles about him. The foreign ambassadors cabled
long reports in code to their Governments in connection with him. But, of
course, to Europe he was more of a sad anecdote than an historical fact.
To Russia, on the other hand, he was not only a fact, he was an era.

Russia has experienced immeasurable humiliation on account of him. But
this humiliation has fused the Empire into a single body, creating
citizens out of human pulp.

Russians all their lives have fought the irresponsible bureaucracy. Her
literature, Press, science, parties, all, according to their resources,
plucked the roots of this rotten plant. But how big were the results of
their half-century of labour?

And then a Siberian mujik appeared, and against his own will he cut the
arteries of the dark force, he stamped it in the mud, spitting at the
very principle, the very idea, of autocratic bureaucracy.

Rasputin was killed for the purpose of cleansing Russia of the dark
forces. Yet, alas! his evil influence lived to bear fruit in Germany's
favour even after the Revolution and the downfall of the Romanoffs.

No more sinister or astounding figure has ever appeared in all history,
and the memory of no one is more bitterly hated in Russia than that of
Gregory the ne'er-do-well, the erotic scoundrel and assassin, who held
the fate of the Russian