"Yes, gentlemen," he went on, striking the bundle of papers which lay upon the desk before him, "I have here doc.u.mentary evidence of the traitorous actions of this camarilla, who are attempting to lead Russia to her doom--papers which shall be revealed to you all in due course. It is said that the Prime Minister has already left the Chamber to make a personal report to His Majesty of the President"s speech. All I trust is that the words I have just uttered will also reach the Emperor"s ears, and that he will trouble himself to examine the irrefutable evidence of Rasputin"s diabolical work at the Palace and in the Ministries, and the crafty machinations of the "black forces" in our midst."
The Manuiloff disclosures were sufficiently dramatic, but this outspoken exposure of Rasputin, the more bitter, perhaps, because of my warnings of the two attempts to a.s.sa.s.sinate him, caused the House to gasp.
The very name of Rasputin had only been breathed in whispers, and his cult was referred to vaguely as something mysterious connected with the occult. But in that speech, to which I sat and listened, Miliukoff hit straight from the shoulder, and called a spade a spade. One of his phrases was, "Russia can never win so long as this convicted criminal and seducer of women is allowed to work his amazing power upon the rulers of the Empire. Remove him!" he went on. "Let him be placed safely within the walls of Peter and Paul, together with his "sisters," and with all his brother-traitors, and then there will be no more suggestion of a separate peace. Remove his evil influence!" shouted the fine orator, his voice ringing through the Chamber. "I say, remove him from the Imperial circle, or Russia is doomed!"
I left the Duma by that long stone staircase with a feeling that at last the power behind the Throne, nay, the very Throne itself, was broken.
I sped to Rasputin"s house, and with pretended regret related all that had occurred.
Hearing it, he sprang to the telephone, declaring in a hoa.r.s.e voice: "The Censor must prohibit every word of it from publication. I will demand this of Nicholas!"
And a few moments later he was speaking with the Emperor, urging that an order to the Censor be immediately issued--a suggestion that was at once carried out.
Meanwhile a dramatic scene was being enacted in the Empress"s boudoir, for that day proved the beginning of the end of the holy Father"s career, as well as that of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia.
CHAPTER XV
THE TRAITOR DENOUNCED
THE Empress, on hearing what had happened in the Duma, had a fit of hysterics. Nicholas was present while the Court physician administered restoratives. Then, without a word, he turned, and, leaving his wife in the care of the traitress Anna Vyrubova, he left for General Headquarters.
When Rasputin was informed by telephone of the Emperor"s departure he became furious.
"He fears to meet Sturmer!" he cried to me. "He is leaving him in the lurch."
And this he did, for the next day the fate of Russia trembled in the balance, while the Black Monk went about to the Ministers in frantic haste, hoping and plotting to turn public opinion again in his favour.
The charlatan, who could work miracles, and was the Heaven-sent saviour of Russia, had been exposed as a mere impostor. Sturmer"s position had also become desperate under the concerted attacks of the Duma. A meeting of the Cabinet was held, at which the monk was present. Sturmer, with Protopopoff"s support, proposed to dissolve the Duma. Some members opposed the suggestion, whereupon Sturmer resolved to execute it upon his own initiative.
In Rasputin"s room, and in my presence, he drew up a doc.u.ment to that effect, but to make it law it required the Tsar"s consent, and Nicholas was far away. It was Sturmer or the Duma.
Alexandra Feodorovna and Rasputin were both working with Sturmer to dissolve the people"s representatives, and again prevent them from rea.s.sembling.
As Rasputin put it to me clearly that night:
"Feodor, this is a great crisis. The Duma and Sturmer are incompatible.
The victory of the latter will mean revolution. The triumph of the Duma will indicate the winning of the battle by the democracy. To achieve his purpose, Sturmer needs an audience with the Tsar, and he must have it.
Alexandra Feodorovna seems to be failing us, for Nicholas has hidden himself, hoping that the storm will blow over."
Sturmer strained every effort to obtain audience with the Emperor, but he was elusive, and for days no one knew where he was. An audience would mean the dissolution of the Duma, and this Nicholas feared would bring revolution.
As is well known, by a record published by an American journalist, there suddenly appeared in the Duma the Ministers of War and Marine, General Shuvaiev and Admiral Grigorovitch. They announced that they had a statement to make. The representatives of the people held their breath in suspense. The War Minister mounted the tribune, and paid a tribute to the people"s efforts in the cause of national defence, requesting the Duma"s and the country"s future co-operation in the work of equipping the army.
The Minister of Marine reiterated General Shuvaiev"s demand for co-operation between the Government and the Duma. The latter, perhaps, never witnessed such a scene as that which followed the two Ministers"
speeches. There was a great ovation, after which Miliukoff rose and said:
"The War and Marine Ministers have declared themselves on the side of the Duma and the people. We, on our part, have said that the Duma is with the army and the people."
This sealed the fate of Boris Sturmer. The people had achieved their first victory over the "dark forces," and Sturmer, driven out, came one night to us, and, pacing the room, tore his beard and cursed both the Emperor and Empress.
Then, turning upon Rasputin, he cried with a sneer:
"And you, the holy Father and our divine guide, have been powerless to save us! Where are your miraculous powers? Only in your own imagination, I am beginning to think."
These words led to a serious quarrel and bitter recriminations, for the Empress, to save herself, had dropped Sturmer, so that Protopopoff had become instantly the favourite at Court, and, indeed, dictator.
Two weeks went by, weeks of the tensest scenes in the contest between the democracy and the conspirators, of whom Rasputin and the Empress were the head. Protopopoff defied the new Premier, Alexander Trepov, a hide-bound bureaucrat, as well as the Duma, and it was then that the crisis was reached.
Each day we went regularly to Tsarskoe-Selo, and there another plot was quickly hatched. While the public were daily expecting the downfall of Protopopoff as a natural outcome of Sturmer"s denunciation and degradation, they were one day suddenly staggered by the news that the retired Premier was about to be appointed Amba.s.sador to a neutral country.
Everywhere I went I heard the most sinister dissatisfaction. The people knew what was meant, namely, that the Germanophile Sturmer was to negotiate a premature peace, and this within three weeks of his downfall!
The whole Empire was agog at the news, yet Rasputin remained calm and silent, believing that his clever plot would be successful.
Certainly it might have been had not the Duma continued its concerted attack on the "dark forces," demanding a responsible Ministry. Even half of the Extreme Right, the most rabid monarchical faction in the Duma, joined the Opposition, a fact which, when told to the Empress, sent her again into hysterics.
I remember that day well. Hardt had arrived hot-foot from Berlin, and brought the monk a dispatch which, when deciphered, read as follows:
"MEMORANDUM FROM NO. 70. A.43,286.
"November 8th, 1916.
"The att.i.tude of the Duma is creating much alarm for your personal safety. As you have failed to suppress Miliukoff, endeavour at once to remove his chief supporter Purishkevitch.
Inform A. [Anna Vyrubova] that Korniloff has revealed to P. her duplicity in the Zarudni affair, and P. has in his possession certain doc.u.ments incriminating her. These should be secured at all hazards. [G. Zarudni, active in political law cases, and who was, after the Revolution, appointed Minister of Justice in the Kerensky Cabinet.] P. intends to make use of these in the Duma.
It is suggested, therefore, that the woman X. [Xenie Kalatcheff]
be again given the perfume, with instructions from yourself. If not, employ the girl Olga Bauer. She posed as a domestic servant in the Princess Tchekmareff affair, and was successful. Why not utilise her again?
"Inform Her Majesty that Sturmer must come back to power very shortly. But this is impossible while Miliukoff and Purishkevitch have the ear of the people. Not a second should be lost in suppressing them. We have heard with satisfaction of the removal of the woman Marya Ustryaloff and the man Paul Krizhitsky. Both knew too much, and, though they served us faithfully, were not further required. [When the sphere of usefulness of German secret agents ends they generally meet with untimely deaths.]
"Also inform Her Majesty that she and her daughters should exhibit a keener interest in the wounded in order to win back public favour. You, too, should perform another miracle.
"We hear with regret that, though the allegations made by Miliukoff were suppressed by the Censor, typewritten copies of the speech are being widely distributed everywhere. If you do not act with a firm hand, this will upset all our plans. The moment is critical, and all depends upon your own drastic actions.--Greeting, "S." [Steinhauer].
That same evening the bearded blackguard communicated to the Tsaritza and the elegant _morphineuse_ Anna Vyrubova the contents of the secret dispatch.
Both Empress and lady-in-waiting, in their rich evening gowns, came to the fine apartments which were allotted to the monk in the palace, and as they were seated I read over the message.
"Yes," declared Her Majesty when I had finished; "I quite agree that the girl Olga Bauer should receive instructions. Order Protopopoff to make inquiry into the best means by which she can approach Purishkevitch. The fellow must be prevented from implicating our dear Anna in the Zarudni affair."
"Yes," said Madame Vyrubova in alarm; "it would ruin not only myself, but the Empress also."
"I will do thy bidding," Rasputin responded, standing with his hands behind his back, his great cross suspended from his neck scintillating beneath the light.
"The girl Bauer, posing as a domestic servant, managed to ingratiate herself with Prince Tchekmareff, and gave the perfume to her mistress with success," remarked Anna. "And there was not the slightest suspicion.
Xenie Kalatcheff failed, therefore I am not in favour of her being employed again."
"True, Olga is a girl of great daring, and her lover has long been in the German service," Rasputin remarked. "I will see her to-morrow." Then, turning to me, he said: "Feodor, write to her and ask her to call on me to-morrow evening at eight. Send the letter by special messenger."
This I did, and next evening the girl Bauer called. She was slim, very pretty, and dressed as she was, as a girl of the people, none would suspect her of having committed several secret murders at Rasputin"s instructions.