The Portland daily press., 1898-05-07

DUDLEY Ogle!" echoed in blank
Arrangements. "Are you certain that the
servants suspicious were devoid of
foundation?"
breathlessness. 'In those days I was
supercilious and disdainful, being taught
to regard my dignity as Grand Duchess
was too great concsit to make a mesal-
lance. My mother used constantly to
urge that in the marriage contracted by
members of our family love was not abso-
lutely necessary position was everything.
Well, the months went by. We left
Algiers. returned to Petersburg, and soon
afterwards my mother died leaving me
alone. l found myself possessed of great
wealth, and when, after a period OF
mourning, reappeared in society / was
oourted and fattered by all sorts and
conditions of men. In year l grew
tired of it all and lopged to return to
England, the land wherein I had spent
many years of my youth; therefore / en-
gagged woman to pose as 'ny mother,
and dropping my title went to London
and lived there as Ella Laing. Then-then
I met you,' and she paused, looking
earnestly into my face with her deep blue
eyes. 10 me she had embodied every thing
that was fair. honorable, and pure. yet
l had dreaded some sinister peril from an
unknown source
"And we loved each other,"I said
simply.
eyes" she went on, fervently. but
from the first was fettered, being unable
to act as my heart prompted. T loved
you fondly, and knew you wished to
make me your wife, yes l dared not to
risk such a step without the permission
of our House. went to Petersburg ex-
planned who and what you were, and
craved leave to marry you. A family
council was held but the suggestion was
unanimously denounced as piece of SEN
timental folly. All, shall ever forget
that night? I pleaded to them on my knees
to let me obtain happiness in your love.
but they were inexorable and refused, At
length, when in a moment of despair I
threatened that if shut out Of my love by
the barrier of birth I would end my life,
suggestion was made--a horrible, in.
famous one, prompted by Makaroff, Min.
lister of the Household. Yet was ready
TO commit any act. to do anything to Sc
cure happiness with you. Permission was
given me to marry you on condition that
entered the secret service as p spy. I
appealed personally to the Gear, but in
vain. You were in the Earl of Warnham' q
confidence. and it was seem that from
you I could obtain information which
would be of greatest utility to our For
eign Department.
$50 you accepted" I said, sternly.
"Yes. ! accepted their abominable con.
ditions because I loved you SO we'll,
Godfrey" she said, gloomily, her tremb-,
ling hand upon my shoulder. SIT wasJnot
my fault, indeed 1t wasn't. If [ had
known what was to follow I would have
killed myself rather than bring about all
the trouble and disaster for which I be-
came responsible"
INC" said. "Don't speak like that. -
II would" she declared, despairingly.
"What followed was dark, mysterious
tragedy, while all the time I knew that
you must suspeot-that, after all, you
might forsalze me. Within week after
binding myself irrevocably to the Gar 8
army OF spies made discovery that
held me appalled,. / found that my nas-
ter, the man to whose will I was to
submit was none other than our dis.
charged valet de chambre-the man who
two years before had declared his love.
At the time my mother had engaged him
he was already in the secret service, and
had no doubt kept watch upon us. He
came to me at the Nook, and, exulting In
the fact that had become his puppet
renewed his protcstations Of affection.
When, frankly, told him that hated
him and loved only you, he at once in.
formed me, with a grin of satisfaction
that the department in Petersburg found
it compulsory to obtain possession of q
copy of a secret convention at the moment
being concluded between your country
and Germany, and that I must get pos.
session of it at any cost, through you. II
was in order that I might betray you
that the Imperial permission had been
given to our marriage. In indignation
[ refused, whereupon he threatened to ex.
pose mesto you as Russian spy, and
saw only too clearly that any such revela.
ton must end forever our acquaintance.
He cajoled, urged, threatened, and eX-
planned all the elaborate precautions that
had been taken by two clerks IN Russia S
pay at your Foreign Office in order that
on a certain day you should carry the
precious document in your pocket, and
sealed with your Minis ter's seal. AT last
AT last, after striving long and vainly
against the performance of this ignomi-
nous action that knew must reflect on
your honesty, was compelled to submit.
All you can never know what agony ]
suffered. verify believe that in those
days the terrible vengeance Of that scoun-
drel drove me insane. The hideous ghost
of the past causes me to shudder when
aver think of it,
I echoed her sigh, but no word escaped
me. Her revelation was astounding.
had never suspected her of being actually
a spy, although the discovery OF the stolen
Convention in her escritoire had lent
colour to that view.
II deceived you, she went on in a hard
lnonotonou5 voice. "But only because
loved you SO fondly, and dreaded that
this man who had long ago vowed to
wreck my life, would expose, and thus
part us. Yet could not bring myself to
commit the theft. How could 1 place
upon Iou-the man who was all in all to
me-the stigma of having traitorously
sold your oountry's seoretsa The man
who held me enslaved. and whose atten-
lions I had spurned, exulted in his male
violent revenge. Once it was thought that
the Secret Convention would be sent tc
Warnham Hall, aud I was compelled to
go down there to devise some means of
obtaining it. 1 found Dudley staying in
the village, and we returned to London
together. The end must soon come,
knew. Therefore I lived on in daily terror
of what must follow At last the day