The Portland daily press., 1898-04-21
PORTLAND DAILY PRESS THURSDAY MORNING, 1885,

cabinet noir" Is term we'll understoou
in diplomacy, but unfamiliar perhaps 70
the general public. Official documents
OF no great Importance are often sent py
post, and in most European countries
this has led to the establishment Oh a
cabinet noir" in which the envelope is
opened and it's contents examined. Inc
mode of procedure is interesting. me
letter to be opened is first shaken well IN
such way that the enclosure falls TO
one side of the envelope. leaving space
OF about quarter of an inch between IL
and the outer edge. This edge is theh
placed under an extremely sharp KNIFE
worked like guillotine, care being taken
to put 1t carefully at right angles to the
knife, which is then brought down and
outs off a slip about one-hundredth part
of an inch wide. The envelope is now
open, and the enclosure is extracted by a
pair of pinoers made for the purpose
After examination it is replaced, and the
t1ckf1sh job of removing all trace OF the
opening has to be done. This is very in
genious. There are different pots of pa
per pulp mixed with a little gum, and
each tinted a different color to suit the
various shades of paper that are operated
upon. A very fine camel-hair brush is
dipped into the pot containing the proper
tint, and Is then run carefully along the
edges which have been cut open. They
are then closed and left under q press for
an hour or so, and after being smoothed
with a fiat steel instrument, it would
take very clever expert to notice that
the envelope has passed through the "cah-
met noir. ~
I saw, however, in this worn envelope
the two edges were coming apart, and at
once admitted the truth OF the Earps as
sertions. He was intensely shrewd !;
scarcely any minute detail escaped him.
"Well," he said refectively, at last.
There is but one person from whom we
may ascertain the truth. :"
"Who?'
"Your wife,
''We must trace her. She must not es-
cape u.s. he cried fiercely, with set teeth.
"She has wronged you and acted in COL
fusion with a man who has betrayed his
country and met with tragic end, even
if she herself did not actually sell the
copy of the secret convention to our ene-
mies-which appears to me more than
likely"
"What causes you to believe thls?" I
inquired, surprised at his sudden asser-
ton.
'I have reason" he answered quick
ly, with an air of mystery. The cold
manner of the expert diplomatist had
again settled upon him. "If it is as 1 ex-
pect, I will show her no mercy, for it is
upon me, as Foreign Minister OF her Maj
esty, that opprobrium has fallen
''But she is still my wife, I observed,
for even at that moment, when l had dis.
covered her false and base, | had not
ceased to regard her with passionate
affection.
tWifei' he snarled angri'y. "You
would have been thousand times better
dead than married to such as she. - Then
no added: "Remain here. am going to
the telephone to apprise Scotland Yard of
hsr flight She only left tonight after the
mails were gone, therefore it we have the
ports watched we may yet find her. %
And he left me, his quick footsteps
echoing down the long corridor.
The moment he had gore | went to his
table. Some sudden curiosity prompted
me to endeavor to ascertain what he had
been gazing upon SO intently while my
back had been turned on penning the in
structions to Sir Philip E1nden.
Quickly took his keys and unlocking
the tiny drawer, opened it.
Inside there reposed highly finished
cabinet portrait of my wife,
Amazed to find this picture in the pos.
session of my chief took 1t in my hands
and stood agaps Its pose was unfamil-
lar, but the reason had never before seen
copy OF it was Instantly made plain. 1t
bore the name of a well-known ST. Pc
tersburg photographer.
Ella had lied to me when she had de-
MED ever having been in Russia.
(To be Continued.