Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-09-16

the attention Of the Grand Duke Nladi-
mir, uncle OF the czar. and of his WlO,
the Grand Duchess Marie Pavona,
They introduced him to the car after
witnessing his powers.
PLOT BEHIND IT.
According to the story which finds
credence in the highest circles In Rus
STA there WAS plot behind this of
which several great noblemen in Rus,
sia were coEnizant The car belng Of
q weak and emotional nature with
strong leanlngs towards mysticism 1t
was calculated that a man Of Philippe's
audacity cunning and strong person
atty. aided by his medumistlc pre-
tentions, would soon obtain an ascend
ancy over the eliminate ruler Of Russia.
Then when this result had been
achieved il was proposed TO spread
broadcast stories Of how Nicolas II
was dominated thereby rendering INN
ridiculous In the eyes Of the power
tll bureaucracy and weaken his intlu-
ence with the nation generally which
would rebound to the advantage OF the
rcactionary clique
Philippe was well fitted for the role
I'm this gnoble intrigue, for which-un-
Known to himself many assert though
1.-THE had been selected A big brown
bearded man, with piercing black eyes
handsome If somewhat sensuous feo-
lures, and impressive manners he Well
filled the popular conception Of the
magician who can summon spirits from
the vastly deep and bend the powers OF
darkness TO his will The unstable and
tlm0rOus car took to this strong, burly
man who claimed such Wondrous pow
ers, Just as the weak little boy at school
attaches himself TO some big boy who
can protect him. PerpleXed by many
Counselors and Incapable of relying on
his own judgment, he Jumped at the
chance Of obtaining guidance from his
predecessors and others Of the mighty
dead, which Philippe offered him 1t
Is said that after witnessing various
displays Of Philippes undoubted hyp-
motto powers, the C2ar consented 20 let
Philippe hypnotic him several times on
the pre,ense that IL would place the
czar Zen rapport" with the spirits who
wished to communicate with him. Thus
he established a complete ascendency
over the weaker will Of the ruler OF all
the Russians,
WALLOWED IN LUXURY,
1t was not long before the unscrupu-
lous adyenturer who had often been
hard put to Il to obtain a square meal,
found himself fairly WalloWing IN lux
ures, with a suite OF rooms reserved
for him In each of the ears palaces,
ana staff Of royal domestlos to wait
upon him, He had his own carriages
ana horses and was frequently driven
about In state under the protection OF
the imperial bodyguard At the winter
palace In St. Petersburg several sump-
tuous apartments We're reserved for
his private use. Here the car frequent
~ visited him and consulted him on
family and state affairs, On these oc-
casions the eN-tai bird often went into
frances and gave utterance to messages
which purported TO emanate from the
spirits of former c2ars and defunct
Russian statesmen To such counsel
Nicholas II attached far greater weight
than he aid 10 the advice Of his alert
ministers Their influence over him
was small compared with that exercis-
ed by the Charlatan. The climax Of his
power was reached when he convinced
the czar that he had caused the ghost
of Alexander ii to appear at one Of
their seances.
EYE on MAIN CHANCE.
Philippe was not the man to neglect
such magnificent opportunities TO feath-
er his own nest. The car loaded him
down with costly presents. Meanwhile
those who were IN the plo, busted
themselves circulating reports of how
the car was being duped and his
mighty authority degraded, To discred-
It him among the Ignorant peasantry
It was stated that he had been be-
wtched by a sorcerer, who was In
league with the devil, Friends Of the
czar, on the other hand, exerted them
selves to break the spell under which
he had fallen, and emancipate him from
the control Of the hypnotls, Through
the secret police OF France they OBJ
tained Phllippe's record in that country
and by enquiries similarly conducted
learned of the various methods by
which he had earned livelihood In
Russia. The report was laid before the
czar. Soon afterwards Philippe return
ed TO France, II was hoped that his
sinister influence over the C2ar had
been dlspelled, But after q few months
he reappeared at the Russian court,
and was received with every mark Of
former favor How complete was his
asCcndency was shown by the fact that
q Russian police official who had been
instrumental IN hunting up his Rus
sian record was Summarily dismissed
Just what caused Philippe to again
return TO France, after he had received
conclusive proof that the cars faith
In him was still unshNken Is not known.
But Il is shrew1ly surmised that n was
due TO threats that II he remained ne
would not long survive Ia enjoy his
ill-gotten gains He had accumulated
moiey enough from his royal dupe to
Keep him IN comfort for the rest OF
his days ana settled down near Lyons
where he purchased a country mansion
and lived IN fine style The full story
o. the extent 90 which he helped to
make Russian history VIII never be
known,