The Washington herald., 1906-10-09
CHAPTER I-CONTINUED.

fastened to his breast. WhereupOn was
traced a strange device, wrought with
diamonds Of great size and bTilliancy
Prince, peer, or peasant" he said, with
grave solemnity, his manner Of malice en-
tirely gone, what matters it2 I am he
10 whom all true Masons owe. allegiance
And yet your question is not fmDertfnent
and deserves a different answer Be sat
isfed to know that social rank I have
none. I am Of royal birth, but have no
right to name my parents; therefore, am
] a veritable nobody, a mountebank. II
you will. but a mountebank who holds
the reins of mighty power, not the less
puissant because its methods are conceal
ed. For sixteen years I have concen-
trated and devoted all my energies Of
brain and body and the resources of a
large fortune to the accomplishment OF
an object, a mission which I have per-
suaded myself TO believe is incontestably
virtuous and just. To that end I have
used all my talents, sacrificed my desires.
pleasures, and ambitions. and forced my
self to become an idea rather than a
person, purpose rather than a human
being. Throughout those years / have
lived an anChOrite. without once tasting
the kiss Of woman or permitting a drop
Of wine to cross my lips-always working
working, working, often despairing, but
never reltnquishing my task. Ny labors
have not gone entirely unrewarded, my
cause has produced many prOselytes. It
has been sdnCtiled and COnseCrated by
the greatest priest on earth. Emperors
have become my heIpmates in its service,
kings my. servants, princes and peers my
ardent followers. The obscurity of my
origin was at first a deadly bar to prog
resS. but that obstacle was conquered the
instant that became a Mason: and now
IN spite Of it, no poteutate on earth denies
me rigkt Of place. At last I see the end
in view. The knowledge which for six
teen long years have sought so patiently
has at last been partially revealed TO me.
and 1 am now within measurable distance
of accomplishing the mission which be-
lieve that the Most High God has con
hded into my hands"
He paused and raised his right hand
TeveTently upward. while his three guests
stared at him spellbound
After a moment he resumed: You
wonder, gentlemen. what the nature Of
that mission is, still more perhaps why I
have called you here. Listen then, and
learn. When still a young man. a hot
blood like yourselves. while travelling in
Russia I fell madly in love with an evil
woman, the beautiful but infamous Sophie
Peroffskaja- For her sake I became a
nihilist, and the friend Of bloody scoun-
drels such as RusSakOf. JelabOff Kibai-
chick. and a score OF others. These men
laid SpeCiOus arguments before me They
told me blOOd-cUrdling tales of the hor-
rors Of Russian serfdom, the cruelty Of
the mobiles, their selhshness and vicious
ness, their WantOn disregard Of human
misery and suffering. Unhappily they
proved their stories true. Having entered
haT-
l remained among them a nihilist from
sympathy. and. a young. impassioned
man, for a term I thought their objects
noble, their ineffable methods more than
justified. You have all heard Of the as
sassinatiOn of Gar Alexander II Well
! stood beside RussakOff when RussakoR
threw the bomb BAH calm yourselves.
gentlemen; 7 had no hand in the massa-
ere, and was as ignorant Of those fends'
dreadful purpose as yourselves. But that
fact did not save me. served six months
In the mines OF Siberia. and was only
released after the exercise OF powerful
Intervention. But It was a changed man
who received his passport and was de-
ported from the realms Of the Gar Dur
ing my Imprisonment I had learned many
things before unknown 10 me and had
much opportunity for serious reflection.
/ recognized then how senseless and un-
reasonable was the assassination Of Alex
andeT, the one Gar who had truly loved
his people, who had freed the serfs of
his own viii, and who had done more
than all his imperial progenitors com
bined to establish personal liberty in Rus
sia. With deep and constant cOnsidera-
tion came further enlightenment and
began TO see now cTiminaIly near-sighted
were men who sought TO punish individ-
uals for the sins Of centuries, and who
blindly hoped 10 destroy an institution so
hydra-headed as monarchy by the muir
der Of a king. or a score Of kings. It
then occurred 10 me that the leaders Of
nihilism must be men Of incredible igno-
rance 10 persist in such designs. Memory
forbade. however. the entertaining long
Of such a proposition. I had read PAM
phiets, the handiwOrk Of the mysterious
leaders Of the society, whose speciOUs
and brilliant contents could only have
emanated from powerful and enlightened
minds. ITresistibly, therefore. was the
conviction forced upon me that the So
ciety Of which I had been a member was
controlled by men whom either madness.
revenge. or personal ambition excited 10
the planning and preparation Of such
mOnstrous crimes. and who for their own
wicked ends played upon the ignorance
and noble but misdirected enthusiasm Of
their following. This terrible conviction
grew stronger through the weary, shaving
days, but I was tortured with the vanity
OF knowledge come too late. Having lost
hope Of ever walking the earth free
man again. I dared to make one night
a solemn pact with God. Kneeling on
the stone floor Of my cell, vowed to the
Most High that If He saw fit u accom-
plish my 'Felease, I would devote my life.
my fortune. my very soul, to abolish
nihilism and Gisband by any means and
at any cost or hazard that small but dan
gerous cOterie Of men whose objects are.
avOwedly, ideally grand. but whose meth
DDS are so accursedly inhuman. Gentle
men, God heard, and took me at my
word. His answer was swift and sure.
After / had sworn my vow 7 fell into a
deep, dreamless sleep; / was awakened at
dawn by q SO,G!cr who struck off my
Cha cgf ss-C Informed me that I was free
CfercOme, I fell upon my knees and
gratefully renewed my covenant, but the
soldier thought I returned thanks for my
good fortune. and. an unbeliever. he kick /
ed me brutally upon the side. AT another
time I should have strangled him. for I
was strong and quick-tempered in those
days, but ] felt that had become Gods /
servant. and, rising, humbly followed the
ruffian without attempting to revenge his |
coward act. Since that day, my life has
all been nodded on that plan"
In the pause that followed, silence |
reigned supreme; the faces Of all had
grown profoundly grave, passionately at
tentive
Mr.. Perigord gazed musingly at his
guests and presently continued; MY
work was Of necessity infinitely tedious.
From nay snort acquaintance with nihil-
Ism, / Knew something OF its laws and
secrets, but nothing Of the organization !
Of its chiefs. With gold I purchased
IL