The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-03
DETECTIVES WORK
 FOR THE CAR How He Once Saved the Czar's
 Life
STORY OF M. PERSlTZ
Thrilling Adventures of Man Who Has Waged War On Revolutions In Russia-Entered Service
 By Accident.

recognized in the big. heavy-featured rian some one whom I had known n Russia as one of the heads of the in ternational department of the dreaded secret service police of Russia, says writer in the Manchester Chronicle.
 It is not always diplomatic to recog nize secret service official in public unless he makes the first overtures. but .n few minutes he saw me and sent a waiter to ask me to come cross 10 his table. And then I learned that M. Persitz, for that is his name, had re- gently resigned his official post, ard had taken up his quarters in London, which he obligingly acknowledges as 'the center for all the criminals of the world" as a secret inquiry agent Q deal with that worst type of all crimi nals the "kid-glove criminals the one Aho possessing certain unfortunate in- formation, makes the lives of sundry high folk in society a burden to them by blackmail.
 That night I went home with M. Per- sitz to his beautiful West End fiat-no one understands real luxury as a Rus sian does-and there we sat talking of the old and troublous times, and of the extraordinary adventures through which he had passed-adventures that belong without doubt to the pages of fiction, and which are so incredible to us living in England.
 M. Perstz had just received two pres ents, of which he was very proud. One was the very latest photograph of our King, the other was a handsome pair of gold sleeve links with the Russian imperial arms embossed upon them, which was a gift from tng Tsarina.
 Some day M. Persltz, when he has ar- ranged and ordered his "reminiscences and facts, will dictate a life story so full of romance and adventure that only the imagination of a DeFoe could compare with it. In the meantime 1 am able to tell one or two stories about him that will show how wonderful that book will be if it ever docs appear.
 M. Persiiz cGnie to enter the famous secret servicc in quite an accidental way. And it was an adventure in itself. He is the 35n of bug and wealthy Moscow manufacturer, and there was never any need for him to worry about making a living. But when he was l9, something happened that altered his whole life A wealthy old lady took strong fancy to him, and wanted to adopt him. She was well known in social cir cles, and had a magnificent house, and M. Persitz often used to visit her there.
 About that time there was a big bank robbery in Moscow, and some clever thieves got away with big plunder. For a time Moscow was very full of this bank robbery, and it was not perhaps unnatural that one day when the old lady was showing M. Persitz somewhat ex- traordinary heterogeneous collection of jewels and valuables in a room that she called her treasure chamber" he should connect the collection with robberies.
 M Persitz was introduced by the old lady to several men anu women at famous restaurant outside Moscow, where they used to meet together Grad ually he heard and learned things which did not leave him any douot that they were a band of criminals. To make more certain, he actually allowed himself to be made member of the band and as he was in a position to do many little useful things for them there was hardly a loophole for their escape when the day came that the police took action and surprised the band No fewer than 42 were captured, and they were all sen tenced.
 I remember asking M Persitz if he
 
 in.s him as having betrayed them, would make things more than a little unpleas- ar. for him when they came out They were life sentences" replied M. Persitz 1aconically. And I need hardly point out that in Russia life sentence is a life sentence and not the 20 years English equivalent for it.
 It was exactly four years later that M. Persitz received his first call to look after the Czar personally.
 When M. Persitz arrived in St. Peters burg the only plotter who -as suspected was a nurse in big hospital there. It was known that she was in some way mixed up in 1t, but nothing could be brought home to her, nor did she in any way incriminate anyone else. "She was very clever" said MT. Persitz to me. After leaving the hospital she would jump into cab, drive little way, jump out get into another, change again, and so on, so that the spies could never find out where she went to-
 Seeing the sort of person he had to deal with, M. Persitz made his plans very carefully and deliberately He first of all made the acquaintance of doctor there, man who could be trusted, and got admitted as patient; and it was further arranged that the particular nurse should attend to him. While lying there, M. Perstz pretended to fall very violently in love with her
 Gradually the nurse when he was "convalescent' and had left the hos ptal, got him to carry certain parcels for her to various addresses. This M Persitz faithfully did and well for him it was that he did, too for he came to know afterward that each parcel was a dummy and that he was being timed from the time he left the nurse to the time he arrived at the address on the parcel, in order to see if he had had time to take it to the police officials on the way.
 The day of reckoning was soon at hand and seven of the ringleaders were ar rested. There were eight really ar rested, for MT. Persitz, to avoid suspicion and the vengeance of the others, was among them. He was treated as a pris- oner through the whole proceedings, was tried with them, and actually sentenced to death with them, and was only re- leased on the day the seven were hanged in the courtyard of the SS. Peter and Paul fortress.
 It was when engaged in another. plot against the Cars life that he had one of the most singular adventures of his career. It was at the time the Czar paid a visit to Warsaw, and he was staying in the Hunting palace there that had be- longed to the Polish kings. M. Persitz got wind of a determined attack that was to be made on the Czar's life there, and, disguised as student, proceeded to hang about the likely haunts of an- archists.
 There was one place in particular that