The searchlight., 1910-04-08

ton OF the mystery and sent Count
| furyi Leven to Siberia; for he was
Boris Leven's twin brother.
The truth turned out to be that there
mad been three brothers. the youngest
being Ivan. and they had al entered
the same Cossack regiment, and had
served In the Caucasus. where most
omcers learn the Tartar language,
which is spoken by all the different
tribes. 1t will be simpler to designate
them by the English equivalents for
their names.
Boris behaved himself tolerably
well In the army. but both his broth
ers, John and George. who was his
twin, were broken for cheating at
cards. and emigrated to America. So
long as they all wore their boards as
ofhcers of Cossack regiments usual
~ do, they were very much alike.
Ihey were all educated men OF refined
tastes. and particularly fond OF music.
When his two brothers were CASH
Tered, Boris resigned. entered the dip
lomatic service. married Lady Maud
Foxwell, and was killed by q bomb
IN 81. petersburg.
John and George separated. in
America when they were tired OF
punching cattle.
John was something OF a naturalist
and was by far the most gifted OF the
three as well as the most daring, He
gravitated to China and at last to
Mongolia. wandering alone In search
OF plants and minerals, and It was to
MIN that Baraka showed the ruby
mine. He got back to civilization
with his treasure and took It to
petersburg unmolested.
There he found George earning a
poor living In an obscure position in
the public service. his conduct IN the
army having been condoned or over.
looked. John, who was the incarna.
ton OF selfishness. would do nothing
Tor him. George. exasperated by him,
ana half starved, murdered him In
such a way that he was supposed to
nave died by an accident, took posses.
sion OF his hoard of unsold rubies. and
wrote to his twin brother to come and
snare the fortune John had left them.
george and Boris had been in con.
slant correspondence. and had even
helped each other with money from
time to time. Some weeks elapsed
after Boris return to st. Petersburg
before his death, and during that time
he told George, who knew London
well and had. moreover, helped him in
his attempt to get a divorce, a vast
number Of details about his married
life and his wife's behavior. her char
acter and tastes. Then Boris was
Killed In the street, and George left
the country and changed his name.
with the vague idea that his own was
not very creditable one and that II
ne kept 1t he might be troubled by his
brother Boris numerous creditors. He
began life over again as Kralipsky.
He had not entertained the least IN. |
tention OF passing himself for Boris |
and claiming Lady Maud as his wife
TIL he met her, and her beauty made
MIN lose his head completely when he |
saw that she took him for her hus.
band. He would have been found out
inevitably sooner or later, but Van
Iorps vigorous action shortened Lady
Maud's torments.
George was tried. and Russian ius.
tice awoke. possibly under pressure
from England. The family history of !
the Levens was exbumed and dis
sected before the courts. The creditors
OF Boris Leven appeared In legions
and claimed that In proper course
he should have inherited the rubies
from his murdered brother, and would |
then have been able to pay his debts |
The court thought SO too, and ordered
the confiscated treasure to be sold
But since it had been Boris, the
law was obliged to declare that the
residue OF the money, after paying the
debts, was the property of Countess
Leyen. Boris widow.
Lady Maud thus found herself In
possession Of considerable fortune.
for she accepted the inheritance when
she was assured that II would go tn
the Russian crown II she refused n
The wealth Lady Maud thus com.
mands enables her to carry much
further than formerly the peculiar
form OF charity which she believes To
be her own invention. ii it NAV be
properly called charity at all, and
which consists in making It worth
while and agreeable to certain unfor-
tunate people to live decent lives In
quiet corners without starving. in.
stead Of calling to them to come out
from behind the virtue-curtain and be
reformed in public. Il il q very ex.
pensive charity. however. and very
hard to exercise. and win never be
popular; for the popular charities are
those that cost least and are NO trou-
BILE.
Nine. konstantinos Logotheti is
learning French and English on the
Bosphorus with her husband. and viii
make . sensation when he brings her
TO London and Paris. On the day Of
his marriage In Constantinopls LOCO
theti rocnivoh = l~ftop t~c-