The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-05

bad lot as one would suppose from Frat Mundt's stories is hardly conceivable There is an immense amount of history and s'near-history' containued in thu writings of Mrs Mundt and she fairll reveled in the gossip of the back stairs and the revelations of secret memoirs. She brings historical characters very clearly before us and her literary style while tawdry in many places, is exceed ingly good in others. She was a most pro- life writer, completing in one year nc less than a dozen volumes. Her writings were nopular when published and are pop ular now, Her historical novels are to the historical novels of Scott what paste Is to the diamond.
 VNIHEN the Empress Anna dled- N/ and, an almost pnheard-of case
 w in Russian imperial history. she died a natural death-she left. by will the crown of all the Rusisas to the ln- fant Ivan. son of her niece, Anna Leo poldowna, and her husband, Prince Cl- rich of Brunswick. Thus it came aoou' that those Germans. as the Russians called them, ruled the empire while the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great and rightfu heir of the imperial dignity. lived almost alone and entirely unnoticed in her small and modestly fur pished palace in St. Petersburg.
 Elizabeth had voluntarily Kept alooi from all political intrigues and revolu- tions. In the interior of her palace she rassed happy days; her world, her hle' her pleasures were there. She wlsheq h"' to reign. she only desired to love ana De loved. Her obseurty was welcome to hel because it allowed her to give loose to .hosa voIuptuous passions which. in more exalted station. would have been brought into unpleasant and even uahsel ous prominence by the fierce light WHICH heats upon a throne. In snort tie daughter of the great Czar was eoou- natured, idle woman, whose morals were such as might have been expected rom t.r ancestry and her bringing up. suA' .na was fairly respectable for Russlah ,,,,nerisl nrincess of her day. She was about 30 years old, and was caiieo 'le most beautiful woman in Russia. AS ions SIS she held that title any one might "e"i her crown who would.
 r7,,xabeth was celebrating her haine dav" and was among her frienos III 'ie ,.ecsntion room of her shabby pa'aoe r,verine had come and the householu anu +he less trusted and favored or HOT @u x.oror+s had withdrawn. Only the most .s.,s,,.+e and favored friends now re- nained with the princess ihey
 t,,rned from conversation to the oensn '- of music. and a young man was siieii.s to inc accompaniment of a gultar' "iiAie r,;zabeth reclined listlessly upon oi'aA ,.,,o,,,;r, and beautiful in robe or pun -, .-;romed with silver that enVelopeo rer full. youptuous form, leaving '"e .,-ar.. uhiteness of her neck ana posoni freely displayed. and
 .s forpotten all around her ana
 . ar,,, the voice of the singer-sa" onlv him. He was very hanusoine vo,,ne singer, Alexis BazumVosAS' 'iD u,,;zabeth employed him as her eeie''I- .,d as the manager of her small es'"t7,
 .t +be divan of the princess stooo x,,o.o,zou her chamberlain ana Iruh- .to,, her gentleman in waiting That -,,,u.,natb loved the youth Alexis was an open secret as a,
 lacley brought in a missive' It was ali ,rvitation from the Regent Anna to !" court hall. "Ah," cried Elizapeth' ooi ~ood cousin is so kind as to remeihoer oui existence. But I cannot go;l nave noun TO to wear" Soon after the lackey asaih .nneared. this time to say that the T rreiioii .,,,hassador. the Marquis de la Chetarule' A,y;red an audience. The marquis entereu' hot, leaves of the folding doors were <brown hack and he appeared, followed pS numerous attendants bearing great ai rsv of boxes and bundles. An you ap- ...r vary like A milliner,'' cried the prin- ress In fact. he did, for the envoy or France had come to beg, in pehait oi Ills ~cva, master. that Elizabeth would ac- ~ant the articles of feminine attire, which had been sent by lim from Paris
 Very splendid and costly these were ana the princess accepted the gift with almost childish joy. And further, the marquis .aid that the French King had placed a large amount of money to her credlt; hereafter she should never want for rev enue suitable to the daughter or the treat Peter. This offer was also accept .A and it was agreed that nothing of the matter SnOulu po fiioW ec "'S cept those then present and the princess ohvsician, Lestocq, who was the govern ing spirit in all of Elizabeth's affairs s.f5od grant the time may come," said rr,izabeth as the marquis took his de- parture when I can publicly acknowl edge your royal masters kindness" "Tha tirne will come when you are Empress oi Russia.' replied the ambassador. "Ah,' said the princess, "another foolish persor who has taken it into his head to make me an empress"
 And so it was The King of France de sired that Russia should be so engaged by her domestic affairs as to be unable t' interfere in the affairs of Europe Flo this he would stir up Elizabeth to aspir' to the throne, and to induce Elizabeth t' aspire was the constant struggle of Les roco. Woronzow and Grunstein, who, rec ornizing the power which Alexis Razum vosky had over the woman who loved him. had taken the young singer into theil conspiracy. Sometimes hesitatng and de clarine that she would never become al empress, and then, over-urged, declaring that she would assert her right to thu crown, Elizabeth at last found herself il . position which, they persuaded her must end in one of two ways-she mus strike for the throne or suffer herself an, her friends to be overwhelmed in common ruin. The throne or the scaffold, the, told her, awaited her The intrigues il her behalf were well known to the min isters of the regent and the sword of de