Year: 1859

away but in her highness's own magnificent
dressing room, inlaid with mirrors, and hung
with rose colored damask, the cards of address
were removed, skilfully transferred 50 as to
cases deposited on each lady's toilet.


The ball was not over till five in the morning.
Her highness and the whole household retired
soon after. There were yet some hours till the
breaking of the Russian daN but it was long
TIL Gaston slept. His attic above the horses
had never seemed SO full of moaning wind and
creaking rafters; and when he did sleep at
last, it was to dream that he was following So
phias funeral, arm-in- arm with Clazoff. who
rehearsed to him the whole history of the sew
en-and- twenty girls as they went Suddenly
his slumbers were broken by sound of loud
and mingled cries. 1t was broad day, but the
whole palace seemed to be turning upside
down; there were hurrying feet and wild lam
entations, for her Siberian maid, the oldest and
most favored, who always drew the princess's
curtains, had found her highness seated at her
toilet, as the maids had left her, duly dressed
tor the night, In her satin pinner and lace lam
pets, but stone-dead, and nothing to account
ior the fact-only an empty phial, labeled
"EeHr do" lay on the carpet at her feet


There was great gathering of her high
ness's family, and a strict investigation COM
menced, but was not proceeded with for the
same day stranger presented himself ut the
gate OF the Hermitage craving an audience of
her maJesty's private secretary, by whom he
was conducted through one of the secret corri-
dors to the imperial closet. He was seen to
leave the palace within the hour. Immedi-
ately after the Grodizoff family received GER
tain intimations, according to which It was
publicly announced that the princess had died
from stroke of apoplexy-tbat Sophia Pc
trova was heiress of her Finland estate; that
the rest of the property should pass to the
male heirs; but whoever married the young
lady must take the name and arms of Grodi.
zof After her highness had been laid with
becoming pomp beside her twenty-seven pro-
tegcS, the fashionables of st. Petersburg
mourned over the shutting up of her pail
ace for some time; but it was opened again.
though with reduced splendor, for Sophia, the
heiress, married French nobieman, who an
peared at court as the Marquis de Thienville,
sent on a secret embassy from Versailles The
princess paper and all the water of gold which
could be found were carried off at an early
stage OF the business by a messenger from the
Hermitage. Among the former were the title
deeds Of the newly ly-purchased estate on the
Nlstula, which once more reverted to the crown;
and also a prediction, written in the old Sla-
vonic language of Russia, by one who called
himself Vlademer of kioff setting forth that
her highness would never die except by a girl
of her family, who should inherit her wealth.
All inquiries failed to discover either the
prophet or the chemist with whom her high
ness had dealt; nor did time or chance throw
any further light on the doings of that singular
and most inscriptions lady, who is still re-
membered in the traditional gossip of st. Pc
tersburg by the equiVocal title of "The KILL
ing Princess"