XIII.

FIDO RELATES THE RESULT OF THE GOGO'S MYSTIFICATION, AND HOW

SHE LEFT POTSDAM. The comedy had lasted long enough, the incident of the breast-pin had satisfied her love, both of finery and fun, and every moment that she stayed added to the danger of discovery. The Gogo, who, as we have seen, was prudence itself, therefore thought it wise to beat a retreat at once, and it became the best pantomime of all, to see her mince and hesitate in her fine soft speeches when she pleaded fatigue and headache, and “the want of habits of dissipation which made a poor invalid like herself feel the effects of excitement so painfully, even when it was of a pleasurable nature.

She resolutely took the arm of Prince Henry, who was heartily glad that the scene was ending without ersclandre, and passed through a private door of the supper-room, refusing to return through the assembly, graciously recalling to the grand-duke the hour of his promised visit on the morrow, and courteously bade him good night in a sweet, soft voice, which made him thrill with delight. But the Grand Duke of HesseHockelberg was not a man who had yet to learn the rules of gallantry. He insisted upon accompanying the princess to the foot of the staircase which led to her apartment. Here he took his leave most humbly, most respectfully; and I heard him say as he turned away,

'Tis a clever lass, and would animate our dull old fashioned circle, and yet I doubt, in short, I know not what my first wife's mother would think of her manners. They told me she was eccentric, but, lord ! we should call it by quite another name at Hesse-Hockelberg."

Meanwhile, the worthy pair, compelled for form's sake to mount the stairs, gave way without reserve to the mirth which had been suppressed so long. They roared, they reeled, they rolled with laughter. Peal upon peal re-echoed through the vaulted corridor until they were compelled to lean against the banisters.

“ Did I not do it well ?" at length said the Gogo, while she dried her tears with her handkerchief. “ No one suspected me.

I wonder at that, too, for it ought to have created surprise how a poor princess bred up in a miserable court of Germany could have acquired that flow of wit, that exquisite finish in language and in manners, which can only be gained by long association with the élite of society, such as that which is to be found in the coulisses of the Opera of Paris, and which always comes fresh from the petit jeu of Versailles, or the soupers of Trianon.”

Prince Henry did not observe the impertinence of this remark. He was anxious to hurry her from the scene of her exploits. The slightest circumstance might lead to a discovery which would send him to perpetual confinement at Spandau, and the Gogo to sweep the great square at Ber. lin. He conducted her home without accident, and his laughter ceased not, even when he turned away to bend his steps back again to the palace. Neither of these two gay thoughtless beings could pause for an instant to remember the absence of Amelia, nor yet the unworthy suspicions which the wanton lightness of the Gogo had been fixing upon her. For me, I remained in a kind of inert despair, from which I do not think I have ever recovered, for I have never loved any of my owners since that time, and have invariably compared them with disadvantage to my first affection, the Princess of Prussia. She is

gone.

The
very name upon

her tomb is worn out, defaced by neglect and time, but I have not forgotten her, nor shall I, until memory is no more.

I was then placed upon the toilet of the danseuse, with the ring which she had extorted from the reigning Duke of Hesse-Hockelberg hooked upon my uplifted paw, and the ruby breast-pin, which glittered like a talisman, stuck through the curl in my tail. I did not repose. The room inhabited by the ballerina in the grand inn of Potsdam looked out upon the river, and all night long I listened to the rippling of the tide and the stroke of the boatman's oar, thinking that each bark bore away

with Baron Trenck the hopes, the heart, the very soul of my own beloved, regretted princess, whom I felt at once with sad foreboding that I was destined to behold no more.

But, alas ! the flow of events, the rush of destiny, to which all are slaves, bore me also along with their relentless tide. The morning sun, which was already beginning to redden the eastern sky when we left the palace, had scarcely risen, when the slumber into which the ballerina had but just fallen, was disturbed by a loud knocking at the chamberdoor, and a mincing French femme de chambre came, in fussy alarm, all tears and hysterics, calling out that an exempt of police was waiting without. She did not understand him, for she could not speak German, but it was evident he had come to arrest some one-she feared it was herself—she hoped it was her mistress-she-she-in short, she knew not what she was saying, and burst into tears. I cannot help owning that I was wicked enough to rejoice at this announcement, for I thought that I might stand a chance of being recognised, and be restored to the princess. The Gogo raised herself up in bed, and yawned. She rubbed her

eyes deliberately, then stared for a moment in doubt at the soubrette. then arranging her night-cap, pinching the lace border into shape, she said, with great sangfroid,

- Let the man enter.”

The soubrette looked surprised, but did as she was bid, and the officer entered. He looked much more alarmed than the Gogo, who seemed to take the scene with much philosophy, and, save that now and then she cast an unquiet glance at my tail, where the breast-pin was resting, and at my paw, which held the emerald ring, she betrayed no consciousness whatever. The man drew from his pocket a sealed

paper. “ The warrant,” I thought ; “ her freak of last night has been discovered, and it is all over with her now-shaven head, naked arms, and sweeping the Grand Platz, must be her portion for the remainder of her days."

The moment, however, that the Gogo took the letter in her hand, her countenance brightened, and I could immediately tell that she had nothing ro fear, while I had nothing to hope. She dismissed the messenger with a sign, and he withdrew outside the door. She then jumped hastily out of bed, and ran to the window, and perused the epistle in a low tone. It was worded thus : Gogo of my

must leave this place on the instant-no whys, nor wherefores, nor reasoning, nor resistance, but go at once, unless you feel inclined to pay with the liberty of your whole life for the

soul!--you

spirituel little freak of last night. Be not alarmed, however. Nothing is blown yet ; but there will be the devil to pay in a few hours. My poor sister was found senseless on the floor of the boudoir where you sat for some time, and whence his majesty came to fetch you. The jewels with which she had been adorned were all missing—not one has been found. She has evidently been robbed by some villain who got in at her window, as her dress is all torn, and there are marks of feet upon the balcony, nor can she give an account of the violence. Fortunately (alas, that I should use this word when writing on such a subject) her agitation and her incoherence have been so great, that no one can make out whether the robbery took place on leaving the ball or after she had gained her chamber, while many have declared that no jewels were visible through her domino. To add to our peril there is strange news abroad. A message was brought to his majesty in the midst of the gaiety, last evening, from the governor of Magdeburg. Trenck has escaped from prison! If this be true wo betide my pretty Gogo if she should be found guilty of having mystified royalty just now, for my royal brother must find a victim on whom to wreak his vengeance, and show that he is not powerless in all cases. I

say no more, a word to the wise is enough. I heard all this from Blickstein, my affidé, who feels sure that an investigation will take place, on account of the strange conduct of the Princess Amelia at the supper table, the discovered loss of her jewels, and the senseless condition in which she was found. I, of course, shall be brought forward, but shall fear not so long as you are not here. I shall tell

my sister the whole truth. She will be too glad to find that her monster suitor has been hoaxed. A carriage waits you at the gate of the town; your passport accompanies this letter. The bearer will see you safe beyond the gates. The best way to avoid being arrested at this unseemly hour is to appear to be already in custody, therefore, pray walk through the streets with head bent low, and handkerchief to your eyes. Do not fear betrayal, the man is well paid. Adieu, bon voyage! We shall soon meet in Paris. Your best friend

56 HENRY. " P.S. Old Hockelberg has paced his room the whole night. He is much disturbed by the champagne and the loss of his family jewels. He can digest neither one nor the other.”

The Gogo was a girl of resolution. She hesitated not an instant after the perusal of this epistle, but set to work immediately to collect together her valuables and to depart. I had hopes of being left behind, but alas, she seized me without pity, and packed me among the knick knacks contained in a little hand basket, which she carried, and it was thus at break of day, carried by the agent of police, and accompanied by the Gogo and her maid, like two of the lowest criminals, that I left the royal city of Potsdam, where my whole existence had been passed, and my adorable princess who had cherished and fostered me ever since I had been in the world. I who had entered the town in triumph, upon the saddle of the court estafette, created by order of a king a present to his favourite child, left it in secret and disgrace a stolen article. Once the property of the most virtuous princess in Europe, now belonging to the most celebrated dancer of the Grand Opera of Paris !

But I have yet to give you the moral of my story. You shall have it next month.

SCHNITZLER'S RUSSIA.

THE INSURRECTION OF THE SOUTH.

Force and Distribution of the Russian Army-The Army of the South

Episode relating to Countess Sophia Potocki-Military Conspiracy-Paul Pestel, Chief Conspirator-Details of the Plot-Arrest of Pestel-Serge Mouravief Apostol, second Chief Conspirator-Spirit of the Cossacks Selfishness of the Polish Conspirators— Assassination of Colonel HebelInsurrection of the Regiment of Tchernigof-The Republican Catechism not appreciated- Declaration of the Grenadiers in favour of a TsarFailure at Kiev-Castle of Bélaïa Tserkof-Final Defeat on the Heights of Oustinovka-Execution of the Chief Conspirators.

The apathy of the people and of the military, who, with the exception of the officers, are chiefly manumitted serfs, having caused a total failure of the insurrection of the north, St. Petersburg was pacified, no trace of disorder remained, and every thing appeared to have resumed its ordinary condition. But still there was far from being a feeling of general confidence; every one imagined himself on the brink of a volcano. These apprehensions took their origin mainly from the spirit that was well known to pervade the staff of the two armies located in the south.

Notwithstanding the precautionary measures taken ; notwithstanding the transmission to the spot of generals beloved by the soldiery, and whose loyalty was well known, the secret plotting of so many young and active men might well be anticipated, in a country which was once the seat of the warlike republic of the Cossacks, which was long united to Poland, and where a language was spoken, which took rank between that of the old Sclavonic empire and that of the great empire which had arisen from a fusion of the Sclavonic element with the Finnish, * to be productive of some great catastrophe. The mine was laid; it might explode unexpectedly, and without producing any lasting results ; still it might involve whole countries in blood and ruin.

At the period we now speak of, Russia was at peace with all its neighbours; but still, circumstances had not permitted a general disarmment. Including the irregular troops, the military amounted nominally to more than 800,000 men, of whom 30,000 to 40,000 composed the Imperial Guard, and a nearly equal number the grenadiers, holding nearly the same rank as the former. The guard and

the grenadiers had their head-quarters at St. Petersburg and Novogorod. The army, properly so called, was engaged in four different tasks. The Lithuanian army, under the command of the Grand-duke Constantine, was with the army of Poland, its advance-guard, and together comprising an effective force of 80,000 men, engaged in keeping off such ideas of progress and emancipation as might come from the European frontiers. Another army. was engaged in preserving order in Finland, and on the frontiers, and in the more desert interior of Siberia. The first was composed of 10,000; that of Orenburg of 12,000; and that of Central Siberia of an equal number of men. The

army of the Caucasus, under Termolof, was estimated, or rather valued, at 40,000 men. The last task, that of

* This language of Little Russia is sometimes called Ruthenic, to distinguish it from the Russian properly so called. The Roussniac of White Russia (capital Smolensk) is a mere dialect.

keeping Turkey in check, was divided by two armies, called the first and second, or the army of the west, and that of the south.

The army of the south, composed of about 120,000 men, was under the command of the conqueror of Polotsk, Prince Wittgenstein, of royal German descent. Nearer the frontier than the other, it occupied positions which extended from the Prouth in Bessarabia on the one hand, to the Dnieper on the other, and the head-quarters were stationed at Toultchine, a strong town in the district of Bratzlaf, distinguished as the chief residence of the illustrious Polish family of Potocki. Every one has heard of the magnificent gardens of Sofofka, created in honour of a lady who united dazzling beauty to distinguished mental attributes. This was the celebrated Countess Sophia. Originally a young Greek slave, purchased by a French diplomatist in the bazaar of Constantinople, she had become the wife of General Count de Witt, and mother of another general of the same name, who commanded the cavalry in Little Russia. She had, during the lifetime of her husband, contracted a second alliance with Count Felix Potocki, one of the wealthiest landlords of the empire, master of 165,000 male serfs, and who had laid out these gardens, so celebrated in Russian poetry, for her recreation. Unfortunately the fidelity of Count Alexander, brother of Count Felix, to the cause of the Poles, entailed the confiscation of the Sofiofka, which is now the Tsar-itsyne-Sad, or the "Emperor's garden."

To return to the army of the south, its chief, a man of honour and an experienced warrior, yet of a kind and considerate disposition, was universally regarded and esteemed. At the head of the staff was also Paul Kisselef (since marshal and minister), and who, as the husband of the daughter of Sophia Potocki, was at home at Toultchine. The head-quarters of the first army were at Kiev. The army

itself presented an effective force of 150,000 men, under the command of General Count Sacken, a German of the Baltic provinces of the empire, a worthy, brave, intelligent veteran. Counts Wittgenstein, Sacken, and Termolof, were the most illustrious men in the whole Russian army.

Both the first and second armies were alike the focus of a great military conspiracy ; almost every regiment was infected. Not only had the conspirators made sure of the majority of the officers, but even the noncommissioned officers and privates had been tampered with, and it had been urged that the time was now come for them to withdraw themselves, as the regiment of guards of Semenof had formerly done, from the injustice of their German chiefs. The popular common sense opposed itself, however, to these insinuations. “Does the tsar know any thing about it?” inquired some of the soldiers, while others promised to do whatever was asked of them “so long that no rebellion or other evil should result from it.”

Although placed in the very heart of revolutionary plots at Kiev, General Sacken paid no attention to what was going forward. It was the same with regard to Wittgenstein and Paul Kisselef, although their staff was peopled with conspirators, including Lieutenant-colonel Fallenberg, Captains Prince Bariatinski, and Ivachef, Lieutenants Krukof and Bassarghine, Surgeon-Major Wolf, the military intendant Iouschnefski, &c. Kisselef alone had remarked that a close correspondence was kept up by the officers of the staff with St. Petersburg, and had brought the circumstance under the notice of the Emperor Alexander, who, however, had paid no attention to the information.