Chapter 18
The Mystery of a WomanWho was M. Auguste?
This was the question that kept my mind busy after my singular
interview with the Russian Emperor.
In accordance with my rule to avoid as much as possible
mentioning the names of the humbler actors in the international
drama, I have given the notorious medium a name which conceals his
true one.
He appeared to be a foreigner, and the Czar’s weakness in this
direction was too well known for his patronage of the quack to
excite much attention; apparently it had occurred to no one but
myself that such a man might be capable of meddling in
politics.
In his more public performances, so far as I could learn, the
revelations of the spirits were confined to more harmless topics,
such as the nature of the future state, or the prospe
