ss and her ministers were ruining
the country and therefore wrote her a courteous letter,
pleading with her to save Russia. For her pains she received
an order to retire to her estate, and her husband, who held
a very prominent position, left the capital with her.
(_Novoe Vremia_, March 11-24, 1917.)]

Members of the royal family and the grand dukes urged the Tsar to change
his course and not ruin the country and the dynasty but he, drugged by
Dr. Badmaev and duped by Rasputin, Protopopov and Company, sent them all
out of the capital with orders not to return until sent for. They became
so desperate that they murdered Rasputin but the Empress remained and
the government policy became more reactionary than ever and as Prince
Iusupov said the country was drifting to destruction or to a state of
anarchy. It was quite evident that the only way to save the country was
through a revolution and it was merely a question whether it would come
first from the top or from the bottom and when.

[FN: As late as October, 1916, the old Empress saw her son
at Kiev and pointed to him that Rasputin and the other
members of the court circle would overthrow the dynasty and
destroy the country but it did no good. Only a few days
before the outbreak of the revolution his own brother,
Mikhail Alexandrovich, pleaded with him along the same lines
and with the same success. (_Rech_, March 7-20, 1917.)]

[FN: The old and scholarly Grand Duke Nicholas
Mikhailovich went to see the Emperor about November 1, 1916,
and in order to impress him with the critical situation of
the country he wrote out his ideas so as to leave them. He
was received in a kindly manner by the Tsar who listened to
the reading of the letter and then took it over so as to
read it to the Empress. When he came to the place where her
name was mentioned she snatched it from him and tore it up.
In the course of the conversation that followed the old Duke
said some sharp things but he could not get anything but
smiles from the Tsar, and when the old man's cigarette went
out the Tsar lighted it for him. It was impossible to get an
out and out talk, or satisfaction of any kind, and Nicholas
Mikhailovich left the court in disgust. Two days later he
was requested to retire to his estate for two months. Here
is the Grand Duke's letter:

"You