attired only in his underwear!

His clothes they packed up in a cardboard box and delivered to
Yatchevski, who, having sealed it, sent it by special messenger to
Tsarskoe-Selo, where it was delivered into the Empress's own hands.

Alexandra Feodorovna, on having it opened and discovering the insult to
her "holy Father," waxed furious. Meanwhile, Rasputin had been
discovered, and was at home foaming at the mouth at the indignity. He,
"the saviour of Russia," had been thrashed and degraded!

At two o'clock that morning he took a car to the palace, and I
accompanied him. He had an interview with Her Majesty, who was attired in
a rich dressing-gown of pale-blue silk, and the pair resolved upon a
rigid inquiry regarding the affair.

"It is monstrous that you, our dear Father, should have such enemies
about you! We will crush them!" she declared angrily. "I will see Nikki
about it in the morning. To send me your clothes is a personal insult to
myself. It is abominable! These people shall suffer!"

That night we remained at the palace, and next morning Protopopoff was
called from Petrograd and informed by the Empress of what had occurred.
Later the Minister came to the room wherein I was writing at the monk's
dictation, and promised that the whole of the machinery of the Secret
Police should be set in motion to discover the perpetrators of the
outrage.

Rasputin knew that many of the husbands of his devotees were enraged
against him; therefore he could not, at the moment, suggest any
particular person who had plotted the affair, and probably the police
would have failed to obtain any information had not Captain Yatchevski
himself boasted in the Officers' Club of how he had had the Tsaritza's
pet "saint" stripped and thrashed.

In Petrograd the very walls had ears; therefore within three hours the
"saint" knew the identity of the instigator of the outrage, and gave his
name to the Empress.

"We will make an example of him," she said. "Otherwise it may be
repeated. I leave it to you, dear Father, to take what reprisals you
wish. In any course you adopt you will have the full authority of both
Nikki and myself."

For nearly a week Rasputin was undecided as to how he should wreak
vengeance upon the unfortunate Yatchevski, whose wife had by this time
become one of the monk's most devoted "sisters."

On two or three occasions he went to the Minister of War and chatted with
the traitor, General Soukhomlinoff.

Once he r