and found it expedient to lie still. The sensation of smothering was horrible, the oppression on the chest, the pain at the heart; and every movement was torture. Reaching at last the limit of endurance, I lost consciousness, and knew nothing more until I came to myself, on the floor of a small room, my eyes straining up at the low ceiling, and the morning light streaming in at a window opposite. At the first awakening I remembered nothing, and was vaguely astonished at my strange surroundings. Then, suddenly recollecting what had occurred, I sat up, finding, at the same time, that I was very sore and stiff. The cords had been removed, and my clothes were open at the throat, so that I suspected that there had been some difficulty in reviving me at all. Remembering the czarevna’s packet, I felt for it, only to find it gone. Then I looked to see if I had been robbed; but no,--to my astonishment, my money was untouched, down to the last livre, only the ring from my finger--my signet--was gone. My sword and pistols had shared the fate of the packet. It was not difficult to draw conclusions. The czarevna’s precautions had been futile, and I had been tracked from the Kremlin, falling, as I was forced to acknowledge to myself, an easy victim into the hands of the enemy. My reflections were extremely bitter; not only had I failed to execute my trust, but was probably a ruined man. An account of this affair reaching Versailles would scarcely redound to my credit; and if it was as serious as I had every reason to fear, it would cut short my career. I could never again expect to enjoy the confidence of Louvois, at that time virtually prime minister of France, or of my sovereign, for the great Louis grasped every detail of affairs, and even my ill-fated gallantry was not likely to escape that eagle eye. As for the Czarevna Sophia, I was conscious of a miserable desire to escape from future encounter with that princess! I sat for a long time in the middle of the floor in a kind of stupor, partly the result of my experience, and partly caused by my forlorn reflections. But after a while I roused myself, and finding that the door was securely fastened without, went to the window to discover the prospect there.