Transcriber’s note: normal text within italic passages is indicated ~like this~. THE PRINCESS TARAKANOVA [Illustration: THE PRINCESS TARAKANOVA. _“The only art her guilt to cover,_ _To hide her shame from every eye,_ _To give repentance to her lover,_ _And wring his bosom--is to die.”_] THE PRINCESS TARAKANOVA A Dark Chapter of Russian History TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN OF G. P. DANILEVSKI BY IDA DE MOUCHANOFF WITH FOUR PORTRAITS New York MACMILLAN & CO. LONDON: SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION ix-xxviii Part I. _DIARY OF LIEUTENANT KONSOV._ CHAP. PAGE I. TEMPEST-TOSSED 1 II. MY IMPRISONMENT 6 III. IMPORTANT NEWS 13 IV. I SEE THE PRINCESS 21 V. MY INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCESS 27 VI. THE PRINCESS ASKS ME TO ASSIST HER 33 VII. I CONVEY A LETTER 41 VIII. I DELIVER A LETTER 50 IX. WE WILL BEFRIEND HER 60 X. IS THE COUNT A TRAITOR? 66 XI. THE DEPARTURE FROM ROME 82 XII. THE PRINCESS SEEKS MY ADVICE 89 XIII. THE “MARRIAGE” 96 XIV. TREACHERY 104 XV. REMORSE 109 XVI. THE BOTTLE CAST INTO THE SEA 114 Part II. _RAVELIN ALEXEEF._ XVII. EKATERINA AT MOSCOW 125 XVIII. THE PRINCESS AT ST. PETERSBURG 129 XIX. THE HISTORIOGRAPHER MILLER 137 XX. MILLER’S REPLY 144 XXI. ORLOFF AND THE PRINCESS 152 XXII. ORLOFF’S INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCESS 159 XXIII. ORLOFF AT MOSCOW 168 XXIV. THE PRINCESS WRITES TO THE EMPRESS 177 XXV. FATHER PETER ANDRÉEF 183 XXVI. THE VISITORS’ QUEST 188 XXVII. A LATE VISITOR 196 XVIII. BAPTISM 202 XXIX. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION 208 XXX. “WHAT IF THE CAPTIVE BE INNOCENT?” 213