106 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XIII 



invitation, lie said that it was given him on board the 

 steamer between New York and Hamburg, her Majesty 

 and her children being the only other passengers besides 

 himself in the second-class cabin. To this I said that 

 there must certainly be some mistake; that her Majesty 

 rarely, if ever, traveled on public lines of steamers ; that 

 if she had done so, she certainly would not have been a 

 passenger in the second cabin. To this he answered that 

 he was absolutely certain that it was the Empress who had 

 given him the invitation and urged him to come and save 

 the Emperor s life. On my asking him the date of this 

 invitation, he looked through his diary and found it. At 

 this, sending for a file of the official newspaper of St. 

 Petersburg, I showed him that on the day named her 

 Majesty was receiving certain officials at the palace in 

 St. Petersburg; whereat he made an answer which for 

 the moment threw me completely off my balance. He 

 said, i i Sir, I have lived long enough not to believe every 

 thing I see in the newspapers. 7 



I quieted him as best I could, but on returning to his 

 hotel he indulged in some very boisterous conduct, one of 

 the minor features of which was throwing water in the 

 faces of the waiters ; so that, fearing lest actions like this 

 and his loud utterances regarding the Emperor and Em 

 press might get him into trouble, I wrote a friendly letter 

 to the prefect of St. Petersburg, stating the case, and ask 

 ing that, if it was thought best to arrest the man, he should 

 be placed in some comfortable retreat for the insane and 

 be well cared for until I could communicate with his 

 friends in America. Accordingly, a day or two after 

 ward, a handsome carriage drove up to the door of his 

 hotel, bearing two kindly gentlemen, who invited him to 

 accompany them. Taking it for granted that he was to 

 be escorted to the palace to meet his Majesty, he went 

 without making any objections, and soon found himself 

 in commodious rooms and most kindly treated. 



It being discovered that he was an excellent pianist, a 

 grand piano was supplied him; and he was very happy 



