34 8 BY ORDER OF THE CZAR.
rated with French blinds, neatly tied back with colored ribbons. The place had a singularly clean look; and the principal, and, indeed, only saloon for eating, drinking and dominoes, had a white sanded floor and white painted pannelling that were pleasantly characteristic. The Parisian Cabaret was, indeed, much cleaner and far more agreeable to look upon than most of its customers, one or two of whom lived on the premises ; notably Ivan Kos- tanzhoglo, who was a moving spirit of that brotherhood in which Ann Klosstock had been enrolled as one of the two women who had been considered worthy of its confidence.
Ivan Kostanzhoglo had been for some time stationed in London as a controlling agent of certain movements that had been made more or less in combination with other sections of the Young Russian party ; but, under orders, he was about to run the risk of reappearing in St. Petersburg, where a rendezvous had been settled for him- self, Paul Petroski, Anna Klosstock, Andrea Ferrari, and other earnest confederates.
The startling incident of the far-reaching power of Nihilistic vengeance at Venice, while it had stiffened the surveillance of the Russian police at all the ports of entry into Russia, and led to numerous arrests in the interior, had exercised a tremendous revivifying influence upon the widespread conspiracy which aimed at the overthrow of the Imperial power. The guides and chiefs of the party of action believed in following up the assassination of Petronovitch with a striking dramatic demonstration at headquarters.
It was in connection with this so-called patriotic action of the young Russian party that the private doors of the small underground apartment, which was rented by Ivan Kostanzhoglo, were open to receive company some two weeks after the Ghost of the Lagoons had startled Venice from its customary repose.
