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of this unholy alliance, but not one foot of ground will she gain in Europe.
Napoleon II. , Far greater than Napoleon I., will make all Europe outside of
Russia one great republic, and Paris shall be its capital.
Do you speak as Master? asked the Madame, is England certain?
We will receive a messenger to-day who will bring the news that Albert has
abdicated because of wide-spread and dangerous insurrection, and that our
man, Oliver G. Harkley, the Radical leader, has been declared protector. The
fates decree the triumph of the people, and I speak as one who knows.
The count suddenly stopped, motioned silence, and assumed a fixed and
trance-like posture. All remained quiet while he, with rigid features and
staring eyes, sat motionless. For fully ten minutes he sat thus, all around the
table breathing with suppressed breath in unison. Suddenly be regained his
normal state and said:
A Frenchman, a spy in the employ of the Germans, just arrived at the
central station. He is a young man of twenty-seven years, about five feet ten
inches in height, sparely built, and with an almost unnoticeable mole under
his right eyebrow, a dark, waxed mustache, a smooth chin, and a light-brown
BROTHER OF THE THIRD DEGREE 144
suit of clothes. Notify Careau to seize him at once, before he enters No. on
the Rue de Rivoli, whither he is now bound; to be sure and send a man to
intercept him, and do not let him destroy certain messages he has in his inner
vest pocket. Also tell Careau to watch Gen. Moron and give him plenty of rope;
he is a traitor and in league with our enemies, but he must not be arrested
yet.
As he finished speaking Count Nicholsky bowed and left the room.
Now, continued St. Germain, we need four responsive pairs at once; I
have other fields to attend to; can you furnish them from among your western
members, or must I go East for them? Thus speaking he looked at us
penetratingly, and turning to Eral asked:
Cannot this pair make one?
We think they can, replied the king.
Sister, have you severed all the ties which bind you to your royal
relatives? he asked Iole, to my great surprise.
I have, she answered briefly. Now like a flash the knowled ge came to me.
Iole and the Princess Louise whom I had seen saved so miraculously in
London were one and the same. This explained the striking familiarity of her
face when I first met her; the momentary glance I obtained of her, as she sat
behind the flying steeds, had impressed her features upon my memory. All
these years I had been the brother and companion of a royal princess, but she,
in true simplicity, had not made a single show of station or exhibited any signs
of pride. While these feelings of admiration were active within me, the count,
addressing Iole, continued:
Then, sister, you must enter the cap of Napoleon Marleon and
communicate to him all in formation transmitted by your brother, who must
immediately enlist with Von Kral. Not a movement of the enemy must be
concealed from him; and we, as the secret powers that make such men great,
will see that he lacks no information. Through the communicating power of
responsive minds your brother can keep you informed of every movement of
the Germans, and this without the delays which traveling spies couriers
cannot help but meet.
Then turning to King Eral he said:
There must be pairs to communicate between the other armies, and, if
necessary, one must be at every throne in Europe. Mind will be superior to
powder and cannon and all material inventions in this contest. The thrones
have laughed at the claims of occultism; before long they will wish they had
not. Give the brother and sister the necessary instructions; I have a call from
the East.
As he finished speaking he arose and left the room, and Eral addressed us:
Brother and sister, your year has been well spent; your colors show that
your minds are one and your souls responsive. You understand the science of
mental communication, for you have practiced it for a year: but some
BROTHER OF THE THIRD DEGREE 145
additional instructions will be useful to you in the field of labor into which
you now enter. Whenever written messages are to be sent, soak the paper
upon which they are written in a certain liquor of nitrogen and put them in a
platinum case which will be given you; then place therewith a small
percussion-cap operated by connection with a cord extending from the box.
When captured, as a last resort, destroy the message by pulling the string. But
written messages must never be carried or sent when mental messages will
answer the purpose, for the latter leave no clue, neither do they excite
suspicion. If either of you should wish to communicate with us other than
through each other. Or either should be killed, you can use an exceptional
method, but only as a last resort. This method is most dangerous and must be
used with greatest caution. We will give each of you certain powders, which, if
you can find an hour when no one will disturb you, you can take, and they
will enable you to reach some of us, no matter where we are. But never take
them when there is the least chance of being disturbed, for death would be the
result. One hour will suffice, and this can frequently be obtained in the night.
When you separate; you must also set your watches with each other, and
never change them as you move from place to place. In this manner you will
always be able to concentrate your minds in communication, at the same time
little variations can be overcome. Further, as a precaution, you must nev er
know one another not even in death or torture. By power of will control
yourselves. Now, until this evening, you are at liberty; at five o clock you both
leave for Berlin. Go unencumbered by baggage and take separate seats, but in
the same coach; and whatever happens do not know each other.
With a wave of the hand he dismissed us, and the council adjourned. Three
of the members had not uttered a word, and the mysterious Madame Petrovna
had made only one remark; but it was evident from their attention that not a
word or act had escaped them. When we left the council-chamber Iole, who
was perfectly familiar with the house, led the way to the dinning-room, and
with all the authority of a mistress ordered our breakfast. As we ate our meal
she said: My brother, are you fully equal to any emergency?
I am, I answered, full confident.
Then remember that not even imprisonment, death or torture is to lead us
to betray our cause or forget our duty. She spoke as though she had a
premonition of evil, and I answered with reassurance:
Nothing that the minds of men can conjure will lead me to betray or neglect
my cause or duty. Then by a kind of tacit consent we finished our meal in
silence. Having but a short time until my start for Berlin, I took an hour to go
to the city. The streets and thoroughfares were thronged with excited
multitudes.
Flaming bulletins announced the declarations of war, and in large letters I
read that Napoleon Marleon, a captain of artillery, had suddenly and almost
without precedent been appointed to the command of the army by Gen.
BROTHER OF THE THIRD DEGREE 146
Careau, minister of war. A Napoleonic fever had seized the populace, and the
city was full of volunteers of every nationality. Napoleon! Napoleon! Vive le
Napoleon! Vive le Napoleon! rang through the streets. As my carriage was
passing through the Place de la Concorde, the crowd became so dense I had to
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