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It was, as we have said, about four weeks after the coency of the Duke of Courland, when a sedan-chair was set down before

a small back door of the Duchess Anna Leopoldowna's palace; it had

been borne and accoold-embroidered

liveries, as if to protect them from the weather, had been laid a

tolerably thick coat of dust and sweat Equally splendid, elegant, and

unclean was the chair which the servants now opened for the purpose of

aiding their age-enfeebled e from it That person,

who nowold

gentleman; his small, bent, distorted form rapped in a fur cloak

which, somewhat tattered, permitted a soiled and faded under-dress

toto the old , not even the face, or the thin and

re hands he extended to his servants, was neat and cleanly; nothing

about hi eyes with their fiery

side-glances and their now kind and now sly and subtle expression This

ragged and untidy old ar, had not

his dirty fingers and his faded neck-tie, whose original color was

hardly discoverable, flashed with brilliants of an unusual size, and had

not the arms emblazoned upon the door of his chair, in spite of the dust

and dirt, betrayed a noble rank The arms were those of the Ostered cloak was Count Ostermann,

the famous Russian statesed by wisdoue to continue in place under five

successive Russian eents, most of whom had usually been