Witte came into the Russian drama too late for such qualities as he possessed to avert the catastrophe. His sang, gifts, constantly appealed to in emergency, were urbacked by the kind of personality which would maintain its prestige io such an atmosphere. The arismocracy had the casual virtues of the curate's egg: "The majority is politically a mass of degenerate humanity, which recognises nothing but the gratification of its selfish interests and lusts." The Emperor kad "no will-power at all," and was under the complete domination of his consort, whose hysterical infatuations carried her to the feet of one charlatan after another. Witte mentions some surprising "names in connexion with the traffic in the favours of Rasputin and his like. He did not live to witness the ful] verification of the first estimate he received of the still unmarried Tsaritsa from an old official of her fother's court. "The old courtier rose, examined all the doors to make swe that no one was eavesdropping, and said: What a piece of good luck it is for Hesse-Darmstadt ihat you are taking her Thes> memoirs were not carried beyond the year 1912. and it is to Corn Witte's preface that we-have to turn for an indication of her husband's attitude j-. the war, which was only six months old the time of his death. His imputed pias towards Germany was, we! are told, without foundation. "Te/ trio that he wes a most resolute ovronent of wars in general. and of} this war in particular, He said that it would end with a catastrophe for Russia, and that it Reproduced with pet
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