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Show cnamoeriBin, was men on a tramped up charge and hunt:, really for a much more serious offense. Peter forced Catherine t walk past the place of execution, and crowded her so close to the pallows that she brushed her former lover, hanging there. Hut she never flinched. Afterward Peter had the man's head sent to her room in a bottle of alcohol. That incident was typical of the half-mad Peter, who also was some-thing some-thing of a genius, and of the period In which Catherine reigned. After Peter's death she ruled alone, the mistress mis-tress of a court where revels lasted e week at a time, and a man's drinkinp capacity sometimes won a ministry for him. "VAMPS" WHO I MADE HISTORY By JAMES C. YOUNG. 8 1 by JlcClurs Newspaper Syndicate.) FROM INN SERVANT TO EMPRESS. EARLY, In the Eighteenth century ! the Russians captured Marienburg, j East Prussia. A squad of drunken soldiers rifled one of the principal inns. In their search for valuables they j opened the oven door of the inn's huge stove, made of porcelain, and brought forth two frightened girls. One of them was Catherine, a servant, and the other Marie, who was staying with her. Both girls were bewltchlngly pretty. The soldiers fell to fighting over their possession, when the commander of the invading forces passed the inn. He heard the row, stopped, and commanded com-manded order. Catherine saw her j chance. She leaned out of the window and gave the general one of her sweet-1 est smiles. He and another officer carried the two girls away. Soon afterward Prince Menshikov, favorite of the czar, and one of the most powerful men in Russia, came to inspect the army. He saw Catherine Cather-ine and. took her away from the general. gen-eral. ' Catherine soon had Menshikov under un-der her full control. Then came the czar himself, Peter the Great, absolute abso-lute master of the empire. He also saw Catherine and claimed her. She was a vampire who always succeeded. But Catherine was something more than merely a beautiful woman. Her judgment and instinct soon made her Peter's most trusted adviser. He used to meet his ministers at a little house Hi Moscow where she was placed, and weigh decisions with Catherine's help. At last her domination over Peter became be-came so complete that he married the former inn servant and had her crowned Czarina. Catherine's elevation eleva-tion by no means checked her vampire instincts. She was famous for her : fidelities. William Mods, her court |