The International Spy

The great monarch by whose gracious command I write this narrative has given me his permission to preface it with the following remarkable document: Minute: It is considered that it cannot but promote the cause of peace and good understanding between the British and Russian Governments if Monsieur V-- be authorized to relate in the columns of some publication enjoying a wide circulation, the steps by which he was enabled to throw light on the occurrences in the North Sea. By the Cabinet. In addition, I desire to state for the benefit of those who profess to see some impropriety in the introduction of real names into a narrative of this kind, that objections precisely similar to theirs were long ago raised, and long ago disposed of, in the case of Parliamentary reports, newspaper articles, society papers, and comic publications of all kinds; and, further, that I have never received the slightest intimation that my literary methods were displeasing to the illustrious personages whom my narratives are intended to honor