University of Virginia Library

Four More Shots

Rasputin clutched his shoulders,
but the Prince broke away and
screamed for his friends. The monk
was crawling away, up a flight
of stairs leading to a courtyard.
Four more shots were fired, and
Rasputin, already out in the yard,
lay lifeless.

The Prince later said that Rasputin
was also bludgeoned before
his body was hurled into the Neva
River, where it was found a few
days later.

At the time the Prince was 29,
and heir to one of Russia's greatest
fortunes-estimated at $350-million.
But most of his treasures
passed on to the new Soviet
Government that came to power
after the Revolution.

The Prince, whose great-great-great-grandfather
was a Philadelphian,
Col. Felix Elstona
soldier of fortune who went to
the court of Alexander I-eventually
emigrated to France, where
he became a designer of women's
pajamas.