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THE STORY OF MARSA.
Prince Tchereteff left his whole fortune to Marsa Laszlo, leaving her in the hands of his uncle Vogotzine, an old, ruined General, whose property had been confiscated by the Czar, and who lived in Paris half imbecile with fear, having become timid as a child since his release from Siberia, where he had been sent on some pretext or other, no one knew exactly the reason why.
It had been necessary to obtain the sovereign intervention of the Czar--that Czar whose will is the sole law, a law above laws--to permit Prince Tchereteff to give his property to a foreigner, a girl without a name.

The state would gladly have seized upon the fortune, as the Prince had no other relative save an outlaw; but the Czar graciously gave his permission, and Marsa inherited.
Old General Vogotzine was, in fact, the only living relative of Prince Tchereteff.

In consideration of a yearly income, the Prince charged him to watch over Marsa, and see to her establishment in life.

Rich as she was, Marsa would have no lack of suitors; but Tisza, the half-civilized Tzigana, was not the one to guide and protect a young girl in Paris.
The Prince believed Vogotzine to be less old and more acquainted with Parisian life than he really was, and it was a consolation to the father to feel that his daughter would have a guardian.
Tisza did not long survive the Prince.