Whenever I see the name of Rasputin's guitar-playing assassin, Prince Felix Yusupov, it's impossible for me not to associate it with a ruggedly handsome young traffic cop, a hornet-happy backhouse near Westport, Conn., and a Manhattan speakeasy bathroom.

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PRINCE FELIX YUSUPOV

(Rasputin's murderer)

by Harry Otis

In Paris, broke, and accustomed to luxurious living in his sumptuous St. Petersburg palace, Felix borrowed $350,000 from an art collector, pledging as security two great Rembrandts, "Woman With Ostrich Feathers," and "Gentleman With High Hat & Gloves. He secreted them out of Russia by having an artist paint landscapes over them. The collector agreed to return them to him if at the end of three years Felix could repay the loan, plus 8% interest. The day came, and the money, $560,000 by then, was repaid. Felix obtained it as a loan from another art collector, who, in return, got a lien on the paintings. The first refused to relinquish them and took issue to court in Philadelphia. Felix came to the States to fight the case.

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