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vice-governor, set to work again to rack his brains and scribble an insulting letter to himself. He regarded this as a proof of the highest probity.
For six months I pulled in harness in the provincial govemment. It was disagreeable and extremely tedious. Every morning at eleven o'clock I put on my uniform, buckled on my civilian sword, and went to the office. At twelve o'clock the military governor arrived ; taking no notice of the councillors, he walked straight to a corner and stood his sword there. Then, after looking out of the window and straightening his hair, he went towards his arm-chair and bowed to those present. As soon as the sergeant, with fierce, grey moustaches that stood up at right angles to his lips, had solemnly opened the door and the clank of the sword had become audible in the office, the councillors got up and remained standing with backs bent until the governor bO\ved to them. One of my first acts of protest was to take no part in this collective rising and reverential expectation, but to sit quietly and to bow only when he bowed to us.
There were no great discussions or heated arguments; it rarely happened that a councillor asked the governor's opinion in advance, still more rarely tha t the governor put some business question to the councillors. Before everyone lay a heap of papers and everyone signed his name: it wa s a signature factory.
Remembering Talleyrand's celebrated injunction, I did not try to make any particular show of zeal and attended to business only so far as was necessary to escape reprimand or avoid getting into trouble. But there were two kinds of work in my department towards which I considered I had no right to take so superficial an attitude: these were matters relating to schismatics and to the abuse of power by the landO\vners.
Schismatics arc not consistently persecuted in Russia, but something suddenly comes over the Synod or the Ministry of Home Affairs, and they make a raid on some hermitage, or some community, plunder it, and then subside again. The schismatics usually have intelligent agents in Petersburg who warn them from there of coming danger; the others at once collect money, hide their books and their ikons, stand the Ot·thodox priest a drink, stand a drink to the Orthodox police-capta in and buy thcmsPlvPs off; and with that thP math•r Pnds for tt•n years or so.
In Novgorod Provine!' thPre were in the reign of Catherine a great many Dukhobors.� Tlwir leader, the old head of the post-
� I am not certain whether these were Dukhobors.
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ing drivers, in Zaitsevo, I think it was, enjoyed enormous respect. When Paul was on his way to Moscow to be crowned he ordered the old man to be summoned, probably with the object of converting him. The Dukhobors, like the Quakers, do not take off their caps, and the grey-headed old man went up to the Emperor of Gatchina3 with his head covered. This was more than the Tsar could bear. A petty, touchy readin!'ss to take offence is a particularly striking characteristic of Paul, and of all his sons except A lexander; having savage power in their hands, they have not even the wild beast's consciousness of strength which keeps the big dog from attacking the little on!'.
'Before whom are you standing in your cap?' shouted Paul, breathing hard, with all the marks of frenzied rage: 'do you know me?'
'I do,' answered th!' schismatic calmly; 'you are Pavel Petrovich.'
'Put him in chains! to penal servitude \Vith him! to the mines ! ' Paul continued.
The old man was seized and the Tsar ordered the village to be S!'t fire to on four sides and the inhabitants to b!' S!'nt to live in Siberia. At the next stopping-place one of the Tsar's intimates threw himself at his f!'et and said that h!' had ventured to delay the carrying out of His Majesty's will, and was waiting for him to rep!'at it. Paul, now somewhat sobered. perceived that setting fire to villag!'s and sending men to the mines without a trial was a strange way of recommending himself to tlw people. He commanded the Synod to investigate the peasants' case and ord!'red the old man to be incarc!'rated for l ife in the Spaso-Yefimyevsky Monastery; he thought that th!' Orthodox monks would torment him worse than p!'nal servitude; but h£' forgot that our monks are not merdy good Orthodox Christians but also men who an•
very fond of money and vodka; and the schismatics drink no vodka and are not sparing of their money.
The old man acquired among the Dukhobors th!' reputation of a saint. They cam!' from the !'nds of Russia to do homage to him, and paid with gold for admission to s!'e him. The old man snt in his cell, dressed all in white, and his friends draped the \valls and the ceiling with linen. Aft!'r his death they obtnined permission to bury his body with his kindred and solemnly carried him upon th!'ir shoulders from Vladimir to th!' province of Novgorod.
Only the Dukhobors know where he is buried. They are per-3 So the "mad tsar," Paul, was called, from one of his suburban palaces.
See p. 46, fn. 1 6. ( D.M.)
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suaded that he had the gift of working miracles in his life-time and that his body is incorruptible.
I heard all this partly from the governor of Vladimir, I. E.
Kuruta, partly from the post-drivers at Novgorod, and partly from a church-attendant in the Spaso-Yefimyevsky Monastery.
Now there are no more political prisoners in this monastery, although the prison is full of various priests and ecclesiastics, disobedient sons of whom their parents have complained, and so on. The archimandrite, a tall, broad-shouldered man in a fur cap, showed us the prison-yard. vVhen he went in, a non-commissioned officer with a rifle went up to him and reported: 'I have the honour to report to your Reverence that all is well in the prison and that there are so many prisoners.' The archimandrite in answer gave him his blessing-what a mix-up!
The business about the schismatics \vas of such a kind tha t it was much best not to stir them up again. I looked through the documents referring to them and left them in peace. On the contrary the cases of the abuse of landowners' pO\ver needed a thorough overhauling. I did all I could, and scored several victories in those sticky lists; I delivered one young girl from persecution and put her under the guardianship of a naval officer.
This I believe was the only service I did in my official career.
A certain lady \vas keeping a servant-girl in her house without any documentary evidence of ownership; the girl petitioned that her rights to freedom should be inquired into. My predecessor had very sagaciously thought fit to leave her, until her case should be decided, in complete bondage with the lady who claimed her. I had to sign the documents; I approached the governor and observed that the girl would not be in a very enviable situation in her lady's house after lodging this petition against her.
'What's to be done with her?'
'Keep her in the police station.'