, according to his morbid fancy, hoardes of ravening wolves intent upon his destruction; he was afraid of his serfs, a feeling originated and fostered by his mother, who was herself afraid o

sha in St. Petersburg where he saw little or nothing of his "betrothed" for two or three years, after which little Vera Demidof was sent to Paris to be educated in a French school. Vera's aunt, Demidof's sister, had been married to the French Minister at the Cou

ed to find her countrymen and women little better than barbarians

no manners and no education, how should they? and your fiancé, he will be a bear like the r

er French relatives shrugged their shoulders and said, "This betrothal of babes, what does it signify? It was a v

upon the betrothal as binding, I know. The law and the Church bot

out doubt both the Church and the law will listen to reason. What, are two p

lking in the dark, since Sasha and I have not met for many years. But if each is

is lest he shall be attracted by you, while you

rd upon my heart,

petite noblesse-the boyarin families of Russia, destined for military service in the more aristocratic regiments. The Emperor Paul, shocked by the methods of his mother, Catherine the Great, in the matter of

seems to have been her enfant gaté, the petite noblesse, is somewhat unique, I will ask permission to digress

ttained the height of absurdity onl

a time of life when a commission in the army might fairly be given to him; but since the officers of the Guards received liberal pay and were treated with marked kindness and indulgence by the sovereign, it occurred to certain boyars that it would be a pity to waste several years of the best part of the li

were required of all these young officers, who were not even obliged to draw their own pay; their fathers were permitted to do this for them. But promotion proceeded in each

ed about in their nurses' arms and captains rode in perambulators, while majors and colonels of ten and twelve strutted about the streets, to the pride

hould be blessed with offspring-well; if not, well also; for no one would be likely to inquire into the matter as long as the old Empress lived, and the pay of two or three

his retreat at Gatchina and watched it with helpless displeasure and anger. Paul was a strict disciplinarian and the sight of the degradation of the Guards maddened him

lf-conscious majors of ten wandering helplessly about the Champs de Mars, colonels of twelve and fourteen asking one another to which regiment they belonged, a

all witnesses the absurdity of the prevailing state of affairs. Every officer was called upon to take his proper place with

n and bewildered boys; all officers who were unable to perform the duties expected of them were called upon to resi

the education of youths desirous of entering the army as bona-fide officers. Sasha had been but six years old at the time of the catastrophe, and had then enjoyed the rank and pay of a captain. He had, of course, resigned his commission, but had rejoined as a cadet of the Imperial Corps upon reaching the age of fourteen. He was now nineteen and one of the seniors of the establishment-a nice-lookin

was a betrothed man, it is probable that he thought lightly of the matter, regarding the whole question as one of expediency. The dower to be had with his fiancée was a handsome one, he knew

ttitude towards some damsel whom he was accustomed to meet in society, casually reminded him of the existing c