t in his little yawl near the mouth of the Black Sea. His
actions are thought worthy of high praise, but on some occasions his
inaction borders upon the sublime. Of the men who moved along the
Buyukdere quay, many paused and glanced out over the water at the
white-sailed yawl, with the single streamer flying from the mast-head;
and some smiled as they recognized the ambassadorial yacht, and some
looked grave.

The sun sank lower towards the point where he disappears from the sight
of the inhabitants of Buyukdere; for he is not seen to set from this
part of the upper Bosphorus. He sinks early behind the wooded hills
above Therapia, and when he is hidden the evening freshness begins, and
the crowd upon the quay swells to a multitude, as the people from the
embassies and villas sally forth to mount their horses or to get into
their caiques.

Two young men came out of the white gates of the Russian embassy, and,
crossing the road, stood upon the edge of the stone pier. They were
brothers, but the resemblance was slight between them. The one looked
like an Englishman, tall, fair, and rather angular, with hard blue eyes,
an aquiline nose, a heavy yellow mustache concealing his mouth, and a
ruddy complexion. He was extremely well dressed, and, though one might
detect some awkwardness in his movements, his manner had that composure
which comes from a great knowledge of the world, and from a natural
self-possession and independence of character.

His brother, though older by a year, might have passed for being several
years younger. He was in reality two and thirty years of age, but his
clear complexion was that of a boy, his dark brown hair curled closely
on his head, and his soft brown eyes had a young and trustful look in
them, which contrasted strangely with his brother's hard and dominating
expression. He was shorter, too, and more slender, but also more
graceful; his hands and feet were small and well shaped. Nevertheless,
his manner was at least as self-possessed as that of his tall brother,
and there was something in his look which suggested the dashing,
reckless spirit sometimes found in delicately constituted men.
Alexander Patoff was a soldier, and had obtained leave to visit his
younger brother Paul in Constantinople, where the latter held the
position of second secretary in the Russian embassy. At first sight one
would have said that Paul should have been the cavalry officer, and
Alexander the diplomatist: but fa