that they can work the land to cultivate it so as to yield any
more than their taxes. They are overtaxed, and no one cares. The army
must be kept up and a huge Civil Service, and no one cares what happens
to the peasants. Some day the peasants _must_ turn, but not yet. It is a
question for all Russian land-owners to face, and nobody faces it. If
any one tries to improve the condition of his peasants--they were
happier a thousand times as serfs--the bureaucrats of Petersburg mark
him down and he is forced to leave the country. The whole fabric of this
Government is rotten, but every-one, except the peasants, would suffer
by its fall, and therefore it stands."

Etta was staring into the fire. It was impossible to say whether she
heard with comprehension or not. Paul went on:

"There is nothing left, therefore, but to go and do good by stealth. I
studied medicine with that view. Steinmetz has scraped and economized
the working of the estate for the same purpose. The Government will not
allow us to have a doctor; they prevent us from organizing relief and
education on anything like an adequate scale. They do it all by
underhand means. They have not the pluck to oppose us openly! For years
we have been doing what we can. We have almost eradicated cholera. They
do not die of starvation now. And they are learning--very slowly, but
still they are learning. We--I--thought you might be interested in your
people; you might want to help."

She gave a short little nod. There was a suggestion of suspense in her
whole being and attitude, as if she were waiting to hear something which
she knew could not be avoided.

"A few years ago," he went on, "a gigantic scheme was set on foot. I
told you a little about it--the Charity League."

Her lips moved, but no sound came from them, so she nodded a second
time. A tiny carriage-clock on the mantel-piece struck seven, and she
looked up in a startled way, as if the sound had frightened her. The
castle was quite still. Silence seemed to brood over the old walls.

"That fell through," he went on, "as I told you. It was betrayed. Stepan
Lanovitch was banished. He has escaped, however; Steinmetz has seen him.
He succeeded in destroying some of the papers before the place was
searched after the robbery--one paper in particular. If he had not
destroyed that, I should have been banished. I was one of the leaders of
the Charity League. Steinmetz and I got the thing up. It would have been
for the