marks of plenteous tears were upon his face;
Nesselrode, though old and bent and shrunk in stature, seemed stronger
than his young master.

But, as he began his speech, it was seen that a strong man had mounted
the throne.

With earnestness he declared that he sorrowed over the existing
war,--but that, if the Holy Alliance had been broken, it was not through
the fault of Russia. With bitterness he turned toward the Austrian
Minister, Esterhazy, and hinted at Russian services in 1848 and Austrian
ingratitude. Calmly, then, not as one who spoke a part, but as one who
announced a determination, he declared,--"I am anxious for peace; but if
the terms at the approaching congress are incompatible with the honor of
my nation, I will put myself at the head of my faithful Russia and die
sooner than yield."[J]

[Footnote J: This sketch is given from notes taken at the audience.]

Strong as Alexander showed himself by these words, he showed himself
stronger by acts. A policy properly mingling firmness and conciliation
brought peace to Europe, and showed him equal to his father; a policy
mingling love of liberty with love of order brought the dawn of
prosperity to Russia, and showed him the superior of his father.

The reforms now begun were not stinted, as of old, but free and hearty.
In rapid succession were swept away restrictions on telegraphic
communication,--on printing,--on the use of the Imperial Library,--on
strangers entering the country,--on Russians leaving the country. A
policy in public works was adopted which made Nicholas's greatest
efforts seem petty: a vast net-work of railways was commenced. A policy
in commercial dealings with Western Europe was adopted, in which
Alexander, though not apparently so imposing as Nicholas, was really far
greater: he dared advance toward freedom of trade.

But soon rose again that great problem of old,--that problem ever
rising to meet a new Autocrat, and, at each appearance, more dire than
before,--the serf-question.

The serfs in private hands now numbered more than twenty millions; above
them stood more than a hundred thousand owners.

The princely strength of the largest owners was best represented by a
few men possessing over a hundred thousand serfs each, and, above all,
by Count Scheremetieff, who boasted three hundred thousand. The luxury
of the large owners was best represented by about four thousand men
possessing more than a thousand serfs each. The pinching prop