"Then tell me about it," said Mr. George.

"Why, you see," said Rollo, "he was at war with the Turks, and he fought
them and drove them off to the southward, until at last he came to the
Sea of Asoph. Then he could not fight them any more, unless he could get
some ships. So he made a law for all the great boyars of his kingdom,
that every one of them must build or buy him a ship. What are boyars,
uncle George?"

"Nobles," said Mr. George.

"I thought it must be something like that," replied Rollo.

"The old nobility of those Russian countries are called boyars," said
Mr. George; "but I don't know why. Most of the common people are slaves
to them."

"Well, at any rate," said Rollo, "he made a law that every one of them,
or at least all that were rich enough, should build or buy him a ship;
but they did not know how to build ships themselves, and so they were
obliged to send to Holland for ship builders. They built more and better
ships in Holland in those days than in any country in the world."

"Yes, I suppose so," said Mr. George.

"The boyars did not like it very well to be obliged to build these
ships," continued Rollo. "And there was another thing that they disliked
still more."

"What was that?" asked Mr. George.

"Why, the emperor made them send off their sons to be educated in
different foreign countries," replied Rollo. "You see, in those days
Russia was very little civilized, and Peter concluded that it would help
to introduce civilization into the country, if the sons of the principal
men went to other great cities for some years, to study sciences and
arts. So he sent some of them to Paris, and some to Berlin, and some to
Amsterdam, and some to Rome. But most of them did not like to go."

"That's strange," said Mr. George. "I should have thought they would
have liked to go very much."

"At least their fathers did not like to send them," said Rollo; "perhaps
on account of the expense; and some of the young men did not like to
go. There was one that was sent to Venice, in order that he might see
and learn every thing that he could there, that would be of advantage to
his own country; but he was so cross about it that when he got to Venice
he shut himself up in his house, and declared that he would not see or
learn any thing at all."

"He was a very foolish fellow, I think," said Mr. George.

"Yes," said Rollo, "I think he was. But I've seen boys in school act
just so. They get put out with t