ity reigned in the principality of Vladimir; and the
adjacent provinces, influenced by the pacific policy of the sovereign,
or overawed by his power, cultivated the arts of peace. Constantin,
however, was effeminate as well as peaceful. The tremendous energy of
Mstislaf had shed some luster upon him, and thus, for a time, it was
supposed that he possessed a share, no one knew how great, of that
extraordinary vigor which had placed him on the throne. But now,
Mstislaf was far away on bloody fields in Hungary, and the princes in
the vicinity of Vladimir soon found that Constantin had no spirit to
resent any of their encroachments. Enormous crimes were perpetrated
with impunity. Princes were assassinated, and the murderers seized
their castles and their scepters, while the imbecile Constantin,
instead of avenging such outrages, contented himself with shedding
tears, building churches, distributing alms, and kissing the relics of
the saints, which had been sent to him from Constantinople. Thus he
lived for several years, a superstitious, perhaps a pious man; but, so
utterly devoid of energy, of enlightened views respecting his duty as
a ruler, that the helpless were unprotected, and the wicked rioted
unpunished in crime. He died in the year 1219 at the early age of
thirty-three. Finding death approaching, he called his two sons to his
bedside, and exhorted them to live in brotherly affection, to be the
benefactors of widows and orphans, and especially to be the supporters
of religion. The wife of Constantin, imbibing his spirit, immediately
upon his death renounced the world, and retiring to the cloisters of a
convent, immured herself in its glooms until she also rejoined her
husband in the spirit land.

Georges II., son of Vsevelod, now ascended the throne. He signalized
the commencement of his reign by a military excursion to oriental
Bulgaria. Descending the Volga in barges to the mouth of the Kama, he
invaded, with a well-disciplined army, the realm he wished to
subjugate. The Russians approached the city of Ochel. It was strongly
fortified with palisades and a double wall of wood. The assailants
approached, led by a strong party with hatchets and torches. They were
closely followed by archers and lancers to drive the defenders from
the ramparts. The palisades were promptly cut down and set on fire.
The flames spread to the wooden walls; and over the burning ruins the
assailants rushed into the city. A high wind arose,