mperor himself, and is usually called "the eye of His
Majesty." His salary is only about twenty-five pounds a year; but he
makes, usually, a good income by receiving bribes. Among other duties,
he had to visit the hospitals daily, and to report upon the condition of
the prisoner patients. He paid great attention to the unhappy general,
who required every consolation; for, despite his own deplorable
condition, it was decreed that he should outlive his wife. That lady
caught a contagious fever, which was raging at that time at Vitebsk, and
died in a few hours. This event so distressed the general that he soon
departed this world, with the only consolation, that Procureur Botwinko,
a married but childless man, would adopt his daughter. This promise was
actually fulfilled, and the little orphan was taken from Madame
Strognof, and established under the procureur's roof. Her parents'
property, consisting of a carriage, horses, jewelry, and no small sum of
ready money, was also taken possession of by Botwinko in quality of
guardian to the little orphan.

As the girl, whom they called "Sophie," grew up, she became very
engaging, and was kindly treated by Mr. and Madame Botwinko. She never
lost an opportunity, when any visitors were in the procureur's house, of
praising her protectors for their kindness to her; and this, connected
with other circumstances, contributed to the promotion of Mr. Botwinko,
who obtained the more profitable situation of procureur-general at
Vilna, the capital of Lithuania.

Removal from their old connections, and from those who knew all the
circumstances of little Sophie's history, produced a change in the
treatment of the new procureur-general and his wife toward the child.
Their kindness rapidly diminished. Sophie was not allowed to appear in
the drawing-rooms, in their new residence at Vilna. They incessantly
found fault with her; and, ultimately, she was not only sent to the
kitchen under the control of the cook, but, on the census of the
population being taken, in 1816, her name was inscribed on the books as
that of a serf.

As the poor girl grew up she became used to the duties imposed upon
her. Associating constantly with the servants, they considered her their
equal, and taunted her when, relying on her infantine recollections, she
laid claim to noble descent, by calling her in derision "Mademoiselle
French General." She knew full well that she was entitled to better
treatment, and that, in