, and whatever had
such a bearing was read with interest. It did not seem at all strange
that a drama should be written in defence of free-trade, or a poem
in advocacy of some peculiar mode of taxation; that an author should
expound his political ideas in a tale, and his antagonist reply by
a comedy. A few men of the old school protested feebly against this
"prostitution of art," but they received little attention, and the
doctrine that art should be cultivated for its own sake was scouted as
an invention of aristocratic indolence. Here is an ipsa pinxit of the
literature of the time: "Literature has come to look at Russia with her
own eyes, and sees that the idyllic romantic personages which the poets
formerly loved to describe have no objective existence. Having taken
off her French glove, she offers her hand to the rude, hard-working
labourer, and observing lovingly Russian village life, she feels herself
in her native land. The writers of the present have analysed the past,
and, having separated themselves from aristocratic litterateurs and
aristocratic society, have demolished their former idols."

By far the most influential periodical at the commencement of the
movement was the Kolokol, or Bell, a fortnightly journal published in
London by Herzen, who was at that time an important personage among
the political refugees. Herzen was a man of education and culture, with
ultra-radical opinions, and not averse to using revolutionary methods
of reform when he considered them necessary. His intimate relations
with many of the leading men in Russia enabled him to obtain secret
information of the most important and varied kind, and his sparkling
wit, biting satire, and clear, terse, brilliant style secured him a
large number of readers. He seemed to know everything that was done in
the ministries and even in the Cabinet of the Emperor,* and he exposed
most mercilessly every abuse that came to his knowledge. We who are
accustomed to free political discussion can hardly form a conception of
the avidity with which his articles were read, and the effect which they
produced. Though strictly prohibited by the Press censure, the Kolokol
found its way across the frontier in thousands of copies, and was
eagerly perused and commented on by all ranks of the educated classes.
The Emperor himself received it regularly, and high-priced delinquents
examined it with fear and trembling. In this way Herzen was for some
years, though an exi