ctical politics, but in the school of
political speculation. As soon, therefore, as they begin to examine
any simple matter with a view to legislation, it at once becomes
a "question," and flies up into the region of political and social
science. Whilst we have been groping along an unexplored path, the
Russians have--at least in recent times--been constantly mapping out,
with the help of foreign experience, the country that lay before them,
and advancing with gigantic strides according to the newest political
theories. Men trained in this way cannot rest satisfied with homely
remedies which merely alleviate the evils of the moment. They wish to
"tear up evil by the roots," and to legislate for future generations as
well as for themselves.

This tendency was peculiarly strong at the time of the Emancipation. The
educated classes were profoundly convinced that the system of Nicholas
I. had been a mistake, and that a new and brighter era was about to dawn
upon the country. Everything had to be reformed. The whole social and
political edifice had to be reconstructed on entirely new principles.

Let us imagine the position of a man who, having no practical
acquaintance with building, suddenly finds himself called upon to
construct a large house, containing all the newest appliances for
convenience and comfort. What will his first step be? Probably he will
proceed at once to study the latest authorities on architecture and
construction, and when he has mastered the general principles he will
come down gradually to the details. This is precisely what the Russians
did when they found themselves called upon to reconstruct the political
and social edifice. They eagerly consulted the most recent English,
French, and German writers on social and political science, and here it
was that they made the acquaintance of the Proletariat.

People who read books of travel without ever leaving their own country
are very apt to acquire exaggerated notions regarding the hardships
and dangers of uncivilised life. They read about savage tribes, daring
robbers, ferocious wild beasts, poisonous snakes, deadly fevers, and the
like; and they cannot but wonder how a human being can exist for a week
among such dangers. But if they happen thereafter to visit the countries
described, they discover to their surprise that, though the descriptions
may not have been exaggerated, life under such conditions is much easier
than they supposed. Now the Russia