the absurd idea that the Tsar was Antichrist by a system
of strict and evenhanded justice, punishing merely actual crimes and
delinquencies, the Government confirmed the notion in the minds of
thousands by persecuting those who had committed no crime and who
desired merely to worship God according to their conscience. Above all
it erred in opposing and punishing those marriages which, though legally
irregular, were the best possible means of diminishing fanaticism, by
leading back the fanatics to healthy social life. Fortunately these
errors have now been abandoned. A policy of greater clemency and
conciliation has been adopted, and has proved much more efficacious than
persecution. The Dissenters have not returned to the official fold, but
they have lost much of their old fanaticism and exclusiveness.

In respect of numbers the sectarians compose a very formidable body. Of
Old Ritualists and Priestless People there are, it is said, no less
than eleven millions; and the Protestant and fantastical sects comprise
probably about five millions more. If these numbers be correct, the
sectarians constitute about an eighth of the whole population of the
Empire. They count in their ranks none of the nobles--none of the
so-called enlightened class--but they include in their number a
respectable proportion of the peasants, a third of the rich merchant
class, the majority of the Don Cossacks, and nearly all the Cossacks of
the Ural.

Under these circumstances it is important to know how far the sectarians
are politically disaffected. Some people imagine that in the event of
an insurrection or a foreign invasion they might rise against the
Government, whilst others believe that this supposed danger is purely
imaginary. For my own part I agree with the latter opinion, which is
strongly supported by the history of many important events, such as
the French invasion in 1812, the Crimean War, and the last Polish
insurrection. The great majority of the Schismatics and heretics are, I
believe, loyal subjects of the Tsar. The more violent sects, which are
alone capable of active hostility against the authorities, are weak in
numbers, and regard all outsiders with such profound mistrust that they
are wholly impervious to inflammatory influences from without. Even if
all the sects were capable of active hostility, they would not be nearly
so formidable as their numbers seem to indicate, for they are hostile to
each other, and are wholly inca