me
spends very much less. The consequences of this, if not at present
visible, must some day become painfully apparent. Ivan Ivan'itch will
doubtless leave to his children an unencumbered estate and a certain
amount of capital. The children of Victor Alexandr'itch have a different
prospect. He has already begun to mortgage his property and to cut down
the timber, and he always finds a deficit at the end of the year. What
will become of his wife and children when the estate comes to be sold
for payment of the mortgage, it is difficult to predict. He thinks very
little of that eventuality, and when his thoughts happen to wander in
that direction he consoles himself with the thought that before the
crash comes he will have inherited a fortune from a rich uncle who has
no children.

The proprietors of the old school lead the same uniform, monotonous life
year after year, with very little variation. Victor Alexandr'itch,
on the contrary, feels the need of a periodical return to "civilised
society," and accordingly spends a few weeks every winter in St.
Petersburg. During the summer months he has the society of his
brother--un homme tout a fait civilise--who possesses an estate a few
miles off.

This brother, Vladimir Alexandr'itch, was educated in the School of Law
in St. Petersburg, and has since risen rapidly in the service. He holds
now a prominent position in one of the Ministries, and has the honourary
court title of "Chambellan de sa Majeste." He is a marked man in the
higher circles of the Administration, and will, it is thought, some
day become Minister. Though an adherent of enlightened views, and a
professed "Liberal," he contrives to keep on very good terms with those
who imagine themselves to be "Conservatives." In this he is assisted by
his soft, oily manner. If you express an opinion to him he will always
begin by telling you that you are quite right; and if he ends by showing
you that you are quite wrong, he will at least make you feel that your
error is not only excusable, but in some way highly creditable to your
intellectual acuteness or goodness of heart. In spite of his Liberalism
he is a staunch Monarchist, and considers that the time has not yet come
for the Emperor to grant a Constitution. He recognises that the present
order of things has its defects, but thinks that, on the whole, it acts
very well, and would act much better if certain high officials were
removed, and more energetic men put in thei