itical animosities, and he hates
with the fervour of a fanatic. Firstly and chiefly, he hates what he
calls the bourgeoisie--he is obliged to use the French word, because
his native language does not contain an equivalent term--and especially
capitalists of all sorts and dimensions. Next, he hates aristocracy,
especially a form of aristocracy called Feudalism. To these abstract
terms he does not attach a very precise meaning, but he hates the
entities which they are supposed to represent quite as heartily as if
they were personal enemies. Among the things which he hates in his
own country, the Autocratic Power holds the first place. Next, as
an emanation from the Autocratic Power, come the tchinovniks, and
especially the gendarmes. Then come the landed proprietors. Though he
is himself a landed proprietor, he regards the class as cumberers of
the ground, and thinks that all their land should be confiscated and
distributed among the peasantry.

All proprietors have the misfortune to come under his sweeping
denunciations, because they are inconsistent with his ideal of a peasant
Empire, but he recognises amongst them degrees of depravity. Some are
simply obstructive, whilst others are actively prejudicial to the public
welfare. Among these latter a special object of aversion is Prince
S----, because he not only possesses very large estates, but at the same
time has aristocratic pretensions, and calls himself Conservative.

Prince S---- is by far the most important man in the district. His
family is one of the oldest in the country, but he does not owe his
influence to his pedigree, for pedigree pure and simple does not count
for much in Russia. He is influential and respected because he is a
great land-holder with a high official position, and belongs by birth
to that group of families which forms the permanent nucleus of the
ever-changing Court society. His father and grandfather were important
personages in the Administration and at Court, and his sons and
grandsons will probably in this respect follow in the footsteps of
their ancestors. Though in the eye of the law all nobles are equal,
and, theoretically speaking, promotion is gained exclusively by personal
merit, yet, in reality, those who have friends at Court rise more easily
and more rapidly.

The Prince has had a prosperous but not very eventful life. He was
educated, first at home, under an English tutor, and afterwards in the
Corps des Pages. On leaving thi