general
character of the gendarmerie, during which my opponent gradually laid
aside his dictatorial tone, and endeavoured to convince me that the
honourable body to which he belonged was merely an ordinary branch of
the administration. Though evidently irritated, he never, I must say,
overstepped the bounds of politeness, and seemed only half convinced
that he was justified in interfering with my movements. When he found
that he could not induce me to give up my passport, he withdrew, and I
again lay down to rest; but in about half an hour I was again disturbed.
This time an officer of regular police entered, and demanded my
"papers." To my inquiries as to the reason of all this disturbance, he
replied, in a very polite, apologetic way, that he knew nothing about
the reason, but he had received orders to arrest me, and must obey.
To him I delivered my passport, on condition that I should receive
a written receipt, and should be allowed to telegraph to the British
ambassador in St. Petersburg.

Early next morning I telegraphed to the ambassador, and waited
impatiently all day for a reply. I was allowed to walk about the village
and the immediate vicinity, but of this permission I did not make much
use. The village population was entirely Jewish, and Jews in that part
of the world have a wonderful capacity for spreading intelligence. By
the early morning there was probably not a man, woman, or child in
the place who had not heard of my arrest, and many of them felt a not
unnatural curiosity to see the malefactor who had been caught by the
police. To be stared at as a malefactor is not very agreeable, so I
preferred to remain in my room, where, in the company of my friend, who
kindly remained with me and made small jokes about the boasted liberty
of British subjects, I spent the time pleasantly enough. The most
disagreeable part of the affair was the uncertainty as to how many
days, weeks, or months I might be detained, and on this point the
police-officer would not even hazard a conjecture.

The detention came to an end sooner than I expected. On the following
day--that is to say, about thirty-six hours after the nocturnal
visit--the police-officer brought me my passport, and at the same time
a telegram from the British Embassy informed me that the central
authorities had ordered my release. On my afterwards pertinaciously
requesting an explanation of the unceremonious treatment to which I
had been subjected, the Minist