s, "Father Garasim
has, it is said, been to the city--"

"Silence! silence!" interrupted his wife; "you are going to call another
council and talk in my absence of Imiliane Pougatcheff, but this time
you can not deceive me."

The Captain stared; "Eh! well! my dear," said he, "since you know all,
stay; we may as well speak before you."

"You cannot play the fox," said his wife; "send for the officers."

We assembled again. The Commandant read, before his wife, Pougatcheff's
proclamation, written by some half-educated Cossack. The brigand
declared to us his intention of marching directly upon our fortress,
inviting the Cossacks and soldiers to join him, and advising the
chiefs not to resist, threatening, in that case, extremest torture. The
proclamation was written in vulgar but energetic terms, and must have
produced an impression upon simple-minded people.

"What a rascal!" exclaimed the Captain's wife. "Just see what he
proposes. To go out and meet him and lay our flags at his feet. Ah! the
son of a dog! He does not know that we have been forty years in service,
and that, thank God, we have seen all sorts of military life. Is it
possible to find a Commandant cowardly enough to obey this robber?"

"It ought not to be," replied the Captain, "but it is said that the
villain has taken possession of several fortress."

"It appears he is quite strong," said Alexis.

"We shall instantly know his real force," continued the Commandant;
"Basilia, give me the key of the garret. Ignatius, bring the Bashkir
here, and tell Zoulac to bring the rods."

"Wait a little, my dear," said the Commandant's wife, leaving her seat;
"let me take Marie out of the house, or else she will hear the screams
and be frightened. And, to tell the truth, I am, myself, not very
curious about such investigations. Until I see you again, adieu."

Torture was then so rooted in the customs of justice, that the humane
Ukase of Catherine II, who had ordered its abolition, remained long
without effect. It was thought that the confession of the accused was
indispensable to his condemnation, an idea not only unreasonable, but
contrary to the most simple good sense in matters of jurisprudence; for
if the denial of the accused is not accepted as proof of his innocence,
the confession which is torn from him by torture ought to serve still
less as proof of his guilt. Even now I sometimes hear old judges regret
the abolition of this barbarous custom. But in t