LI E) I^ARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UN IVLRSITY 
 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 v.i
 
 Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2010 witii funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/helencameronfrom01came
 
 HELEIN' CAMEEOIS^ 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 HELEN CAMERON 
 
 gtom §xnh to gultaflg. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "MARY STANLEY: OR, THE SECRET ONES. 
 
 ' I held it truth, with him who sings 
 To one clear harp in diverse tones, 
 That men may rise on stepping-stones 
 Of their dead selves to higher things." 
 
 IN TEREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL. 193, PICCADILLY. 
 
 1871.
 
 LOXDOX : 
 
 PRIXTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., 
 
 CITT EOAD.
 
 9A3 
 
 i 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
 
 I' 
 
 ^ 
 
 CHAP. 
 I. 
 II. 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 ^" v. 
 
 VI. 
 
 ,- VII. 
 
 .^J^VIII. 
 
 " IX. 
 
 ^. X. 
 
 V XI. 
 
 K XII. 
 
 t^ XIII. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 XV. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 ' l^^VIII. 
 
 ^ XIX. 
 
 > XX. 
 
 O XXI. 
 
 ; XXII. 
 
 V 
 
 A Faulty Heroine . 
 
 The Feast of the Jordan 
 
 To go, or not to go 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky 
 
 The Ball . 
 
 Prince Boriatinsky 
 
 The University Man 
 
 Love's Labour Lost 
 
 The Scapegrace 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky' s Failing 
 
 The Lawsuit 
 
 The End of the Lawsuit 
 
 Rachel Eandal 
 
 The Parson-Power . 
 
 Fears and Hopes . 
 
 To have, or not to have 
 
 The Recluse 
 
 The Wife . 
 
 The Intrigue 
 
 Count Golovin 
 
 "Working Underground 
 
 The Private Interview 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 18 
 
 33 
 
 47 
 
 62 
 
 78 
 
 90 
 
 106 
 
 121 
 
 139 
 
 lo7 
 
 166 
 
 177 
 
 196 
 
 214 
 
 234 
 
 251 
 
 259 
 
 270 
 
 285 
 
 301 
 
 326
 
 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 THE G R VB. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 
 
 "I can, Petruchio, help thee to a wife 
 With wealth enough, and young-, and beauteous ; 
 Brought up as best becomes a gentlewoman : 
 Her only fault (and that is faults enough) 
 
 Is that she is intolerable curst " 
 
 Shakspere : Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 Houses have characters as well as men. There 
 are houses pure and houses foul ; houses 
 hospitable and houses inhospitable; houses 
 which one loves, and houses which one can't 
 but hate; houses where we should like to 
 be when sickness comes or sorrow falls, and 
 houses which, even in the sunshine of health 
 and joy, we shun like the plague; houses 
 (say some) where evil spirits, and houses, 
 doubtless, where all good angels, love to 
 dwell. I, for my part, have become so much 
 
 VOL. I.>V B
 
 2 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 attached to some houses, that to leave them 
 has been like parting from an old friend. 
 Moreover, as with men, the character of a 
 house is sometimes written on its face. There 
 are houses which smile on you, and houses 
 which frown on you; houses which wink 
 at you playfully, and houses which grin 
 at you wickedly ; houses which invite you 
 to enter, and houses which scare you away ; 
 houses which you fall in love with at first 
 sight, and houses which you instinctively 
 wish never to see again. 
 
 It was a house in Pea Street ; not the best 
 street in St. Petersburg, but undoubtedly the 
 best house in the street : a house that had 
 a character of its own, and showed it in its 
 face ; a roomy, comfortable, hospitable house ; 
 a house that one would like to live in, if 
 one had the means, for it needed no end of 
 money to keep up such an establishment. 
 The out-houses alone had room enough for 
 a large English family of middle rank. Every- 
 where a look of comfort and of wealth. The 
 rooms all large and lofty, and handsomely 
 furnished. Many signs all around that it 
 did not belong to a Eussian family. Many 
 things, which, if they had tongues, would
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 6 
 
 liave said, and did say to all who had eyes 
 to see : '' We belong to an Englishman," — 
 I beg the pardon of the Scot, — '^ to a Briton." 
 But there is one room, the breakfast-room, 
 which you are specially invited to enter: 
 large as it is, one of the cosiest rooms you 
 ever saw ; furnished in the English style, 
 always reminding the family of ^^home:" 
 in truth, the favourite room ; many other 
 rooms larger and grander, but this one 
 always chosen when the family were alone. 
 
 But what to make of that family ? You see 
 them at breakfast now: look at them and 
 guess; taking them in the order of their 
 age, beginning with the oldest. An elderly 
 lady, about sixty, very plain, but beautiful 
 in spite of it : a look of refinement about her ; 
 the soul shining out of her bright black eyes ; 
 an air of command in her large nose, but a 
 nervous and fidgety manner at loggerheads 
 with it. An undersized gentleman, not far 
 from forty : face, not quite so plain as the 
 lady's, and figure thin and wiry; both face 
 and figure betokening a quick, keen, agile 
 nature — a nature that could easily outstrip 
 difiiculties even when it could not face them. 
 A young lady of surpassing beauty, whose
 
 4 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 soft, round, creamy, pouting, almost babyish 
 face was evermore giving the lie to her tall, 
 large, well-developed, womanly figure ; the 
 former pointing to fifteen, and the latter to 
 twenty-five, leaving it to the onlooker to 
 settle the balance of probabilities between 
 the two, and to fix on some intermediate 
 stage on the border-land as her real age. 
 
 What now of the relation between the 
 tliree? Mother and childi-en? The reve- 
 rence with which the gentleman treats the 
 elder lady might seem to support that hypo- 
 thesis. But the nervous, fidgety manner of 
 the lady herself, and the masses of thick, 
 heavy curls which lie flat on her brow and 
 cheeks, point to (ancient) maidenhood rather 
 than to motherhood. Moreover, the gentle- 
 man seems to treat the younger lady with the 
 same reverence ; and would he demean himself 
 thus to a sister so much younger than himself? 
 A lover ? But listen to their talk, and judge 
 for yourself. 
 
 The gentleman, who had been reading his 
 letters (his habit at breakfast), looked up, and, 
 turning to the younger lady, said, in a defe- 
 rential, almost humble tone, as though depre- 
 cating her wi^ath :
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. O 
 
 " I am very sorry, Helen, dear ; but I can't 
 take you to the Feast of tlie Jordan to-day." 
 
 Helen's beautiful face, radiant tbe moment 
 before, suddenly clouded over. Easy to see 
 that a storm was brewing there. 
 
 ^^ It is a shame ! " she cried ; ''you promised." 
 
 " Yes, my darling ; but I have just received 
 a letter which compels me to retract my 
 promise." 
 
 ''When we are dressed, and ready to go !" 
 continued Helen, growing more angry ; " and 
 the Emperor is to be there and all the Court !" 
 
 The elder lady had not spoken yet. She 
 sat looking from the one to the other in her 
 usual nervous, fidgety wa}^. But now she 
 put in a word — speaking very fast, delivering 
 her clauses and sentences by jerks and starts, in 
 a disjointed way, highly suggestive of dashes. 
 
 " But you will have — other opportunities — 
 Helen, darling — of seeing them all," she said. 
 
 "Yes, but I want to see them now." 
 
 " I am really very sorry, dear Helen " 
 
 began the gentleman in his deferential tone. 
 
 Helen interrupted him in a way which 
 was anything but respectful : 
 
 " That is what you always say when 
 you do anything particularly disagreeable."
 
 b HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^' But in this case it can't be helped." 
 
 '^ I don't see why." 
 
 ^' Business, my dear " 
 
 ^' You could put off the business." 
 
 " Impossible, my dear Helen: why, it might 
 cost me ten thousand pounds." 
 
 '' And you'd break your Avord for ten thou- 
 sand pounds!" 
 
 How to parry this home-thrust? The 
 gentleman hung down his head over the 
 letter — perhaps to see if he could reconcile 
 his interests with his promise. Meanwhile 
 the elder lady again came to his rescue. 
 In her usual rapid, jerky manner, she ex- 
 claimed : 
 
 " Eeally, Helen, dear — you are going — too 
 far. And ^ou would give — ten thousand 
 pounds — for a show I" 
 
 '^ Oh, papa is rich enough to afford it." 
 
 That gentleman her father ! Queer enough ! 
 
 ^' Eidiculous 1" cried the gentleman. 
 
 He looked up from the letter ; and, for the 
 first time, there was an air of resolution on 
 his face. Helen had been watching him 
 narrowly with her lovely blue eyes. 0, 
 those eyes ! So lustrous, and yet so soft ! 
 So deep, and at the same time so staimch
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 7 
 
 and true ! If there had been nothing else 
 in her face to speak for her, I think, in spite 
 of present appearances, I woukl have staked 
 my faith in her on the strength of those eyes. 
 As she sat looking at her father, a shade of 
 sadness came oyer those eyes, deepening the 
 interest which they awakened. Clearly she 
 was very much disappointed. She thought 
 for a moment : no more to be gained on her 
 former line of attack ; and she was cool 
 enough by this time to be able to change 
 her tactics. 
 
 ^^ Why should not Miss Meldrum take me 
 there?" she asked abruptly, after a long 
 pause. 
 
 ^'Impossible!" answered the gentleman: 
 *' there will be such a crush that no ladies 
 should go without a gentleman. Miss Meldrum 
 will have enough to do to look after herself." 
 
 The elder lady had become more nervous 
 and fidgety than ever. In a high state of 
 excitement, which made her manner more 
 jerky than usual, she said : 
 
 '' Miss Meldrum begs — to be excused. She 
 will not — make herself responsible — for any 
 mad pranks — which Miss Helen Cameron — • 
 may choose to play."
 
 8 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 "ITay, dear Aunt Milly, I will promise to 
 be as quiet as a lamb," said Helen in a coax- 
 ing tone, fixing her large blue eyes beseech- 
 ingly on Miss Meldrum. 
 
 A gleam of humour shot forth from the 
 sparkling black eyes which she encountered. 
 
 '^ I fear Miss Cameron— would break her 
 word — for less than — ten thousand pounds." 
 
 ^' That is too bad!" cried Helen, looking 
 hurt. 
 
 ii Forgive me, my darling," said Miss 
 Meldrum, softened in a moment: '^ I know 
 you would not — knowingly break your word — 
 for the whole world. But, lightly promise- 
 lightly " 
 
 What more she said, or might have said, 
 was drowned by the gentleman's voice. He 
 had not listened to the foregoing few sentences, 
 but had seemed busy studying the letter. 
 Suddenly he lifted up his head, and said : 
 
 '' ]S'ow that that matter is settled " 
 
 " But it is not settled, papa, dear," an- 
 swered Helen : ^' I hold you to your promise." 
 
 Helen went up to Mr. Cameron. Perhaps 
 he knew what was coming : he seemed to be 
 waiving her away with his hand. But she 
 threw her arms round his neck, and kissed
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 9 
 
 him with her pouting lips in a way which was 
 irresistible. Mr. Cameron looked puzzled, and 
 clearly did not know what to do. 
 
 '' Eh? eh ?" was all he could utter. 
 
 '' You'll take me, won't you, darling papa ?" 
 said Helen. '' That's a dear good papa !" 
 
 "Eeally, my darling, this is no joke," 
 answered Mr. Cameron. '' Just think, ten 
 thousand pounds !" 
 
 Another gleam of humour shot through 
 Miss Meldrum's black eyes. She said 
 smiling : 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Cameron — ten thousand pounds 
 — for a kiss !" 
 
 "Do now ; that's a darling papa ! " 
 
 "Helen, my dear child, you surely don't 
 wish your father to make a fool of himself?" 
 
 "But you promised, you know ; and I 
 have been looking forward to it so, dear 
 papa!" 
 
 Mr. Cameron looked perplexed : was he 
 really hesitating ? It was becoming so clear 
 that his daughter was the ruling spirit in the 
 house, that, ridiculous as it may seem, I belieye 
 he might have yielded had there not been a 
 diversion in his favour. It came in the shape 
 of a handsome open sledge, drawn by two
 
 10 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 magnificent Englisli bays, wliicli dashed into 
 the courtyard. The windows of the breakfast- 
 room looked out on the yard ; and, as Miss 
 Mekbum sat facing the windows, she was the 
 first to see the sledge. 
 
 ^' Here is Mr. Frederick Eandal," she said. 
 
 Helen clapped her hands with childish glee. 
 She said nothing, but thought : 
 
 '' Fred will take me to the feast." 
 
 It was not long before a handsome young 
 gentleman, dressed in the height of fashion, 
 entered the room. The impression which he 
 made, at first sight, was pleasing. There was 
 an open look about his face, and a freedom 
 about his somewhat dashing manner, which 
 greatly took with most. If you had studied 
 his face more deeply, I think you would have 
 felt that something was wanting. If the 
 sweetness which shone through his soft brown 
 eyes had been backed by a little more strength ; 
 if the culture spent on his dark curly locks 
 had been more freely bestowed upon his mind ; 
 if the high opinion, which he clearly had of 
 himself, had had a broader background of truth 
 to rest upon ; — I daresay he would haA^e be- 
 come a more shining member of society. 
 
 He walked forward like one free of the
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 11 
 
 house. 'No need to say what he thought of 
 the lovely girl clinging to her father. No 
 room to doubt that he envied Mr. Cameron, 
 and grudged him those caresses which she 
 bestowed so lavishly. 
 
 '^ 1 appeal to you, Fred," said Mr. Cameron, 
 after the greeting was over : '^ is Helen's pro- 
 posal reasonable ? " 
 
 And he explained the case. Frederick 
 Eandal hesitated a moment. Young as he 
 was, he was abeady a diplomatist ; and he had 
 strong reasons for wishing not to displease 
 either father or daughter. Whatever his opi- 
 nion may have been, it was locked up in his 
 own breast. That he had an opinion there 
 could be no doubt. As a merchant, who knew 
 the value of money, he must have held at its 
 true worth Helen's proposal coolly to throw 
 away ten thousand pounds. Nay, it is doubt- 
 ful whether Helen Cameron herself, with all 
 her beauty, would have been quite so beautiful 
 in his eyes, had she not been heiress to her 
 father's wealth. But a ray of anger, shot from 
 those lovely blue eyes, was the dread of his 
 life. So, like a coward, he tried to steer 
 between the two, and said, not at all answer- 
 ing Mr. Cameron's question, you see :
 
 12 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^' Do you not think, sir, that it wonld solve 
 the difficulty, if I took Helen to the Feast ? '' 
 
 He was wise enough not to mention that he 
 had come for the purpose of taking her, if he 
 might; that he had brought the magnificent 
 pan^ of thoroughbred English bays in honour 
 of Helen Cameron ; that he had expressly 
 ordered Epheem, the coachman, to use the 
 handsome new silver-mounted harness ; that, 
 not content with Epheem' s usual carefulness, 
 he had himself gone down to see that the 
 turn-out was as dashing as the establishment 
 could afi'ord. In not saying a word of all this, 
 he meant to kill two bii'ds with one stone : he 
 would refrain from arousing Mr. Cameron's 
 suspicions, and at the same time earn Helen's 
 gratitude by seeming to come to her rescue. 
 At a glance he saw that he had accomplished 
 the latter object at least. He was rewarded 
 by a look from those lovely blue eyes, which 
 assured him that, by one clever stroke of 
 diplomacy, he had accomplished the work of 
 months of more toilsome wooing. 
 
 As to Mr. Cameron, he looked grave for 
 a moment, seemed to hesitate, and then an- 
 swered : 
 
 ''Of course Miss Mel drum will go with you."
 
 A FAULTY HEROIXE. 13 
 
 Kow Miss Meldrum's honest face had not 
 exactly entered into the sketch which Fred 
 had chalked ont of the morning's arrange- 
 ments. A shade passed over his own. Easy 
 enough to see that Mr. Cameron's suggestion 
 was not the most pleasing that might have 
 been made. But how decline it ? He thought 
 a while, and then said : 
 
 '' Of course I should be glad to take Miss 
 Meldrum ; but, unfortunately, there is no 
 room for more than two in my sledge." 
 
 It was Miss Meldrum's turn to be displeased. 
 She did not care a fig for the Feast of the Jor- 
 dan ; not she ! But it is not a pleasant thing, 
 even for the most long-suffering of old maids, 
 always to be thought in the way, and roughly 
 jostled aside. Miss Meldrum was one of the 
 best-tempered of old maids. But she was 
 flesh and blood after all : there are points be- 
 yond which human long-suff'ering will not hold 
 out ; and it is as well not to reckon too much 
 on its india-rubber qualities. The meek Miss 
 Meldrum tossed up her head, shook her jet- 
 black curls, and said, in her jerkiest and most 
 nervous manner : 
 
 '' Pray, don't think — of me ! T believe — - 
 I am always — in the way ! "
 
 14 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Mr. Cameron, mthoiit taking any notice of 
 this outburst, quietly answered the young man 
 
 " That is easily remedied, my dear fellow; 
 you must take my large sledge." 
 
 Young Eandal was silent. He was thinking 
 of the contrast between Mr. Cameron's old- 
 fashioned sledge and his own dashing turn-out, 
 which, he had fondly hoped, would make quite 
 a sensation in the fashionable company assem- 
 bled at the Feast of the Jordan. '^ That ram- 
 shackle affair," as he iiTeverently called it, 
 had certainly not entered into ^^ the sketch" 
 which he had chalked out. That unlucky 
 vehicle would, at one touch, destroy the ro- 
 mance of the jaunt. He had meant to drive 
 alone with beautiful Helen in one of the hand- 
 somest sledges which Eussian coach-maker 
 had ever turned out. Instead of that, to drive 
 in a huge, cumbersome old conveyance, ac- 
 companied by a watchful duenna in the shape 
 of a nervous old maid ! It was not the same 
 thing. But how to avoid it ? He could not 
 think of any decent pretext, and, in his despair, 
 appealed to Helen. Would she not prefer his 
 handsome new sledge ? Her answer was the 
 unkindest cut of all : 
 '^ I care not how I go."
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 15 
 
 ''But with that unwieldy affair we shall 
 never be able to get there/' said Eandal. 
 
 '' Oh, I'll answer for Meeshka carrying 
 you to the Feast," answered Mr. Cameron 
 laughing. 
 
 Meeshka was Mr. Cameron's coachman. 
 
 ''Ay, but what part of the crowd?" per- 
 sisted Fred; " the tail, most likely." 
 
 " I engage that he shall take you to the 
 very head," answered Mr. Cameron. 
 
 What could Eandal say after that ? He was 
 at his wit's end. Did not Mr. Cameron wish 
 him to go alone with Helen? Why? Did 
 he not relish the young man for a son-in-law ? 
 If so, why? True, Helen Cameron seemed 
 likely to become one of the richest heiresses 
 in Eussia. But Frederick Eandal' s father was 
 reckoned the wealthiest English merchant in 
 St. Petersburg. The firm of Eandal & Co., in 
 which both father and son were partners, was 
 the oldest and most flourishing in Eussia. 
 Where could Mr. Cameron hope to find a more 
 suitable match for his daughter ? Why, then, 
 object ? Was there a secret in the case ? Such 
 were the thoughts which passed through young 
 Eandal' s mind, as he glanced uneasily at Mr. 
 Cameron's face. He could see nothinf^r there
 
 16 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 but stern resolve. Quite useless to try to 
 move a man that never cliangecl his mind 
 except when Helen stormed or wheedled him. 
 So Ered made a virtue of necessity, and fell 
 in, or seemed to fall in, with the hateful plan. 
 
 Mr. Cameron rang the bell, and sent Meeshka 
 orders to prepare "the ramshackle affair." 
 Fred went out soon after, to despatch his own 
 coachman, as he said. Presently Meeshka 
 sent word to say that one of the horses was 
 lame and was not in a fit state to go out that 
 day. Had Fred tampered with the coachman ? 
 That was the thought which shot through Mr. 
 Cameron's head. He hastily went down to 
 the stable, looking rather serious. Sure enough 
 there was the horse bleeding under the fet- 
 lock. What was the matter ? Meeshka was 
 not sure; but thought that the blacksmith, 
 who had shod the horse the day before, must 
 have bungled over the business, and driven a 
 nail into the flesh. Mr. Cameron cast a keen 
 glance at Fred, who stood in the yard talking 
 to Ei)heem ; but he looked so cool and uncon- 
 scious, that the thought of his being guilty 
 seemed absurd. 
 
 What was to be done ? Could not Eandal's 
 horses be yoked to the big sledge ? Well,
 
 A FAULTY HEROINE. 17 
 
 they could ; but whether they woukl behave, 
 as horses ought to behave, was another ques- 
 tion. Meeshka thought it would be unwise : 
 they were so frisky, and so unused to a huge, 
 unwieldy vehicle like that, that they might 
 kick and plunge; and he, Meeshka, for one, 
 would not undertake to drive them in a crowd 
 such as might be expected at the Feast of the 
 Jordan. Perhaps Epheem, Fred's coachman, 
 would ? Epheem looked at his master's face, 
 and took his cue at once. At the best of times 
 he found it hard to manage those spirited 
 English brutes; but, in a strange unwieldy 
 vehicle, and in a noisy crowd, he could 
 not answer for the consequences. And so it 
 happened that Frederick Eandal and Helen 
 Cameron went alone to the Feast of the 
 Jordan. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 18 HELEN CA:MEE0X. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JORDAX. 
 
 «' blessed streams ! Either ye do prevent 
 And stop our sinnes from growing thick and wide, 
 Or else give tears and di'own them as they grow." 
 
 Herbert : Soly Baptisme. 
 
 Mr. Cameron's father had been for many years 
 head clerk in the famous house of Meldrum 
 and Meldrum, at St. Petersburg. He had so 
 won the confidence of his employers, that lat- 
 terly everything had been intrusted to his 
 mana«"ement. On the failure of that fii'm in 
 the great panic of 18 — , he had set up in 
 business for himself, taking his son (also a 
 clerk with Meldrum and Meldi'um) into part- 
 nership with him; and so well had he managed 
 his cards, that nearly all the business of Mel- 
 drum and Meldrum had passed into the hands 
 of Cameron and Son, which was, by this time, 
 one of the leading English houses in St. 
 Petersburg, keeping the old name, though 
 the old gentleman had been dead some years. 
 
 It was rumoui-ed that, while still a clerk 
 with ]\Ieldrum and Meldrum, young Mr. Came-
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JOED AN. 19 
 
 ron, as lie was then called, had ^^ ^^aid his 
 addresses " to Miss Agnes Eandal, Frederick's 
 aunt, and had been scornfully rejected ; whe- 
 ther by the young lady herself, or by her 
 father, said rumour did not clearly say. A 
 daughter of the great house of Eandal & Co. 
 to throw herself away upon a poor Scotch 
 clerk ! Out of the question ! When the 
 young man had become a partner with his 
 father, it was said that Eandal & Co. would 
 no longer have scorned an alliance with Came- 
 ron and Son. But the day of grace was then 
 past. Whether ''young Mr. Cameron" were 
 not aware of the gracious change which had 
 come over the spirit of Eandal & Co., or still 
 smarted too much from their former scorn, he 
 did not renew his offer, but bestowed his hand 
 and heart (his hand, at least) on Miss Isabella 
 Meldrum, a daughter of defunct Meldrum and 
 Meldrum. The marriage was said not to have 
 been a happy one. If report were true. Miss 
 Isabella, a noted beauty, was wilful, wayward, 
 and coquettish ; and, after nearly plaguing 
 him out of his life, had plagued herself out of 
 her own, and, leaving him a legacy of her like- 
 ness, in the person of little Helen Cameron, had 
 gone from this world into another, where it is
 
 20 HELEN CAMEROi^. 
 
 to be hoped that wayward, plaguing coquettes 
 are wholly unknown. 
 
 As Mr. Cameron was by this time one of 
 the richest merchants in St. Petersburg, there 
 were several young ladies who would willingly 
 have undertaken the task of bringing up little 
 Helen, with the rank and title of Mrs. Came- 
 ron. But, whether Mr. Cameron thought he 
 had been plagued enough for one lifetime, or 
 whether he could find no second mate to suit 
 his taste, he disappointed them all. Some said, 
 that, in spite of the past, he was still true to 
 Agnes Eandal ; but that young lady was then 
 in England, keeping house for a brother. After 
 much thought, Mr. Cameron begged Miss 
 Emily Meldrum, another daughter of defunct 
 Mekbum and Meldrum, and first cousin to 
 Helen's mother, to take charge of Helen's 
 education. The choice was, in many ways, 
 a happy one : Miss Meldrum, on the whole, 
 discharged her duties ably as well as conscien- 
 tiously, and was like a mother to Helen. But 
 there was one thing lacking, which spoilt 
 everything else : she never could acquire any 
 authority over the girl. In her defence, it 
 must be said that very few women could have 
 mastered Helen. The natural result was, that
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JORDAN. 21 
 
 she was a spoilt child. She grew up to be as 
 wilful, wayward, and coquettish, as her mother. 
 There were some noble traits in her character. 
 She was capable of great things : it was in her 
 to become a great woman. But all her good 
 qualities were overborne by her faults. 
 
 As she grew up to be the very image of her 
 mother, it was curious to watch the way in 
 which her father regarded her. She was so 
 utterly unlike him, that she might have be- 
 longed to another species ; and one can easily 
 fancy that he looked on her as a contemplative 
 hen might look on a duckling which she had 
 unwittingly hatched. He could scarcely be- 
 lieve himself to be the father and author of so 
 much beauty. At times, he would gaze at her 
 earnestly, and, seeing not a trace of himself in 
 the beautiful Helen, and but too many traces 
 of '' the plague of his life," would turn away 
 with a sigh, and try to forecast her future. 
 Ah, if he could have guessed what awaited 
 him I That he loved her dearly, there could 
 be no doubt. Yes, dearly : at times, doting 
 over her with almost womanly tenderness; at 
 others, clinging to her with passionate devo- 
 tion as (in spite of his wealth) his only trea- 
 sure in life. In company, what struck one
 
 22 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 most was, that he was proud of her. But his 
 was not that '' perfect love" which ^^casteth 
 out fear." You could not have seen them 
 long together without remarking that he stood 
 in awe of her. He seldom could withstand 
 her outbursts of sauciness and self-will. She 
 seemed likely to become, like her mother be- 
 fore her — the ^^lague of his life. Certainly 
 she gave him more and more trouble every 
 year. Often and often he made up his mind 
 to exert his authority; but hitherto he had 
 been thoroughly baffled. With all her wilful- 
 ness and waywardness, she was so lovable, and 
 so coaxing in her ways, that, when she found 
 she could not resist his authority, she overcame 
 him by her caresses. 
 
 He often questioned himself: Had he done 
 wisely in not marrying again ? Would not a 
 mother's (even a step-mother's) influence have 
 been the best discipline for such a girl ? If 
 Miss Agnes Eandal had only been at St. Peters- 
 burg ! She, with her rare mingling of sweet- 
 ness and strength, would have been the very 
 woman to keep Helen in check. Nay, as it 
 turned out, would it not have been wise even 
 to gladden the heart of one of the Misses 
 Somebody, IS'obody, and Anybody (all of whom
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JORDAN. 23 
 
 were so fond of ''the darling"), by making a 
 present of a new mamma to Helen ? Too late 
 now ! She wonld kick against the pricks as 
 few ladies could kick: no four-legged brute 
 could beat her in that accomplishment. The 
 only hope of salvation for her now lay in the 
 chance of her loving a strong-minded man who 
 could master her : for the latent capacity of 
 love was strong within her; and, where she 
 loved at all, she would have loved with her 
 Avhole heart and soul, l^o such man had ap- 
 proached her yet. Crowds of worshippers were 
 indeed at her feet: for she was the acknow- 
 ledged belle of the English community at St. 
 Petersburg; and the young attaches from the 
 English Embassy, as well as the young English 
 merchants of her own rank, offered incense at 
 her shrine. She liked to be admired ; was 
 proud of the sensation she made. She had 
 flirted, as beautiful girls who are courted by 
 all will do, with a good many; but, unluckily, 
 she had not lost her heart to any one, and, as far 
 as appearances went, was not likely to do so soon. 
 Perhaps she liked Frederick Eandal as well 
 as any. But, if you look at them now, as they 
 drive along to the Feast of the Jordan, you 
 will think that she did not give him much
 
 24 hele:?t CAMEPtO^\ 
 
 encouragement. Fred was so wrapped up in 
 the thought of his own happiness, that, for the 
 time, he coukl do without it. Enough for him 
 to be by her side. Many eyes were east on 
 her ; and many hearts envied him. The 
 greatest beauties of St. Petersburg were at 
 the Feast; but he felt that the loveliest of 
 them all was by his side. He was proud of 
 his companion; proud of diiving alone with 
 her. As for her, she soon gave him a sample 
 of her sauciness. He had just asked her : 
 
 ^^ Are you not glad, Helen, that we have no 
 prim old maid to mar our pleasure ?" 
 
 A box on the ear would have pleased Ean- 
 dal better than the answer he received : 
 
 '' Is one but a silly young coxcomb would 
 think of calling Miss Meldrum a prim old maid." 
 
 '' That is all the thanks I get !" 
 
 ^' If you look for thanks, I thank you. There 
 now : you have got your thanks ; and much 
 good may they do you. Thanks ! I thought 
 you brought me here to please yourself. I 
 really thought it gave you pleasure ! " 
 
 She spoke in the most sarcastic tone and 
 manner. Fred was on the horns of a dilemma. 
 No escaping Helen's merciless logic. Could 
 he advance his suit by saying that it gave
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JORDAN. 25 
 
 him no pleasure to be in her company ? How 
 to answer her? He felt awkward as he 
 began : 
 
 " Of course it gives me pleasure ; but '' 
 
 ^^ Oh, it does — does it ? And yet you ex- 
 pect to be rewarded for pleasing yourself ! 
 Yery fine ! Why, the young men are growing 
 quite chivabous and self-sacrificing ! " 
 
 '' This is unkind, after the years of devo- 
 tion " 
 
 '^ Years of devotion ! Why, to be sure, you 
 are becoming quite an old man. And my hair 
 is beginning to be ' silvered o'er ' — with grey. 
 If somebody does not take compassion on me 
 soon, I shall die ' a prim old maid.' " 
 
 ^' Ah, Helen, I wish you would let me " 
 
 ^' Let you take compassion on me ? Many 
 thanks ; but not just yet. Time enough yet, 
 old man." 
 
 '' I have waited till I am sick at heart." 
 ^^ How many years? Ten? Why, Jacob 
 waited fourteen years for Eachel, as Mr. Eir- 
 kenshaw told us last Sunday morning; and 
 he proved that Jacob was more than eighty 
 years old when he married her at last. How 
 would you like that, old man?" 
 
 And Helen laughed so merrily, that she
 
 26 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 nearly clroye Eandal to despair. He said rather 
 angrily : 
 
 ^'Do be serious for a moment !" 
 
 '' Hx)w can one be serious on such a day as 
 this, with such a sun as this shining upon one's 
 head?" 
 
 ^^My dear Helen " 
 
 ^^ Don't ^dear' me! I am not your dear 
 Helen ; and, what is more, I never will be 
 your dear Helen — if you don't know how to 
 behave better." 
 
 Eandal was seriously hurt. Helen saw it 
 at a glance, and in a moment changed her 
 tone. Fond as she was of teasing ; much as 
 she loved mischief and her own way ; — she 
 was at bottom a kind-hearted girl, and did not 
 like to see any one wretched. Moreover, at 
 this stage of her being, she was a genuine 
 coquette : she knew her power over Fred, and 
 used it like a tyrant ; but she did not want 
 him to fly beyond her reach. So she smiled 
 sweetly, and tried to soothe him. 
 
 ^^ Ah," he said, ^' if you could always speak 
 to me as kindly as now I" 
 
 '^ Why, then, we should make a pretty pair 
 of monotonous owls. Wouldn't it be a pre- 
 cious life?"
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JORDAN. 27 
 
 '^ Oil, Helen, I love you." 
 
 " You silly goose, don't make an ass of 
 yourself!" 
 
 '' If you only knew how much. I love you ! " 
 
 " There now, that's enough. ' If you only 
 knew ' how sheepish you look when you make 
 those silly speeches ! — ^Why, look, Fred, we 
 are stuck in the crowd. How provoking ! " 
 
 In truth their progress had been arrested. 
 They had come up to the tail of the crowd 
 which was rushing to the river to see the 
 great sight. By the side of the crowd was 
 a clear lane ; but it was lined by soldiers, who 
 kept it clear, and prevented any one from 
 stepping into it out of the crowd. Just then 
 a handsome sledge passed them in the lane. 
 Fred was indignant, and ordered Epheem to 
 follow in the wake of the sledge. Eut no 
 sooner had the horses turned into the open 
 lane, than two soldiers came up and backed 
 them into their former place. Eandal's blood 
 began to boil. 
 
 '^ Why should not we go on, as well as those 
 people ?" he angrily asked. 
 
 " That sledge belongs to his highness Count 
 Golovin," answered one of the soldiers, some- 
 what roughly : '' this lane is for people of rank."
 
 28 HELE]^ CAMERON. 
 
 Fred would have struggled with the man, 
 had not Helen diverted his attention by cry- 
 ing: 
 
 ^^ What a handsome fellow that officer is ! " 
 
 The application of the term ''handsome" 
 by Helen to any man, was enough to rouse 
 Bandal's curiosity, and — something else. He 
 looked toward the spot to which Helen's eyes 
 had been drawn, and saw a young officer on 
 horseback, seemingly in command of the sol- 
 diers who kept the ground. He certainly had 
 a handsome figure, tall and commanding ; but 
 there might have been two opinions about his 
 face. A striking face : thoughtful ; full of ex- 
 pression, and full of power. Eut, at that 
 moment, the owner was employed in keep- 
 ing back the crowd; and, perhaps, owing to 
 this unpleasant duty, he frowned so fiercely, 
 and looked so stern and forbidding, that few 
 young ladies would have called him handsome. 
 Helen, however, had her head so thoroughly 
 tui'ned by Byron's heroes, that the very stern- 
 ness of the officer's face made him tenfold more 
 heroic in her eyes. And certainly, at that 
 moment, he might have passed for a Lara or a 
 Manfred. 
 
 If Eandal had looked forward to aliy unal-
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JORDAN". 29 
 
 loyecl pleasure in Helen's society tliat day, lie 
 was doomed to be disappointed. Helen's re- 
 mark rankled in his heart. He was naturally 
 jealous, and could not bear to hear her praise 
 any man, least of all a young man. Looking 
 at the officer, he could not help acknowledging 
 inwardly that he was a noble-looking fellow. 
 But all the more was his jealousy aroused. 
 He bit his lip with vexation, and said : 
 
 " You don't call him handsome, do you?'' 
 
 ^' YesI do; the finest-looking man I ever saw." 
 
 Eandal again bit his lip. 
 
 '^ Well, certainly, tastes differ, " he said, in 
 an unpleasant tone; '^but I should call him 
 plain." 
 
 '' I have a great mind to ask him to help us 
 out of this crowd," remarked Helen. 
 
 A great dread came over poor Eandal. 
 What if Helen and that distinguished-looking 
 yoimg officer became acquainted with each other? 
 
 ^' You will do no such thing !" he cried. 
 
 ^' Who ^dll prevent me ?" 
 
 a J 5? 
 
 *' You?" cried Helen, with the utmost scorn. 
 '^ Your father placed you under my care." 
 ''Under ?/oiir care ! You'll have enough to 
 do to take care of your own foolish pate."
 
 30 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^^Helerij if you love me^ you will not speak 
 to that man." 
 
 ''But I don't love you," answered Helen 
 angrily : "I hate you ; and, if you go on like 
 this, I shall begin to love that handsome young 
 officer — I shall !" 
 
 ''Oh, Helen!" 
 
 Poor Fred said this in real agony. But 
 Helen was by this time too angry herself to 
 heed his pain. At this- moment the officer was 
 passing by; and Helen addressed him and made 
 her request. The officer took off his hat, bowed 
 very low, and looked at Helen. He thought 
 he had never seen such a lovely face before. 
 He was fairly dazzled, and for a while seemed 
 struck dumb. (0 the tortures which poor 
 Eandal went through during those few mo- 
 ments !) At length a sweet smile came over 
 his stern face. 
 
 " Mademoiselle," he said in French, " I shall 
 be delighted to do my best. My orders are to 
 let none but the nobility pass this way : but 
 such beauty as yours would grace the highest 
 courts in Europe." 
 
 "May I trespass on your goodness still fur- 
 ther, by requesting you to get us a good place?" 
 
 " Glad to do my best, mademoiselle."
 
 THE FEAST OF THE JOEDAN. 31 
 
 ^' A thousand tlianks, monsieur." 
 
 Poor EanclaPs cup of wretchedness seemed 
 full. What could he do ? Nothing but bow 
 to his fate. The officer ordered the sledge to 
 move on, and rode by its side, talking politely 
 to Helen all the time. 
 
 ^' You are English, I presume, mademoiselle ? " 
 he said. 
 
 ^^ Yes, monsieur : at least, Scotch." 
 
 ^'Ah, I thought so: such beauty is bred 
 nowhere but in the great Anglo-Saxon stock. 
 Will mademoiselle allow me to ask the name 
 of the gentleman who is so happy as to possess 
 such a daughter ? " 
 
 " My father is M. Cameron of Pea Street." 
 
 The officer took a card out of his breast-coat 
 pocket, and (taking off his hat) presented it to 
 Helen, who read the words : '^ Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky, Life Guards." 
 
 ^' What a beautiful name !" she thought. 
 
 Poor Frederick Eandal ! 
 
 ^' I shall do myself the honour of waiting on 
 you at your father's house," said Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky, ^'and ripening the acquaintance thus 
 happily begun. That is to say, if mademoiselle 
 has no objection?" 
 
 ''!Kone whateyer, monsieur: I shall be de-
 
 32 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 lighted to see yoa; and my father will have 
 the opportunity of thanking yon for yonr kind- 
 ness and courtesy." 
 
 '^ Pray don't speak of thanks, mademoiselle." 
 They had now reached the IN'eva ; and Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky placed Helen in a capital 
 spot for seeing all that was to be seen. Then, 
 to Eandal's great relief, he retired to look after 
 his duties; but, alas, to Eandal's dismay, he 
 soon returned, and began to point out to Helen 
 distinguished men and women in the crowd. 
 
 At this moment Helen noticed a gorgeously 
 apparelled gentleman staring at her. Well, I 
 daresay he, like many others, was dazzled by 
 her beauty. But there were few who would 
 have winked at her so unblushingly. She 
 asked Captain Maleenovsky who he was. 
 Fred, who did not relish the intimacy which 
 seemed to be springing up between the young 
 officer and Helen, begged the latter to hold her 
 tongue. Captain Maleenovsky looked at Fred 
 for a moment in a way which made the English- 
 man's blood boil, and quietly answered that it 
 was the great Prince Boriatinsky.
 
 TO GO, OE NOT TO GO. 33 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 TO GO, OR NOT TO GO. 
 
 " I prefer the golden mean 
 Pomp and penury between : 
 For alarm and peril wait 
 Ever on the loftiest state ; 
 And the lowest to the end 
 Obloquy and scorn attend." 
 
 Cotntper: Poem?. 
 
 From Vliat you have as yet seen of Helen, 
 you may think she is not worth further notice. 
 A mere beauty ; a shallow, heartless coquette ! 
 "Well, even if this were my estimate of my 
 heroine, I should not throw her away as worth- 
 less. I think that the lowest form of human 
 life is worth studying; that, if we are wise 
 ourselves, we may gather wisdom even from a 
 shallow, heartless coquette. Still, if this had 
 been my estimate of Helen Cameron, I should not 
 have chosen her for my heroine. I believe that 
 behind that outer crust of coquettishness there 
 was hidden a true womanly nature which might 
 yet come out. My faith in the ennobling dis- 
 cipline of life is so strong, that I do not desj^air 
 of being able to say in time : '^ Look on this 
 picture and on that!" I have seen a grub 
 
 VOL. I. * D
 
 34 HELEX ca:merox. 
 
 change into a chrysalis, and that into a butter- 
 fly : so I have foolishly mourned over many a 
 girl who has seemed to me light and frivolous, 
 till the years have rolled by, and the sanctities 
 of love and wifehood and motherhood have 
 turned her into a right glorious woman. Have 
 patience, then, with Helen Cameron. 
 
 Moreover, I believe there are few gii'ls, 
 placed as Helen was, who would not have 
 fallen into the same mistakes. She had no 
 mother to train her ; no brothers and sisters to 
 draw her out of herself, and teach her the 
 rights and claims of others. She was beautiful 
 beyond the common, and had early become 
 "the observed of all observers." Wherever 
 she went, there were plenty of young men to 
 flatter her, and make her believe that she was 
 a goddess on earth, to whom every one must 
 bow. Her father and Miss Meldrum, by letting 
 her have her own way in nearly everything, had 
 strengthened this belief; or, rather, had laid 
 the foundation, on which said foolish young 
 men had only reared the superstructm-e. In 
 spite of the intellectual training she had re- 
 ceived, and the many accomplishments she 
 could boast of, she was still, in the highest 
 sense, a wild animal; an untamed child of
 
 TO GO, OR NOT TO GO. 35 
 
 nature that had yet to be brought under the 
 yoke. Above all, among the crowds of her 
 admirers, she had not found one to whom she 
 could surrender her heart. She knew nothing: 
 of love. She had heard of it, and read of it ; 
 but it was as a man born blind might hear of 
 some beautiful scene. Young men had spoken 
 to her of it ; but their words had found no echo 
 in her breast. 
 
 Was there going to be a change ? Was a 
 new experience about to be added to the story 
 of her life ? Was life about to begin its real 
 discipline on Helen Cameron ? She had seen 
 a man who had struck her as no other man had 
 ever done. Captain Maleenovsky had taken her 
 imagination captive : was he going to touch the 
 right chord in her heart ? This was the crisis 
 of her life : the meeting of the ways ; the 
 turning-point whence her history must take an 
 upward or a downward course. And, when I 
 look at this, it saddens me to think of those 
 who never have the chance. What becomes of 
 those girls who never meet a man that they 
 can love ? And what of those who, meeting 
 one, have not the chance of acting on the 
 promptings of the heart ? In this respect 
 women are worse off than men. They can't
 
 36 HELEN ca:merox. 
 
 say to any man they loye : ^' I love you." 
 They must wait for the man to make the first 
 move ; and, if that never come, they must be 
 dumb, and try to crush their feelings as best 
 they may. Isot that the rule is strictly en- 
 forced ; for I know more than two or tlu-ee 
 young ladies who practise a little bit of love- 
 making on the sly. It is as well, perhaps, that 
 society should put its veto on the practice ; for 
 if it were understood that the offer might come 
 
 from either sex I di^aw a veil over the 
 
 picture ! But, as I say this, I can't help 
 placing myself on the stand-point of the gentler 
 sex. If the lion were to paint the man ? Ah, 
 I pity some ladies ! 
 
 I hope I have not led you to think that 
 Helen Cameron made love to Captain Malee- 
 novsky. If she had felt the love, I am not sure 
 that she would not have blui'ted it out. She 
 was very impulsive ; in fact, hitherto had acted 
 chiefly from impiilse. She was in the habit of 
 saying what was uppermost in her mind. Her 
 heart lay very near her mouth, and left the 
 brain in the rear. But, the fact is, as yet her 
 imagination had been touched much more than 
 her heart. As she went home from the Feast 
 of the Jordan, she kept thinking of Captain
 
 Maleenovsky. Poor Frederick Eandal had to 
 put up with the dregs of her regards. Mr. 
 Cameron was away from home the whole of 
 that day; looking after that ten thousand pounds 
 business. But Miss Meldrum's ears were filled 
 with the praises of the ^' handsome young 
 officer." All that evening she could think of 
 little else. As she lay in bed at night, the 
 dazzling picture was before her eyes ; and, 
 when she fell asleep, she dreamt of Captain 
 Maleenovsky ! 
 
 When she went down the following morning, 
 she found her father and Miss Meldrum in the 
 breakfast-room. Mr. Cameron was in high 
 spirits, and embraced her warmly. Whether 
 he had gained the ten thousand pounds, or 
 what was the cause of his flow of spirits, 
 Helen could not say. Miss Meldrum took 
 her seat at the tray. She would not have 
 resigned her post for a good deal. Luckily, 
 Helen did not covet it ; but, if it had come to 
 a struggle between the two. Miss Meldrum 
 would have had to give way. A pile of letters 
 lay on the table near the spot where Mr. 
 Cameron usually sat; and that gentleman 
 was soon absorbed in the double task of 
 taking in the contents of his plate and those
 
 38 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 of liis letters. Helen was so brimful of tlie 
 thoughts which the foregoing day had awak- 
 ened, and so anxious to let her fellow- 
 creatures have the benefit of them, that she 
 did not relish her father's absorption in his 
 twofold task. IN'o fun in talking to Miss Mel- 
 drum; for Miss Meldrum had heard the 
 whole repeated ad nauseam^ and must have 
 already got whatever good it could do her. 
 Helen could keep her patience no longer, and 
 burst out. 
 
 ^'Papa," she said, ^'you have not asked 
 me yet how I liked the Feast of the Jordan." 
 
 ^^Eh, puss?" 
 
 This was all that Mr. Cameron deigned 
 to say. He did not even look up from his 
 letters ; but entrenched behind them, as be- 
 hind some strong fortification, he let off his 
 random shot. 
 
 ^'No, sir," cried Helen, ''I shall not be 
 friendly with you till you look up from those 
 hateful letters." 
 
 When she was angry with her father, or 
 made-believe to be angry, she always called 
 him '-'- sir." 
 
 ^'What's up?" asked Mr. Cameron, still 
 reading:.
 
 39 
 
 ^^ You are not Caesar, sir," answered Helen: 
 "yon can't do three things at once. You 
 can't say : Vent, vidi^ viciP 
 
 I rather think Helen, with all her accom- 
 plishments (Latin was not one of them), had 
 a yague notion that veni^ vidi^ vici^ were the 
 Latin names of the three or four things which 
 Csesar is said to have done at the same time. 
 Mr. Cameron at length looked up from his 
 letters, and said : 
 
 " Well, Helen, what do you want with me?" 
 " Don't you want to know how I got on ?" 
 " Well, child, and how did you get on ?" 
 ''You don't deserve to know!" answered 
 Helen pettishly : '' you were a naughty and 
 unfeeling papa; and I hope you did not get 
 the ten thousand pounds after all." 
 
 '' That is something — like cutting off — your 
 nose to spite — your face," said Miss Meldrum, 
 with a gleam of humour in her black eyes. 
 
 '' Ay, child," retorted Mr. Cameron, '' I 
 can say with the father in the parable : 
 ' Daughter, thou art ever with me ; and 
 all that I have is thine.' For whom do 
 I toil and slave from morning till night but 
 for you?" 
 
 There was a touch of tenderness in his
 
 40 HELEN CAMEROJf. 
 
 voice and a pathos in his manner whicL. 
 Helen could not withstand. She gave him 
 a kiss which wonld have thrown Frederick 
 Eandal into convulsions of envy. A wild, 
 impulsive girl ! 
 
 ^'Forgive me, darling papa!" she cried; 
 " I didn't mean to hurt you. You dear, 
 darling papa !" 
 
 ''You aggravating puss!" said Mr. Came- 
 ron, returning her caress with interest : ''I 
 have a great mind to cut you off with a 
 shilling, and leave my property to found an 
 institution for the education of wild cats." 
 
 '' Do, papa ! I like that : that tvould be an 
 original idea ; and you must make me lady- 
 superintendent for life, you know." 
 
 '' Lady-superintendent ! One of the very 
 first wild cats I'd have caught and tamed 
 there!" 
 
 ''And did you get your ten thousand 
 pounds, papa, after all?" 
 
 " Go back to your seat, you puss, and 
 leave me to eat my breakfast in peace." 
 
 "But not to read your letters," answered 
 Helen archly. 
 
 " Well, and how dkljoii get on yesterday ?" 
 
 This set Helen off. After giving a rattling
 
 TO GO, OR NOT TO GO. 41 
 
 description of the events of the day, she added 
 enthusiastically : 
 
 '^ And, oh, pajDa, there was such a splendid 
 young officer, such a handsome fellow, who 
 was so kind to me. He took me to one of 
 the very best spots. And, do you know, he 
 said he would call upon me to ripen the ac- 
 quaintance ; and I told him you would be 
 delighted to see him, and to thank him for 
 all his kindness to me." 
 
 Mr. Cameron's brow clouded over. The 
 possibility of Helen's marrying a Eussian was 
 never very pleasant to him. Eut then, by 
 living in Eussia, he was always running that 
 risk : he had counted the cost ; and it was not 
 that which troubled him now. The fact was, 
 he knew more of young officers than Helen 
 did : and he had no high opinion of their cha- 
 racter ; thought them a low, drunken, frivo- 
 lous set of men. The thought of a young 
 Eussian officer becoming free of the house, 
 entering into friendly relations with his 
 daughter, was anything but agreeable to him. 
 
 '^ What is his name ?" he gravely asked. 
 
 " Captain Maleenovsky, of the Life Guards" 
 
 '' Captain Maleenovsky ! I never heard his 
 name before. I shall make inquiries about
 
 42 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 him ; and, in the meanwhile, I wish you not 
 to see him at alL" 
 
 '' But if he should call while you are out ?" 
 
 '^ Eefuse to see him." 
 
 ^' Oh, papa, that would be ungracious !" 
 
 ^' Well, then, see him with Miss Meldrum ; 
 but be sure and keep him at a distance." 
 
 ^' Yery well, papa." 
 
 "While Mr. Cameron was yet speaking, 
 Natalia, the chief parlour-maid- — a tidy, good- 
 looking girl — had entered the room with a 
 packet in her hand, and handed it to her 
 master, saying : 
 
 '^ From her highness. Princess Donskaya." 
 
 Mr. Cameron opened the packet, and took 
 out a card, gilt and illuminated at the edges. 
 
 " An invitation to Mr. and Miss Cameron to 
 attend her highness' s ball on the 10th," he said. 
 
 And he handed the card to Helen. Helen 
 clapped her hands with childish delight. She 
 was naturally gay and sociable: her highest 
 triumphs were won in public assemblies ; and 
 the idea of a ball at a real, live princess's 
 was irresistible. 
 
 "• That will be charming," she cried. 
 ^' Lay your eggs before you hatch them," 
 said Mr. Cameron, with a meaning smile.
 
 TO GOj OR NOT TO GO. 43 
 
 ^^ But you'll go, of course, papa, and take 
 me!" 
 
 '' Why of course ? I am not sure that it is 
 right to go to balls." 
 
 ^' Mr. Herbert thinks that — there is no 
 harm in going," said Miss Meldrum, adding 
 a significant toss of the head to each of the 
 usual jerks. 
 
 The Eev. Eeginald Herbert was chaplain to 
 the English Embassy. Miss Meldrum was a 
 Churchwoman ; whereas Mr. Cameron, as a 
 Presbyterian, had thrown in his lot among 
 the Congregationalists. Miss Meldrum' s toss 
 of the head was a broad hint that there was 
 greater breadth among Church-people than 
 among Dissenters. She was no bigot ; indeed, 
 usually worshipped with Mr. Cameron. Still 
 she liked to have her quiet fling at Dissenters ; 
 and Mr. Cameron could return the blow with 
 interest. 
 
 ^^ I do not pin my faith to any priest's 
 sleeve," he retorted : ^' I leave that to Church- 
 men, and especially to Churchwomen." 
 
 ''We know how to think — for ourselves too." 
 
 '' Yet you must needs bring in Mr. Her- 
 bert's authority at every point," answered 
 Mr. Cameron good-humouredly. '' He is a
 
 44 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 nice young man; still, none but a spinster 
 could build him up into a law." 
 
 '^ I am sure be is — a greater scholar — and a 
 greater gentleman — than Mr. Birkenshaw." 
 
 ^'And a great deal handsomer," said Mr. 
 Cameron laughing, ^'and altogether more 
 interesting to look at." 
 
 '^ You don't mean — to insinuate " 
 
 '' No, I don't." 
 
 ^' But, papa, you took me to the ball at the 
 English Embassy the other day," said Helen. 
 
 ''Yes, my darling; and I could not help 
 thinking then how much better my time 
 might have been spent." 
 
 '' Oh, papa ! I thought you enjoyed it 
 so much." 
 
 '' But a ball at the Embassy is one thing, 
 and a ball at Princess Donskaya's is another." 
 
 ''But who is this — Princess Donskaya?" 
 asked Miss Meldrum. 
 
 "A beautiful coquette, who is timiing the 
 heads of half the young noblemen in Peters- 
 burg." 
 
 "But, papa dear, you yourself say that we 
 ought not to believe all the scandal afloat." 
 
 " Still I would not throw myself in the way 
 of people who have scandal attached to their
 
 TO GOj OR NOT TO GO. 45 
 
 names. Besides, I can't think why this 
 Princess should invite me. I know nothing 
 of her personally." 
 
 ^^ Perhaps she knows some of onr friends." 
 
 ^^ Her circle is said to be exclusively aristo- 
 cratic ; and what could have induced her to 
 invite a merchant and his daughter ?" 
 
 ^^ Do go, dear papa!" cried Helen in her 
 coaxing tone. 
 
 ^^ Ay, do, Mr. Cameron!" echoed Miss 
 Meldrum. ''It is no question — of ten thou- 
 sand pounds." 
 
 The gleam of humour in her black eyes 
 seemed to say : " It is only a question of right 
 or wrong; and surely that is not worth ten 
 thousand pounds ! " 
 
 " If you love me, you'll go, papa," said 
 Helen. 
 
 " Surely, my darling, you don't require 
 such a test of my love," said Mr. Cameron 
 smiling. 
 
 " Yes, but I do, papa," answered Helen, 
 returning his look with an arch one of her 
 own: "ever since yesterday I am in horrible 
 doubts about it ; and I believe that you don't 
 love me at all, you naughty papa. Do you 
 now?"
 
 46 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '^ Iso, puss, I don't." 
 
 ^^ You owe me some reparation for breaking 
 your promise yesterday," continued Helen : 
 '' take me to the ball ; and I'll forgive you." 
 
 She ended by going up to liim, and throw- 
 ing her arms round his neck. Miss Mekbum 
 looked at the two with amusement plainly 
 written on her face. She belieyed that Mr. 
 Cameron would yield. But she was mistaken 
 for once. On a point touching Helen's 
 highest welfare he could be firmer than on 
 most other things ; and all that Helen's coax- 
 ing and wheedling could wring out of him 
 was a promise that he would think the matter 
 over.
 
 CAPTAIN MALEE:NrOVSKy. 47 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOYSKY. 
 
 " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin," 
 
 Shakspere. 
 
 Soon after breakfast, Mr. Cameron went away ; 
 and, wlien tlie breakfast-things had been re- 
 moYed, Miss Meklrnm and Helen sat down to 
 their stndies. Eut Helen could not fix her 
 thoughts on what she read. She kept thinking 
 of all she had seen the day before. Though 
 Captain MaleenoYsky had touched only her 
 imagination, it did not follow that she was 
 out of danger. There was some danger of his 
 monopolising her thoughts at least. That 
 handsome figure, in the brilliant uniform, kept 
 dancing before her eyes in such absurd fashion, 
 that it hid the letters on which they ought to 
 haye been fixed. It was quite a new thing in 
 Helen's experience. As a rule, she was a 
 diligent student. A gay coquette, a diligent 
 student : there's a contradiction for you ! But, 
 then, Helen was, as yet, a mass of contradic- 
 tions ; and would he^ till some one master- 
 passion began to sway her soul.
 
 48 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 It seemed a relief to her when Frederick 
 Eandal came in. IN'ot that Fred was just then 
 in harmony with the current of her thoughts ; 
 hut he released her from the irksome task of 
 fixing those thoughts on something still more 
 foreign to her mood. Fred was not in the 
 best of tempers, and did nothing to raise 
 himself in Helen's eyes. The Feast of the 
 Jordan had not passed off pleasantly for him. 
 He was still sore about the dashing young 
 officer, who had come in between him and 
 Helen, and neatly bowled him out. A painful 
 impression had for some time been forcing 
 itself upon him : that Helen Cameron, with 
 all her loveliness, was a heartless coquette. 
 That thought had been driven deeper the day 
 before. He had been wronged : Helen had no 
 right to be so kind and gracious to a stranger. 
 His own long devotion to her had deserved a 
 better return. Who was Helen Cameron, that 
 she should flout him as she did ? There were 
 plenty of other gii'ls in the world, who would 
 be glad enough to have him. Was there not 
 sweet Jenny Cameron, Helen's own cousin, who, 
 if he could believe his sister, was ready to drop 
 into his mouth, without giving him the trouble 
 of plucking her ?
 
 CAPTAIX MALEENOVSXY. 49 
 
 Fred had come, big mth a brave resolve 
 to trot out his TVTongs before Helen, and have 
 them righted at last. He would seek an 
 exiDlanation : she should shilly-shally no longer. 
 But scarcely had he begun to speak, when 
 I^atalia came in, with a card in her hand. 
 There was a flutter in Helen's heart, as she 
 glanced at the card ; and she could not hinder 
 a gleam of joy from lighting up her face. She 
 never could hide her feelings, poor girl ! Fred 
 was watching her keenly, jealously. A gen- 
 tleman's card ! 
 
 '^ His coming seems to give you great plea- 
 sure, whoever it is," he said, somewhat 
 bitterly: ''who is it?" 
 
 ''It is only Captain Maleenovsky, who was 
 so polite to us yesterday," answered Helen, 
 trying, in vain, to appear cool and uncon- 
 cerned. 
 
 Poor Eandal was at his wits' end. He had 
 been most anxious to have his explanation with 
 Helen before she could see Captain Malee- 
 novsky again. What was he to do ? Well, he 
 did about the most foolish thing which he 
 could have done. 
 
 "Helen, you will not see him !" he said. 
 
 " I will, though," said Helen haughtily ; " I 
 
 VOL. I. • E
 
 50 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Avill not have my movements controlled by 
 you." 
 
 ^^ I do not wish to control yon," cried Fred 
 meekly ; "• but Helen, if yon love me " 
 
 '^ Now don't be silly again, Fred I" 
 
 ^^ Yon are crnel, Helen !" 
 
 Eandal had looked nncommonly big when 
 he came in ; but he had now dwindled down 
 to his usual size. The high and mighty tone 
 with which he had started had collapsed. 
 Xatalia was still in the room, watching the 
 scene. She had picked up a few English words 
 in Mr. Cameron's house ; and she was mightily 
 amused at the part played by Eandal, who 
 was no great favourite with any of the ser- 
 vants. Helen saw the smile on her face, and, 
 guessing its meaning, rather tartly ordered her : 
 
 " Show Captain Maleenovsky up." 
 
 When Captain Maleenovsky appeared, he 
 presented a remarkable contrast to Frederick 
 Eandal. Helen had marked the contrast the 
 day before. Then it had been scarcely fair 
 to compare the two. The captain had been 
 " master of the situation," commanding the 
 troops. But, now that they appeared on equal 
 terms, Helen was almost painfully struck with 
 the thought that Fred looked small in every
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY. 51 
 
 way by Captain Maleenovsky's side. There 
 was a look of massive strength, a calmness of 
 bearing arising out of that strength, and withal 
 a polished and even courtly manner, which 
 would have made the guardsman conspicuous 
 anywhere. After greeting him with studied 
 politeness, Helen introduced him to Miss Mel- 
 drum as her governess. 
 
 '^ Ah, mademoiselle, I envy you your task," 
 said Maleenovsky in French, making a stately 
 bow. 
 
 ^^ I do not think — you would have envied 
 me — a few years ago," answered Miss Meldrum. 
 
 ^^ It is, doubtless, to your painful efforts 
 that we are in a measure indebted for what 
 we see to-day. I congratulate you on the 
 result, mademoiselle. For my part, I think I 
 should have enjoyed the process as well as 
 the result." 
 
 ^'Monsieur is too flattering." 
 
 '' By no means, mademoiselle. I am giving 
 feeble and inadequate utterance to the simple 
 truth." 
 
 ^' Even truth is to be spoken with reserve." 
 
 Helen then introduced the captain to Ean- 
 dal. Maleenovsky made another com'tly bow, 
 and said :
 
 52 HELEX CAMEEOX. 
 
 ^'I had the honour of seeing monsieur yes- 
 terday." 
 
 '' Yes, I saw you," answered Fred disdain- 
 fully. 
 
 There was a pause. EandaPs manner 
 threw a chill over the company ; and there was 
 some danger of the conyersation collapsing. 
 But Miss Meldrum gallantly came to the 
 rescue : 
 
 " We are very much — obliged to you, mon- 
 sieur — for your attentions — to Mademoiselle 
 Cameron yesterday." 
 
 ''Not worth mentioning. I did what com- 
 mon courtesy requires from a gentleman to 
 a lady." 
 
 '' I rather suspect that — you went beyond 
 that. Mademoiselle came home — full of your 
 praises." 
 
 ''I should have earned the execration of all 
 judges of beauty if I had deserted the loveliest 
 lady in Petersburg. I am proud to think that 
 I have earned the gratitude of all the nobility 
 by presenting to them the sight which they 
 saw yesterday." 
 
 What was poor Fred. thinking all this time ? 
 As for Miss Meldrum, she was not over well 
 pleased. To her truthful natiu^e there seemed
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY. 53 
 
 to be a hollo wness about these sounding flat- 
 teries. And yet, in spite of them, she liked 
 the look of Captain Maleenovsky. There was 
 an honesty and a manliness about him out of 
 keeping with these stilted speeches. Some- 
 how she thought that it was not his real nature 
 which was speaking; but a false outgrowth, 
 the offshoot of an artificial training, which had 
 overtopped and hid the true man. She in- 
 stinctively felt that the man was truer than 
 his speech. Helen was disappointed ; deeply, 
 bitterly disappointed. Was this the hero of 
 her imagination ? Had she mistaken a stuffed 
 figure of a man for a hero ? Were these 
 empty commonplaces the best he could utter ? 
 Why, a dash of wickedness would have been 
 welcome as a change ! A Lara, indeed ! Was 
 it not a Sir Charles Grandison ? 
 
 It was somewhat strange that Fred should 
 unwittingly be the means of revealing to each 
 other the true natures of two human beings 
 whom he was doing his best to keep asunder. 
 Anxious to put a stop to further compliments, 
 which were distasteful to him as coming from 
 Captain Maleenovsky, though he saw no harm 
 in them when they came from his own sweet 
 self, he asked the guardsman :
 
 54 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^^Do you know wliat has become of the 
 fellow that was hurt yesterday ? " 
 
 In returning from the Feast the day before, 
 Fred's spirited English horses, excited by the 
 dense crowd and the loud cries, had become 
 unmanageable ; and one of them, rearing, had 
 cut a poor boy's head open with his hoof. 
 
 ^^Poor child!" answered Captain Malee- 
 noYsky, with deep feeling. ^' It is doubtful 
 whether he will live." 
 
 His whole manner had changed in a moment, 
 as if by magic. It seemed as if another man 
 were talking. The overstrained courtesy had 
 disappeared ; and the real man spoke out at 
 last. The tenderness in his tone, and the 
 earnestness in his manner, went straight to 
 Helen's heart. Ah, that strong, calm, self- 
 possessed gentleman was a man after all ! 
 
 ^'I never knew my horses behave so badly 
 before," said Fred. 
 
 This speech jarred on the ears of all who 
 heard it. It was so out of tune with what had 
 gone before. !N'o regret for the accident ! l^o 
 pity for the suflPerer ! ^o sympathy with his 
 fiiends ! 
 
 ''But have you not been to see him?" 
 asked Maleenovsky, with a look of surprise.
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY. 00 
 
 ^^ 1^0, monsieur. But I gave the fatlier my 
 address yesterday. I promised to make com- 
 pensation for any loss lie may sustain ; and I 
 daresay the solid tin will please him better 
 than my going to see his brat." 
 
 I daresay ninety-nine out of a hundred offi- 
 cers would have taken this yiew of the matter ; 
 but Maleenovsky was cast in another mould. 
 Helen felt, to the core of her being, how far he 
 was above most of the Eussian gentlemen whom 
 she had ever met. That sternness, which she 
 had marked the day before, now settled on his 
 granite face ; and he looked a different man 
 from the bland, courtly, flattery-weaving gen- 
 tleman who had entered the room. Fred had 
 unwittingly brought out the true man in him. 
 He spoke with an energy which thrilled Helen 
 through and through, and made even Eandal 
 wince. 
 
 '^'Noj monsieur," he said indignantly: ^^you 
 are mistaken there. The Eussian working-man 
 has his feelings as well as other men. Indeed, 
 I have seen more feeling there than in some 
 English gentlemen. If you had seen the father 
 distracted, and the mother nearly weeping her 
 eyes out, over the poor little moaning, groan- 
 ing sufferer, you would never have thought
 
 56 hele:^ camerox. 
 
 any amount of dirty bank-notes would plaster 
 over tliat wound. One touch of human sym- 
 pathy would do them more good than all the 
 gold in the Bank of England." 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky spoke in a tone of 
 authority. Miss Meldrum felt he was crushing 
 Fred. 
 
 '' I am sorry it should have happened," said 
 Eandal. 
 
 '' I would earnestly advise you, monsieur, 
 for your own sake, to go and see them." 
 
 '^Have you been to see them?" asked 
 Helen. 
 
 ^' Yes, I have been there the whole morning, 
 trying to soothe the heart-broken parents. Eut 
 it is a hopeless task ; the poor, mangled boy is 
 their only child." 
 
 ^^"Will you take me there, monsieur?" 
 asked Helen, with trembling voice and tears 
 in her eyes. 
 
 ''With the greatest pleasure," answered 
 Captain Maleenovsky, his grand, massive face 
 lighted up with joy, and something higher than 
 joy : '' my sledge is waiting below ; and I do 
 believe that the sight of your face, and the 
 sound of your voice, would do them more good 
 than anything else."
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY. 57 
 
 ^' I will go with you, then. I feel that I 
 am as much answerable for the accident as 
 M. Eanclal.'' 
 
 '^ What do you mean ?" said Fred. ^^How 
 could I help my horses rearing ?" 
 
 Helen had been strangely softened within 
 the last few minutes. Instead of firing up, 
 as she would have done at another time, 
 and answering Fred roughly, she meekly 
 said : 
 
 ''I didn't want to hurt you, Fred; but you 
 and I were the occasion of the accident, you 
 know." 
 
 At this moment Miss Meldiami stepped in 
 with a caution, in English : 
 
 ^' Helen, darling, are you — not forgetting 
 what — your papa said — this morning?" 
 
 ^^He never could have meant it to apply to 
 a case like this," answered Helen promptly : 
 ^' he is too good himself to object to an errand 
 of mercy." 
 
 Maleenovsky kncAV something of English ; 
 but he had not the slightest idea that Miss 
 Meldrum referred to himself. I. suppose Fred 
 guessed it. 
 
 ^^Have you any objection to my accompany- 
 ing you?" he said to Captain Maleenovsky.
 
 68 HELEN CA^EEOX. 
 
 '^ I sliould have been most liappy," answered 
 the gnardsman politely; ^^bnt my sledge has 
 room only for two." 
 
 '' Tit for tat," thought Miss Meldrum. 
 
 Indeed, she was not a little pleased. Before, 
 it was Fred's sledge that ^' had room only for 
 two ! " 
 
 ''This sight has saddened me so much," said 
 Captain MaleenoYsky, ''that I feel quite un- 
 strung. I have faith in the Great Power that 
 governs the world," he added after a short 
 pause, in a tone of deep reverence; "but I 
 cannot understand (indeed, it is a dreadful 
 mystery to me !) how he can allow such 
 agonies to alight on poor, helpless, innocent 
 children. I have been puzzKng over it all 
 the morning." 
 
 "He sends it for their good," suggested 
 Miss Meldrum. 
 
 "I am surprised that a captain in the army 
 should take such a sentimental view of things," 
 remarked Fred, with an unmistakable sneer. 
 
 Helen expected to see Captain Maleenovsky 
 fire up as he had done before. Had not a slur 
 been cast on his soldierly character ? But she 
 Avas disappointed. He could fire up in the 
 defence of others ; but, where his own charac-
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOYSKY. 59 
 
 tor was concerned, lie could be as cool as a 
 judge. His calmness and courtesy, in answer- 
 ing Eandal, contrasted strongly with the stern 
 and CYcn fierce energy which had carried him 
 away a few moments before. 
 
 ^^ I do not call it sentimental," he said, 
 quite gently. ^'I haYe had to flog my sol- 
 diers; and, as the lash fell, not a nerYC has 
 quiYcred, because I haYe felt that they de- 
 serYcd it." 
 
 There was a sternness and massiYC strength 
 about the man which made the statement cre- 
 dible. 
 
 '' But if it be for the children's good?" sug- 
 gested Miss Meldrum. 
 
 '' If I had a boy, and thought it would saYO 
 his life, I belicYe I could cut off his leg with 
 my own hand, and not feel that tremble," con- 
 tinued MaleenoYsky. 
 
 Again his face and bearing supplied the 
 commentary to his statement. 
 
 '' I belicYe you, monsieur," said Miss Mel- 
 drum. 
 
 '^ But I do not see how it ccm be for their 
 good. Look at the poor boy who was hurt 
 yesterday : in what way will his fearful ago- 
 nies do him any good ? God help him, poor
 
 60 HELEIS" CAMERON. 
 
 boy ! I can quite understand a grown-up 
 man being bettered by suffering, tln-ough 
 reflection. But this child is too young to 
 understand it." 
 
 As Miss Meldi'um's answer was very much 
 obscured by her dashes, I will give it without 
 them. 
 
 ''We are all short-sighted," she said, '' and 
 often cannot understand in what way the suf- 
 fering works on us for our good ; but we may 
 be quite sure that the loving Father would 
 not send it save in love. And, as to your 
 special argument, monsieur, it would hold 
 good if children were always to remain chil- 
 dren : but remember that boys grow up into 
 men ; and the discipline of life, of which suf- 
 fering is a part, cannot begin too early." 
 
 ''There is something in what you say, 
 mademoiselle," answered Captain Maleenovsky 
 thoughtfully; "and, though I cannot accept 
 it as a full explanation of the awful mystery, 
 I must reflect on it at leisure, and see what I 
 can make of it." 
 
 While Helen went to her own room to put 
 on her dress. Miss Meldrum thought of all she 
 had seen and heard of Captain Maleenovsky 
 that morning. She had been quietly taking
 
 CAPTAIN MALEEXOVSKY. 61 
 
 stock of him all along. Well, she was unmis- 
 takably drawn toward him. A strong, stiuxly, 
 manly nature; so unexpectedly reyealing depths 
 of tenderness and feeling within ! if he were 
 only not a Eussian ! 
 
 When Helen returned, Captain Maleenovsky 
 politely handed her down to the sledge. As 
 they drove along, she could not help thinking 
 how strange it was that, of her own will, she 
 should be driving alone with this man, whom 
 she had never seen till the day before, and 
 that she should feel so much at home with 
 him. And did not their common errand of 
 mercy draw them still closer together ? And, 
 during that short hour, did they not reveal 
 more of themselves to each other than they 
 could have done in many an ordinary day ?
 
 G2 HELEJf CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 THE BALL. 
 
 " Romeo. What lady is that who doth enrich the hand 
 Of yonder knight ? 
 Servant. I know not, sir. 
 
 Romeo. O she doth teach the torches to hum bright : 
 It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night 
 Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear ; 
 Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear ! " 
 
 Shakspere : Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 Those who liave read of Anna Princess Don- 
 skaya elsewhere will not wish me to describe 
 her again; and, to those who have not, Mr. 
 Cameron's few words will convey a sufficiently 
 correct idea of the comet which dazzled the 
 fashionable world of St. Petersburg for a time. 
 The ''handsome'' and ''fascinating" coquette 
 was now at the height of the triumph which 
 she had achieved at one bound. There are 
 men still living who will speak "with bated 
 breath " of the " sensation " she made. Grave 
 philosophers might laugh at the furore she ex- 
 cited ; but it had its serious side, and had no 
 small influence on the manners and morals of 
 the fashionable world for a long time. 
 
 Anna had, of course, her reasons for invit-
 
 THE BALL. 63 
 
 ing ^Ir. Cameron and his daughter to the ball. 
 It was quite true that ^'her circle was exclu- 
 sively aristocratic." In ordinary circumstances 
 she would no more have thought of inviting 
 Mr. and Miss Cameron, than she would have 
 thought of dining with her washerwoman or 
 her cook. But she could not have her own 
 way in everything. She was but a young 
 beginner in the race of fashion ; and she had 
 a hard battle to fight to hold her own with 
 such rivals as Princess Dashkova and Count 
 Golovin's wife. '^ Principle," such as it was, 
 had to give way to '' expediency." She had 
 to learn the truth enshrined in the words : ^^She 
 stoops to conquer." And, proud and scornful 
 as she was, there was no one who could do it 
 with a better grace when she had a motive 
 strong enough to sway her. 
 
 The motive power in the present case was — 
 Prince Boriatinsky. He had been struck with 
 Helen Cameron at the Feast of the Jordan; 
 and, as he longed to make her acquaintance, 
 he begged his " dear friend " Anna to bring 
 the beauty to the ball. Kow Prince Boria- 
 tinsky was the ^'male arbiter of fashion" at 
 St. Petersburg. It was the highest triumph 
 which Anna had yet achieved, to lui-e the
 
 64 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 prince away from Princess Daslikova, and enrol 
 liini as a member of lier own corjis de ballet . 
 lie was (fashionably sjoeaking) by far the 
 greatest man on her establishment. Count 
 Baranoyitch was one of her chief admirers, 
 and attended her balls ; but, though the count 
 was Prime Minister of Eussia, and held in his 
 hand the life and freedom of every one of the 
 dancers, be was IN'obody in the fashionable 
 world. Suppose the prince took it into his 
 head to be affronted, and to carry his ^'male 
 arbitership of fashion " back to the rival shop 
 of Princess Dashkova? Anna might as well shut 
 up shop at once. She could not afford to dis- 
 regard a wish of the great Prince Eoriatinsky. 
 The offspring of her resolve to please the 
 prince was — the presence of Mr. Cameron and 
 Helen at the ball. Mr. Cameron had made 
 up his mind to gratify Helen for once. He 
 expressly said "for once:" she must not take 
 it for granted that she was to repeat the visit. 
 He would go, and see that there was no harm. 
 The next two days were very busy ones for 
 Miss Meldrum and Helen; and Fred, who 
 called three or four times, was told that he 
 could not see either of them till after the ball. 
 !N'ew di-esses had to be made ; because, at a
 
 THE BALL. 66 
 
 princess's ball, slie could not wear anything 
 that had graced a ball-room before. Mr. 
 Cameron bought a new set of jewels, and pre- 
 sented them to his daughter ; and, on the 
 eventful night, he drove her to the Princess 
 Donskaya's, and brought her into the ball- 
 room amidst a buzz of wonder and delight. 
 Who was this new beauty that had suddenly 
 burst upon the fashionable world ? 
 
 Helen, on entering, had a confused sense 
 of dazzling light : light so dazzling that, at 
 first, she could see nothing clearly ; but, her 
 eyes becoming accustomed to it by degrees, 
 she could distinguish individual objects. It 
 was the most brilliant sight she had ever seen. 
 The splendour of the hall itself, the gorgeous- 
 ness of the light, the richness of the dresses 
 worn, the blaze of gold and jewellery which 
 glittered on all sides, the beauty of the ladies 
 set off by the manly bearing of the men, made 
 an impression on her which she did not soon 
 forget. She had had no idea before that there 
 were so many beautiful women, or so many 
 gallant men, in Eussia. It was on this bril- 
 liant company that she suddenly burst like a 
 shooting- star ; and I must say that, in the 
 whole of that assembly, there was not a 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 68 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 be selfish to ask for more ; because I am sure 
 that all the gentlemen present ^dll be longing 
 to have yon for a partner." 
 
 ^' With great pleasure, monsieur." 
 All this was somewhat disappointing to 
 Helen. Captain Maleenovsky showed him- 
 self at his worst when in his complimentary 
 mood. I suj^pose the air of the place had 
 something to do with it. Helen did not want 
 his flattery. She was tired of all that. There 
 was a better side in her nature which craved 
 more solid nourishment ; and she had had a 
 glimpse into the better side of his nature,' 
 which made flattery from him more distaste- 
 ful than from the crowds of idlers that buzzed 
 around her. 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky conducted his partner 
 to the upper end of the room, and presented 
 her to the mistress of the house. A bob on 
 one side, and a bob on the other ; and the work 
 of introduction was done, and two human 
 beings were supposed thenceforth to know 
 each other for life. In outward seeminir, 
 Anna received Helen graciously ; but, for 
 all that, she felt a sharp and sudden pang 
 within. She had no doubt that Helen would 
 in time aspire to become the leader of fashion ;
 
 THE BALL. 69 
 
 and it seemed a cruel destiny -^hicli forced 
 her to usher into the fashionable world one 
 who might eclipse herself. 
 
 Here Prince Boriatinsky bustled forward. 
 He was the most richly-dressed man in the 
 room ; not the best cbessed, perhaps, but cer- 
 tainly the most gorgeously apparelled. A 
 handsome man, too, to look at : good features ; 
 a dazzling complexion; luxuriant haii', which 
 fell almost to his shoulders in womanly cui'ls ; 
 and brilliant white teeth, which he was fond 
 of showing, he smiled so often. His mouth 
 was somewhat too large and sensual ; but his 
 admirers called it '' yoluptuous." But the 
 worst thing about his face was the eye. How 
 shall I paint it ? Well, not a nice eye, by any 
 means ; rather fishy and blear. He knew it 
 himself, because he made up for opening his 
 mouth by closing his eyes. 
 
 . ^^ Will your Highness do me the fa your of 
 presenting me to Mademoiselle Cameron?" he 
 said to Princess Donskaya. 
 
 '^ With great pleasure," answered Anna; 
 meaning, '' With great pain." 
 
 A bob on one side, and a bow on the other ; 
 and another pair of human souls became known 
 to each other.
 
 70 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 ^^ Miss Cameron, will you confer on me the 
 lofty felicity of conducting the most magnifi- 
 cent beauty in St. Petersburg to the second 
 dance?" said Prince Boriatinsky in English. 
 
 '•' Willingly, your Highness." 
 
 ^'I should have done myself the honour of 
 inviting you for the introductory saltatory 
 maze," continued the prince ; ^' but my hand is 
 appropriated for that by her highness, Princess 
 Donskaya." 
 
 Highness, always somewhat grandiloquent, 
 thought that big words would fill his hearer 
 with awe. 
 
 Here the gentlemen began to crowd round 
 Helen, and to beg for an introduction. It 
 was lucky for Captain Maleenovsky that he 
 had already nailed her for two of the "salta- 
 tory mazes;" for otherwise he would have 
 had no chance of dancing with her at all. 
 
 During the first dance he kept showing the 
 worse side of his nature. Whether the air of 
 the place still tainted him, or whether the 
 compliments which had been heaped upon 
 her by the prince made him think that he 
 must outbid him by still larger doses of 
 flattery, he wearied Helen with praises of 
 herself. She could not understand him at
 
 THE BALL. 71 
 
 all : lie seemed so much worse than liimself. 
 To get rid of the subject, she asked : 
 
 ^' Who is this Prince Boriatinsky ?" 
 
 ^' Don't yon know, mademoiselle ? I thought 
 every one knew the great Prince Boriatinsky." 
 
 His tone was very sarcastic ; but Helen did 
 not notice it. 
 
 '' I heard his name for the first time at the 
 Peast of the Jordan," she answered very 
 simply. 
 
 '^ You astonish me, mademoiselle. Why, 
 his higliness is in one sense the greatest man 
 in Petersburg." 
 
 '' In what sense?" 
 
 ^'Ask any here, and they would say, 4n 
 the highest sense ' ; in the fashionable sense. 
 He is the great ' arbiter of fashion.' Could 
 man's ambition higher go ? At least, his 
 highness' s does not go much higher, I think. 
 Ah, he is a happy man ! While we ordinary 
 mortals are toiling painfully along the road, he 
 has reached the goal." 
 
 ^as he rich?" 
 
 " One of the richest noblemen in Eussia." 
 
 '^ Is he a married man ?" 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky looked at Helen's 
 face : what was her motive for asking the
 
 70 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 '' Miss Cameron, will you confer on me the 
 lofty felicity of conducting tlie most magnifi- 
 cent beauty in St. Petersburg to the second 
 dance?" said Prince Boriatinsky in English. 
 
 '^ Willingly, your Highness." 
 
 '^I should have done myself the honour of 
 inviting you for the introductory saltatory 
 maze," continued the prince ; ^' but my hand is 
 appropriated for that by her highness, Princess 
 Donskaya." 
 
 Highness, always somewhat grandiloquent, 
 thought that big words would fill his hearer 
 with awe. 
 
 Here the gentlemen began to crowd round 
 Helen, and to beg for an introduction. It 
 was lucky for Captain Maleenovsky that he 
 had already nailed her for two of the ''salta- 
 tory mazes;" for otherwise he would have 
 had no chance of dancing with her at all. 
 
 During the fii^st dance he kept showing the 
 worse side of his nature. Whether the air of 
 the place still tainted him, or whether the 
 compliments which had been heaped upon 
 her by the prince made him think that he 
 must outbid him by still larger doses of 
 flattery, he wearied Helen with praises of 
 herself. She could not understand him at
 
 THE BALL. 71 
 
 all : he seemed so much worse than himself. 
 To get rid of the subject, she asked : 
 
 ^' Who is this Prince Boriatinsky V 
 
 '' Don't you know, mademoiselle ? I thought 
 every one knew the great Prince Boriatinsky." 
 
 His tone was very sarcastic ; but Helen did 
 not notice it. 
 
 '^ I heard his name for the first time at the 
 Peast of the Jordan," she answered very 
 simply. 
 
 '^ You astonish me, mademoiselle. Why, 
 his highness is in one sense the greatest man 
 in Petersburg." 
 
 ^' In what sense?" 
 
 ^'Ask any here, and they would say, 4n 
 the highest sense ' ; in the fashionable sense. 
 He is the great ' arbiter of fashion.' Could 
 man's ambition higher go ? At least, his 
 highness' s does not go much higher, I think. 
 Ah, he is a happy man ! While we ordinary 
 mortals are toiling painfully along the road, he 
 has reached the goal." 
 
 'as he rich?" 
 
 " One of the richest noblemen in Pussia." 
 
 '^ Is he a married man ?" 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky looked at Helen's 
 face : what was her motive for asking the
 
 725 HELEN CAMEEOX. 
 
 question ? Could that fresh young giii have 
 a touch of '' ambition " too ? Princess 
 Boriatinska ! Well, it sounded rather grand. 
 
 ^' Xo," he answered : ''I think he never 
 will marry." 
 
 ^^ Why not?" 
 
 '^ For one thing, he is getting too old." 
 
 ^^ Why, he does not look more than thirty." 
 
 ^' True ; but I fancy he is older." 
 
 And Captain Maleenoysky smiled. 
 
 The first dance was over ; and the subject of 
 their conversation came up to claim Helen's 
 hand. Oh, the mighty condescending way in 
 which he did it ! 
 
 ^' It is impossible to express how trans- 
 ported I am to have this opportunity of 
 making your acquaintance, Miss Cameron," 
 said Prince Poriatinsky : ^' ever since your 
 transcendent beauty burst upon my vision 
 at the Feast of the Jordan, I have longed 
 and sighed for this moment." 
 
 '^ Your Highness is too good," answered 
 Helen. 
 
 ^^Kay, my dear Miss Cameron, I am ex- 
 pressing myself with as much moderation 
 as the circumstances will permit. It is im- 
 possible for human language, even for your
 
 THE BALL. 7o 
 
 own magnificent language, glorified as it has 
 been by tlie contributions of a Sliaksj^ere and 
 a Milton, to describe the sensation which your 
 superhuman attractions have produced upon 
 me. I feel like one intoxicated with beauty ; 
 and if I appear to be extravagant in my ex- 
 clamations of delight, you must attribute it to 
 the extraordinary splendour of your own 
 personal appearance." 
 
 ^^ I know your Highness is only flattering 
 me.'' 
 
 Still it was enough to turn a young girl's 
 head ; and Helen did not wholly escape the 
 danger. She w^as but a grub as yet ; and she 
 felt it as a triumph to be spoken of in such 
 terms by '' the arbiter of fashion," and one of 
 the mightiest j)™ces of Eussia. Worth 
 noticing that the flattery, which seemed so 
 distasteful in the mouth of a Captain Malee- 
 novsky, should have given any pleasure when 
 coming from the lips of a Prince Boriatinsky. 
 
 ' ' I am not at all flattering you, my dear 
 Miss Cameron," said the prince. '' I appeal 
 to the testimony of a witness who can never 
 prevaricate or deceive — the mirror which re- 
 flects your beautiful visage : and, if you will 
 not credit the evidence it supplies, I appeal
 
 74 HELEX CAMEROX. 
 
 still further to the sensation which you made 
 just now as you entered the hall ; and if you 
 are still incredulous, I will publicly ask the 
 noblemen and gentlemen present what is their 
 opinion of your extraordinary beauty." 
 
 Helen was somewhat alarmed lest he should 
 carry out his thi'eat, and said that she must 
 yield to his higher judgment. Highness became 
 more high-flown than ever ; and Helen had as 
 much as she could safely hold of the incense 
 which she had hitherto loved only too well. 
 
 When Captain MaleenoYsky came to claim 
 her for the Mazurka, his compliments sounded 
 tame after those of the prince. After some 
 skirmishes he was pulled short by Helen, who 
 said seriously : 
 
 ^' I wish you would pay me no more compli- 
 ments, monsieur. Xature never meant you to 
 succeed in that line : Prince Boriatinsky is a 
 far greater artist than you ; and it is quite 
 useless to try to rival him." 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky was ill at ease. There 
 was no denying it : he was beginning to feel 
 deeply interested in Helen Cameron. Ah, what 
 chance had he against the high and mighty 
 Prince Boriatinsky ? Had he not better give 
 up the struggle at once ?
 
 THE BALL. /O 
 
 ^' So his highness has been paying you com- 
 l^liments I" he exclaimed. '' No wonder mine 
 look poor after his ; because mine are kept 
 within the bounds of truth. You are right, 
 mademoiselle : nature never meant me to suc- 
 ceed in that line." 
 
 What was it that thrilled Captain Malee- 
 noYsky through and through ? These were the 
 simple words, but uttered more slowly and 
 emphatically than Helen generally spoke : 
 
 " ]^ature meant you for higher things." 
 
 How much hangs on seeming trifles ! Per- 
 haps these simple words settled the captain's 
 fate. He felt a choking sensation in his throat. 
 It was as much as he could do to speak at all ; 
 but he did, and earnestly too. 
 
 "Mademoiselle," he said, " you shall never 
 hear another compliment from me as long as 
 you live ! " 
 
 '' How is the poor boy that was hurt so much 
 the other day?" asked Helen. 
 
 '' Ah, poor fellow, he is gone !" 
 
 The captain's whole tone and manner had 
 suddenly changed, as on the day when he visited 
 Helen. 
 
 " Gone ! " exclaimed Helen. 
 
 " Yes, dead ! The poor parents are utterly
 
 76 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 distracted. I wish you would visit them again, 
 mademoiselle ! You have no idea how much 
 good you did the other day. Don't think I am 
 paying you a compliment," added Captain 
 Maleenovsky, smiling. 
 
 '' I will go," answered Helen. 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky was himself again. Ah, 
 if he had but known how much greater he 
 seemed in his present mood, he might well have 
 thanked Helen for the rebuke which led him to 
 resolve never to flatter her again. 
 
 " Will you allow me to drive you there to- 
 morrow morning, mademoiselle ?" he said, after 
 a short pause. 
 
 '^ Yes, monsieur, if my father does not 
 object." 
 
 '' Ah, it was the wise man who said it was 
 better to go into the house of mourning than 
 into the house of feasting. How strange the 
 very name of death sounds in this place I How 
 out of keeping with all the surroundings ! And 
 yet, mademoiselle, while we are gaily dancing 
 away, hundreds of men and women are dying 
 in all parts of the world." 
 
 The thought itself was ^^ out of keeping with 
 all the surroundings : " and Helen Cameron was 
 as yet " out of keeping with the folio wings ;"
 
 THE BALL. 77 
 
 too young, too gay, and too thoughtless, to enter 
 fully into its meaning. Still she preferred it to 
 the empty compliments which had gone before. 
 Xothing more of any importance to our his- 
 tory took place at the ball. Helen's debut in 
 the fashionable world was a triumph from be- 
 ginning to end. Prince Eoriatinsky had danced 
 with her four times in the course of the night ! 
 Such luck had never been known to fall to the 
 lot of a debutante before : no, not even when 
 Anna Princess Donskaya first appeared on the 
 St. Petersburg stage. Helen Cameron could 
 henceforth go forth to the world most emphati- 
 cally stamped with the imiwimatur of the great 
 Prince Eoriatinsky.
 
 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE YI. 
 
 PRINCE BORIATINSKY. 
 
 " A gown of silk ye sail Ea lack." 
 
 Jock o' Hazeldean. 
 
 The great Prince Boriatinsky had his enemies. 
 What great man has not ? And what will not 
 the malice of enemies lead them to say? There 
 is no slander so foul that they will not coin, and 
 find thousands ready to believe. They actually 
 said that nature had turned him out a rough 
 piece of goods, and that he had called in the 
 help of art to improve the handiwork of nature. 
 "Well, the hand of art was certainly seen in his 
 dress ; but there art is in its legitimate sphere, 
 because nature has nothing to do with dress. 
 But then, they went on to say, nature had 
 meant him to be fifty- six years old ; but art had 
 stepped in and gi^^en him back (in appearance) 
 at least twenty years of his life. 
 
 Of course his highness had friends as well as 
 enemies; and his age became the subject of 
 fierce dispute betAveen the two. Enemies 
 appealed to the parish register; but friends 
 answered them by appealing to his face. There-
 
 PRINCE BORIATINSKY. 79 
 
 upon enemies retorted that liiglmess's face was 
 a work of art : that said art had been guilty of 
 a bit of forgery ; that nature had written 1769 
 on that face (as the year of its birth), but that 
 art had cleverly changed the 6 into an 8 (easily 
 done !) post-dating the face by twenty years. 
 His friends appealed to his luxuriant brown 
 locks, to show off which his enemies said he so 
 often graciously took off his hat in j)ublic : but 
 his enemies shrugged their shoulders, and 
 pointed to a hair-dresser's shop, if luckily there 
 was one in sight ; and, if not, twirled their hair 
 round their fingers. His friends pointed to his 
 brilliant white teeth ; but his enemies, if no 
 dentist's shop were by, maliciously put up their 
 hands to their faces, mimicking the action of a 
 man suffering from toothache. His friends, in 
 despair, brought in the testimony of his smooth 
 and ruddy cheeks, in which not a crease nor a 
 wrinkle was to be seen ; but his enemies wick- 
 edly winked, and, though Madame Eachel had 
 not yet risen to fame, broadly hinted that 
 some facial artist made him ^^ beautiful for 
 ever." Well, if Prince Boriatinsky were a 
 work of art, certainly art had achieved a great 
 success. Perhaps it was this very success that 
 had aroused the envy of his enemies. They
 
 80 HELE]^ CAMERON. 
 
 went so far as to say that, on the greatest point 
 of all, art had failed; that while nature had 
 made him a nobleman^ art could not so far 
 improve upon her as to make him a noble man. 
 As to his general demeanour, his enemies 
 said that art reigned supreme there. IS'ature 
 had made him a bear ; and art had fashioned 
 him into a finished gentleman. Well, there is 
 enough of putty and varnish among us in 
 England to prevent any right-minded man from 
 turning the finger of scorn against foreigners. 
 Eut, for the perfection of high art in that 
 department, commend me to a Eussian noble- 
 man. The prince, they said, outshone all his 
 rivals in that line. He was conscious of his 
 greatness : if a man be great, how can he 
 help knowing it ? There was a look of self- 
 importance about him, which he did not try to 
 hide (why should he ?), and which proclaimed 
 to all the world that he was indeed the high 
 and mighty Prince Boriatinsky. Eut, with all 
 that, there was a gracious condescension to his 
 inferiors — that is, to all but Majesty and a very 
 few others — which most of them received with 
 thankful meekness. There was something in- 
 imitable in the sweet smile with which he 
 enriched his voluptuous mouth, showing his
 
 PEINCE BORIATINSKY. 81 
 
 brilliant teetli in the process ; in the gentle 
 pressure of the soft white fingers, which seemed 
 to be so many pegs for hanging rings npon ; 
 and in the gracious bow, which could scarcely 
 have been better adjusted to the rank of the 
 person he bowed to if it had been regulated by 
 a machine placed within his princely frame. 
 But that very precision was triumphantly seized 
 upon by his enemies as conclusive proof of art. 
 I need scarcely say that his enemies and libellers 
 were almost all men. The fairer sex, with a 
 few exceptions, admired him. If you had asked 
 any of the ladies you met at the ball, barring 
 Helen, they would have told you that he was 
 "a charming man;" and, if they were not 
 already otherwise disposed of, would most likely 
 have felt a strange flutter of the heart as they 
 spoke. 
 
 Well, this fierce dispute has lost its interest 
 for us. Whether Prince Boriatinsky were a 
 work of nature or of art, he so far showed him- 
 self the child of nature that he went and fell in 
 love with Helen Cameron. But, even here, his 
 enemies stepped in with their low hints. They 
 maintained that the love Avas not the oflspring 
 of nature, but unmistakably the child of art : 
 not the attraction of soul to soul, but a craving 
 
 VOL. I. • G
 
 82 lll'.l.KN ('AMKKi>\. 
 
 to supply an aniticial iuhhI. ?saIiuH\ tliov said, 
 luul t'or^otten {o uivc him tlio powor of lovo ; 
 ami art, in trviiii;- to supply tlio want, luul 
 boi^glod over the work as usual, aiul producoil 
 a Avortldoss ^' iuiitatiou/' llow far all this was 
 true Ave may, i^erhaps, see in tinu\ lUit, what- 
 ever the fec^liui;- was, hiuhness had elearly made 
 up his mind to eherisli it, and to earry it out to 
 its legit inuite enil — whatever that was. 
 
 The nun*niui2- after the ball, he went in state 
 to ^Ir. CanuTon's house. He availed himself 
 of the riiilit, wliieh is reserved to noblemen 
 in Petersburg, of dri\ing four horses. CHit- 
 riders went before and at'ter his sledge. The 
 showy cortege made quite a stir in the quiet 
 street, and aroused it out of its normal sleepi- 
 ness. Highness seemed to look on the rabble 
 as a eompliment paid to his greatness; and, 
 as he alighted from his sledge in Mr. Cameron's 
 eourtyard, the eonseiousness of that greatness 
 made him statelier and more pompous than 
 ever. l>efore he reaehed the di*awing-room, 
 where ^Liss Meldnmi and Helen hastened to 
 reeeive him, he had swelled to sueh an amaz- 
 ing size (ideally), that the wonder was he did 
 not (ideally) strike the ceiling Avith his sapient 
 head. He was imdeniably small in body ;
 
 PRINCE BORTATIXSKY. 83 
 
 but he fully made up for it by the largeness 
 of soul with which he credited himself. Ilelen 
 was in an unmistakable flutter. It wm an 
 honour for the great Prince Boriatinsky to 
 call on her : in the eyes of the world, the 
 highest tribute that had ever been paid to 
 her charms ; and she was as yet too much 
 of a grub to estimate such homage at its true 
 worth. Miss Meldrum looked at her Avith 
 some anxiety : of course, Helen had told her 
 all about highness, and the high compliments 
 h(5 had paid her. Was she going to have her 
 head turned ? Helen dropped a low curtsy. 
 Highness made a "regulation" bow: a bow 
 adjusted to the level of a plebeian, but nicely 
 modified by the unwonted loveliness of the 
 particular plebeian before it. However, to 
 make up for the stiffness of the bow, he put 
 on one of his sweetest smiles, showing his 
 faultless teeth. Helen presented Miss Mel- 
 drum. Highness stared at the dear old soul, 
 and, seeing no beauty to qualify her rank, 
 made her one of his stiffest and haughtiest bows. 
 
 " Your fjouvernante^ I presume," he said. 
 
 " Yes, your Highness, and my kinswoman ; 
 my mother's first cousin." 
 
 '' Oh, indeed : a poor relation, I suppose."
 
 84 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 Xow ^^ the arbiter of fashion " would have 
 been astounded if any one had told him that 
 he was wanting in delicacy. 
 
 "1^0, your Highness," Helen hastened to 
 say: ''she took pity on my babyhood, when 
 my mother died, and has acted as a mother 
 to me ever since. I don't know what I should 
 have done \rithout Miss Meldrum." 
 
 Highness bowed rather lower than before, 
 and said pompously : 
 
 ''Accept my congratulations and my thanks." 
 
 "What for?" asked Miss Meldi-um, some- 
 what amused. 
 
 " My thanks for the maternal solicitude with 
 which you have educated Miss Cameron, and 
 my congratulations at the glorious success 
 which has attended your exertions," answered 
 the prince. 
 
 Highness had clearly appropriated Helen in 
 his own mind ; but, as Miss Meldram was not 
 aware of that interesting fact, she may be for- 
 given for feeling amused, and asking a trifling 
 question. 
 
 " "What has your Highness to do with it ?" 
 
 "Ah, Miss Meldon, I am not insensible to 
 the attractions of such transcendent beauty ; 
 and, though I am a Prince of the Empii'e,
 
 PRINCE BORIATINSKY. 85 
 
 descended from one of tlie most ancient and 
 illustrious families in Eussia, I am not ashamed 
 to confess that Miss Cameron has excited a 
 profound interest in my bosom." 
 
 I grieve to say that Miss Meldrum laughed. 
 The sense of the ludicrous was always strong 
 in her. Eut she was a lady, and tried to mas- 
 ter herself. At length she said : 
 
 ^^ In England it is usual to consult the lady 
 first." 
 
 '' I was not ignorant of that circumstance," 
 answered Prince Boriatinsky; ^^and therefore I 
 have undertaken this pilgrimage to her shrine, 
 to offer my oblation upon her altar. Accept 
 my devotion, beautiful Miss Cameron : the 
 profound adoration of a nobleman, whom your 
 transcendent beauty has inspired." 
 
 And he laid his hand on his heart, bowing 
 very low, and looked as if he were going to add, 
 though he did not, " the profound adoration 
 of 'the male arbiter of fashion' !" What a 
 pity that he did not reach that climax ! 
 
 Ludicrous as all this was, it had its serious 
 side for Helen. She was still a grub ; her 
 views, '^ of the earth, earthy." Something 
 flattering, to have brought the great Prince 
 Eoriatinsky to her feet ! Moreover, to be a
 
 86 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 princess ! To be first and foremost in St. 
 Petersburg ! Highness, too, not a man to be 
 sneered at : looking not much more than thirty, 
 whatever enemies might say ; in outward ap- 
 pearance, a handsome man ! The fishy eye, 
 half hidden by his habit of closing it, the only 
 thoroughly objectionable part of him ! 
 
 If highness had unfolded the peculiar state 
 of his feelings before the Feast of the Jordan, 
 I am not sure that Helen would have spurned 
 him at once. In the masterless state of her 
 heart, she might have deemed the princess- 
 ship tempting enough to warrant the venture. 
 But now there was a barrier in the way. 
 Since she had caught sight of a Byronic hero, 
 no ordinary mortal had a chance Avith her ; 
 and I must own that the great Prince Boria- 
 tinsky, with all his grandeur, had not a touch 
 of Lara or of Manfred in his looks. 
 
 "I am much obliged — " Helen began to say. 
 
 But highness would not let her finish her 
 sentence. She would have brought in a ''but" 
 soon enough, if she had been allowed to go on ; 
 but highness evidently thought there was no- 
 thing but an ''and" to follow, and looked upon 
 her answer as an acceptance of his ofi'er. Of 
 course !
 
 PRINCE BORIATINSKY. 87 
 
 ^' My dear Miss Cameron," he said, ^' or 
 rather, ^my dear Helen,' as our mutual re- 
 lations will now entitle me to call you; my 
 own magnificent Helen " 
 
 '' Hear me out, your Highness." 
 
 Highness, as a rule, not a great talker; but, 
 at times, like a clock, when wound up, would 
 go on ticking for hours. At such times it was 
 hard for any one else to wedge in a word. So 
 it was now. The inner works had been wound 
 up so high by what he deemed Helen's accept- 
 ance of his offer, that he might have been war- 
 ranted to go for three hours at least. 
 
 '' There is no necessity for another syllable, 
 my beautiful Helen: I perfectly comprehend 
 all the sensations that have been excited in 
 your charming bosom. You will never repent 
 having accepted my proposal. I will provide 
 you with an establishment which an empress 
 might desiderate ; and, indeed, there is not a 
 princess in Europe who will live more sump- 
 tuously than my lovely, my adorable Helen." 
 
 " But, your Highness " 
 
 Quite useless to try and stop him: clock 
 wound up ; must go on. 
 
 ^'I can perfectly comprehend your reluc- 
 tance : you have not been accustomed to live
 
 88 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 in royal splendour." And he glanced at the 
 handsome and comfortable di'a wing-room. ^ ' But 
 I have an important theory, from which the 
 world may derive some benefit one of these 
 days : that there ought always to be a harmony 
 between a picture and its setting. Nothing 
 ofi'ends me more than to see a grand painting 
 in an insignificant frame." Highness prided 
 himself on what he called his " appreciation 
 of art." '' IS'ow I maintain that a magnificent 
 creature like my lovely Helen is out of har- 
 mony with a plain hourgeois house like this. 
 ISTothing but a princely palace and a royal 
 establishment would be an adequate frame for 
 such a superb pictiu^e." 
 
 Poor Helen felt that she must somehow 
 check the torrent of words which was over- 
 whelming her. She therefore burst out : 
 
 ^^ Your Highness has misunderstood me alto- 
 gether. I was going to tell your Highness 
 that I cannot accept your offer." 
 
 "You will repent your determination," said 
 the prince, staring at Helen. 
 
 "Xo, never !" cried Helen. 
 
 "At any rate, I will give you time to reflect." 
 
 " Quite useless, your Highness : I know my 
 mind."
 
 PRINCE BORIATINSKY. 89 
 
 " The period will arrive wlien yon will be 
 p^ratefiil to me for allowing yon time to reflect. 
 Farewell for the present, my lovely Helen. 
 Ate re voir ! Aclien, aclien, Miss Melclon." 
 
 And highness made a low bow, and stalked 
 majestically away. As he went ont, it really 
 needed the ribands and crosses and stars on 
 his breast to show the world that it was not 
 an ordinary mortal, bnt a great man, that was 
 blessing its eyes. Happy land, where the 
 great men are labelled and ticketed, so that 
 there can be no mistake on that score ! In 
 this country, who is to tell a j^eer from a 
 commoner, a member of Parliament from an 
 ordinary mortal ? Would it not be an im- 
 provement if the six hundred and fifty-eight 
 gentlemen, who are being hatched even as 1 
 T\Tite, had at least a card pinned to their coat- 
 tails, with the letters "M.P." printed in big 
 staring characters ? 
 
 Since I hope not to meet Prince Boriatinsky 
 for a long time to come, I will dismiss him for 
 the present by saying that for a while he pes- 
 tered Helen pitilessly. Happily she did not 
 come across him often ; but, whenever she did, 
 she hated the very sight of him.
 
 90 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE YII. 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY MAN. 
 
 " But, in the instant that yo^ir messenger came, in loving visita- 
 tion with me was a young doctor of Rome." 
 
 Shakspere : Merchant of Venice. 
 
 One morning, some weeks later, Miss Melclrum 
 and Helen sat reading in tlie breakfast-room. 
 They spent most of their mornings there : it 
 was the cosiest room in the house. Helen was 
 DOW past the age for set lessons ; nevertheless 
 Miss Meldrum maintained that it was absurd 
 for a girl of eighteen to think that she had 
 ^'finished her education," and gave Helen a 
 regular course of reading in various depart- 
 ments of literature. 
 
 As they sat reading, Xatalia announced 
 '' Captain Maleenovsky." Miss Meldrum saw 
 that Helen blushed, and drew her own con- 
 clusions. There were reasons why she might 
 have been glad at the thought of her falling in 
 love with the gallant guardsman. Frederick 
 Eandal was no favourite with her. She ho- 
 nestly believed that he would not make a good 
 husband for Helen. Moreover, she did not
 
 THE UNIVERSITY MAN. 91 
 
 like him on her own account. He was often 
 rude to her, and, more than any one else, made 
 her feel her dependent position. In the pride 
 of youth, he talked of her as a '^prim old 
 maid;" and, in the pride of wealth, he thought 
 of her as '^ only a governess." Captain Malee- 
 novsky, on the other hand, was always courteous 
 and more than courteous to her : he had an 
 eye to see her worth ; and he was better able 
 than Eandal to judge of her talents and accom- 
 plishments. He had made a favourable im- 
 pression upon her from the first ; and, every 
 time she saw him, that impression had been 
 deepened. But Miss Meldrum was far too true 
 a friend to be swayed by such feelings. There 
 was a sacred duty which she owed to Helen ; 
 and she had long made up her mind to dis- 
 charge that duty faithfully. In many senses 
 she was a guardian to the motherless child ; 
 and she meant, if she could, to save her from 
 an ill-assorted match. As a matter of theory, 
 she believed that to tie a Eussian husband 
 to an English wife would be as bad as binding 
 a lion to a lamb ; and, as a matter of fact, 
 while many greatly wondered, in spite of her 
 plainness, that she was still an old maid, she 
 knew thatj if she could only have brought
 
 92 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 herself to exchange her English name for a 
 Eussian, she need not have been Miss Mel- 
 drum still. She therefore resolved to watch 
 Maleenovsky narrowly. 
 
 He entered with the confidence of a man 
 who was sure of his footing in the house. He 
 was very polite (he always was) ; but there 
 was an ease in all his movements which showed 
 that he felt quite at home. He had visited 
 the Camerons often enough to make Miss Mel- 
 drum anxious, and Frederick Eandal jealous. 
 Either Mr. Cameron or Miss Meldrum had 
 always been present at their interviews ; and, 
 therefore, even if he had wished it, he could 
 not have spoken of love to the beautiful girl. 
 Eut love has another language beside that of 
 words. The eye can speak ; and the hand 
 can speak. A keen observer might have de- 
 tected weeks before that Captain Maleenovsky 
 loved Helen Cameron. Even Miss Meldrum 
 might have found it out, if she had not been 
 what Eandal called a " prim old maid." As 
 for Helen, she felt it already. And her own 
 feelings toward him? Well, he was still, in 
 some measure, one of Byron's heroes to her : 
 only, unhappily, whenever he was in her pre- 
 sence, his stern, strong face was lighted up with
 
 THE UXIVEESITY MAN. 93 
 
 a sweet smile which was anything bnt Eyronic. 
 As he shook hands with her now, he gave 
 her hand a gentle squeeze, which made the 
 blood mount up to her face. Miss Meldrum 
 made a private note of it in a corner of her 
 mind. 
 
 ^' Always hard at work ! " cried Captain 
 Maleenovsky in French. " Why, Mademoi- 
 selle Meldrum, you will work her to death !" 
 
 And he seated himself as near Helen as he 
 durst, in the hazy state of their relations to 
 each other. 
 
 '' Then I shall have to — die with her," an- 
 swered Miss Meldrum, in her jerkiest style, 
 " because you see that I — work with her." 
 
 ^' But surely, mademoiselle, the difference 
 in your ages must make some difference." 
 
 ''I humbly thank you, monsieur, for — the 
 compliment," said Miss Meldrum, laughing : 
 " you mean to say that — a dried-up old maid 
 — like myself, should be — tough enough for 
 anything." 
 
 "I humbly beg your pardon, mademoiselle," 
 answered the captain : ^'nothing could be farther 
 from my meaning ; but surely we middle-aged 
 folks can bear more confinement than the
 
 94 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 Miss Meldrum smiled. Was she pleased? 
 Helen laughed outright, and said : 
 
 ^' You speak as if you were old enough to 
 he my father, monsieur." 
 
 '' I could scarcely claim that honour, made- 
 moiselle," answered the captain, smiling in his 
 turn. 
 
 ^' And, do you know, monsieur. Mademoiselle 
 Meldrum is old enough to be my father's 
 mother." 
 
 Helen Cameron had not as yet learned to 
 regard the feelings of others. Well might 
 Miss Meldrum say (in English) : 
 
 '' There was no need to bring that in, 
 Helen." 
 
 JS'or was there any need for Helen to 
 answer : 
 
 '' ^one whatever." 
 
 She meant that Miss Meldrum' s age was 
 clearly stamped on her face. Well, Captain 
 Maleenovsky was much more polite than Helen. 
 He said : 
 
 ^^ You must be mistaken, mademoiselle." 
 
 But Helen, with all her faults, was, after 
 all, a generous girl. She felt that she had said 
 what might hurt Miss Meldrum' s feelings, and 
 she wanted to make her some atonement.
 
 THE UNIVERSITY :MAX. 95 
 
 ^' But, monsieur, I do not deserve your 
 pity," she said: '^I like it; Mademoiselle 
 Meldrum makes everything so interesting." 
 
 ^' I can well believe it," answered Maleenov- 
 sky. '' May I ask what you are studying 
 now ?" 
 
 '' You can see for yourself." 
 
 And Helen handed him the book, forestall- 
 ing, in her own mind, the amusement which 
 she would feel at his blank look when he found 
 out that it was in English. To her astonish- 
 ment. Captain Maleenovsky was not nonplussed. 
 
 ^'The Decline and Fall of the Eoman Em- 
 pire, by Edward Gibbon, Esq. !" he exclaimed. 
 
 He pronounced the English so well, that 
 both the ladies were astonished. He had 
 never hinted that he knew English : they had 
 taken for granted that he did not. Helen was 
 in raptures. If there had been one drawback 
 to the pleasure with which she looked on the 
 gallant guardsman, it was the thought that 
 she could not talk with him in her own tongue. 
 The discovery seemed an additional link be- 
 tween the two. 
 
 ^' You know English !" she cried joyfully. 
 
 " I have that enjoyment. Miss Cameron : 
 more or less; at least, a little less than more."
 
 96 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Helen burst out laughing. Laughter was 
 one of the things she could never learn to 
 control. Captain Maleenovsky looked at her 
 keenly, as if doubtful whether she were laugh- 
 ins: at him or not. But Miss Meldrum tried 
 to frown, and said : 
 
 '' For shame, Helen I " 
 
 ^' I have probably created some mistake." 
 
 '' I beg yoiu' pardon, Captain Maleenovsky : 
 it was rude; but I could not help it." 
 
 '' You rude 1" exclaimed the captain : '^ you 
 not can be rude ; no, never no more. I have 
 created a mistake ; but you shall teach me to 
 create no more." 
 
 Poor Helen again burst out laughing. The 
 spell was broken. It had seemed so delightful 
 to think that he kncAV English ; but the cor- 
 rectness with which he pronounced the words 
 could give her no inkling of the outlandish ^ 
 way in which he would speak the language. 
 Miss Meldrum felt called on to a^^ologise for 
 her pupil. 
 
 "• You must forgive her," she said. ^' Your 
 pronunciation — is very good ; but forgive me, 
 monsieiu", — for saying that the order — of the 
 words sounds funny — to English ears." 
 
 '^ Forgive her?" exclaimed Captain Malee-
 
 THE rXIYEESITY MAX. 97 
 
 noYsky. ^^ And what for forgiYe ? I forgiYC 
 the enemy; but what for the friend? The 
 friend exists notwithstanding the friend." 
 
 Miss Mekbnm was herself tickled this time, 
 and joined Helen in her laugh. As if to apo- 
 logise for her own rudeness, she asked : 
 
 " Eyou the laughing friend ?" 
 
 " Yes, mademoiselle, even the laughing 
 friend. What for no? The laughing friend 
 is, notwithstanding, the friend laughing; and 
 I loYO greater to behold the friend laughing 
 as the friend weeping. But you, mademoi- 
 selle," added the captain, turning to Helen 
 and bo^dng, '' you shall teach me to create 
 order." 
 
 Poor Helen was in hysterics. Captain Ma- 
 leenoYsky sat looking at her graYcly, CYcry 
 now and then bowing courteously, as though 
 to assure her that he did not feel hurt. As 
 soon as she recoYered her speech, she said, 
 casting on him her own bewitching smile : 
 
 '' I really hope you will forgiYe me." 
 
 ^' And what for so ? Th.e friend laughs, the 
 enemy thrashes. The laugh is the better of 
 the lash. But I admire that you create so 
 learned a book as Gibbon's story your study." 
 
 ''Perhaps you think — that ladies should not 
 
 YOL. I. H
 
 98 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 be — liiglily educated," said Miss Meldrum : 
 '' they say that few men would choose — blue- 
 stockings for their wives." 
 
 ^^In the least not/' answered Captain Malee- 
 novsky, bowing. ''Happy the man who shall 
 find in his wife not only a shrine of beauty, 
 but also a magazine of blue-stockings." 
 
 ''You are a flatterer." 
 
 ^' I a flatterer ! By all means not. How a 
 flatterer ? When I arrange the female for my 
 wife, I shall have a mixture — what you call 
 the pepper-and-salt. She shall be composed of 
 two equal parts of beauty and learning; a 
 Miss Cameron for the beauty, and a Miss Mel- 
 drum for the blue-stockings. I mix them up 
 into one little pill." 
 
 "I think you will find it a — hard pill to swal- 
 low. Captain," said Miss Meldrum, laughing. 
 
 " Hard ? I^ot by every means. What for 
 hard ? My wife shall be soft and gentle, ma- 
 demoiselle." 
 
 " Well, Captain, I think a soft wife would — 
 suit you best," said Miss Meldrum; '^but take 
 care she — is not too soft." 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky turned to Helen, and 
 asked : 
 
 "And do you discover 'The Decline and
 
 THE UNIVERSITY MAX. 99 
 
 Fall of the Eoman Empii^e, by Edward Gibbon, 
 Esq./ very interesting, Miss Cameron? Very 
 instructive, yes ; but very interesting ? " 
 
 '^Yery," said Helen. 
 
 '' My garters ! These English ladies ! Why, 
 Miss Cameron, ' The Decline and Eall of the 
 Eoman Empire, by Edward Gibbon, Esq.,' is 
 said to be the most learned story in the Eng- 
 lish scriptures." 
 
 ^^What do you know about Gibbon's ^De- 
 cline and Fall?' " asked a voice behind him. 
 
 It came from Frederick Eandal, who had 
 entered the room unannounced. He took ad- 
 vantage of every chance he had of snubbing 
 the officer. It was clear that he was not over- 
 joyed at finding '' the conceited coxcomb," as 
 he called him, in such close neighbourhood to 
 Helen Cameron. There was a cloud upon his 
 handsome face : his eyes were fierce ; and his 
 lips twitched nervously. The tone in which 
 he had spoken was that of contempt; but 
 there was far more of anger and jealousy than 
 of contempt in his soul. Captain Maleenovsky 
 was always courteous to him; but a keen ob- 
 server might easily have seen that sometimes 
 it was hard for him to master himself. At the 
 present time, though he bowed politely, Helen,
 
 100 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^vlio sat nearest to him, could liear liim mut- 
 tering : 
 
 ^^ The little dog!" 
 
 Belieying that he meant to say ^^ The 
 puppy!" Helen burst out again into a peal 
 of laughter. Her mirth, unexplained as it 
 was, em-aged Eandal still more. Miss Mel- 
 drum cried : 
 
 ^' For shame, Mr. Eandal I" 
 
 ' ' Mr. Eandal probably the profound scholar ? ' ' 
 said Captain MaleenoYshy, boAving politely. 
 
 ^^ At least I am aimiversity man," answered 
 Eandal, taking a seat on the other side of 
 Helen. 
 
 He spoke in a tone which seemed to say : 
 ''With all your stupid blundering you have 
 hit the mark, though I am too proud to own 
 the soft impeachment." 
 
 '' I moreover a university man," replied 
 Captain Maleenovsky, again bowing politely ; 
 " and I have seen enough of the university 
 life to ascertain that the university man and 
 the profound scholar are the two separate es- 
 sences. Sometimes combined ; but frequentlier 
 decomposed." 
 
 '' You a imiversity man ! " exclaimed Fre- 
 derick. ''I did not know that the officers of
 
 THE UmVERSITY MAX. 10 L 
 
 tlie Eussian army ever went to college. Pray, 
 Arliich imiversity were you at, sir ?" 
 
 He spoke in a tone wliich said: ^'I believe 
 yon are telling a lie, sir !" Captain Maleenov- 
 sky liad a great mind to say something cutting. 
 But lie controlled himself, and merely shrugged 
 his shoulders, saying : 
 
 '' The University of St. Petersburg." 
 
 '^ Oh, ay ! " answered Eandal scornfully. 
 " I had forgotten that there was such a thing 
 as a university here. Some difference between 
 Oxford and Petersburg I should say ! " 
 
 '■' What for a difference ? To the damage 
 of Petersburg?" 
 
 ^^Eather!" 
 
 " In what special?" 
 
 ^' Classics, and all that sort of thing." 
 
 ^' Classics ! " said Captain Maleenovsky. 
 "You not know, sir, that Professor Herrmann, 
 who [en passant) is a German, has acquired the 
 estimation (reputation?) to become one of the 
 biggest Greek scholars in Europe, and one of the 
 largest teachers in the universe ? As much for 
 the classics; and for the mathematics— " 
 
 '^ Bother the mathematics I " 
 
 " What for so ? What for shall 1 bother 
 the mathematics? I shall not bother them;
 
 102 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 but I shall learn them. And for the scientifics 
 and the yonng languages, I discover that, in 
 the English universities, they do not create 
 of the curriculum a i^art at all ; whereas we 
 at St. Petersburg are haughty of the sufficiency 
 (efficiency ?) with which they are taught, and 
 of the difference (distinction ?) which our stu- 
 dents have acquired in the meadow (field ?) of 
 the scientifics and the young languages." 
 
 '' Confound the sciences and the modern 
 languages !" 
 
 '^ And what for so ? Wherefore should I 
 confound them ? I wish to keep them distinct. 
 To confound them is not the most beneficent 
 way to create them clear and intelligent." 
 
 '' We don't go to the imiversities to learn 
 science and the modern languages," exclaimed 
 Eandal. 
 
 '^ And what for no ? What for a university 
 not universal ? What for not the seat for all 
 learning ? " 
 
 '^ Confound the fellow!" muttered Frederick 
 through his teeth. Then aloud he added : ^' I 
 say, Helen, can we not have a word together 
 in private?" 
 
 Helen had listened to the foregoing conver- 
 sation with some amusement. All the while,
 
 THE rXIYEESITY :JAX. 103 
 
 slie had been watching the t^\^o speakers with 
 deep interest. Frederick Eandal had not come 
 off with flying coloiu's. His rndeness and 
 scornfuhiess had acted as a foil to the courtesy, 
 calmness, and self-mastery, which Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky had shown under much provocation. 
 Helen could not but admire the cool politeness 
 with which he bore all Eandal' s ill-breeding. 
 In fact, Fred, by his behaviour, was cutting 
 liis own throat. Helen thought that she had 
 never before seen him look so small. And she 
 answered, laughing : 
 
 ^^How can that be, when we are not in 
 private?" 
 
 '^ We can go to the next room." 
 
 ^^ And so leave my guest? That ivould be 
 taking a leaf out of your book." 
 
 ''- He will have Miss Meldrum to amuse 
 him. But what do you mean by taking a leaf 
 out of my book ?" 
 
 '' You have set us all an example of courtesy, 
 Avhich, I suppose, you think it becomes us to 
 follow — if we can." 
 
 '^ As Mr. Eandal has the desire to speak to 
 you in the private, it will be for me most 
 V)oneficent to withdraw myself," said Captain 
 Maleenovsky politely.
 
 104 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ''By no means," answered Helen, with as 
 much dignity as her risible faculties would 
 allow: ''you are my guest; and I wish you 
 to remain as long as you purposed to sta}^." 
 
 Eandal had risen ; but he resumed his seat, 
 and sat boiling with jealousy and rage. Had 
 he been making a fool of himself before that 
 hateful Eussian officer ? What would he not 
 give for his non-existence, or, at least, his 
 non-acquaintance with Helen Cameron? It 
 seemed to him that, as Helen was just on the 
 point of surrendering herself to his love, that 
 "conceited coxcomb" had stepped in and 
 coolly cut him out, and was now bearing 
 her away in triumph. The scoundrel I 
 
 In the meanwhile. Captain MaleenoYsky 
 and Helen went on talking as if nothing had 
 happened to distiu^b the harmony of the party. 
 Miss Meldrum every now and then joined in 
 their talk. But her pitiful heart took pity on 
 the young Englishman who had so often 
 scorned and flouted her. All honour to the 
 "prim old maid!" She saw how much 
 Eandal was hurt, and she cunningly laid a 
 plan for leaving him alone with Helen. Turn- 
 ing to Captain Maleenovsky, she said as per- 
 suasively as her jerking style would allow :
 
 THE rXIYEESITY ]!J:AX. 105 
 
 " I believe yon have — not seen onr con- 
 sen^atories — Captain MaleenoYsky : wonld yon 
 like me to show yon them ?" 
 
 " Delighted I" answered the captain. 
 
 '' I will show them to yon, and leave Miss 
 Meldrnm to amnse Mr. Eandal/' said Helen. 
 
 And she rose, made a low cnrtsy to Fred, 
 and left the room with Captain Maleenovsky.
 
 lOG IIELEX CA:M£R0X. 
 
 CHAPTEE YIII. 
 
 " Our -wooing dotli end like an old play : 
 Jack hath not Jill. These ladies' courtesy 
 Might well have made our sport a comedy." 
 
 Shakspere : Loves Labour Lost. 
 
 The faults in Frederick Eaiidal's character 
 ■^ere in some measure the fruits of his train- 
 ing. He was clever, and, if rightly trained, 
 might have become, not only a good man of 
 business, but also a useful member of society. 
 But the marks of talent, which came out in his 
 boyhood, led his father to think that he was a 
 great genius, and must be trained into a great 
 scholar and a great statesman. Old Mr. 
 Eandal was proud of his son : being a wealthy 
 man, he spared no cost to fit his son for a high 
 career, and proudly looked forward to the 
 time when Frederick Eandal would make his 
 voice heard in Parliament, and perhaps even 
 sway the destinies of Great Britain. !Now 
 nature had not cut him out for such a career; 
 and the training which was meant to fit him 
 for it, nearly unfitted him for that narrower
 
 love's labour lost. 107 
 
 sphere in which he might have shone. Such 
 is life ! 
 
 When shall we learn that the difference 
 between one character and another is nearly 
 as marked as that between a cat and a dog, 
 and that no amount of training will enable 
 the most distinguished member of the by no 
 means contemptible feline race to unfold into 
 a noble mastiff? In the education of the 
 young, the great thing is to adapt the training 
 to the character. It would be silly to ask 
 from any character more than it can give. 
 Think you, by any amount of discipline, you 
 can unfold a dullard into a genius? As 
 well rear a wild thorn, and, by carefully 
 tending and manuring it, expect it to grow 
 up into a rose-tree ! 
 
 As an only son, Trederick had been petted 
 and spoilt. What Avith his not overwise 
 parents, and what with flattering friends 
 always ready to find out something great 
 in the heir of a millionaire, he had been 
 told of his cleverness so often, that he had 
 devout faith in it himself. He became con- 
 ceited : learnt to think of himself as first and 
 foremost in everything ; fancied that every 
 one else must bow to his will ; never thought
 
 108 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 of curbing his temper or mastering himself. 
 His college life made matters worse. He had 
 almost unlimited command of money ; cut a 
 great swell, and was known as ^'the son of 
 the great millionaire." When he returned to 
 St. Petersburg, he was unfit to enter business : 
 though he went to the counting-house every 
 day, it was a mere farce ; and, much to his 
 father's annoyance and grief, his real life was 
 that of ^^a swell upon town." He was not a 
 bad fellow at heart. A look at his pleasant, 
 handsome face would have told you that he 
 was made for better things. But, owing 
 chiefly to unwise training, his powers were 
 utterly wasted ; and his character was flist 
 dwindling down into the thin, watery, wish- 
 washy sort. 
 
 That character had already revealed itself 
 in his tussle with Captain Maleenovsky ; and 
 when the captain had gone out with Helen, 
 it laid its weakness still more bare. Left 
 alone with Miss Meldrum, Fred paced the 
 room with agony and rage. Jealousy was 
 devouring him within. Ah, Helen did not 
 know how much she had to atiswer for in the 
 building up of that rickety character ! Miss 
 Meldi'um tried to soothe him, but for a long
 
 109 
 
 time without success. He paid lier no heed 
 ■whatever. 
 
 ''The cruel jilt!" he exclaimed again and 
 again ; '' the holloAY, heartless coquette !" 
 
 He repeated these words so often that Miss 
 Meldrum became excited in turn. She loved 
 Helen dearly ; and, whatever she herself might 
 think of her pupil's behaviour, she could not 
 brook those terms when applied to her by 
 others. She fluttered like a young girl : her 
 glorious black eyes sent out sparks of fire ; 
 and, when at length she spoke, her style was 
 jerkier than ever. 
 
 "Mr. Eandal!'' she said indignantly: ''do 
 you apply — those objectionable observations — 
 to Miss Cameron?" 
 
 Eandal still gave no heed. He repeated 
 the " objectionable observations " over and 
 over again as he paced the room, and added : 
 
 "And to leave me for that conceited cox- 
 comb !" 
 
 Miss Meldrum lost all patience. 
 
 " You are not speaking — the truth, Mr. 
 Eandal!" she exclaimed: "you know you 
 are not." * 
 
 And this time she sj)oke so emphatically, 
 and in so loud a voice, that he was forced to
 
 110 HELEX CA^EROX. 
 
 hear. He arrested Ms steps for a moment, 
 and, facing Miss Meldrmn, fiercely asked : 
 
 " What do you mean?" 
 
 ^^Miss Cameron is not a cruel jilt!" an- 
 swered Miss Meldruni ; " she is not a heartless 
 coquette!" 
 
 ^' Why did she leave me, then, to go with 
 that beastly yillain ? I should like to give 
 him a good thrashing ; the sneaking rascal, to 
 prowl about here in my absence and steal 
 away " 
 
 Miss Meldrum would not let him fijiish the 
 sentence. 
 
 «'Why?" she said; '^ why, to make up — 
 for your rudeness — to be sure. Do you think 
 she could — see her friend — insulted in this 
 house— without showing — that she did not 
 approve — of the insult ?" 
 
 ^' Her friend?" 
 
 '^ Ay ! her friend — my friend — every one's 
 friend; more than I can say — for yoit .^" 
 
 ^' She seems to have a talent for deserting 
 old friends and picking up new ones. The 
 cruel jilt!" 
 
 ''And how dare you call— Captain Malee- 
 novsky a beastly villain — and a sneaking 
 rascal ?" continued Miss Mekbum. " He is
 
 love's laboue lost. in 
 
 far more — of a gentleman — than yon. If yon 
 do not — respect yonrself — at least respect — a 
 lady's presence; and another time think — twice 
 before yon nse — objectionable words — which 
 are always banished — from polite society." 
 
 ^' She has behaved abominably." 
 
 ^' And what right have yon — to challenge 
 Miss Cameron's condnct — at all ? "What claim 
 have yon — on her ? Is she yonr wife ?" 
 
 ^^ She has given me reason to hope that she 
 will be." 
 
 ^^ What do yon mean, Mr. Eandal ? As far 
 as I have seen — she has always looked — on 
 yonr attentions — as a bore." 
 
 ^^Oh!" cried Pred sharply, as if with a 
 sndden pang. '^ If I thonght so ! It wonld 
 kill me!" 
 
 His whole tone had changed in a moment. 
 A leap from anger to sorrow ! He sank into a 
 chair and bnried his face in his hands. The 
 passing glimpse of agony, which Miss Meldrum 
 had seen in his face, tonched her tender heart. 
 All his conceit and ill-hnmonr had vanished ; 
 and the trne man stood ont before her, snch as 
 God had meant him to be. Her heart relented 
 toward him: she took his hand in hers, and 
 spoke in a kindly voice.
 
 112 HELEX CAMERON. 
 
 " Take my advice, Frederick Eandal," she 
 said : '4t is kindly meant. I knew your father 
 and mother — when they were chiklren ; and I 
 cannot but take — a deep interest in your welfare 
 — for their sakes at least — if not for your own. 
 Get rid of your self-conceit — and your ill- 
 temper ; and who knows — you may win — Helen 
 Cameron yet." 
 
 At any other time Eandal would have flown 
 into a rage at such a speech as this. But he 
 was too deeply humbled for that. He burst 
 into tears, and, pressing Miss Meldrum's hand, 
 cried out passionately : 
 
 ^' God knows I would do anything to win her 
 love ! 1 could become a beggar : I could cut 
 off my right hand : I could die ! " 
 
 Miss Meldrum was touched : good, kindly 
 soul, it was never a hard task to move her. 
 She returned the pressure of his hand. 
 
 '' I see now that your love — is real and deep," 
 she answered. '' Be always what you — are 
 now ; and Helen Cameron may learn — to love 
 you yet." 
 
 '^ Oh, dear Miss Meldrum, I will always be 
 grateful to you for this. You will help me, 
 won't you?" 
 
 "Xo one can help you much: 3'ou must
 
 love's labour lost. 113 
 
 loam to lielp yourself. It is yoii that must 
 Aviu lier.'' 
 
 At this moment Helen entered the room 
 alone, laughing and looking remarkably happy. 
 The sight of her bright, joyous face filled Ean- 
 dal with foreboding. What had made her so 
 happy? Had "the conceited coxcomb" been 
 making love to her ? The very thought of it 
 re-awakened all his anger and jealousy. His 
 face changed again in a moment, and assumed 
 its look of sullen resentment. Why, even 
 Miss Meldrum was vexed with Helen for look- 
 ing so happy at such an unseasonable time. 
 
 "What do you think, auntie?" said Helen, 
 still laughing: "Captain Maleenovsky says 
 that our garden is the loveliest spot in St. 
 Petersburg." 
 
 " He could scarcely have made — a profounder 
 remark — if he had been a great — philosopher," 
 answered Miss Meldrum sarcastically. 
 
 " He thinks he could be happy there all 
 day." 
 
 " With you in it, I suppose," said Fred. 
 
 " Oh, of course," answered Helen, laughing: 
 " I fancy he could scarcely picture it to himself 
 without such an important being as myself in 
 it. I think that last remark of Fred's was 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 114 ' HELEX CAMERON. 
 
 profounder than Captain Maleenovsky's. I 
 suppose he is growing to be 'a great philoso- 
 pher.' What do you say, auntie?" 
 
 " I say that you are the most — proToking 
 creature ! " cried Miss Mekbum, feeling angry 
 with Helen. 
 
 ^^ Thank you!" said Helen, curtsying de- 
 murely to Miss Meldrum. Then, turning 
 toward Eandal, she added: ''I leave that 
 honour to wiser folks ; to the learned men 
 and the great philosophers !" 
 
 ^' Helen!" exclaimed Eandal angrily: ''I 
 must come to an explanation with you." 
 
 ^' An explanation ! What about ? Have 
 you broken your eye-glass, or soiled your shirt 
 frill, or lost your scented pomatum? What 
 weighty business engages the attention of the 
 learned Mr. Eandal, the great philosopher — the 
 university man V 
 
 And she mimicked the pompous tone and 
 manner in which he had said to Captain Malee- 
 novsky : ' ' I am a university man ! " Helen was 
 a first-rate mimic ; and Miss Mekbum could 
 not help laughing, in spite of her inward pro- 
 test. She did manage at length to say : 
 
 ^' For shame, Helen !" 
 
 ^^ Oxford, not Petersburg," continued Helen,
 
 115 
 
 still mimicking Eandal's pompous tone and 
 manner to the life: "some difference between 
 Oxford and Petersburg, I should say.'' 
 
 " Will you never be serious, Helen ?'' asked 
 Fred. 
 
 Ah, he would soon find out that she could bo 
 serious ! 
 
 "Serious!" cried Helen: "I think I am 
 serious enough in all conscience. Serious ! 
 Why, the sight of your — interesting face, 
 lengthened in such an alarming way, would be 
 enough to make an oyster serious." 
 
 " Don't provoke me beyond endurance." 
 
 "Xo: I leave that to you. If a certain 
 gentleman had not been an angel for temper, 
 we should have had a duel here to-day. No ! 
 I shall not compete with the university man 
 in the art of provoking. If you have learnt 
 nothing else at college, you have learnt that. 
 Are there prizes gii^en at Oxford for temper ? 
 If there had been, you would certainly have 
 carried away the first prize ; and I remember 
 now you did not get any prize at all. What 
 a pity there was no prize for temper I" 
 
 " I call Miss Meldi'um to witness " 
 
 "Are you going to drag me to a court of 
 justice, and bring witnesses to prove my guilt ?
 
 116 HELEN CAMEEOX. 
 
 Tlioiigli you are a university man — Oxford, 
 not Petersburg" (again mimicking his tone and 
 manner), " it will take a cleverer man than 
 you to beat me." 
 
 " Helen, you have behaved badly to 
 me." 
 
 ^'Eehaved badly to you! Have I trod on 
 youi' corns, or pinched your ear, or pulled your 
 hair, or knocked out your teeth ? When you 
 were insulting Captain Maleenovsky, I had a 
 great mind to give you a slap on your univer- 
 sity face. I didn't: the more's the pity ! [N'ow, 
 then, bring on your charges against me. Out 
 with them all!" 
 
 Poor Eandal was so overcome by Helen's 
 raillery that he could not speak. Miss Meldrum 
 lifted up her forefinger and whispered : 
 
 " Helen, don't forget yourself." 
 
 But Helen had been so thoroughly aroused 
 that she was beyond Miss Meldrum's control. 
 Seeing that Eandal did not speak, she went on 
 to say, in her most sarcastic tone : 
 
 "Well, why are you dumb, Pred ? Can't 
 the university man make a speech ? Speak, 
 man, speak : give a learned ' explanation ' of 
 my high crimes and misdemeanours. Expound 
 the law in the latest university fashion ; and
 
 love's labour lost. 117 
 
 give us outsiders a sample of the great talents 
 whicli that ancient seat of learning — Oxford, 
 not Petersburg — has brought to perfection." 
 
 ^^But you won't listen to me." 
 
 " Won't listen to you ! What do you mean ? 
 What have I been doing but trying to listen to 
 you ; waiting, and waiting in vain, for the 
 eloquent speech which has never come, but 
 which is no doubt on its way from your 
 university brain? Won't listen to you, indeed! 
 Why, I am dying to hear your speech, 
 learned university man !" 
 
 " You don't hear me out : as soon as I bemi, 
 you take the Avords out of my mouth and twist 
 them to your otvti purposes." 
 
 ^^ I should have thought that your university 
 training would have taught you a remedy for 
 that!" cried Helen, laughing. ^^ But I'll in- 
 terrupt you no more. Speak on then, learned 
 doctor ; and I will listen with profound atten- 
 tion. Only, in pity to my untutored brain, 
 don't make your oration too learned or too 
 long ; or I shall fall asleep over it, as sure as 
 my name is Helen Cameron." 
 
 Up to this time Helen had been standing ; 
 but she now sat down and settled herself in a 
 listening attitude.
 
 118 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 " Siu-ely," said Eanclal, '' you cannot deny 
 tliat you have been flii'ting with Captain 
 MaleenoYsky ?" 
 
 Having uttered this, he paused, as if waiting 
 for an answer. Helen sat dumb, with a mock- 
 attentive air ; screwing up her pretty mouth, 
 as though she were keeping down a strong 
 impulse to laugh. Eandal found this mockery 
 harder to bear than even her raillery. The 
 dumb show lasted for nearly a minute. 
 
 ''Go on," urged Helen at length: ''I am 
 listening to your learned oration, of which, 
 university man, you have given us only the 
 exordium." 
 
 "Why don't you answer me, then?" cried 
 Eandal. 
 
 He was vexed beyond measure by the tri- 
 fling manner in which Helen received his 
 lecture. 
 
 '' Surely this learned doctor is the most un- 
 reasonable man in the world," answered Helen, 
 bursting into a laugh. ''Just now he was 
 scolding me for talking ; and now he scolds 
 me for not talking. Which am I to do, most 
 learned doctor ? — talk, or not talk ? ' To be, 
 or not to be, that's the question ?' " 
 
 " Answer my question, Helen ! " continued
 
 loye's laboue lost. 119 
 
 Eanclal : ^^can you deny tliat you have been 
 flirting with Captain Maleenovsky ?" 
 
 For a moment Helen fired up : her merry 
 humour seemed gone. With glowing cheeks 
 and dilated nostrils, she cried : 
 
 ^' I can and I do deny it. Eut, if I could 
 not, what then ? What have you to do with 
 it ? What right have you to question me on 
 the subject V 
 
 '' Oh, Helen, after all that has passed be- 
 tween us !" 
 
 ^^ What has passed between us ? " 
 
 ^' Have you not given me 'reason to believe 
 that my suit was not distasteful to you ?" 
 
 ''And I am to be responsible for every 
 foolish belief that may creep into your — uni- 
 versity brain?" said Helen, relapsing into her 
 merry mood, and laughing again. ''By-and- 
 by, you may cleverly bring yourself to believe 
 that I am engaged to you ! But, whatever 
 silly things you may have believed in the past, 
 believe this in the future — that you are no 
 more to me than any of the silly young men 
 who utter nonsense in one's ear." 
 
 ''Oh, Helen!" 
 
 " You have yourself to thank for it. I have 
 long found it hard to put up with your bad
 
 120 HELEN camero:n\ 
 
 temper and self-conceit ; but your rudeness to 
 one who has never done you wrong, who has 
 always treated you with a courtesy which you 
 are not gentleman enough to understand or 
 return, has cancelled any bond which your 
 fancy has pictured between us. I have done 
 with you." 
 
 ^' It is as I feared," cried Fred : ''that Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky has stepped in between us." 
 
 " Henceforth cease to trouble yourself about 
 anything relating to me or Captain Malee- 
 novsky." 
 
 ''Helen, dear, don't hit so hard," said Miss 
 Meldrum, pitying Eandal : "you see he is 
 down." 
 
 And, indeed, there was room for pity. Fre- 
 derick had again buried his face in his hands ; 
 and he sat trying to hide, as Avell as to control, 
 the feelings which Helen's merciless severity 
 called forth. Without another word, Helen 
 herself passed out of the room. Miss Meldrum 
 tried to comfort the young man. Quite use- 
 less !
 
 THE SCAPEaRACE. 121 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE SCAPEGRACE. 
 
 " Bussanio To you, Antonio, 
 
 I owe the most, in money and in love ; 
 And from your love I ha-ve a warranty 
 To unburden all my plots and purposes, 
 How to get clear of all the debts I owe." 
 
 Shakspeke ; Merchant of Venice. 
 
 After leaving Mr. Cameron's house. Captain 
 MaleenoYsky went to the barrack wliere his 
 regiment was. In the evening he repaired to 
 his lodgings, not far from the barrack. Of 
 course he had his rooms in the barrack, like 
 the other officers. Eut, beside being a soldier, 
 he was something of a scholar as well ; and, 
 being liable to never-ending interruptions (one 
 might call them irruptions) from his brother- 
 officers in the barrack, he, as a man of wealth 
 and standing, had got leave to hire lodgings, 
 Adhere he retii'ed whenever he wished to carry 
 on his studies. 
 
 The house in which he lodged was large. 
 Ground-floor taken up by a public bazaar on 
 the one side and a number of shops on the 
 other. First-floor, sacred to a prince, a count,
 
 122 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 and some retired generals. Second-floor, shared 
 by Captain MaleenoYsky, with a brace of 
 judges, and a number of retired colonels and 
 majors. Third-floor, as being nearest the sky, 
 and cut up into very small rooms, filled with 
 a swarm of families belonging to the lower 
 classes. So here was a whole community, 
 living in one house, holding in its ample bosom 
 all classes of society, from the highest to the 
 lowest. And yet these people, living in the 
 same house, and many of them meeting every 
 day, knew nothing of one another ! 
 
 A large stone staircase, common to all, ran 
 up to the top. On each story a wide landing- 
 place, branching out into several corridors, 
 led to the A^arious suites of rooms. Captain 
 Maleenovsky mounted the staircase to the 
 second-floor. Snatching one of many candle- 
 sticks which stood on a table in the landing- 
 place, and lighting the candle at another 
 which stood burning on the table, he traversed 
 one of the corridors, and reached his own 
 rooms. There he found Yanka, his valet, in 
 the ante-room. Tired of waiting for his mas- 
 ter, the poor fellow had fallen asleep. But he 
 jumped up as soon as he heard the well-known 
 footstep, and was ready with his services.
 
 THE SCAPEGRACE. 123 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky took off his nniform in 
 the ante-room, put on a comfortable dressing- 
 gown, and was about to pass on to the inner 
 room, when Yanka tokl him that a gentleman 
 was awaiting him within. A cloud came over 
 the captain's face. Farewell to his hope of 
 quiet study, then! "What gentleman? Lieu- 
 tenant Alexeyey. Oh, only Alexeyev ! And, 
 without any more ado, Captain Maleenovsky 
 went in. 
 
 Lounging in an easy-chair, smoking a pipe, 
 the stem of which was five feet long, the bowl 
 resting on the floor, sat Lieutenant Alexeyev. 
 In spite of deeply-marked traces of dissipation, 
 his face was remarkably pleasing and winning, 
 beside being strikingly handsome. One felt 
 di-a^Ti towards him, without knowing why. 
 Figure symmetrical and elegant, but somewhat 
 slender and small. A carelessness about his 
 dress, which the severe martinets then at the 
 head of the army must have highly disap- 
 proved, which, indeed, was scarcely in keeping 
 with the habits of a finished gentleman, but 
 was nevertheless in tone with the whole bear- 
 ing of the man himself. An easy, lounging, 
 careless nature ! He seemed quite at his ease, 
 a^ if he felt at home ; and, when he spoke,
 
 124: HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 there was a nonchalance about his tone and 
 manner in striking contrast to Captain Malee- 
 novsky's stern look and studied courtesy. But 
 Captain MaleenoYsky himself seemed to catch 
 his friend's spirit. He rushed up to Lieutenant 
 Alexeyev as soon as he saw him, and, eagerly 
 j)ressing his hand, said : 
 
 ^^ There you are again, old boy : heartily 
 glad to see you ; though, good-for-nothing fel- 
 loAY that you are, you are going to rob the 
 Muses of a precious eyening." 
 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev did not rise from his 
 seat, but coolly shook hands with Maleenovsk}^, 
 scarcely changing his posture, and went on 
 smoking as before. 
 
 ''Ham? the Muses!" he drawled out in a 
 sleej^y tone. " That is to say, if there's any of 
 them left to hang. Have so often hung, 
 drawn, and quartered them before, that I had 
 hoped the pestilent race was exterminated. 
 Heartless coquettes, whose mission in life is to 
 rob a man of his friend ! Hang them, I 
 say!" 
 
 He seemed not to have energy enough to 
 carry out his own decree, if he had the power. 
 An easy, careless, shambling fellow ! 
 
 "At any rate, they have not robbed you of
 
 THE SCAPEGEACE. 125 
 
 me, Yassinka," answered Captain Maleenovsky 
 warmly. 
 
 ^'^N'ot so snre of that, old fellow," said 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev, in a tone which strongly 
 contrasted with his friend's : ^^ that remains to 
 be seen ; and perhaps I may have to test it to- 
 night. One never knows how soon one may 
 lose one's friend. About the deepest bit of 
 philosophy that our poor, crazy world has yet 
 reached, is the profound maxim : ^ Treat your 
 friend as if he were some day to become your 
 enemy ; and your enemy as if he were some 
 day to become your friend.' " 
 
 '^ All right, old boy," answered Captain 
 Maleenovsky : '' I know there is a warm corner 
 in your heart, which you don't like to uncover 
 even to an old friend. Vei-y profound maxim 
 —isn't it?" 
 
 " I say, old fellow, are we not lapsing a little 
 into sentimentalism : not much ; but just a 
 little, you know ? Just a smack of the days 
 when we vowed eternal friendship, &c., (fee, at 
 Doobeenovka : eh, my old friend ?" 
 
 ^^ IsTever fear, my good — enemy that is to be." 
 
 " But, I say, are you not going to offer 
 incense to the god of weeds ? Best cure going 
 for sentimentalism : I know from long and painful
 
 126 IIELEX CAMERON. 
 
 experience," lie added, putting on the most 
 sentimental tone he could command, and em- 
 phasising the last words. 
 
 "To be sure I am," answered the captain, 
 laughing. 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky rang the bell, and 
 ordered a pipe. Yanka brought one as long 
 as Lieutenant Alexeyev's, and handed it to his 
 master. 
 
 "All, now you look at home I " said Alexeyey. 
 
 The lieutenant himself looked more like the 
 master of the house than his host. Well, he 
 was one to feel at home wherever he went. 
 
 " And what ill wind has blown you here this 
 time, Yassinka?" asked Captain Maleenovsky: 
 " I know by long and painful experience " 
 (mimicking Alexeyev, and doing it well) " that 
 you never come to me except when you are in 
 a scrape." 
 
 The idea of trouble or sorrow seemed utterly 
 out of keeping with Alexeyev' s merry face and 
 easy manner. A man to take everything lightly 
 and coolly ; to go through the world unscathed, 
 one would have thought. 
 
 "And what is a friend good for, except to 
 get a man out of a scrape ?" drawled out Lieu- 
 tenant Alexeyev.
 
 THE SCAPEGRACE. 127 
 
 He said it with the utmost coolness and non- 
 chalance. There was always so mnch banter 
 and persiflage about him, that it was often hard 
 to know what he meant and what he didn't. 
 Bnt MaleenoYsky thought he understood his 
 friend thoroughly. He answered, laughing : 
 
 ^^ So, when you've sucked the orange, you'd 
 throw the peel away ?" 
 
 "Know a trick worth two of that," said 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev : '' J^ecp the peel, because, 
 you see, I might want it another day. But 
 aren't we going too deep into the philosophy of 
 — oranges — eh, old friend ?" 
 
 There had been a merry twinkle in his bright 
 eyes ; and his drawling manner had been 
 slightly, very slightly, quickened. 
 
 "Well then, tell me about your present 
 scrape, Yassinka," said Captain Maleenovsky. 
 
 " Creditors dunning one, and all that." 
 
 " Your creditors ! " exclaimed Maleenovsky : 
 " why, Yassinka, we paid them all oif before 
 Cliristmas. You have surely not contracted 
 any fresh debts so soon?" 
 
 "[N'o, not all." 
 
 " But you said they were all you had." 
 
 " Did I ? I was mistaken then." 
 
 He spoke with the utmost nonchalance.
 
 12S HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 The thought of shame iu the affair seemed never 
 to have entered his head. He saw only one 
 side of the shiekl : that on which ''Ill-luck'' 
 was written. That on which he might have 
 read the word '' sin " he kept out of sight. 
 
 '' Oh, Yassinka ! " said Captain Maleenovsky : 
 "you solemnly assured me you had no other 
 creditors." 
 
 His earnest tone and unmistakable sorrow 
 would have stung a finer nature. Eut Alexeyev 
 had a rhinoceros hide to his back, from which 
 all shafts, save, perhaps, those of wit, glanced 
 aside. 
 
 '' Eut how is one to find all one's creditors ?" 
 he asked, as coolly as ever: ''Xame, Legion. 
 Story of Hydra's heads : knock one down, and 
 ten others spring up in his room." 
 
 '' And you are not a Hercules to crush them." 
 
 '' Shouldn't wish to be, old fellow ! A more 
 graceful kind of hero to my taste." 
 
 '' I think," said Maleenovsky, '' the best 
 thing you can do is to get yourself wliitewashed, 
 and begin life afresh with a clean balance- 
 sheet." 
 
 " Impossible ! Imperial Highness, and all 
 that ! What would he say ?" 
 
 "He would say that you were an honest
 
 THE SCAPEGEACE. 129 
 
 man to get rid of your debts," answered 
 Maleenovsky, sending out a long puff of smoke. 
 
 ^' Eidiculous ! Just think of it! ^ His ho- 
 nour, Lieutenant Alexeyev, aide-de-camp to his 
 Imperial Highness the Grand Duke Nikolay 
 Pavloyitch, appeared yesterday in the Bank- 
 ruptcy Court.* Innumerable creditors ; no end 
 of debts. IS'o assets forthcoming.' Euin for life ! " 
 
 ^' IN'ot greater ruin than your present course." 
 
 ^' Isn't it though ? Profound wisdom in the 
 old Spartan maxim : that a crime is no crime 
 till it is found out." 
 
 ^'As profound as the Spartans themselves: 
 the brainless bullies of Greece. Eut let us 
 hear your tale." 
 
 ^'Eeen good boy of late : laying by money^ 
 and all that. Brought a lot with me, this 
 morning, to pay rascally tradesmen. But, as 
 I walk up the Nevskoy Prospect, money in 
 hand, whom should I meet but pretty little 
 Katinka?" 
 
 " Ah, my dear Yassinka, I wish you would 
 give up that gii'l," exclaimed Captain Malee- 
 noYsky earnestly. " She drains you of more 
 than money : she is sucking up yoiu' very life* 
 blood." 
 
 * What answers to the Bankruptcy Court in England. 
 YOL. I. K
 
 130 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^^ Lapsing into sentimentalism — eh? Just 
 a little, you know. Your pipe is out : take 
 another, old fellow. Best cure going." 
 
 " My dear fellow, I wish you would be 
 serious just for one minute in your life." 
 
 " What's the good of preaching to me, old 
 boy?" said Alexeyev, with the utmost non- 
 chalance. " Been preaching away these years : 
 preachments all slide off, like rain off a duck's 
 back. What's a fellow to do ? One must have 
 some joy in one's life." 
 
 '^ A sorry kind of joy it is !" 
 
 ^' Don't know Katinka : dearest little creature 
 in the world." 
 
 '' An expensive joy, too : not worth its salt." 
 
 '^ Can't get anything for nothing." 
 
 '^ You left all your money with Katinka?" 
 
 ^' iN'o, not all : brought lots with me ; several 
 hundred roubles. But, as I leave Katinka, 
 whom should I meet but Anton Yasseelitch?" 
 
 ^^So you are still in with that set of 
 sharpers ?" 
 
 " What's a fellow to do ? Can't cast off old 
 friends like old clothes, you know. One's con- 
 science won't let one." 
 
 ^'I should not have much scruple about a 
 set of sharpers," said Maleenovsky.
 
 THE SCAPEGRACE. 131 
 
 '^ No, not sliarpers : honourable play, and all 
 that. Only one has such bad luck. It's all 
 luck." 
 
 '^ Why don't you give it up, then ? " 
 
 ^' What's a fellow to do ? One must have a 
 spree sometimes, you know." 
 
 '' I don't see any 'must' about it. You may 
 just as well say : ' One must commit murder 
 sometimes.'" 
 
 '' Well, no doubt even that must be an agree- 
 able change in the dull monotony of existence." 
 
 '' But go on with your tale : you went home 
 with Anton Yasseelitch, I suppose ?" 
 
 ^'Yes; and, as ill-luck would have it, two 
 other fellows dropped in." 
 
 ''And you did not suspect, you dear old 
 simpleton, that Anton Yasseelitch had sent for 
 them?" 
 
 "What nonsense!" exclaimed Alexeyev, 
 with more warmth than he had hitherto shown. 
 "Well, of course, as there were four of us, 
 nothing would do but we must sit down to a 
 rubber of whist." 
 
 "And, of course, these precious gentlemen 
 robbed you of all the money that Katinka had 
 left?" 
 
 " No, not robbed. Honourable play, and all
 
 132 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 that. One of them was my own partner, you 
 know." 
 
 '' yon guileless yictim ! So keen and 
 quick-witted in all but your own affaii's ! So 
 sceptical in your philosophy, and so credulous 
 in your practice ! And so you never dreamt 
 that there might he a fair division of the spoils 
 behind your back ! So you lost all your 
 money?" 
 
 " To the last kopeck." 
 
 '' Did it never strike you that you ought to 
 have paid your creditors rather than these pre- 
 cious — gentlemen ?" 
 
 " What do you mean, old fellow ? The one, 
 a debt of honour ; the others, mere trumpery 
 tradesmen's accounts I " 
 
 ^^And did it never strike you, Yassinka, that 
 the tradesmen, who had given you money's 
 worth, had a greater right to the money than 
 the — hem ! — gentlemen who had given you — 
 nothing ? " 
 
 ^' Sentimentalism again — eh? Just a little, 
 you know. Take another pipe, old fellow." 
 
 '' So goes the world ! Well, old boy, I have 
 no ready money by me ; and it is too late to get 
 any to-night. But I will see what I can do 
 for vou in the mornin^; : will that do ?"
 
 THE SCAPEGEACE. 133 
 
 ^^Yery well," answered Alexeyev coolly; 
 '' I knew you'd help a fellow in distress. Well, 
 a friend " 
 
 ^^ Lapsing into sentiment alism — eh?" said 
 MaleenoYsky, mimicking his friend's manner. 
 
 ^' You haven't heard the worst of it, old 
 follow. Fact is, can't return to-night to the 
 Palace." 
 
 The Aneetchkin Palace, where the Grand 
 Duke Nicholas lived. 
 
 '^ Why not?" 
 
 " Eascally tradesmen have placed a strong 
 patrol before palace-gates ; threaten to kick 
 up a shindy if I try to get in before paying 
 their dirty bills." 
 
 ^^Wheugh!" 
 
 '^ Just think of it : a row before palace- 
 gates ! Imperial Highness, and all that. What 
 would highness say ? Ugh ! " 
 
 " Well, I confess I should not like to incur 
 his displeasure. He is a terrible one to have 
 to do with in a scrape. His eye is enough to 
 wither one up. I would not stand in your 
 shoes, old boy : not for a good deal." 
 
 ^^ But just think of those rascally tradesmen 
 proceeding to such extremities. Isn't it shame- 
 ful?"
 
 134 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^' On whose part ?" asked Maleenovsky slily. 
 
 ^' And in these days one daren't even lather 
 their backs for them." 
 
 ^' But, as you say, ' What's a fellow to do ?' 
 If they can't get their money in any other way, 
 you know " 
 
 " The sons of ! Why can't they wait?" 
 
 '^ What if they haye creditors of their own, 
 who dun them as they dun you?" 
 
 '' Serve them right ! I'll take care they have 
 no more of my custom, the dirty rascals !" 
 
 ^' Would not that be too heavy a punishment 
 for their crime, heinous as it is ?" said Captain 
 Maleenovsky, laughing. '^ Just think of it : 
 it would cut them to the heart ! Because you 
 must be a remarkably profitable customer : 
 what with leaving their business to look after 
 you, and hiring strong patrols to waylay you 
 at the palace-gates, you must be worth a mint 
 of money to them." 
 
 '^ They know how to fleece a fellow when 
 they catch him, as they always do in the end." 
 
 ''But tell me, Yassinka, how much money 
 did you lose at Anton Yasseelitch's ?" 
 
 " One hundred and fifty -four roubles." 
 
 ^' Well, my friend, I'm really sorry for you ; 
 and I hope that it will be a lesson for the
 
 THE SCAPEGEACE. 135 
 
 future, and that you will neyer dream of play- 
 ing with Anton Yasseelitch or any of his friends 
 again." 
 
 ^^Take a pipe," said Alexeyev : ^'just a 
 little, you know ; just a touch of it. Best cure 
 going. Many a time had a touch of it myself." 
 
 '' You can have a bed here," answered his 
 friend. '' Only I have to go out to-night." 
 
 '' Aha, that's the way you sacrifice to the 
 Muses ? One of the Graces, and not a Muse 
 at all— eh?" 
 
 ^^ I hope I shan't be away very long," said 
 Captain Maleenovsky, going out. 
 
 Nevertheless the time did seem very long to 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev. He smoked pipe after 
 pipe, lounging in the easy-chair. He rose 
 several times, and looked at the pictures on 
 the walls. He took up book after book. At 
 length, weary of doing nothing, he threw him- 
 self on a sofa and fell asleep. How long he 
 slept, he did not know ; but he was awoke by 
 his friend entering the room. 
 
 '' Well, was she a pretty one ?" he asked. 
 
 ^' At any rate she was kind," answered Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky: ^'look here what she has 
 sent you." 
 
 And he put a bundle of bank-notes into
 
 136 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 Alexeyev's hand. The young scapegrace 
 glanced at them, and looked bewildered. He 
 felt sure that they were the very same notes 
 that he had brought with him from the 
 Aneetchkin Palace in the morning; but how 
 Captain MaleenoYsky could have alighted on 
 them, he could not for the life of him tell. 
 That look of unruffled good-humour and non- 
 chalance, which seemed a part of his nature, 
 was slightly, just slightly, shaken. 
 
 '^ Where in the world did you get these 
 from?" he asked. 
 
 ''I first called on 'pretty little Katinka;' 
 and when she heard of the state you were in, 
 she cried, and not only returned me the money 
 you gave her, but begged me to take her purse. 
 Of course, I declined.'' 
 
 '' IN'eedn't have been quite so scrupulous, 
 old fellow," said Alexeyev : " she's had thou- 
 sands from me first and last. Xo harm in 
 using one's own at a pinch — eh ?" 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky looked queerly at his 
 friend for a moment, as if doubting whether 
 those were his real sentiments, or a part of his 
 persiflage^ and then continued : 
 
 '' She is a good little giii, after all ; and I 
 won't say another word against her."
 
 THE SCAPEGRACE. 137 
 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev burst out laugliing. 
 
 ^'Alia!" he cried: ''she's caught you too 
 — has she ? Katinka, then, was the Grace 
 that detained you so long?" 
 
 ''By no means," answered Captain Malee- 
 noYsky gravely. " I had plenty to do besides 
 to get all these notes. I called on my friend 
 Mr. Tolstoy, who is in the secret police ; and 
 we called together on your friend Anton Yas- 
 seelitch." 
 
 Here, for the first time. Lieutenant Alexeyev 
 lost his matchless coolness, and became rather 
 excited. 
 
 "Not compromised me — eh ?" he said anxi- 
 ously. 
 
 "By no means." 
 
 " ISJ'uisance, though : they'll call me informer 
 and police-spy." 
 
 " 'No matter what they call you, so long as 
 they don't rob you," answered Captain Malee- 
 novsky sternly. " But never fear : we made 
 them understand that you had nothing to do 
 with the affair." 
 
 " How did you get the money back, then ?" 
 
 " It was enough for Mr. Tolstoy to mention 
 the name of ' the terrible Count Golovin.' You 
 should have seen the consternation which fell
 
 138 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 on all in tlie room. I never saw anything to 
 match the eagerness with which they got rid 
 of their ill-gotten pelf." 
 
 '' Were there many there ?" 
 
 '' Only the three, and the pigeon they were 
 plucking. A plumper pigeon than they had 
 this morning." 
 
 '^"Who?" 
 
 ^^His highness Prince Donskoy. I fancy 
 they have bled him well." 
 
 " Well, old friend, of course much obliged, 
 and all that sort of thing. Still, unpleasant to 
 be suspected." 
 
 '''Never fear that ; though I, for one, should 
 be glad of that or anything else that would 
 break your connection with that set. There 
 is no fear of their plucking you again : Mr. 
 Tolstoy told them that, if ever you lost money 
 to any one of them again, ' the terrible Count 
 Golovin ' would be down upon them." 
 
 Supper was here brought in ; and, after sup- 
 per, the two friends sat smoking and drinking 
 till a late hour of the night.
 
 CAPTAIN maleenoysky's faild^g. 139 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOYSKY's FAILING. 
 
 " They say, best men are moulded out of faults ; 
 And, for the most, become much more the better 
 For being a little bad : so may my husband." 
 
 Shakspere : Measure for Measure. 
 
 Captain Maleenoysky could not sleep that 
 night. The insult he had received from 
 Frederick Eandal, before the lady he loved, 
 kept rankling in his breast. He had taken it 
 coolly at the time ; but he had felt it none the 
 less. And now, as he looked back on what 
 took place, he doubted whether he had done 
 well. Had he not been too tame ? Would 
 not Helen think him a weak, poor-spirited 
 creature, who could not hold his own ? Ah ! 
 if he could have known what she really 
 thought ! 
 
 Lying there, tossing in bed, he thought of 
 many things ; but at last his thoughts settled 
 on his friend. Their fathers Tiad been neigh- 
 bours in the Government of I^ovgorod; and 
 the two young men had known each other 
 from childhood. Of the same age, they had
 
 140 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 always been fast friends. But after leaving 
 the Cadet Corps, which both had entered and 
 left at the same time, Maleenovsky, being of 
 a studions turn, had gone to the University : 
 hence, Alexeyev had the start of him by 
 some years in the army; and yet, though 
 they both had the same advantages, Malee- 
 novsky had reached the rank of captain, 
 whereas Alexeyev was still a mere lieutenant, 
 and, as far as one could see, was likely to 
 remain so all his life. The cause lay in the 
 characters of the two men. 
 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev was one of those easy, 
 shiftless, aimless fellows, who are said to do 
 harm to none but themselves. (A great mis- 
 take, by-the-bye. If you do yourself harm, you 
 must hurt others too. The best thing you can 
 do for your neighbours is just to make your- 
 self as great and good as you can.) Well, 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev did himself no good. He 
 was everlastingly getting into scrapes of one 
 sort or another. It was seldom indeed that he 
 was out of hot water for a long time. And 
 yet, like a cat, however roughly tossed, he 
 always alighted on his feet. If he had a 
 genius for getting into scrapes, he had also a 
 genius for getting out of them, or rather for
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY's FAILING. 141 
 
 moving his friends to draw liim safely out. 
 Considering what a good-for-nothing fellow 
 he was, it was wonderful to see how many 
 friends he had : nearly every one that knew 
 him loved him. 
 
 At length, as the morning dawned, Captain 
 Maleenovsky fell asleep. He had drunk too 
 much the night before, more than he would 
 have done with any man but Lieutenant 
 Alexeyev. "When he awoke in the morning, 
 he started up with a splitting headache : throat 
 parched, tongue dry and furred ; in a bad 
 humour, too ; cross and fractious. The first 
 thought that came to him was a thought of 
 Frederick Eandal ; and he was ready to vent 
 his spite on the first living creature that came 
 within his reach. Unluckily that was Yanka, 
 his valet de chcmibre ; and, as Yanka was his 
 serf, and wholly in his master's power, poor 
 fellow, he was likely to have a hard time of 
 it that morning. Don't run away with the 
 idea that Captain Maleenovsky was hard- 
 hearted or tyrannical. Indeed, he was deemed 
 a kind and generous master. Eut he had his 
 faults ; and, as an honest historian, I am 
 bound to paint the bad in him as well as the 
 good. Besides, the trick of avenging one's
 
 142 HELEN CAMEROJf. 
 
 wrongs by proxy is by no means nncommon 
 in this strange, disjointed world of ours. In 
 Eussia, at all events, it takes place every day. 
 Colonel rates one of his captains; captain 
 avenges himself on one of his privates ; pri- 
 vate vents his spite on the first moojeek he 
 meets in the street ; and moojeeJc^ having no 
 one else to impart the favour to, goes home 
 and flogs his wife. And so the poor scapegoat 
 of a wife, the convenient '^ beast of burden," 
 gets a mauling because a colonel whom she 
 never saw spoke an angry word to a captain 
 whom she never heard of in her life. So goes 
 the world, my masters I Moreover, we are 
 not to judge of a man's character by any one 
 deed we see him do. There may be a stray 
 sour apple on the best of apple-trees. In 
 forming our judgment of a man, we must 
 strike the average of his deeds. There is 
 many a good man who sometimes looks un- 
 commonly like a bad one. 
 
 There was every likelihood that poor Yanka 
 would suffer that morning, because a certain 
 Englishman, whom he had never seen or heard 
 of, had chosen to insult his master the morn- 
 ing before. Vanka was the scapegoat to be 
 sent forth into the wilderness to bear the sins
 
 CAPTAIN maleenovsky's failixg. 143 
 
 of Frederick Eandal. Scapegoat was in the 
 ante-room, busily preparing the breakfast, and 
 utterly unconscious of his fate, when his master 
 fiercely pulled the bell-rope at the head of his 
 bed, and, before a moment had passed, gave it 
 another fierce tug, which wrenched it ofi", and 
 brought it down on his own head. At that 
 moment Yanka entered the room, downcast 
 and anxious. Did poor scapegoat guess what 
 was coming ? 
 
 "Thou loitering rascal !'' exclaimed Captain 
 MaleenoYsky ; " why art thou never within 
 call?" 
 
 " I was in the ante-room, your honour," 
 answered Yanka; "and I came as soon as I 
 heard the bell." 
 
 The scapegoat knew now what kind of a lot 
 awaited him that morning. But what could 
 he do ? He was bound to submit ; he was 
 Captain Maleenovsky's serf. 
 
 " How often must I tell thee never to 
 answer me again?" cried scapegoat's master, 
 angrily. 
 
 " But your honour asked me a question." 
 
 " There it is again ! " 
 
 And Captain Maleenovsky gave Yanka a 
 smart cut on the face with the bell-rope.
 
 144 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^'But, yoiu' honour " 
 
 ^' I'll teach thee to be saucy, thou scoundrel! 
 Dost thou hear ?" Silence. " Why dost thou 
 not answer me ? We have turned sulky, have 
 we ?" Another cut with the bell-rope. ^^ An- 
 swer me, I tell thee ! " 
 
 Another cut. 
 
 '^ I don't know what to do I" cried poor 
 Yanka. ''Your honour gives such contra- 
 dictory orders ! "Which am I to obey?" 
 
 '' I give thee contradictory orders ! How 
 darest thou say so, thou yillain ?" 
 
 And the blows came thick and fast on poor 
 Yanka' s head. 
 
 '' Please, your honour " 
 
 '' Hold thy tongue ! " Silence. '' Xow dress 
 me, Yanka." 
 
 Scapegoat brought out his master's clothes, 
 and laid them on a chair. 
 
 '' Shall I dress your honour in bed ?" 
 
 ''Xo, I will get up. But how is this? 
 This shirt is dirty : I have worn it before." 
 
 He meant to visit Helen Cameron again 
 that morning on an interesting errand. Of 
 course, poor scapegoat could not divine liis 
 purpose. Helen, is this the man thou art 
 going to choose for thy husband ? Think well
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY's FAILING. 145 
 
 before thou takest the step, or some day thou 
 mayest be turned into a scapegoat I 
 
 '^ Only yesterday," said Yanka. 
 
 " Only yesterday ! How often am I to tell 
 thee that I must have a clean shirt every 
 day?'' 
 
 And Captain Maleenovsky pinched and 
 twisted scapegoat's ear, till poor scapegoat 
 squeaked with pain. Ah, why didn't he turn 
 him out into the wilderness ? Pinching and 
 twisting of the ear are unkno^vn arts there ! 
 
 '' Please your honour," pleaded scapegoat, 
 " it was only yesterday morning your honour 
 told me that this shirt would do for two 
 days." 
 
 Ah, then, yesterday morning honour had 
 not made up his mind to visit Helen Cameron 
 two days running? What had occurred to 
 change his mind ? Oh, that interview (for 
 the first time without witnesses) in " the 
 loveliest spot in St. Petersburg !" The same 
 thing which had made Helen's face radiant, 
 had evidently made Captain Maleenovsky re- 
 solve to put on a clean shirt. 
 
 How long this scene might have lasted 
 there was no knowing, had not Lieutenant 
 Alexeyev at that moment entered the room. 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 HELEX CAMEROX. 
 
 Good-for-notliing fellow as he was, to his 
 honour be it said that he never gave in to 
 the Eussian habit of cruelty to the lower 
 classes. 
 
 '^ Hallo!" he said: '^what's all this row 
 about?" 
 
 ^' The rascal was giving me a dirty shirt." 
 
 ^' That all?" exclaimed Alexeyev, laugh- 
 ing : ^^ last time I slept here, I remember you 
 pinched his ear for giving you a clean shirt 
 when you thought the dirty one would do. 
 Tables turned, it seems ; laws of the establish- 
 ment changed, I suppose." 
 
 And Lieutenant Alexeyev laughed heartily. 
 He seemed altogether brisker and more lively 
 than the evening before. The night's rest had 
 refreshed him more than Captain Maleenovsky, 
 I fancy. 
 
 ^' The fellow has no taste or judgment at 
 all," said the captain. 
 
 He spoke almost in an apologetic tone. 
 Who knows ? Perhaps he was already be- 
 ginning to regret the wrong he had done. 
 Tables turned between him and his friend. 
 Amusing to see them change places : Alexeyev 
 the reprover, and Maleenovsky the apologist ! 
 Whether he were ashamed of himself, or
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY's FAILING. 147 
 
 simply did not wish, the subject broached in 
 scapegoat's presence, he ordered Yanka to get 
 the breakfast ready, and finished dressing him- 
 self. Yanka cast a look — oh, such a look ! — 
 of thankfulness on Lieutenant Alexeyev as he 
 went away. 'No wonder one class of persons, 
 at least, loved the gay, good-for-notbing young 
 scapegrace so much ! 
 
 "A wonderful way you have hit upon for 
 teaching taste and judgment !" said Alexeyev. 
 ^' Every punch on the head sending an idea 
 into the brain, every twist of the ear embody- 
 ing the lines and curves of beauty, every stripe 
 on the face revealing harmony of colours ! If 
 I were a rich man, I would found a pro- 
 fessorship of the new art at the University of 
 Petersburg ; and I would appoint you the first 
 professor of the chair, providing plenty of sub- 
 jects to operate upon for all time." 
 
 '' But Yanka is, at times, so perverse !" 
 '' My dear fellow, is he to exercise the right 
 of private judgment at all ? If so, make some 
 allowance for mistakes, and don't treat them 
 as crimes; if not, better at once draw up a 
 stiff code of laws and regulations for every 
 minute of the day and for every sliirt in the 
 wardrobe."
 
 148 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^^ Well, old boy, let us go to breakfast." 
 
 At breakfast, the two friends discussed a 
 plan, which the wealthier had struck out 
 during the night, for delivering the needier 
 from all his embarrassments. By - and - by, 
 Yanka brought in the letters w^hich had come 
 by the post. Captain Maleenovsky hastily 
 snatched up one packet, and was soon buried 
 in its contents. It was clear that they in- 
 terested him deeply. For a Eussian, he was a 
 very undemonstrative man. He could have 
 borne almost any amount of pain without 
 showing that he felt. A strength of will 
 about him, too, which would have enabled 
 him to master the pain, to endure the boot 
 with almost as much firmness as Ephi^aim 
 Macbriar. Still, Lieutenant Alexeyev, who 
 was quick-sighted in the affaii'S of others, could 
 see that the letter touched him to the quick. 
 He could not mistake that knitting of the 
 brow and clenching of the teeth. 
 
 '^What is it all about, dear old fellow?" 
 he asked, with a little derangement of his 
 usual nonchalance. " Lost a pretty giii, or 
 offended your superiors, or had ill-luck in 
 betting — eh?" 
 
 " Why should I hide it from an old friend
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOVSKY's FAILING. 149 
 
 like you ? " said Captain Maleenovsky, looking 
 up from tlie paper: ^Hhis despatch is to tell 
 me tkat I have lost my suit in the district court 
 at Groozeeno.'' 
 
 ^^ What ! Lawsuit about Doobeenovka ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Doobeenovka was the name of Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky's estate in the Government of l^ov- 
 gorod. All the property he had in the 
 world ! 
 
 ^' Poor old fellow 1 Lost all your property, 
 then ? As bare-skinned as myself now ? 'No 
 wonder you look glum over it ! " 
 
 ^' That does not follow," answered Captain 
 Maleenovsky. " My steward tells me that he 
 has lodged an appeal in the provincial court 
 of Novgorod." 
 
 " And what do you mean to do ? " 
 
 ^' I don't see that I can do anything. My 
 steward has a good head for such things; 
 in fact, knows far more about law proceedings 
 than I do ; and I must wait patiently till the 
 provincial court pronounces its judgment." 
 
 " Take my advice for once, old fellow ! " 
 said Lieutenant Alexeyev, almost earnestly 
 for him. " You've given me lots of advice 
 — gratis ; valuable, though wasted, and there-
 
 150 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 fore useless, advice : let me pay in the same 
 coin, and we'll be quits. Take a fool's advice : 
 he on the spot ?j our self. Matter of life and 
 death to you : don't trust to others ; but 
 look into everytliing yourself. That precious 
 steward of yours ! [N'ever liked the cut of his 
 phiz." 
 
 " You always had a prejudice against poor 
 Pankratitch. My sainted father had always 
 the greatest confidence in him." 
 
 '' Prejudice or no prejudice, don't like the 
 man. Look at things with my own eyes, not 
 with my father's. Stands to reason. There 
 is that about Pankratitch " 
 
 '' We shan't agree on this point : so we had 
 better not discuss it," said Captain Malee- 
 novsky. 
 
 '^ Be it so, old fellow ! A f — hem ! — a wise 
 man will have his way. Still, I say, best be 
 on the spot yourself. Could call on the judges, 
 and lay your case before them." 
 
 ^' There is sense in what you say. I'll go." 
 
 The very fact, that a high-minded man like 
 Captain Maleenovsky was not shocked by his 
 friend's proposal, goes far to show the differ- 
 ence at that time between Eussia and England 
 as regards the administration of justice. In
 
 CAPTAIX MALEEJ^OVSKY's FAILING. 151 
 
 England, not a man in his senses Avould have 
 dreamt of hiying a private statement of his 
 case before the judges who were to try it in 
 public. In Eussia, not a man in his senses 
 would haA^e dreamt of refusing to do so. The 
 highest-minded man would have thought it 
 fair to avail himself of every means by which 
 he might get substantial justice done. 
 
 ^' Know the judges ? " asked Alexeyev. 
 
 '^ One of them : Mr. Popovitch." 
 
 "• Hah ! the honest one : the one that is fool 
 enough not to take bribes, and so starves on his 
 paltry salary. Look of the man enough : arms 
 out at elbows, and legs peeping through rents 
 in pantaloons. Better know the dishonest 
 ones : honest one will do you justice whether 
 you know him or not — makes no difference." 
 
 " Do you know the others ? " 
 
 ^' Know them all, old fellow. Will give 
 you letters of introduction to the other two." 
 
 '^ How did you get to know them ? " 
 
 '^ Imperial Highness had a case in the court. 
 Some paper, old fellow : may as well write off' 
 the letters at once." 
 
 "While Alexeyev was writing, Maleenovsky 
 remained in deep thought. It was sad to 
 think of parting with Doobeenovka, his birth-
 
 152 HELEN CAMEEOX. 
 
 place, the home of his childhood, the tenderest 
 memory of his riper years ! And then the 
 '^ sonls " there, with whom he had formed 
 kindly ties, to whom he stood in the position 
 of owner and master ! Ah, had he done his 
 duty by them ? Would they regret him, should 
 he lose the lawsuit ? Had he given them 
 cause to regret him ? The thought saddened 
 him and softened him : softened him to Yanka 
 among the rest; softened him especially to 
 Yanka as a present living type of all the rest. 
 He thought of what he had done in the morn- 
 ing. Would Yanka be sorry to part with 
 him ? Would not late scapegoat rejoice to 
 be rid of a fitful and wayward master ? Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky was ashamed of what he had 
 done ; and when he felt he had done wrong, he 
 had the manliness to acknowledge it. He rang 
 the bell. Late scapegoat entered the room. 
 
 '' Yanka," said his master, in a kind and 
 gentle tone, ^' when didst thou hear from home 
 last?" 
 
 Late scapegoat looked at late tormentor 
 puzzled and surprised. What was the mean- 
 ing of the change which had come over 
 master ? Late scapegoat's philosophy not deep 
 enough to solve the problem.
 
 CAPTAIN MALEENOYSKY's FAILING. 153 
 
 "Last week," tie answered quietly, without 
 puzzling liis brain any further about the diffi- 
 cult problem. 
 
 " And were thy mother and brothers well ?" 
 
 " Yes, your honour." 
 
 " Wouldst thou like to see them all again?" 
 
 " Wouldn't I ! " 
 
 And a ray of gladness lighted up late scape- 
 goat's dull and downcast face. 
 
 " If I can get leaYe, I mean to go myself: 
 if I do, thou shalt go with me." 
 
 " Hurrah ! " cried A'anka. 
 
 And, utterly forgetful of the presence in 
 which he stood, late scapegoat took such a 
 leap as his Hebrew prototype might haYe 
 taken when bounding into the wilderness. 
 
 '^And, Yanka," continued Captain Malee- 
 noYsky earnestly, " forgiYC me the wrong I 
 did thee this morning. Yasseely Igoritch was 
 right : thou wast not to blame ; and I struck 
 thee without a cause." 
 
 Lieutenant AlexeycY's eyes had wandered 
 from his writing : he was gazing on this 
 scene with a look which belied his cynical 
 philosophy. Yanka' s exultation had Yanished 
 in a moment. His master had struck the 
 right chord in his heart. His eyes filled with
 
 154 HELEX CAMERON. 
 
 tears : he fell on liis knees before Captain 
 MaleenoYsky, grasped his hand, and covered 
 it with kisses. 
 
 ^'Oh, baarin, baarin" (master), he cried: 
 ^' that yon shonld speak so to the likes of me ! " 
 
 Lientenant Alexeyev, too, jnmped np, seized 
 his friend's hand, and cried ont, with an ear- 
 nestness of which he had hitherto seemed 
 incapable : 
 
 '^ I say, old fellow, yon are a brick !" 
 
 As soon as he had finished writing his 
 letters, Alexeyev went away ; and Captain 
 MaleenoYsky was left alone with his thonghts. 
 Those thonghts might have shaped themselves 
 into these words: "Farewell to Helen Came- 
 ron, if I lose this suit ! Her pnrse-prond 
 father will never consent to a beggar for a 
 son-in-law. It is well that I have gone no 
 further in this matter. I was strongly tempted 
 yesterday morning to fall down at her feet and 
 offer her my heart and my hand. I am glad I 
 didn't. She clearly likes me already; and I 
 would not for the world disquiet her mind. 
 How lucky that the despatch came Avhen it 
 did ! If I had gone to see her this morning, 
 I should certainly have committed myself. I 
 must keep away from her now till this affair is
 
 CAPTAIN :maleenovsky's failing. 155 
 
 settled. Happily I have not committed myself 
 yet. I wonder if slie guesses that I love her. 
 I think not : I have been too cold and polite 
 for that. Farewell, Helen Cameron, for the 
 present !" 
 
 In the midst of all the uncertainty which 
 hung over the future, one thing seemed clear : 
 that the success of the lovesuit would rest on 
 the success of the lawsuit. From the cold 
 words which I have put into Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky's mouth, you may fancy that he did 
 not care much for the success of the lovesuit 
 at least. If you do, you do him wrong. He 
 was not one to put strong feelings into words. 
 His aim, in any case, would have been to lock 
 them up within, far out of sight and hearing. 
 He was not one to shilly-shally about a course 
 which he saw was wise : he had a strong iron 
 Avill, which could carry out a plan in spite 
 of such things as feelings and wishes. So 
 thorough was his mastery over himself, that 
 even his friend Alexeyev, if he had been still 
 in the room, would not have had the slightest 
 idea of the struggle Avhich was going on 
 within, of the anguish which was entering as 
 iron into his soul. Captain Maleenovsky was 
 not the man to undervalue wealth : he had
 
 156 HELEX CAMEROX. 
 
 lived too luxuriously for that. But, at this 
 moment, he felt that he would gladly lose all 
 his wealth, if he could only gain Helen 
 Cameron for his one treasure on earth. But 
 no : she, too, must go with the rest ; ay, go 
 because the rest went.
 
 THE LAWSUIT. 157 
 
 CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 THE LAWSUIT. 
 
 " Bul-e . . . My business in the state 
 Made me a looker-on here in Vienna, 
 Where I have seen corruption boil and bubble, 
 Till it o'errun the stew. . . ." 
 
 Shakspere : Measure for Measure. 
 
 The estate of Doobeenovka had formerly 
 belonged to the Ilinskys. The grandfather 
 of the present prince, though wealthy, had 
 lived beyond his means. To free himself from 
 debt, he had been forced to sell slices off his 
 estates. Captain Maleenovsky's great-grand- 
 father, a successful merchant of Kazan, who 
 had made a large fortune in the Siberian fur 
 trade, had bought Doobeenovka from the 
 wasteful prince, and settled down there as a 
 country gentleman. The title-deed was placed 
 in a strong box in the handsome house which 
 he built on the estate. 
 
 But, since that time, the Ilinskys had re- 
 irieved their losses ; and the family policy had 
 become to re-absorb all the slices of land which 
 had been cut off in the family's time of need. 
 All the land surrounding the estate of the
 
 158 HELE?^ camero:n\ 
 
 MaleenoYskys had fallen into the hands of the 
 Ilinskys ; and Doobeenoyka stood like an oasis 
 in the desert, or an island in a sea, which all 
 belonged to Prince Ilinsky. It was a dreadful 
 eyesore to the powerful family ; an everlast- 
 ing memorial of their past misfortunes and 
 disgraces. The present Prince Ilinsky had 
 offered to buy it ; but General Maleenoysky, 
 our captain's father, did not care to part with 
 his patrimony. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when General 
 Maleenoysky was startled by the news that 
 Prince Ilinsky had brought a lawsuit against 
 him in the district court, claiming Doobee- 
 noyka as a part of his ancestral estates. His 
 first impulse was to run to the strong box and 
 scan the title-deed, to see on what flaw the 
 prince could found his claim. To his dismay, 
 he found that the title-deed was gone ! He 
 was an absent man ; and it was thought that 
 in one of his fits of forgetfulness he had left 
 it on his library table, and that some spy of 
 Prince Ilinsky had snatched it away. He did 
 his best to make up for his loss. He signed 
 an affidayit, and got some of his neighbours to 
 sign others, bearing witness to the existence 
 of the title-deed, as well as to the fact that for
 
 THE LAWSUIT. 159 
 
 many years Doobeenovka had belonged to the 
 MaleenoYskys. Armed with these weapons, 
 he was preparing to carry on the war in the 
 district court, when he suddenly died, be- 
 queathing to his son, not only the unhappy 
 estate, but the dangerous lawsuit with which 
 it was encumbered. 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky followed Alexeyey's 
 advice, and, easily getting leave of absence, 
 went to Novgorod to look after the aifair 
 himself. Public opinion was strongly in his 
 favour ; but the case was to be tried by three 
 gentlemen who were moved by something 
 higher — or lower — than public opinion. He 
 therefore set to work to move the judges. Mr. 
 Popovitch, ''the honest one," saw the justice 
 of his cause, and set him at his ease. The 
 second judge listened favourably to his case, 
 till he learnt that the great Prince Ilinsky was 
 the plaintiff, and then bluntly told Malee- 
 novsky that he had not a leg to stand upon. 
 But the third judge, Mr. Kokoshkin, reassured 
 him. 
 
 Mr. Kokoshkin lived in one of the largest 
 houses in the most fashionable part of the 
 town, and in luxury and pomp seemed to vie 
 with the highest nobles about Novgorod.
 
 160 HELEIS" CAMERON. 
 
 Where he found the money for all no one 
 knew ; but at least many guessed. He was 
 not a man of property when he became a 
 judge; and the paltry salary of his office 
 would not have covered a tenth part of his 
 yearly expenditure. To many envious eyes, 
 all that magnificence was but a symbol of — 
 Beibery. He was dressed in the highest 
 fashion, in the costliest superfine cloth. Gold 
 chains and rings, and jewellery of all kinds 
 wearable by gentlemen, made his outward 
 appearance quite dazzling. Moreover he was 
 studiously polite and cordial. 
 
 As soon as Captain Maleenovsky entered his 
 library, the great man rose, shook hands 
 warmly with his guest, and, handing him a 
 chair, begged him to sit down. Wines and 
 refreshments were brought in; and nothing 
 would do but ''his precious guest" must par- 
 take of his hospitality. Captain Maleenovsky 
 thought worthy judge one of the kindest and 
 pleasantest gentlemen he had ever met in all 
 ]iis life. He felt quite at home, and talked as 
 if he were speaking to an old friend. Mr. 
 Kokoshkin, on his part, talked too. Any 
 friend of his worthy friend. Lieutenant Alex- 
 eyev, would always be heartily welcome.
 
 THE LAWSUIT. 161 
 
 Forget liim ? How was it possible to forget ? 
 Such a word as '' forget " must be blotted out 
 of his (worthy judge's) vocabulary, sooner than 
 it should be applied to so worthy a gentleman 
 as Lieutenant Alexeyev. Such a handsome 
 young man I Such an entertaining companion ! 
 And how was his worthy friend ? And how 
 was that worthy friend's great patron and 
 protector, his Imperial Highness the Grand 
 Duke Nikolay Pavlovitch? He (worthy judge) 
 was proud to remember that he had been of 
 some service to Imperial Highness in a former 
 case ; and, if he could only be of any help to 
 a friend of Imperial Highness' s protege^ he 
 need not say how proud he should be. If 
 only he could have that honour and that 
 satisfaction ! 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky found it a hard task 
 to lead worthy judge from small talk like this 
 to the merits of his case. Mr. Kokoshkin 
 seemed to have plenty of time on his hands. 
 At length, worthy judge condescended to 
 listen to the lawsuit, and seemed to listen 
 attentively, reading the affidavits with the 
 greatest care. 
 
 ''A very interesting case," he said at last: 
 'Wery interesting." He seemed to look on 
 
 VOL. I. :m
 
 162 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 the case with the same fondness with which a 
 surgeon regards a difficult operation. " Of 
 course, the absence of the title-deed makes it 
 doubtful; but, if there is evidence to prove 
 the existence of the title-deed, that can be 
 remedied. It is one of those cases, about 
 which honest men may differ in opinion ; and 
 those are just the cases which are most in- 
 teresting to a true lawyer's mind. Of course, 
 those cases are the most costly too : you will 
 understand why." (In bribes, your high- 
 honour?) ''Well, it is unfortunate that you 
 should have such a powerful antagonist as his 
 Highness Prince Ilinsky ; but then a gentle- 
 man who has his Imperial Highness the Grand 
 Duke jS^ikolay Pavlovitch at his back " 
 
 ''Your high-honour," said Captain Malee- 
 novsky honestly, " I would not leave a false 
 impression on your mind. I wish you to 
 understand that his Imperial Highness knows 
 nothing of this case, and will not interfere 
 with it in any way." 
 
 "Ah, that is a pity," answered Mr. Kokosh- 
 kin: " it is such an interesting case. Still we 
 shall see what can be done." Worthy judge 
 suddenly finds out that he had other more 
 important and perhaps more "interesting"
 
 THE LAWSUIT. 163 
 
 work to do. So lie added : '^ I am sorry to 
 inform you that I can spare you no more time 
 at present; but I will introduce you to my 
 secretary, who can direct you as well as myself 
 what steps to take." 
 
 ^' I am much obliged to your high-honour." 
 In obedience to Mr. Kokoshkin's summons, 
 his secretary entered the room; and worthy 
 judge formally introduced him to Captain 
 MaleenoYsky amidst a shower of flourishes and 
 bows. The secretary looked like a miniature 
 likeness of his master. He clearly aped the 
 judge in manner as well as in dress ; and his 
 courtesy and seeming heartiness were some- 
 thing really wonderful for a stranger. He 
 took Captain MaleenoYsky to the first restau- 
 rant at ^N'ovgorod, and there ordered the cost- 
 liest supper for two, and the best wines which 
 the cellar of the establishment could supply. 
 Maleenovsky wondered at such liberality till 
 the bill came, when he found that — he had to 
 pay the whole himself. 
 
 When the secretary began to ^'instruct" 
 him. Captain Maleenovsky found that he had 
 more to pay than he had ever dreamt of. 
 Everything was a great deal dearer than when 
 his steward had managed the case. When he
 
 1G4 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 mentioned this remarkable fact to the secre- 
 tary, his new friend langhed, and said that of 
 course he must expect everything to be dearer 
 in a city like IN'oygorod than in a small district 
 town. What with affidavits and fees of one 
 kind or another, his money was slipping 
 thi'ough his fingers as fast as if the light- 
 fingered gentry had taken him in hand. There 
 was only one thing to comfort him. His friend, 
 the secretary, assured him that his case was in 
 a fair way to settlement, and that there could 
 be no doubt about the result. Captain Malee- 
 novsky thought so too. He was sure that Mr. 
 Popovitch would vote in his favour ; and now, 
 happily, he had also secured Mr. Kokoshkin's 
 good-will. Costly; but soon over, and well 
 over ! 
 
 He spent several weeks in dancing attend- 
 ance on the worthy secretary. Somehow, at 
 the end of those weeks, his lawsuit seemed 
 no nearer settlement than at the beginning. 
 Worthy secretary kept assuring him every day 
 that it was ''in a fairway;" but, unhapiDily, 
 the ''way'' seemed to have no "end." Duiing 
 those weeks, worthy secretary dined, and in 
 fact lived, at Maleenovsky's cost, feeding on 
 the daintiest fare, and drinking the costliest
 
 THE LAWSUIT. 165 
 
 wines. After a while, too, lie began to borrow 
 small sums of money, which somehow became 
 bigger and bigger every time he borrowed, till 
 the gallant captain began to doubt whether he 
 could raise enough of the ''sinews of war" to 
 carry him through the lingering campaign. 
 Truly a lawsuit was an expensive luxury ! 
 
 One day, when his money was nearly ex- 
 hausted, worthy secretary came to him in 
 tears, and declared that he was in the direst 
 distress. He was in debt to the tune of ^ye 
 thousand roubles; and, unless the amount 
 could be raised at once, he would be ruined 
 for life. Could not gallant captain help him ? 
 Gallant captain declared that there was no 
 plaister in that quarter for worthy secretary's 
 wound. All his ready money was gone : in 
 viands and wines, affidavits and fees, and other 
 costly articles ! But could he not raise some 
 more ? IN'ot unless he went home. Well, then, 
 would gallant captain oblige worthy secretary 
 by going home and raising the money ? Gal- 
 lant captain tvould go home and see what he 
 could do. The fact was, he wanted to consult 
 a friend and neighbour, before he took another 
 step.
 
 166 IIELEX CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 THE END OF THE LAWSUIT. 
 
 " A Sergeant of the Lawe, ware and ^se, 
 That had often yben at the paruis, 
 There was also, ful riche of excellence : 
 Discreet he was, and of grete reverence ; 
 He seemed swiche, his wordes were so wise." 
 
 Chaucer: Canto-bury Tales. 
 
 Whe:n' lie arriyed at Doobeenovka, his friend 
 strongly advised him not to advance the loan. 
 Friend more likely than victim to see that 
 worthy secretary had merely been plucking 
 gallant captain. Maleenovsky followed the 
 advice ; and the next two or three days he 
 spent at Doobeenovka, thinking chieflj^ of the 
 pending lawsnit. What would be the issue ? 
 If he could but foresee it ! But he would 
 know it soon enough in the course of nature. 
 ^0 need to forestall events ! 
 
 Yes, soon enough; for, on the fourth day, 
 the post brought him a packet from IS'ovgorod. 
 He was sure that it contained news of his 
 lawsuit; and he took it into the library, or 
 private cabinet, to peruse it at leisure. He 
 had strong nerves, as well as a strong will :
 
 THE END OF THE LAWSUIT. 167 
 
 still his hand trembled a little as he broke the 
 seal of the packet. And, as he read the paper 
 within, his lips quivered. The lawsuit had 
 been decided — against him ! Even the fore- 
 bodings of the past few days could not prevent 
 the news from coming upon him with a shock 
 of surprise. He had so thoroughly trusted 
 worthy secretary and his master, that for a 
 long time he could scarcely realise the fact. 
 But, as he dwelt upon it, and began to take it 
 in, all that it implied dawned upon his mind. 
 He had lost his lawsuit twice : was he likely 
 to win it the third time? Would not the 
 same motives, which had governed the district 
 court and the provincial court, have weight 
 with the senate also ? And then ? Farewell 
 to Helen Cameron ! As he thought of this, 
 Captain Maleenovsky buried his face in his 
 hands. 
 
 Long he sat thus ; but, at length, a new 
 train of thoughts passed through his brain. 
 Must he part with Doobeenovka ? The place 
 was endeared to him by a thousand memories. 
 There he had been born. There his childhood 
 had been spent. He could scarcely call up 
 any memory of his mother which was not 
 linked with Doobeanovka. There his father
 
 168 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 liad died. As he thought of all this, he went 
 up to the window, which commanded the finest 
 yiew of the whole estate. The house was 
 built on the brow of a hill, and looked on one 
 of the richest valleys that could be seen in 
 that part of Eussia : the MaleenoYskys had 
 brought all the latest improvements to bear 
 on their estate ; and the outcome was, that the 
 broad domain of Doobeenovka was as richly 
 cultivated as any estate in Eussia. Far as 
 Captain Maleenovsky could look, all the land he 
 saw was his own. And must it pass away into 
 other hands ? ^ot vvithout a struggle, though ! 
 Ay, but what use in struggling ? Senators 
 governed by the same motive as other judges ; 
 would pronounce the same judgment. In 
 Eussia might rode rough-shod over right. But 
 then a wild thought shot through his brain. 
 There was one exception : the secret police ! 
 Like all true and honest men in Eussia, Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky reverenced Count Golovin, 
 Chief of the Secret Police, though he had 
 never seen him at the time. We have seen 
 that he knew Mr. Tolstoy, who was one of 
 Count Golovin' s most trusted underlings ; and 
 he had heard enough of the count from his 
 friend, to feel that he was making the secret
 
 THE END OF THE LAWSUIT. 169 
 
 police a blessing instead of a curse. If the 
 worst came to the worst ; if he lost his case in 
 the Senate ; — might he not appeal to Count 
 Golovin. If any man in Eussia were likely 
 to see justice done, he was that man. It would 
 be hard to overrate the comfort which the 
 thought brought with it. 
 
 As he was thinking thus, Yanka came and 
 told him that a gentleman wished to speak 
 to him. Who was the gentleman? Yanka 
 did not know : a stranger. Let the gentleman 
 know that gallant captain could not see him ; 
 was too busy, and altogether too much out of 
 sorts. In a few minutes Yanka returned. Gen- 
 tleman must see gallant captain; would not 
 leave till he had seen him. Business of utmost 
 importance. Half in weariness and half in 
 anger. Captain Malecnovsky told Yanka to 
 show the gentleman into the library, and pre- 
 pared to receive him in no very pleasant frame 
 of mind. In another minute the gentleman 
 came in. A tall, handsome gentleman, who 
 moved and walked with an air which seemed 
 to stamp him a Somebody. 
 
 " I fear you will think this an unwarrant- 
 able intrusion," he said coolly, smiling as he 
 spoke.
 
 170 HELEI^ CAMERON. 
 
 ^' To tell you the truth, I do," answered 
 Maleenovsky, rather tartly. 
 
 He stood haughtily, as if bidding the stranger 
 defiance. Mr. Somebody laughed out, tickled 
 by a frankuess so uncommon in society. 
 
 '^ Let me assure you, sir," he hastened to 
 say, ''that I honour you for your outspoken 
 truthfulness." 
 
 " How your compliment is to make up for 
 your intrusion, I don't understand," rejoined 
 MaleenoA^sky. 
 
 And yet there was something in the stranger 
 which interested him in spite of himself. 
 
 " I hope you will change your opinion be- 
 fore I leave the room," continued the stranger, 
 with perfect self-possession; "and, as I am tired 
 with my walk, I will take the liberty of sitting 
 down." 
 
 And he coolly took a seat. 
 
 "Confound the fellow's impudence!" mut- 
 tered the gallant captain. 
 
 But the stranger , spoke so politely, and was 
 clearly such a thorough gentleman, in spite of 
 his "impudence," that Maleenovsky could not 
 think of turning him out. 
 
 "I hope you will use no ceremony," said 
 Mr. Somebody, smiling pleasantly, "but make 
 
 I
 
 THE END OF THE LAWSUIT. 171 
 
 yourself at home, and sit down when you feel 
 tired." 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky burst out laughing : 
 the idea of a perfect stranger, whose very 
 name he did not know, asking him to make 
 himself at home in his own house, struck him 
 as the absurdest thing he had heard for a long 
 time. He sat down, and answered : 
 
 ^' You seem to feel at home enough for two." 
 
 ^^ I generally do, wherever I am," was the 
 cool reply. 
 
 '^ And yet I do not even know your name ! " 
 said Maleenovsky. 
 
 '^You need not remain long without the 
 knowledge : I am knoA\Ti here as Alexander 
 Izmailov; and, for your better guidance, I 
 may tell you in the strictest confidence that I 
 am an agent of the secret police." 
 
 The name of the secret police brought a 
 crowd of thoughts into Captain Maleenovsky's 
 mind. Strange, very strange ! He had been 
 thinking of the secret police when this member 
 of the force entered. He had almost made up 
 his mind to appeal to their chief for redress. 
 He was therefore not um-eady to trust an 
 agent of the secret police. And now the 
 thought struck him: why not take Mr.
 
 172 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Izmailov into liis counsels ? He was in a sore 
 strait, perplexed and bewildered ; and snrely 
 the All- wise had sent him a counsellor in his 
 need. Mr. Izmailov, as an agent of the secret 
 police, must be acquainted with lawsuits, and 
 could, at any rate, give him disinterested advice. 
 So he gave him an account of the lawsuit, 
 and put copies of all the affidavits into his 
 hands. He next told him of his adventures 
 at JS'ovgorod. When he spoke of his dealings 
 with Mr. Kokoshkin and his worthy secretary, 
 Mr. Izmailov laughed heartily. 
 
 '' Do you think my refusing to lend money 
 has decided the case against me?" asked 
 Maleenovsky. 
 
 ^' I cannot say ; but I rather think not. I 
 imagine the loan was merely the last drop of 
 juice they meant to suck out of the orange 
 before they threw it away." 
 
 ^^They!" exclaimed Captain Maleenovsky; 
 ^^but Mr. Kokoshkin himself had nothing to 
 do with it." 
 
 Mr. Izmailov burst out laughing. 
 
 ^' And 'are you really so — hem ! — charitable 
 as to believe that the secretary did all this 
 without his master's knowledge?" he cried. 
 ^' Of course Mr. Kokoshkin had his full share
 
 THE END or THE LAWSUIT. 173 
 
 of every kopeck tliat found its way into his 
 secretary's pockets.'' 
 
 '' But wliat of the dinners, and the suppers, 
 and the wines?" asked Maleenovsky : ''Mr. 
 Kokoshkin coukl not share them /" 
 
 "N^o; but he could deduct their worth in 
 money from the secretary's salary. 
 
 "Wheugh!" 
 
 "A cheap way of boarding one's secretary, 
 you know." 
 
 '' But do you really believe, sir, that Mr. 
 Kokoshkin meant all along to fleece me, and 
 then leave me to my fate ?" 
 
 '']^o, I don't. I think that, at first, he 
 thought it might be good policy to take your 
 part ; but, as soon as you so honestly acknow- 
 ledged that you had nothing to hope for from 
 the Grand Duke IN'icholas, I have no doubt he 
 made up his mind to get his pickings out of 
 you through his secretary." 
 
 ^' What a frightful picture you are di'awing 
 of the administration of justice !" 
 
 "Bless you ! they have di^awn it mildly this 
 time : they have done far worse things in their 
 day." 
 
 "And yet they are allowed to remain, and 
 turn law and justice into a farce !"
 
 174 HELE^^ CAMERON. 
 
 ^' l^eYer you fear ! Justice shall overtake 
 tliem in good time, or my name is not — 
 Izmailov. Give them rope enough, and they'll 
 hang themselves." 
 
 ^' But have I no redress against these scoun- 
 drels ? " asked Maleenovsky. 
 
 ^' None whatever." 
 
 And Mr. Izmailov laughed uproariously. 
 Captain Maleenovsky was rather nettled, and 
 said warmly : 
 
 ^^ I think it is a shame ! " 
 
 ^' You see, you ran into the net with your 
 eyes open. The wise man said, ' Surely in 
 vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.' 
 Eut you acted as if you came into the world 
 with a mission to prove that the wise man was 
 a fool." 
 
 ''But do you mean to say, sir, that there is 
 no redress against such barefaced corruption?" 
 
 " Certainly not," answered Mr. Izmailov, 
 again laughing heartily, to Maleenovsky' s 
 annoyance. " You paid some exorbitant fees ; 
 you ordered a lot of useless affidavits, not 
 worth the paper on which they were ^^aitten ; 
 you feasted your interesting friend right 
 royally, and, out of your o^\ti bountiful nature, 
 advanced him sundry sums of money in the
 
 THE END OF THE LAWSUIT. 175 
 
 sliape of loans. That is all ! " And again 
 Mr. IzmailoY laughed uproariously. 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky winced again. lie 
 did not relish that laugh ; he could not see 
 the joke at all. 
 
 ^^ Could I not at least get the loans back ? " 
 he asked, after a pause. 
 
 '' Certainly, if you have a receijDt for them," 
 answered Mr. Izmailov, laughing more merrily 
 than ever. 
 
 ^^ I am sorry to say I have not." 
 
 ^^ Then you are done for ! They have done 
 the job neatly. Ah, they are clever rascals." 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky felt the chaffing more 
 keenly than a wise man ought to have done, 
 and, to turn the conversation away from his 
 own past folly, asked : 
 
 ^^ Do you think I should appeal to the Senate ? " 
 
 " Decidedly," answered Mr. Izmailov, be- 
 coming serious at last. ''I believe there are 
 men of honour in the Senate ; and, though 
 there are others who will be influenced by 
 Prince Ilinsky's rank and wealth, still there is 
 a chance of your winning the case." 
 
 ^' And if the Senate should confirm the deci- 
 sions of the district court and the provincial 
 court?"
 
 176 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky looked Mr. Izmailov 
 full in the face as lie asked the question, 
 anxious to find out from his look as well as 
 words what he really thought of the matter. 
 He fancied that the agent of the secret police 
 grew bigger as he gazed at him. At any rate, 
 without any fancy, he could detect a conscious 
 pride in Mr. Izmailov' s mien and tone, as he 
 answered : 
 
 ^' You have heard tell of Count Golovin, the 
 head of our force ?" 
 
 ^' Heard of him? Who has not? Insigne 
 moetis jyi^cesidiimi reis — the " 
 
 ^' And so forth. Just so. Well, if you fail 
 in the Senate, appeal to his highness. Count 
 Golovin ; and, if he is in office at the time, he 
 will see justice done." 
 
 The very words fixed themselves on the 
 young officer's memory. 
 
 After some further conversation, Mr. Izmailov 
 took his leave.
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 1 i i 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 
 
 " A woman is a dish for the gods, if the devil dress her not." 
 Shakspere : Antony and Cleoimtra. 
 
 Frederick Eandal usually wore his heart 
 upon his sleeye. Not a comfortable lodging, 
 one would think, for so tender a thing ; ex- 
 posed to the cold gaze of the world like a 
 sergeant's stripes. But when one has not 
 strength to keep it down in its right place, 
 what is one to do ? You may be sure that it 
 was not from choice he bared his heart : if he 
 could have had his way, he would have tucked 
 it in and kept it warm in the cosiest corner 
 of his inner regions. But he could not help 
 himself : his heart got the better of Mm, His 
 feelings were always on the fizz ; and, though 
 he often tried to cork them down, every now 
 and then pop would go the cork, and out 
 would fly the feelings, regardless of his will, 
 and trot themselves out before his wondering 
 fellow-creatures. 
 
 But, in re Helen Cameron, Fred was making 
 a grand, I may say a heroic, effort to prevent 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 the seat of his feelings from exhibiting itself 
 sergeant-fashion to an admiiing world. IN'ot 
 content with corking them down, he tried to 
 secnre the cork with a double wire. And he 
 really did succeed to a great extent. Who 
 knows? Perhaps the blow he had received 
 had already done him good, and developed in 
 him a strength unknown before. But we 
 mortals seldom do any one thing from any one 
 motive. We are creatures of mixed motives. 
 So I rather think that Eandal's vanity came to 
 the help of his will, and counselled him to be 
 dumb. He had often enough boasted of his 
 power over '' the belle of St. Petersburg ;" and 
 he could not bear that any one should think 
 that she had jilted him. It would have been 
 more agreeable to his feelings to win the fame 
 of jilting her. But if he had succeeded in 
 deceiving the whole world beside, there was 
 one person whom he could not have deceived. 
 However tight he might have fastened down 
 the cork, there was one insinuating corkscrew 
 that could always di'aw it out at will — his 
 sister Eachel. 
 
 Eachel Eandal was two or thi-ee years 
 older than Helen. ^N'ot quite so beautiful; 
 still, handsome and attractive in her way.
 
 EACHEL RAXDAL. 179 
 
 Indeed, until Helen '' came out," she had 
 enjoyed the proud title of the ^^ belle" of 
 the English society at St. Petersburg. One 
 great di^awback, though, on her beauty; a 
 certain pinched and wizened look, painful to 
 see in one so young. Her enemies called her 
 ^'sour." Eachel retorted by calling them 
 ^^ wicked; " and alleged that what the wicked 
 called ^' sour" the righteous called '^ serious." 
 Two years before the time of our story, 
 Eachel had paid a long visit to her relations 
 in England, and had come home a changed 
 girl. Her English friends belonged to the 
 Low Church: and her own account of the 
 change was that she had been ''converted;" 
 which phrase the wicked paraphrased by say- 
 ing that she had '' tui^ned sour." True it is, 
 that she had once been the gayest of the gay, 
 and was now serious : which meant, said the 
 Avicked uncharitably, that the rising sun of 
 Helen Cameron had drawn away the worship- 
 pers from Eachel Eandal. 
 
 There was a time when she and Helen had 
 been bosom friends ; but that, the wicked 
 again uncharitably remarked, was "before 
 Helen Cameron's beauty had blown into such 
 splendour as to eclipse Eachel Eandal's." On
 
 180 HELEN CAITEEOX. 
 
 her return from England, Eachel had earnestly 
 tried to bring Helen to her o^stl way of think- 
 ing, and, haying utterly failed, had cooled 
 towards her, and shut her out of her fellow- 
 ship. Thenceforth Helen Cameron was ^ 'light" 
 and "frivolous;" which, said the wicked, 
 meant "cheerful" and "beautiful." Many 
 beside the wicked thought that Eachel need 
 not have been quite so hard upon the ill- 
 trained, motherless beauty. But Eachel Ean- 
 dal almost always went to extremes. A fact 
 which was further illustrated by her pro- 
 moting Jenny Cameron, Helen's cousin, to 
 Helen's vacant place. Jenny was a sweet 
 quiet little girl : one of those dcA^out women 
 we sometimes meet with, whose religion is a 
 second (or first) nature ; not a change so 
 much as a growth, beginning from childhood, 
 and ripening up to old age. In her "worldly 
 days," Eachel had been wont to look down 
 upon poor Jemiy : first, because her father 
 was only a clerk in the house of Cameron 
 and Son; and, secondly, because Jenny her- 
 self was a " Methodist," as Eachel then 
 called her. 
 
 You will readily believe that Eachel did 
 not deserve all the reproaches which were
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 181 
 
 hurled against her. '^ Give a dog a bad 
 name and hang him;" and Eachel Eandal 
 had not a good name in the fashionable society 
 of St. Petersburg. But, in spite of faults, 
 she was really a good sort of girl at bottom. 
 I do not mean to say that what she called 
 "worldly motives" did not sometimes mingle 
 even with her seemingly religious deeds. 
 Which of us can say that about ourselves? 
 But, in the main, she was sincere, earnest, 
 and unweariedly zealous. The worst of it 
 was, that her zeal was often "zeal without 
 knowledge." Wisdom did not govern all her 
 movements. Many of her religious views 
 were narrow and unreasonable ; and, the nar- 
 rower and more unreasonable they were, the 
 more dogmatic she was in asserting that they 
 were the truth, and the only truth. Feeling 
 intensely right herself, she thought all who 
 differed from her wrong; and she believed 
 herself sent into the world on a mission to 
 set them right. She really meant to do good, 
 and did it too; but, from want of a large 
 wisdom, the good was strangely interwoven 
 with evil. Of course she earned the name of 
 " Busybody" among the wicked; but, to give 
 her her due, she did not care what names she
 
 182 hele:n' cameeox. 
 
 got, or what ill-will she earned, at the hands 
 of the wicked, so long as she gained the good 
 opinion of the righteous. 
 
 Of course, her brother did not escape her 
 pious surveillance. After his last interview 
 with Helen, so unsatisfactory as it was, he 
 had naturally become rather sad. Eachel 
 looked on this sadness with joy. She thought 
 that he was becoming ''serious;" that ''the 
 good seed," which she had sown, was beginning 
 to take root in his heart. She watched over 
 him with a mother's jealous watchfulness. 
 !N"o hen could brood over her eggs more care- 
 fully than she tried to hatch the young life 
 which she thought was forming within. She 
 longed to "help on the good work;" and 
 therefore she probed his heart with a not 
 unskilful hand. Frederick long withstood 
 her intermeddling. He drew the wire tighter 
 over the cork. But insinuating corkscrew had 
 abeady wormed itself in ; and, before Eandal 
 was aware of it, pop went the cork, and out 
 flew the feelings. 
 
 When Eachel found out that what she had 
 thought "the love of good things" was merely 
 "the love of Helen Cameron" wounded and 
 spurned, she was bitterly disappointed. But
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 183 
 
 by-and-by she began to take her brother's 
 view of the matter, and to believe that he had 
 been encouraged and jilted. And then her 
 righteous indignation broke forth. Ever since 
 her return from England, she had steadfastly 
 set her face against her brother's growing 
 attentions to Helen Cameron : and this is 
 surely answer enough to those who charged 
 her with being jealous of Helen ; for, if she 
 had been, would she not have gladly saddled 
 Helen with the only young man who could 
 not marry herself ? But she said that 
 ^^ Freddy ought to have a more serious wife 
 than Helen;" and she had done her best 
 to persuade her brother to write the name of 
 Jenny for that of Helen Cameron on his heart. 
 But, when she found reason to believe that this 
 thoughtless ^'reprobate," so unworthy of her 
 brother, had not only spurned but jilted tim, 
 her righteous indignation knew no bounds. 
 
 At first, it vented itself in torrents of bitter 
 reproach. But words soon lost their power to 
 express her strong feelings. Could she not 
 carve them into deeds ? Ay, but how to act 
 wisely in the matter? This said power of 
 ^'acting wisely" was not one of Eachel's 
 strong points. Was she aware of it ? Did
 
 184 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 she at least dimly guess it in this one case ? 
 And was that why she made up her mind to 
 take Jenny into her counsels ? Whatever the 
 cause, she did speak to Jenny aboiit it one 
 morning when her friend called; and so, the 
 feelings which Frederick Eandal had been so 
 busily and so heroically corking down, were 
 likely after all to be published to the world, 
 and the unlucky heart worn sergeant-fashion 
 once more. Jenny Cameron (a very pretty girl, 
 small and delicate, but thoughtful, and far from 
 being small in soul) heard Eachel out quietly, 
 and then said in a sweet musical voice : 
 
 ^'But, Eachel, dear, remember you have 
 heard only one side of the story as yet." 
 
 ''Do you think Freddy would tell a false- 
 hood?" exclaimed Eachel indignantly. 
 
 '' By no means, dear," answered Jenny, in 
 a quiet tone, which was a pleasant contrast to 
 Eachel' s sharp and somewhat shrill voice : 
 " but you know that we are all apt to take a 
 one-sided view of anything that affects our- 
 selves." 
 
 '' No one can be faii-er than Freddy," cried 
 Eachel. 
 
 '' I think it due to Helen to hear both sides 
 before condemning her."
 
 EACHEL RANDAL. 185 
 
 ^^You must confess, Jenny, that she is 
 frivolous and coquettish ; the very girl to do 
 such a thing." 
 
 ^' I think you are too hard upon her, Eachel, 
 dear," answered Jenny, with a quiet dignity, 
 which was very striking in so small a creature : 
 ^* she has not the same views as you and I 
 have on many things ; but she has deep feel- 
 ings, and is capable of noble deeds." 
 
 ^'Deep feelings! A giddy, giggling flirt! 
 Capable of noble deeds ? Why, she does not 
 know what ^a sense of duty' means." 
 
 *' Eachel, dear, you are unjust," said Jenny, 
 aroused out of her usual quiet demeanour. '' If 
 I were you, I would call upon her, and hear 
 her version of the story, before I heaped such 
 abuse upon her." 
 
 Eachel Eandal reflected for a moment. After 
 all, she was a righteous girl, and did not mean 
 to be unjust. Only she took a one-sided view 
 of the afl'air; and, when her feelings were 
 strongly roused, she could not cork them in 
 any more than her brother. After a long 
 pause, in which she seemed to shake herself 
 up and take herself to task, she answered, 
 rather more quietly : 
 
 ^' You are right, Jenny : I tvill sec her, and
 
 1S6 HELEX CAMEROX. 
 
 hear what she has to say for herself; and, if 
 she can't defend herself, why, then, I'll give 
 her a bit of my mind." 
 
 Jenny understood what that ^'bit of her 
 mind" meant: it was a sharp sort of mind at 
 the best of times, and was not likely to be 
 softened when exercised on such a ''sinner" 
 as Helen Cameron. She therefore said : 
 
 '' Only don't take for granted, to start with, 
 that Helen is guilty ; and, Eachel, dear, don't 
 tell her to defend herself, as if you had a right 
 to question her." 
 
 ^' And have I not a right?" exclaimed 
 Eachel, roused up again to her former high 
 pitch of tone: ^4s Helen Cameron to jilt my 
 brother without my having the right to ask 
 her why?" 
 
 Jenny vas almost sorry that she had sug- 
 gested the interview. She saw clearly how it 
 was likely to end ; and, like a true peace- 
 maker, she was anxious to prevent mischief. 
 
 ^' There now I " she said; ''you are still 
 taking for granted that she is guilty." 
 
 ''Leave me to deal with her," answered 
 Eachel: "I warrant you I'll wiing a con- 
 fession out of her." 
 
 " Eachel, dear, that is not the right spirit
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 187 
 
 to undertake the work in. A judge Hliould be 
 unbiassed, and not talk about wringing a con- 
 fession out of the prisoner at the bar." 
 
 '' I kn(;w that she is hard-hearted and 
 proud," continued Eachel ; ^'but she can't 
 be so brazen-faced as to deny that she en- 
 couraged Freddy at first, and then threw hirn 
 off when this conceited young Eussian captain 
 came in the way. I should hopc3 she had sonic 
 lingering sparks of conscience left." 
 
 ^' Don't you see, Eachel, that you are all 
 along prejudging the case ? I see no use in 
 your going to Ilelen at all in that spirit ; you 
 will only misjudge whatever she may say." 
 
 ^^ Ah, if Freddy had only taken my advice, 
 and turned his thoughts elsewhere ! " exclaimed 
 Eachel. 
 
 '' Eachel, dear, you know you are giving me 
 pain," said Jenny, with an appealing glance. 
 
 "But you know, darling, that you love 
 him," answered Eachel, throwing her arm 
 round her friend's slender waist. "Why, 
 Jenny, dear, you have confessed as much to 
 me." 
 
 Jenny did not blush : her eyes, indeed, 
 sought the ground ; but her voice was as firm 
 and calm as ever when she spoke again.
 
 188 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^'I have told you that I liked him," she 
 said; ^^but I never told you that I loved 
 him. And, supposing I did love him, what 
 would be the use of it so long as he loves 
 another?" 
 
 Eachel kissed her friend tenderly : ah, there 
 were some warm human feelings in that heart, 
 too ! 
 
 ^' But he will learn to love you : I know he 
 likes you very much already." 
 
 '^ l^oi a word more," answered Jenny. '^ You 
 have no idea how distasteful it is to me." 
 
 No more was said on that point ; and, soon 
 after, Jenny took her leave. 
 
 The following morning, Eachel Eandal went 
 to administer castigation to Helen Cameron. 
 I will not go so far as to say that a sense of 
 injury did not mingle with her motives. But 
 certainly she had a notion of doing Helen 
 ^'good." The coquette was wrong: EachePs 
 mission in the w^orld was to set the wrong 
 right ; and she was but accomplishing the end 
 of her being in lashing the motherless girl. 
 Helen Cameron was a sinner, and a great 
 sinner too; and, if Eachel Eandal could but 
 reclaim that erring sister, one more good deed 
 vrould be done in the world.
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 189 
 
 Helen was sitting with Miss Meldrum in 
 the cosy breakfast- room, reading Shakspere, 
 when Eachel entered. The girl with a mission 
 looked nnusually big and solemn : the mission 
 cast its shadow over her. Helen was certainly 
 taken by surprise : because Eachel had not 
 come to see her for many months ; and it was 
 understood that the friendship between them 
 was broken off for ever. "When Natalia first 
 announced EachePs name, strange thoughts, 
 unlikely things, passed through Helen's brain. 
 Had Eachel relented ? Had she seen the 
 error of her ways ? Had she repented the 
 harshness with which she had treated her 
 former friend? The first glance at EachePs 
 face was enough to put all such thoughts to 
 
 fliorht. The mission was written in her 
 
 ■■& 
 
 eyes. 
 
 Eachel, on her part, did not know how to 
 begin. She was usually fiuent enough. Did 
 conscience smite her as to some of the steps 
 she had taken, and some of the words she had 
 uttered ? "Whatever the cause, after a few 
 commonplaces had been uttered, there was a 
 long and awkward pause. Eachel made more 
 than one attempt to break it : it clearly de- 
 volved on her, as the girl with a mission, to 
 lead the talk. But the missionary spiiit
 
 190 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 seemed suddenly to have forsaken her. The 
 mission itself was in danger of being left in 
 the cold. At last, in her despair, she snatched 
 a book from the table, as if she hoped to find 
 inspiration there : and snrely inspiration might 
 have come from that book, if from any ; for it 
 was a volume of Shakspere that she had unwit- 
 tingly picked up. But, if she received any 
 inspiration from it, it was the inspiration of 
 disgust; for she suddenly dropped the book 
 on the table, as if her fingers had been 
 soiled. 
 
 " Oh, Miss Meldrum," she said, ''I am so 
 sorry to see that book here. Do you allow 
 Helen to read it?" 
 
 ^^AUow?" cried Helen. 
 
 She had hitherto looked on in an amused 
 sort of way, which irritated Eachel. Eut now 
 she tossed up her head, and showed how much 
 her features could express. 
 
 " Certainly," said Miss Meldrum, in answer 
 to Eachel' s question, bristling up on finding 
 her own department invaded : ^' why not ?" 
 
 ^' Why, it is a play-book." 
 
 ''What do you mean by a play-book?" 
 
 '' A collection of di^amas." 
 
 '' Of course, I know — that Shakspere is a
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 191 
 
 play-book — in that sense ; and why should not 
 Helen — read a play-book?" 
 
 Eachel, with all her zeal, was taken aback. 
 
 " Don't you think that the Bible condemns 
 play-books?" she asked. 
 
 '^ It would be strange — if it did — as there is 
 — at least one drama — in the Bible itself." 
 
 '^ Oh, Miss Meldrum, you quite shock me !" 
 
 ^'Not a very hard thing to do," said Helen 
 quietly. 
 
 ^^What is the Book of Job — but a sublime 
 drama — with a prologue and an epilogue?" 
 
 ^^But the Book of Job is a religious book," 
 answered Eachel, begimiing to feel bewildered. 
 
 ^^And why should not Shakspere — ^be a 
 religious book?" 
 
 '^ Oh, Miss Meldrum, it is quite frightful to 
 hear you talk like that ! " cried Eachel : ^' why 
 everybody knows that Shakspere was one of 
 the most immoral writers that ever lived." 
 
 ^'Ay, there are some — fools who think so; 
 but did you ever — ^read him yourself?" 
 
 "]S'o-o !" exclaimed Eachel. 
 
 She pronounced the little word with start- 
 ling energy, as if she had j)acked into it the 
 concentrated essence of horror. The impres- 
 sion she made was akin to that produced
 
 192 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 by lier dropping the book itself on the 
 table. 
 
 " Then yon don't know what a treat is in 
 store for you," remarked Helen, langliing 
 quietly. 
 
 ^' I should be sorry to read Shakspere." 
 
 ^^ Then how can you judge ?" 
 
 ^'But surely it is not necessary to wade 
 through all kinds of filth, before you can 
 pronounce that it is filth." 
 
 ' ' But how can you say that it is filth with- 
 out seeing it?" asked Helen, feeling amused. 
 
 Eachel was put into a comer. Knowing 
 nothing of the subject, she was clearly out of 
 the lists. 
 
 ^'But surely you cannot deny that flirting 
 and flightiness of all kinds are learnt by read- 
 ing Shakspere," she said. 
 
 " I do deny it," answered Miss Meldi^um. 
 
 Eachel lifted her eyes and hands, and was 
 dumb. What could she say after that ? There 
 was another long and awkward pause. But 
 presently she saw an opening out of the bog. 
 Here was a grand opportunity for beginning 
 her attack on Helen, and so discharging her 
 mission ! Had she not truly received inspira- 
 tion from Shakspere ?
 
 RACHEL RANDAL. 193 
 
 ^' I see now where Helen has learnt to flirt 
 with young men," she said, in her sourest 
 manner. 
 
 Miss Meldrum was up in arms in a moment : 
 she never could see Helen attacked without 
 coming to the rescue. Helen herself was calm, 
 and amused rather than otherwise. 
 
 ^^What do you mean?" asked Miss Mel- 
 drum. 
 
 ^^ Never mind what she means," answered 
 Helen. " Eachel has her head so high up in 
 the clouds, that she never can see quite clearly 
 what is going on down below." 
 
 ^' Can you deny that you encouraged Fred's 
 addresses up to the time that this conceited 
 young Eussian captain of yours made his 
 appearance, and then jilted him without pity ? " 
 
 Poor Helen herself was rather sore on the 
 subject of Captain Maleenovsky. He had 
 visited her for a time, and led her to believe 
 that he loved her ; and then he had suddenly 
 disappeared, and left no trace behind. She 
 was strongly tempted to retort sharply; but 
 she checked herself in time. 
 
 ^' I do not recognise your right to question 
 me, Eachel," she anwered with quiet dignity. 
 
 ^^What! You are to abuse my brother, 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 194 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 and yet think that I have no right to ask you 
 why!" 
 
 " None whatever," answered Helen. ^' Fred 
 is not a baby, and can speak to me himself. 
 In fact, he lias spoken ; and I have given him 
 all the answer I mean to give any one." 
 
 '^ Oh, Helen, you are hardening your heart 
 against the truth. Your conscience tells you 
 that you have done wrong; and, therefore, 
 you dare not defend yourself. But you hope 
 to brazen it out before the world with a show 
 of innocence. That is not the way to peace of 
 mind. You have sinned against God and 
 against my brother ; and you must repent your 
 great wickedness, and ask forgiveness of God 
 and of man." 
 
 Helen listened to this tirade with a patience 
 which astonished Eachel as well as Miss Mel- 
 drum. They both knew her high spirit, and 
 expected her to fly into a rage. Instead of 
 that, she quietly answered : 
 
 ''I have told you, Eachel, that I do not 
 recognise your right to take me to task." 
 
 ^^Take my word for it, Helen, if you go on 
 like this, you will bring your father's grey 
 hairs with sorrow to the grave," continued 
 Eachel.
 
 RACHEL EANDAL. 195 
 
 ^'Papa lias not got a grey hair on his head," 
 answered Helen demnrely, looking qnite in- 
 nocently at Eachel : ^^ his hair is light brown." 
 
 Miss Meldrnni burst out laughing. Even 
 Eachel felt her gravity upset. She saw that 
 she was wasting breath in trying to reason 
 with the ^4ight" and ^^ frivolous reprobate;" 
 and she soon afterwards departed from the 
 house, (metaphorically) shaking off the dust of 
 her feet.
 
 196 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIY. 
 
 THE PARSON-POWER. 
 
 «* A good man ther was of religioun 
 That was a pore Persoun of a toun. 
 ***** 
 
 But it wer any person otstinat, 
 
 "What so he wer of high or low estat, 
 
 Him wold he snybben sharply for the nonce." 
 
 Chaucee : Canterbury Tales. 
 
 Though Eachel Eandal had sustained a check, 
 she did not throw up the game in despair. 
 Like a prudent general, she fell back on her 
 Eeserve. She had what she believed to be an 
 unfailing resource, not merely in a Higher 
 Unseen Power, though in that too she was a 
 devout believer, but also in a lower human 
 power. She had in reserve a redoubtable 
 champion, whom she delighted at all times to 
 call out to fight her battles with the wicked, 
 when her own skill was foiled. When beaten, 
 she fell back upon the parson-power. 
 
 I believe that most women are hero-wor- 
 shippers. But women of the stamp of Eachel 
 Eandal naturally look for their hero in the 
 clerical line. Eachel had found her hero : the 
 Eeverend Ebenezer Birkenshaw was the man.
 
 THE PAESON-POWER. 197 
 
 'Now pray don't misunderstand me : by hero I 
 do not mean a lover. Such worldly thoughts 
 had not as yet entered EachePs brain : that is 
 to say, since she had ^'turned sour," as the 
 wicked termed it. Moreover, the Eeverend 
 Ebenezer Birkenshaw was by no means an 
 interesting young parson, but a plain middle- 
 aged man, with a wife and family ; and I think 
 the most enthusiastic devotee would have found 
 it rather hard to carve a lover out of him. 
 But he was her pastor, and as such became 
 her hero. 
 
 Mr. Eandal's family belonged to the Church 
 of England, and went to the Chapel of the 
 British Embassy at St. Petersburg. But 
 Eachel Eandal, on her return from England, 
 had expressed herself dissatisfied with the 
 Eeverend Eeginald Herbert, the chaplain to 
 the Embassy. She admitted that he was a 
 scholar and a gentleman; but she declared 
 that he was not a '^ converted man." He was 
 seen at balls and assemblies : he could see no 
 harm in a rubber of whist : and, worst of all, 
 she said, "he did not preach the Gospel." He 
 was altogether '^a worldly man." She was 
 most unhappy, and came home from the chapel 
 Sunday after Sunday, declaring that she was
 
 198 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 the worse rather than the better for going. It 
 was ''borne in upon her mind" that she ought 
 to be ''faithful with her minister;" and I 
 believe the first "mission" she ever under- 
 took was to the Eeverend Eeginald Herbert. 
 Unhappily, she could not cope with him in 
 learning or in argument; and he met all her 
 serious warnings in such a good-humoured, 
 bantering style, that she drew back discomfited. 
 At that time a somewhat remarkable man 
 was making some noise in St. Petersburg. 
 The Eeverend Ebenezer Birkenshaw had lately 
 "settled" there as pastor of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and was at once acknowledged 
 to be a power, not only in his own chui'ch, but 
 throughout the English community. What 
 was the secret of his power ? 'Not a spark of 
 genius in the man. Not a great preacher : 
 indeed, greater out of the pulpit than in it; 
 because, in the pulpit, the few striking things 
 he said were so drowned in floods of common- 
 places, that their force was diluted and lost. 
 I^ot a man of high cultm-e : barring a smatter- 
 ing of Greek and Latin, he knew no language 
 but his own. But a man of great natural force 
 of character : his personality telling upon most 
 of those who came into contact with him;
 
 THE PARSON-POWEE. 199 
 
 exactly the same out of the pulpit as in it. 
 Can you fancy a man at a party saying to you 
 the same things as he does every Sunday ? 
 You would be startled. Above all, a man 
 intensely in earnest. Eeligion had, at that 
 time, in a great measure, become a matter of 
 form among men around him. Here was a 
 man once more in God's world who felt that 
 religion was an everlasting reality. He felt 
 the power of it himself; and it came out of 
 him, and told upon all around him. He was 
 narrow in many of his views : his zeal often 
 outran his wisdom ; and he sometimes even 
 made himself a laughing-stock by the mistakes 
 into which he fell. But there was no mis- 
 taking the power of God in the man ; and, in 
 spite of all his faults, men reverenced him as a 
 genuine man. 
 
 Eachel had often heard of him from her 
 friend Jenny Cameron. There was no Pres- 
 byterian Church at St. Petersburg; and the 
 Camerons, as Presbyterians, had joined the 
 Congregationalists. So it happened that Jenny, 
 as well as Helen, had the Eeverend Ebenezer 
 Birkenshaw for a pastor. Eachel was tempted, 
 one Sunday morning, to go to the Congrega- 
 tional Church; or, rather, to the Moravian
 
 200 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Cliiirch, which was then kindly lent to the 
 Congregationaiists for their morning service. 
 She had gone to spy the land : bnt the first 
 words which Mr. Birkenshaw uttered threw a 
 spell over her spirit; and the whole sermon, 
 which followed, thrilled her through and 
 through. The intense earnestness of the man 
 enthralled her. Here, at length, was a man 
 after her own heart. She went to the Chapel 
 of the Embassy no more. Soon she joined the 
 Congregational Church, and became, I was 
 almost going to say, Mr. Birkenshaw' s right- 
 hand man. On the other hand, no one wor- 
 shipped Mr. Birkenshaw more than Eachel. 
 He was her oracle, her hero, her god on earth. 
 I believe no Eoman Catholic priest ever ac- 
 quired greater power over a female devotee 
 than the Eeverend Ebenezer Birkenshaw ac- 
 quired over Eachel Eandal. 
 
 When, therefore, she was baffled in her 
 charitable assault on Helen Cameron, it was 
 natural that she should resort to her trusty 
 champion for help. He was Helen's pastor, as 
 well as her own; and he might be able to 
 subdue her proud heart. It was Satui'day 
 morning; and the minister was most likely 
 preparing for the morrow. But it was well
 
 THE PARSOX-POWER. 201 
 
 known that he was accessible to his flock at all 
 times. So she went to Mr. Birkenshaw's at 
 once. As she had expected, he was "busy in 
 his study." A quaint-looking man, very simple 
 and very old-fashioned. A big bony man, with 
 a stooping gait, an awkward clumsy figiu'e, 
 and ungainly movements. But his face made 
 up for all defects of person. Not a handsome 
 face ; indeed, rather a plain one. Not an intel- 
 lectual face; indeed, rather heavy and dull. 
 But an intensely earnest face. A face, out of 
 which honesty seemed to beam forth. A face, 
 on which you might read the inscription : 
 " The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." 
 
 Busy as he was, he luckily was not in one 
 of his absent moods, when it was hard to catch 
 his attention ; and, as soon as Eachel entered 
 the room, he laid aside the pen with which he 
 had been writing, and, begging her to sit 
 down, prepared to listen to her. Eachel 
 Eandal was always welcome there. Mr. Bir- 
 kenshaw knew her worth. I fancy he would 
 rather have lost any man in his church than 
 that female lieutenant of his. It was thi'ough 
 such zealous natures as hers that his power 
 told most on the neighbourhood. 
 
 " Well, my dear young friend," he said, as
 
 202 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 soon as the usual greetings were over ; '^ and 
 what can I do for you?" 
 
 Eachel mentioned her anxiety about Helen 
 Cameron, and stated her own view of the way 
 in which her brother had been treated. Then 
 she added : 
 
 " I fear she is in the gall of bitterness and 
 the bond of iniquity." 
 
 ^' We must not judge too hastily, Eachel," 
 answered Mr. Birkenshaw, in. a deep clear 
 voice. ^' Charity beareth all things, believeth 
 all things, hopeth all things." 
 
 ^' I have tried to exercise charity," said 
 Eachel; ''but, after all, truth is greater than 
 charity." 
 
 ''Even 'the truth' we are to 'speak in 
 love,' my dear. I have seen more of life than 
 you ; and I have found sparks of grace in 
 characters the least promising." 
 
 " I wish I could detect even one spark in 
 Helen Cameron," said Eachel sharply. 
 
 " Miss Cameron is doubtless light and 
 thoughtless: but she is still young; and the 
 good work often needs a long time to bring it 
 to maturity." 
 
 Eachel thought that she herself was still 
 young; and, yet, that "the good work" had
 
 THE PARSON-POWER. 203 
 
 come to a tolerable state of ripeness in her. 
 Still, slie had too much reverence for her 
 pastor to set up her own judgment against his. 
 She therefore meekly answered : 
 
 ^' I may have been too hasty; and I hope 
 you will find that I am mistaken." 
 
 ^^ Eut why do you not speak to her yourself, 
 Eachel?" asked Mr. Birkenshaw. ^'I haA^e 
 heard you say that you were once intimate 
 with her; and I know no young person who 
 can present the truth more forcibly than you." 
 
 This was high praise, coming from Mr. 
 Birkenshaw : a plain man, too simple and 
 truthful to be a flatterer. Eachel felt the 
 praise, and blushed. She told her pastor of 
 the interview she had just had with Helen. 
 As she spoke, a sad expression settled on Mr. 
 Birkenshaw' s quaint face : an eager, yearning, 
 pitying look. Was not Helen Cameron one of 
 the lambs of his flock? And was she not 
 going astray ? Eachel added : 
 
 '' You must take her in hand yourself, sir." 
 
 '' This is indeed sad news !" exclaimed Mr. 
 Birkenshaw, with a deep sigh : '' I had no idea 
 that there could be so much stubbornness and 
 pride in that lovely-looking creature." 
 
 Was there a slight cloud on Eachel' s own
 
 204 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 not unlovely face ? Would she have preferred 
 the epithet "lovely-looking creature'' to the 
 high praise she had just received? Surely 
 not ! Why the cloud, then ? She could think 
 of nothing more suitable for a reply than the 
 saying : 
 
 " ' Handsome is that handsome does.' " 
 
 " You are right, Eachel," answered Mr. 
 Birkenshaw, with another sigh. " We are 
 indeed easily led astray by a lovely face : 
 whether it be that, losing sight of the true 
 beauty, we crave the mere outward semblance 
 of it ; or whether it be that the great enemy 
 of souls makes use of the outward semblance 
 to lead us away from the inward reality. How 
 sad that so much outward beauty should cover 
 a heart so deformed ! I must indeed take her 
 in hand." 
 
 " Can you see her this morning, sir ?" 
 
 " Yes, Eachel : I will go at once, and see if 
 I can't touch her proud heart." 
 
 " Thank you, sir." 
 
 And Mr. Birkenshaw rose, and went straight 
 to Mr. Cameron's house. 
 
 Helen was still at her studies with Miss 
 Meldrum in the breakfast-room when the 
 minister came in. Both the ladies welcomed
 
 THE PARSON-POWER. 205 
 
 him heartily. After a few words of greeting 
 had been exchanged, Mr. Birkenshaw suddenly 
 and abruptly asked, 
 
 ^^ Are you converted, Miss Cameron ?" 
 
 Mr. Birkenshaw often abruptly asked the 
 same question, even in mixed companies. 
 There was such a stamp of earnestness about 
 the man, that no one could for a moment think 
 that he was canting. That power in him, of 
 which I have spoken, often sent the question 
 home even to the hearts of the most thought- 
 less. I have met more than one man who 
 ascribed all that was best in him to some 
 pointed question which the Eeverend Ebe- 
 nezer Birkenshaw had once asked. But, while 
 in this way he did much good, he also did 
 some harm. His questions sometimes awoke 
 only ludicrous associations. 
 
 This was the case with Helen; she burst 
 out laughing. She could not help it, poor 
 girl I The question jarred so much against 
 the trains of thought which had been passing 
 lately through her mind, that it had the effect 
 of wit upon her. She did not wish to be rude ; 
 but she could not for the life of her have kept 
 in the laugh. 
 
 ^' For shame, Helen ! " said Miss Meldrum.
 
 206 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 But, for all that, she had been on the very 
 point of laughing herself: nothing but the 
 habit of politeness joined with great self- 
 mastery could have checked her. To Mr. 
 Birkenshaw Helen's laughter was but a con- 
 firmation of Eachel's suspicion that she was 
 " in the gall of bitterness and the bond of 
 iniquity." He sighed for her, and said with 
 much quiet dignity, and in a gentle tone : 
 
 ^' I am but a humble servant of my Master, 
 Miss Cameron; and it matters little to me 
 how much I am laughed at or scorned. But 
 for your own soul's good, I would have you re- 
 member, what you seem to have forgotten, that, 
 humble as I am, and poor in this world's goods, 
 I am an ambassador of the King of kings." 
 
 Helen was touched and sobered in a moment. 
 
 "I humbly beg your pardon, Mr, Birken- 
 shaw," she said sweetly. 
 
 Mr. Bu'kenshaw was touched in his turn : 
 it was hard to withstand Helen in her gentler 
 moods. 
 
 ^' Well, that is something," he answered. 
 
 '^ I can assure you," continued Helen, ^'and 
 I think Miss Meldrum will confirm what I say, 
 that nothing could be farther from my thoughts 
 than to laugh at you or your office."
 
 THE PARSON-POWER. 207 
 
 "I am sure of that," said Miss Mel- 
 drum. 
 
 ^' But the fact is," Helen went on to say, 
 ^^your words, coming so abruptly, fell on a 
 previous train of thought in my mind, and 
 were so incongruous with it, that they upset 
 my gravity." 
 
 Mr. Bii'kenshaw could scarcely withstand 
 the sweetness and winning grace with which 
 Helen had made her apology ; and yet he felt 
 it his duty to rebuke the light and trifling 
 spirit which had gone before. So he answered 
 gravely, and even severely : 
 
 ''IN'o thoughts ought to be indulged which 
 would be out of hai'mony with the most solemn 
 truths." 
 
 ^'But do you disapprove — all light con- 
 versation?" asked Miss Meldrum ; ^'all 
 thoughts that would — make one laugh?" 
 
 " I humbly try to copy my Master," an- 
 swered Mr. Birkenshaw gravely : ''I read 
 that ' Jesus wept ; ' but I nowhere read that 
 ' Jesus laughed.' And indeed, Miss Meldrum, 
 this world of ours is too full of sorrow and of 
 sin for me to wish to laugh." 
 
 ''But, Mr. Birkenshaw," said Helen, look- 
 ing rather arch and wicked again, "we read
 
 208 HELEN ca:merox. 
 
 that Jesus went to a wedding-feast; and do 
 you think he looked glum all the time ?" 
 
 Mr. Birkenshaw was too honest not to admit 
 the force of an argument which he felt, even 
 when it told against himself, or to slur it over 
 with plausible sophistries. He felt the diffi- 
 culty which Helen had started ; and he paused 
 for a moment to think how it could be met, or 
 whether it could be met at all. At length he 
 answered : 
 
 ^^ It is not for me to say how He conducted 
 himself at the wedding-feast : the word of God 
 says nothing about it ; and it becomes us not 
 to be wise above that which is written. But, 
 to me, a wedding seems a solemn thing. When 
 I think of the issues which are involved; 
 when I remember that it is a union which will 
 make or mar the happiness of two immortal 
 souls ; — I do not feel inclined to laugh at a 
 wedding. I differ from your Church in many 
 things, Miss Meldrum ; but I agree with it 
 when it says that matrimony ' is not by any 
 to be enterprised, nor taken in hand un- 
 advisedly, lightly, or wantonly,' but ' reve- 
 rently, discreetly, advisedly, soberly, and in 
 the fear of God.' " 
 
 '' With all due deference — to your superior
 
 THE PARSOX-POWER. 209 
 
 wisdom ^ allow me to suggest — that these 
 words apply — to the act of choosing — and not 
 to the wedding-feastj" said Miss Meldrum. 
 
 She spoke timidly and nervously : what 
 right had she, an old maid, to pronounce an 
 opinion on the subject ? 
 
 ^' Decidedly," remarked Helen. 
 
 "But, Mr. Birkenshaw," continued Miss 
 Meldrum, "is not the power of laughing — 
 given us by God ? And would He have given 
 us the power — if He had meant us not to use 
 it?" 
 
 " The power of sinning is given us by 
 God ; and do you infer that He meant us to 
 sin?" 
 
 "I see a vast difference between the two 
 cases," answered Miss Meldi'um promptly : 
 "laughter is the simple exertion — but sin is 
 the perversion — of a natural power." 
 
 But this discussion had no interest for 
 Helen. She wished to put a stop to it, and 
 therefore said, with a sweetness and grace 
 which won Mr. Birkenshaw' s heart : 
 
 " You have not told me, Mr. Birkenshaw, if 
 you have forgiven my rudeness." 
 
 "She is not so bad, after all," thought the 
 pastor, and then added aloud : "I forgive you 
 
 VOL. I. p
 
 210 HELEX CAMERON. 
 
 heartily, my child ; and I thank God for giving 
 you the grace to acknowledge your fault." 
 
 Miss Meldrum had been accustomed to the 
 dignified manners of the clergymen of the 
 old school; and Mr. Bii^kenshaw's abrupt 
 address to Helen had offended her taste as 
 well as tickled her risible faculties : moreover, 
 she could not bear any one to blame Helen 
 but herself. 
 
 "I don't think, sir — it was altogether 
 Helen's fault," she said somewhat tartly : ''I 
 myself must confess — that I found it hard 
 work — to keep from laughing." 
 
 "I am grieved to hear it," answered Mr. 
 Birkenshaw, looking very serious. 
 
 "With all due deference — to your superior 
 wisdom — I humbly think, sir — that such 
 solemn questions — so abruptly put — are likely 
 to do harm," continued Miss Meldrum. 
 
 I think dear, good Miss Meldrum, with all 
 her large-heartedness, was not sorry to find 
 such a capital chance of having a fling at a 
 Dissenting minister. Mr. Birkenshaw did not 
 bristle up or feel his dignity hurt, but answered 
 meekly, in a tone Avhich made Miss Meldrum 
 feel rather queer : 
 
 " ' Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a
 
 THE parso:n^-power. 211 
 
 kindness : and let him reprove me ; it shall be 
 as an excellent oil, which shall not break my 
 head.' Ay, my dear madam, I shonld will- 
 ingly defer to your opinion, if I had not a 
 higher authority to guide me ; but an inspired 
 Apostle directs me to be instant in season and 
 out of season.' " 
 
 ^^Eut, surely, by ^ out of season' — the 
 Apostle does not mean — that we should speak 
 at an unsuitable time — or in an unsuitable 
 way." 
 
 '' When I remember that immortal souls 
 are at all times perishing, I can think no time 
 and no way unsuitable to bring them to the 
 truth." 
 
 ^' Yes, Mr. Birkenshaw — but surely your 
 aim is — to save those immortal souls — and not 
 to sink them deeper — into the mire. If what 
 you say — is said at such a time — and in such 
 a way — as to make a bad impression — that is 
 not the way — to do them good. For example, 
 if what you say — strikes them as ludicrous — 
 and makes them laugh — as it did Helen just 
 now — and me too very nearly — surely that is 
 not the way — to save immortal souls." 
 
 '^ I am not responsible for the way in which 
 people receive the truth," answered Mr. Bir-
 
 212 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 kenshaw. " I clear my conscience by uttering 
 the truth : their blood be on their own heads." 
 
 ''I beg your pardon, sir; but that strikes 
 me — as a cold and selfish way — of looking at 
 the matter. You do not care — what becomes 
 of them — so long as you yourself — go scot 
 free ! " 
 
 '' Oh, Miss Meldrum, you surely do not 
 doubt my intense anxiety on their behalf ? " 
 
 '']^o, I do not, Mr. Birkenshaw ; and I 
 think you did not — do yourself justice — in 
 what you said just now. With all due defer- 
 ence — ^to your superior wisdom — I think that 
 you are responsible — for the impressions you 
 make on others. You are bound to present 
 the truth — in the way that is best fitted — to 
 carry it home to men's minds ; and if you utter 
 it in a way — which is sure to make them 
 laugh — you, and you alone — are responsible 
 for the laughter." 
 
 I fancy Mr. Birkenshaw had never received 
 such a lecture before, since he had become a 
 minister ; and to think that the meek, quiet, 
 nervous old maid should have given it him ! 
 He looked thoughtful and grave. Well, Miss 
 Meldrum had given him some food for reflec- 
 tion. He was too honest not to acknowledge
 
 THE parson-poa\t:r. 213 
 
 that there might be truth in what she said. 
 So absorbed was he in the new train of thought 
 which she had aroused, that he forgot all about 
 the errand on which he came ; and, soon after, 
 he took his leave, re infecta. But perhaps he 
 would yet ^' discharge his conscience," as 
 Helen might find to her cost.
 
 214 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE XV, 
 
 FEAES AND HOPES. 
 
 " O thou that dost inhabit in my breast, 
 Leave not the mansion so long- tenantless, 
 Lest, growing- ruinous, the building fall, 
 And leave no memory of what it was." 
 
 Shakspere : Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
 
 The following morning Helen awoke with a 
 sense of wretchedness, to which she had been 
 an ntter stranger till of late. It was a beauti- 
 ful Sunday morning in early summer ; and all 
 nature seemed to smile and be glad. But 
 nothing could relieve a dreary feeling of for- 
 sakenness which had for some time been 
 weighing heavier each day. There was one 
 who made all the world to her now ; and he 
 was not there. Strange the hold which Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky had taken of that maiden 
 heart in a few weeks ! He had come, seen, 
 and conquered, all at once. The maiden 
 fortress, which one young man or another had 
 been vainly besieging for years, had freely 
 opened its gates, surrendered without a sum- 
 mons, and laid its key at the conquering 
 hero's feet. His Byron's hero-look had no 
 doubt done a good deal, but that was not all :
 
 FEAES AND HOPES. 215 
 
 her heart had been taken captive, as well as 
 her imagination. 
 
 To a girl of Helen's free, open, and im- 
 pnlsive temperament, untrained by a mother's 
 care, and unwarned by experience, it was 
 hard to place any check npon her love. In- 
 deed, she knew not why she should. Was 
 not that love her glory and her life? Why 
 be ashamed of it ? Why not indulge it to the 
 full? ''Unmaidenly ?" Yes, as girls are 
 trained to think ; but in a state of nature, as 
 Helen in a great measure was ? I hear you, 
 madam: "Ca]3tain Maleenovsky has not spoken 
 to her of love!" True. But had there not 
 been passages of love notwithstanding ? Pres- 
 sures of the hand? Soul shining out of eyes? 
 Heart speaking to heart ? Was she not quite 
 sure that he loved her? Would she have 
 been more sure if tongue had confirmed the 
 language of hand and eye? And why not 
 return his love ? " She should have waited 
 till he spoke ?" True ; oh, most true ! Eetter 
 for her if she had. Unmaidenly be it then : 
 I will not quarrel with the word. But I wish 
 you to fasten your thought upon the fact, that 
 she felt she loved Captain Maleenovsky with 
 all her heart and soul.
 
 216 HELEX CAMERON. 
 
 And, yet, since that memorable day, when 
 Frederick Eandal insulted him, she had not 
 seen him or hoard of him. What did it 
 mean ? She knew nothing of his lawsuit, or 
 his absence from St. Petersburg ; and, as a 
 matter of fact. Captain Maleenovsky had long 
 since returned to the city. Could Eandal' s 
 insult have driven him away ? Surely she 
 had said and done enough to show that she 
 did not sanction it ! Surely she had punished 
 the wrong- doer severely enough ! Moreover, 
 Captain Maleenovsky himself had seemed un- 
 moved by the insult. What could it mean, 
 then? Helen was sorely perplexed. For a 
 time, her strong new-born love had buoyed 
 her up, and enabled her to bear his absence 
 with cheerful courage. But, as time wore on, 
 and still he did not appear, she began to feel 
 unhappy. Had she been deceived? Oh, 
 heavens ! Was his seeming love a mere outward 
 show ? And, now that months had passed 
 without the slightest token from the absent 
 one, her sense of loneliness and wi*etchedness 
 became well-nigh unbearable. 
 
 The feeling had become so oppressive this 
 morning, that she had not the heart to get up 
 or to dress. She loitered over the task till
 
 TEARS AND HOPES. 217 
 
 the breakfast hour was passed. When she 
 went down to the breakfast-room, she found 
 her father and Miss Meldrum akeady there, 
 and busy over their morning meal. She kissed 
 them both in silence, and sat down. On a Sun- 
 day morning, Mr. Cameron, having no letters 
 to read at breakfast, always seemed out of his 
 element. This morning, however, he had 
 taken down a heavy (literally and figura- 
 tively heavy) book of theology, and seemed 
 absorbed in its contents. "Without looking 
 up from the book, he said, rather sharply for 
 him : 
 
 " You are late this morning, Helen." 
 ^' Yes, papa : I overslept myself." 
 True ; but not the whole truth, you know. 
 Thoughts as much answerable as sleep for her 
 late appearance. Eut what could she do ? 
 You see, she could not exactly say: ^'Yes, 
 papa, I have been mooning; thinking about 
 Captain Maleenovsky." Something in Helen's 
 tone of voice touched a tender chord in Mr. 
 Cameron's heart, and made him look up. 
 
 ^^Why, bless you, my child!" he cried, 
 with a sudden pang : ^^ what's the matter with 
 you? You are looking very ill. Don't you 
 think she looks very ill, Miss Meldrum?"
 
 218 HELEX CAMEROX. 
 
 ^^ Yes, sir: Helen has not looked very well 
 lately," answered Miss Meldrum anxiously. 
 
 In spite of the dread in which he sometimes 
 stood of his daughter, he was passionately 
 fond of her, as we have seen. Though he 
 often said, and sometimes felt, that she was 
 " the plague of his life," still, if the slightest 
 touch of sickness upset her, she at once be- 
 came '^the joy of his life." And no wonder : 
 she was his only treasure. He rose from his 
 seat, and went up to his daughter. He gazed 
 on her lovely features with an enraptured 
 look, till his own face became quite beau- 
 tiful, as if it had been a mirror to reflect 
 hers. 
 
 ^^Why, this is not our Helen," he said 
 tenderly: ^' Helen Cameron, ^ the belle of 
 St. Petersburg.' " 
 
 " Indeed, she is changed, sir." 
 
 '' This must be seen to." 
 
 " I think we ought to go — to the country," 
 said Miss Meldrum. '' Petersburg begins to 
 be — unhealthy at this time of the year." 
 
 ^'I must speak to Dr. Hunt about her," 
 continued Mr. Cameron uneasily. 
 
 ^' I think a voyage to England would do me 
 good, papa," said Helen wearily, gazing into
 
 FEAES AND HOPES. 219 
 
 her father's eyes in a dreamy sort of way : "I 
 should like to see the dear old fatherland for 
 once.'' 
 
 ^' And so yon shall, my darling," answered 
 Mr. Cameron heartily, imprinting a warm kiss 
 on her soft rosy lips. 
 
 " Oh, yon darling papa ! " cried Helen, 
 bursting into tears: ''you are the dearest, 
 kindest, tenderest papa that ever lived." 
 
 " What have I to live for but you, my 
 child?" 
 
 Helen had risen, and thrown her arms 
 round his neck ; and he took her into his 
 own, and folded her tenderly to his heart. 
 
 '' I am going to the Chapel of the Embassy 
 to-day," Miss Meldrum suddenly announced. 
 
 Miss Meldrum, as a staunch Churchwoman, 
 had stipulated, on entering Mr. Cameron's 
 household, that she should have the right to 
 go to her own church whenever she chose. 
 Of late, she had seldom availed herself of her 
 right ; because she was a large-hearted woman, 
 and thoroughly appreciated the earnestness of 
 the Eeverend Ebenezer Birkenshaw. But the 
 right, though in abeyance, was always in re- 
 serve ; and I fancy she had come a little too 
 close to the Dissenting minister the day before.
 
 220 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Helen longed to go with her to the Chapel 
 of the Embassy. She had always felt more at 
 home among the richer and more fashionable 
 company that worshipped there. In her pre- 
 sent state of mind, too, she shrank from Eachel 
 Eandal's gaze. Eachel had a seat close to the 
 pew in which Mr. Cameron's family sat, and at 
 right angles with it, so that they conld look 
 straight into each other's faces. Helen had 
 defied Eachel bravely enough the day before ; 
 but she did not feel quite so cheerful or so 
 strong to-day. Altogether, she shrank from 
 going to the Moravian Church. But she 
 knew her father was wretched when she was 
 not with him there ; and, with her heart so 
 freshly drawn toward him, she resolved to 
 sacrifice her own comfort to his. 
 
 The English service at the Moravian Church 
 be2:an half an hour later than that at the 
 Chapel of the Embassy ; and so Mr. Cameron's 
 carriage had just time to set Miss Meldrum 
 down at the Embassy, and then return for 
 Helen and himself. This morning it returned 
 some minutes later than usual. Mr. Cameron 
 became very fidgety. He was a punctual 
 man ; kept his appointments to the very mi- 
 nute. But, above all, he hated to be late at
 
 FEARS AND HOPES. 221 
 
 churcli ; maintaining (old-fashioned in his views, 
 you see) that we had no right to treat God 
 with less respect than man. 
 
 When they reached the church, the service 
 had begun ; and they had to walk before the 
 whole congregation to reach their pew, which 
 was by the side of the pulpit, at the other end 
 of the church. It was such an unusual thing 
 for Mr. Cameron to be late, that most eyes 
 were turned upon them as they walked along. 
 They looked a queer couple ; looked as if they 
 scarcely belonged to each other. Helen nearly 
 half a foot taller than her father : something, 
 too, in Mr. Cameron's air and manner, which 
 seemed to widen the distance between them. 
 He was proud of his daughter; but he also 
 seemed conscious that she threw him into the 
 shade. He had a queer look about him, 
 which said : '' How came I to have such a 
 magnificent creature?" Certainly a remark- 
 able contrast between the handsome beauty 
 and the plain, honest little man ! 
 
 As Helen walked up the aisle, running the 
 gauntlet before the whole congregation, and 
 saw eyes peering at her over the high old- 
 fashioned pews, she could not help fancying 
 that all those familiar eyes wore a stern look.
 
 222 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 At first, slie wondered what it all meant. 
 But suddenly it flashed across her mind that 
 Eachel Eaudal must have been "giving them 
 a bit of her mind" about Helen Cameron. 
 Eachel was the very person to do it : she was 
 ahvays so active and busy with her tongue ; 
 and Saturday was her very day for visiting 
 the members of the church. With her mind 
 so full of the wrong wliich her brother had 
 received, she could not very well have held 
 her tongue ; and, if all those eyes had taken 
 in her one-sided view of the afiair, no wonder 
 they looked stern. It was enough to make 
 poor Helen uneasy. An uncomfortable thing 
 to be the observed of all observers, even when 
 the observation is a friendly one. Eut when 
 it is unfriendly ? Helen was proud enough 
 and brave enough to defy public opinion when 
 she had done right. But when she had done 
 wrong ? Eoor thing, she could not help feel- 
 ing uncomfortable. To add to her annoyance, 
 as soon as she seated herself in the pew, she 
 saw that Frederick Eandal was with his sister. 
 She fancied that she saw a smile of triumph 
 on his face, as if he exulted in her humilia- 
 tion. Whether all this were real or fancied, 
 the effect was the same : she was distraught.
 
 FEARS AND HOPES. 223 
 
 and could not join in the worship. It was not 
 till tlie sermon began that she was able to 
 abstract herself from her surroundings. 
 
 Mr. Birkenshaw said a few striking things; 
 but, as usual, they were so drowned in floods of 
 common-place, that it needed a close attention 
 to catch them. But owing partly to the thrill- 
 ing tones of his deep voice, and partly to the 
 moving power of his earnestness, even his 
 common- places came with the force of fresh- 
 ness on his flock. Toward the close of his 
 sermon, he rose to something like eloquence. 
 He analysed the wiles of the heart so skilfully, 
 and tracked them so mercilessly, as with a 
 bloodhound's instinct, to their lurking-places, 
 that he probed many a heart among his hearers, 
 and forced it to say: ''It is I!" And he 
 ended with such a striking picture of a man, 
 at the end of a long life, finding that he had 
 been deceiving himself all along ; that he had 
 been something far other, something far blacker, 
 than he had thought ; — that many a one de- 
 voutly joined in the last words which he 
 uttered : " Search me, God, and know my 
 heart — try me, and know my thoughts ; and 
 see if there be any wicked Avay in me, and 
 lead me in the way everlasting !"
 
 224 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 There were some pointed remarks in tlie 
 sermon, which led one to think that he was 
 aiming it at Helen Cameron (" discharging his 
 conscience," I suppose); and, from the signi- 
 ficant looks which from time to time were 
 turned to the pew in which she sat, it was 
 clear that many of his hearers thought so -too. 
 Happily Helen misunderstood the meaning of 
 those looks : to her they were simply a pro- 
 longing of the glances she had met at her 
 entrance. And, if Mr. Bii'kenshaw had really 
 aimed at her, he missed his aim. He shot 
 above her head. She was unused to that 
 inlooking, which one needed to enter into his 
 analysis. She could not follow his sermon. 
 Through her eyelashes she every now and 
 then cast a sidelong glance at EachePs pew, 
 without seeming to look. Fred was staring at 
 her a good part of the time. But Eachel was 
 absorbed in the sermon : meekly drinking in 
 every word which Mr. Birkenshaw said; so 
 spell-bound, that her lips were slightly parted, 
 and her eyes fixed on the preacher with a 
 stony stare. Helen soon ceased to listen, and 
 surrendered herself up to her own thoughts, 
 which, from whatever point of the compass 
 they might start, always turned in time to the
 
 FEAES AND HOPES. 225 
 
 one centre of her heart. Where was Captain 
 Maleenovsky ? What was he doing ? What 
 was the meaning of his long absence and his 
 long silence ? Had he really deceived her ? 
 
 She was startled out of her reverie by the 
 hymn which was snng at the end of the ser- 
 mon. The service was soon over ; and the 
 people began to move. As she went out of 
 the church, many friends, as usual, crowded 
 round Mr. Cameron; but she could not help 
 thinking that they looked coldly on her, and 
 fought shy of her. Ah, Eachel Eandal had 
 done her work thoroughly ! 
 
 Dr. Hunt belonged to the Congregational 
 Church ; but as he was not there that morn- 
 ing, Mr. Cameron proposed to drive on to his 
 house, on the other side of the Summer Gar- 
 den. At the gates they alighted, to walk 
 through it. The Garden was thronged with 
 men, women, and children, as it usually was 
 on Sundays ; but there were quiet nooks and 
 comers, and shady alleys which were deserted. 
 As they were walking through one of these, 
 at a turn of the road, they stumbled on — 
 Captain Maleenovsky ! 
 
 The encounter was so sudden, that Helen 
 had no time to think : on the impulse of the 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 226 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 moment, with a strong rnsh of feeling to her 
 heart, she sprang forward, her lovely face 
 glowing with delight, her large blue eyes 
 beaming with joy, and, eagerly holding out 
 her hand, told him in words as glowing as her 
 face how glad she was to see him once more. 
 Then, as suddenly becoming conscious of her 
 over-eagerness, and all that it seemed to imply, 
 she became confused, blushed up to her tem- 
 ples, and cast her eyes to the ground. All 
 Petersburg, on that lovely summer Sunday, 
 could not have furnished a picture more beau- 
 tiful than that. 
 
 Mr. Cameron, being left in the background, 
 had seen nothing of all this except the eager 
 rushing forward. Eut Captain Maleenovsky 
 saw it all, and understood all that it implied. 
 He would have been either more or less than 
 man, if he had not felt a wild thrill of joy. 
 But a deep feeling of pain swallowed up the 
 delight. Had he then, in spite of all his 
 endeavours to undo what mischief he had done, 
 awakened a strong love in Mdlle. Cameron's 
 heart ? He must crush it at once. He must, 
 in some subtle and delicate way, convince her 
 that henceforth they two could be nothing to 
 each other. But how to do it ? As far as he
 
 FEARS AND HOPES. 227 
 
 was aware, he lacked the skill, but not the 
 strength. True, it was like plucking out a 
 right eye, or cutting off a right hand. Still, 
 he had the courage and the strength of will 
 needed for the task. He could coolly cut oif 
 his own chance of happiness to insure her 
 future ease. But how to do it wisely ? 
 
 Meanwhile, Mr. Cameron had stepped for- 
 ward, shaken hands with him, and said in a 
 friendly tone : 
 
 ^^Why, Captain, what has become of you 
 all these months ? We were really anxious 
 about you." 
 
 Did a sudden hope spring up in Captain 
 Maleenovsky's heart ? What meant that friendly 
 tone? 
 
 ^^ I did not know you cared enough for me 
 to trouble yourselves about it," he answered. 
 
 And he gazed at Mr. Cameron in a yearning 
 sort of way, which was touching to see in so 
 proud and strong a man. Alas, the sudden 
 hope was as suddenly dashed by a change in 
 Mr. Cameron's tone when he spoke again : 
 
 "When a gentleman suddenly strikes up a 
 friendship with a family, is unwearied in his 
 attentions for many weeks, and then as sud- 
 denly disappears, without giving any notice,
 
 228 hele:^ ca:meron. 
 
 or saying so much as why or wherefore, and 
 nothing is heard of him for months, it looks 
 rather queer, you must confess." 
 
 ^'It never struck me so before," answered 
 Captain Maleenovsky, with great politeness ; 
 '^ but as you put it in that light, I acknowledge 
 that an apology is due to Mdlle. Cameron and 
 yourself. As I have unintentionally given 
 offence, I humbly beg your pardon." 
 
 ''I should be glad to know what excuse 
 you have to make for yourself," said Mr. 
 Cameron. 
 
 It struck Captain Maleenovsky that the best 
 apology he could make was one which would at 
 the same time most thoroughly crush Helen's 
 love : namely, to relate the facts of the case. 
 
 " The morning after I was last at your 
 house," he said, '' I learnt that a lawsuit, 
 which I had in the Government of Novgorod, 
 was decided against me in the district court. 
 I was obliged to go that day to Novgorod, to 
 carry on an appeal in the provincial court ; 
 and that accounts for my sudden disappear- 
 ance. The appeal was decided against me : 
 thereupon I lodged another appeal in the 
 Senate ; and I expect that the judgment will 
 be pronounced to-morrow."
 
 FEAES AND HOPES. 229 
 
 '' Of course, there is no appeal from the 
 Senate?" remarked Mr. Cameron. 
 ^'No, monsieur." 
 
 ^^Do you anticipate a favourable decision?" 
 '^ From all I have heard, I fear the worst.' 
 ^^Does it involve a large amount?" 
 ^' My all, monsieur : my whole property." 
 Captain Maleenovsky said this with a grim 
 pathos which made poor Helen wince. 
 ^^ Wheugh !" cried Mr. Cameron. 
 ^^ If I lose the case, I shall be a beggar." 
 Maleenovsky said this to deepen the impres- 
 sion on Helen's mind; to make her see that 
 there was no chance for him. 
 
 ^^ I am sorry for you," said Mr. Cameron ; 
 '^but don't forget that the loss of property is 
 not the worst you could have had." 
 '' It involves other losses, monsieur." 
 ^'In what way?" 
 
 '' When I visited at your house, monsieur, 
 I was a rich man. I could have said to the 
 highest nobleman : ^ I can support your daugh- 
 ter in the style to which she has been ac- 
 customed — will you intrust her to me ?' And, 
 now, where am I ?" 
 
 ^^Why, all you have to do is to marry a 
 poorer lady," answered Mr. Cameron, laughing.
 
 230 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^^ Monsieur Cameron, you Englishmen ought 
 to be the last to speak in that way," answered 
 Maleenovsky reproachfully: '^ would you thus 
 lightly transfer your allegiance from one lady 
 to another?" 
 
 Mr. Cameron winced : he had transferred 
 his allegiance from Miss Agnes Eandal to 
 Helen's mother. And what had he reaped? 
 Of course, Captain Maleenovsky knew nothing 
 of that early page in Mr. Cameron's history : 
 otherwise, he was too much of a gentleman to 
 have asked the question. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," said Mr. Cameron: 
 ^' I did not know you had fixed your heart on 
 any particular lady. But you must not be 
 down-hearted : hope for the best." 
 
 *' I believe I am as little likely to be down- 
 hearted as any man," answered Captain Malee- 
 novsky, with a touch of pride. ^^ But, mon- 
 sieur, I can't help looking facts in the face. 
 !N'o use in ignoring facts: we must courage- 
 ously accept them, and make the best of 
 them." 
 
 From time to time Maleenovsky had glanced 
 at Helen, to mark the effect of his words. To 
 his joy, he saw that she understood him. But, 
 to his astonishment, he foimd that his an-
 
 FEARS AND HOPES. 231 
 
 nouncement was anything bnt disheartening to 
 her. Crnsh her love, indeed ! Why, her love 
 had blown into full size within the last few 
 minutes. All uncertainty and doubt were 
 gone. His mysterious behaviour was fully 
 accounted for. He loved her, that was clear ; 
 and the only barrier between them was — 
 money ! The idea of money severing them ! 
 She knew better than that. Why, she would 
 have money enough for both. She was her 
 father's only child; and he was said to be 
 worth a million. Who ever heard of two 
 faithful loving hearts being sundered by gold ? 
 
 ^' Why," said Mr. Cameron, " many a poor 
 man has married a rich man's dauo'hter." 
 
 "Honourably?" 
 
 There was something so significant in Cap- 
 tain Maleenov sky's tone, as he asked this 
 question, that Mr. Cameron paused and looked 
 at him before he answered. At length, he said : 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 Captain Maleenovsky smiled and answered : 
 
 " You must excuse me for being somewhat 
 sceptical ; but we can bring the matter to a 
 practical test at once." Then he paused, as 
 if scarcely liking to apply the practical test. 
 " Forgive me for being personal," he added.
 
 232 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 "You are a rich man : would you consent to 
 your daughter marrying a poor one ?" 
 
 Mr. Cameron was taken aback by this start- 
 ling ad hominem argument ; and, to save his 
 daughter, sacrificed his cause. 
 
 " Is'o-o I " he cried emphatically : " never ! " 
 
 "There, you seel" answered Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky, laughing grimly : "when we come to 
 the point, it is not so simple as you thought." 
 
 But his heart was not laughing. That 
 "no!" rang through it like a death-knell. 
 Helen, on the other hand, kept her coun- 
 tenance, but was really laughing in her heart. 
 The difference between them arose from the 
 different estimates they made of a father's 
 authority. Captain Maleenovsky argued the 
 question from the Eussian stand- j)oint ; Helen, 
 from the English. In Eussia, the bride was 
 seldom consulted on the choice of a husband. 
 The lover applied to her father and mother: 
 and they settled the matter; sometimes even 
 without her knowledge ! The idea of marry- 
 ing Helen Cameron without her father's con- 
 sent never entered Captain Maleenovsky' s 
 brain. Helen, on the other hand, had the 
 Anglo-Saxon ideas about freedom of choice. 
 She loved her father dearly ; but she had no
 
 FEAES AND HOPES. 23 
 
 OO 
 
 notion of sacrificing her love to his will. Her 
 father prevent her from marrying the man she 
 loved ! Why, she always had her own way 
 in everything. She would coax and wheedle 
 him into giving his consent. It was all very 
 well for him to say, " 'No I " That '' no " would 
 in good time be tui^ned into a '^ yes." Not a 
 doubt about it ! 
 
 I^othing more was said on the subject ; and, 
 soon afterwards. Captain Maleenovsky bade 
 farewell to Mr. Cameron and his daughter. 
 Helen looked back upon his retreating figure 
 with new feelings and hopes ; with a joy at 
 her heart, of which she fondly hoped that 
 nothing could rob her henceforth. This was 
 a crisis in her history. I think the Grub 
 stage was drawing to an end. The power 
 which could unfold the wings was clearly 
 at work within her. For this was not a 
 common worm of the dust, but a Grub ; with 
 the possibilities of Butterfly-hood wrapped up 
 in her nature. Possibilities, the measure of 
 which the future was to reveal. It might be 
 to soar to the higher regions of papilionic 
 achievement. It might be to remain on the 
 lower level of respectable Butterfly-hood. But 
 clearly never more to grovel in the dust.
 
 234 HELEN CIMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE XYI. 
 
 TO HAYE, OR NOT TO HAVE. 
 
 " For thou hast been 
 As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing ; 
 A man, that fortune's buffets and rewards 
 Has ta'en with equal thanks : and bless'd are those 
 ANTiose blood and judgment are so well commingled, 
 That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger 
 To sound what stop she please. Give me that man 
 That is not passion's slave ; and I will wear him 
 In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, 
 As I do thee." 
 
 Shakspere: Hamlet. 
 
 Captain Maleenoysky had prosecuted Ms 
 appeal in the Senate with characteristic 
 energy. It was usual for suitors to canvass 
 the senators, and ask for their votes; and, 
 unless said senators were much belied, more 
 money changed hands, during some of those 
 trials, than members of parliament ever paid 
 for the honour of sitting in the House of 
 Commons. We are all, more or less, the 
 creatures of public opinion: few of us ever 
 rise far above the common level of thought 
 and feeling around us. Captain Maleenovsky 
 was undoubtedly a man above the common ; 
 and it was a striking token of the low state 
 of public feeling in Eussia, at that time, that
 
 TO HA YE, OR NOT TO HA YE. 235 
 
 a higli-minded man like him should haYe 
 stooped to the use of low arts. He pestered 
 his friends for letters of introduction to sena- 
 tors : to leading senators, if possible ; but, if 
 not, then ^'the smallest contributions" (mean- 
 ing introductions to the smaller fry of senators) 
 ^'thankfully receiYod." He waited in priYate 
 on all the senators whom he could catch, and 
 clearly explained his case. 
 
 HaYing done all that he could to insure suc- 
 cess. Captain MaleenoYsky anxiously awaited 
 the issue. The judgment of the Senate was 
 to be announced on the day following that on 
 which he had met Helen. He was at his 
 lodgings, preparing to set off to the Senate, 
 when his friend, Lieutenant Alexeyev, made 
 his appearance. Eather surprised to see him 
 at such a time, he asked : 
 
 *^Well, and what ill- wind has blown you 
 here this time, old boy?" 
 
 '^An ill wind, indeed, that blows nobody 
 any good," answered Lieutenant AlexeycY, 
 laughing merrily. " Your confounded law- 
 suit is a godsend to me, old fellow ; because, 
 you see, I hope it will initiate me into the 
 sacred mysteries of the Yenerable Senate. 
 Come to ask you a great favour. I have a
 
 236 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 strong curiosity to gaze on the noble features 
 of ^ the collective wisdom' of our country: I 
 suppose your precious lawsuit gives you the 
 entree of the Senate; and if you'll take me 
 with you this morning, you'll lay me under an 
 eternal obligation." 
 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev had determined to 
 accompany his friend to the Senate that morn- 
 ing, and to support him, if need were, in the 
 dreadful ordeal through which he might have 
 to pass. He felt that he had never had a 
 chance of really befriending Captain Malee- 
 novsky, while the latter had been of the 
 greatest service to himself. Maleenovsky 
 knew him too well not to see thi'ough 
 the flimsy pretext. The delicate way his 
 friend had chosen of declaring that he meant 
 to stand by him touched him to the quick; 
 and he grasped Alexeyev' s hand. 
 
 '^ I shall be delighted to have you with me 
 to-day," he said. 
 
 And they walked on together toward the 
 Senate-house. 
 
 "• Can't stay long with you, old fellow, I am 
 sorry to say : Imperial Highness helpless 
 without me, and all that sort of thing," an- 
 nounced Lieutenant Alexeyev.
 
 237 
 
 "Ah, Yassinka, a true friend, at such a time 
 as this " 
 
 "Eother sentiment !" exclaimed Alexeyev : 
 " sorry you can't have a pipe." 
 
 Smoking is not allowed in the streets of 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 ''Never mind, old boy!" answered Malee- 
 novsky : . '' enough for me to know what you 
 are." 
 
 As they walked along. Lieutenant Alexeyev 
 adopted a strange method of '' supporting " 
 his friend under his trial. He made fun of 
 the trial itself; exhibiting it under various 
 ludicrous aspects. At length he said : 
 
 " I wonder how a fellow feels when he is 
 suddenly stripped of all his wealth. Never had a 
 chance myself of experiencing the sensation." 
 
 '' I dare say I shall soon experience it." 
 
 "I should think it something like being 
 skinned. How cold a fellow must feel after 
 it ! " 
 
 ''I think I should feel the pain more than 
 the cold," said Maleenovsky; "especially on 
 such a day as this." 
 
 It was the warmest day they had had that 
 year. The rays of the sun were streaming 
 down upon them ; and everything looked
 
 238 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 bright and joyous, as if to join Lieutenant 
 Alexeyev in liis mockery of woe. 
 
 On arriving at the Senate, they soon learnt 
 the issue of the triaL Judgment had gone 
 against Captain Maleenovsky. He was scarcely 
 taken by sui'prise. Many of the senators on 
 whom he called had expressed their surprise 
 at his audacity in dreaming that he could win 
 any cause, howeyer good, against such a man 
 as Prince Ilinsky ; and it was the memory of 
 this that had led him to speak so gloomily to 
 Mr. Cameron of his chance of success. Prince 
 Ilinsky was too powerful a man to be beaten 
 with such weapons as he had used. Highness 
 could employ the same weapons : only ten of 
 them where captain used one. 
 
 And so the heavy blow had fallen at last. 
 All the worry and struggle and cost of the 
 last few months had been thrown away. That 
 which he had feared so much had come : he 
 was a beggar, with nothing to hope for. Life 
 must henceforth be to him a struggle for a 
 living. He received the news very quietly; 
 so quietly, that Lieutenant Alexeyev wondered 
 at him. With all his chaffing, the -scapegrace 
 had some idea of the heaviness of the blow. 
 He was anxiously watching Maleenovsky's
 
 TO HAVE, OR NOT TO HAVE. 239 
 
 face : lie could not see a nerve quiver, or a 
 muscle move ; not a change, indeed, of any 
 kind in that grand, massive, masterful face. 
 He might have been a marble statue for all 
 the feeling that he showed. He felt, indeed, a 
 strange sinking of heart within ; but he was 
 not going to be mastered by it : he was going 
 to master it, and to master himself. So he 
 bore up bravely. "With a strong effort of will 
 he kept down the feeling. 
 
 '^I think we have no more business here," 
 he said quite coolly, turning to go. 
 
 '''Not that I know of," answered Lieutenant 
 Alexeyev, following his friend. 
 
 But Captain Maleenovsky's innate polite- 
 ness here came out in the midst of his own 
 distress. 
 
 ^'I forgot," he said: "you wanted to be 
 initiated into the sacred mysteries of this 
 place." 
 
 " Oh, dear, no ! Curiosity fully satisfied, 
 old fellow," replied Alexeyev, laughing. 
 "Features of venerable senators not so beau- 
 tiful as I thought ; and ' collective wisdom ' of 
 our country not so unlike what collective folly 
 would be. Know two young fellows, at least, 
 who would make more venerable senators."
 
 240 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '' Let lis go, then." 
 
 They went out into the street, and turned 
 toward Maleenovsky's lodgings. Alexeyev 
 rattled on, but Maleenovsky did not utter a 
 word. From time to time the young scape- 
 grace looked in his friend's face, to see that 
 he was ''all right." Well, he could not gather 
 much from it. The same grand immovable face, 
 showing no sign whatever : the only change 
 which he could see being that it looked more 
 vacant than usual, as if its accustomed tenant 
 were far away. Alexeyev grew more and more 
 anxious, and at length cried out : 
 
 '' I say, old fellow, how are your feelings?" 
 
 '' All right, old boy," answered Captain 
 Maleenovsky : "I feel something like a sheep 
 that has just been shorn." 
 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev burst out laughing. 
 
 '' That's why you look as if you were wool- 
 gathering ; it's to cover your nakedness. But 
 never fear, old fellow : the wool will grow 
 again before the winter comes." 
 
 They had reached Captain Maleenovsky' s 
 lodgings ; and Alexeyev went in with his 
 friend. 
 
 " I shall never forget what you have done 
 for me to-day!" exclaimed the captain, as
 
 TO HAVE, OR NOT TO HAVE. 241 
 
 soon as they were alone in the sitting-room. 
 '' False friends, like rats, forsake the sinking 
 
 ship ; but you " 
 
 ^^ I say, isn't it too soon to talk of that? 
 I didn't know till this morning that the ship 
 was sinking; and I could not, in common 
 decency, leave it sprawling in the mud and 
 filth of the Senate-house, you know. Wait 
 till to-morrow, old fellow 1" 
 
 ^^ Ah, Yassinka, you have a heart " 
 
 ^' Take a pipe, old fellow, do ! We are no 
 longer in the street, you see. Sorry I can't 
 join you : must go back to the Palace at once. 
 Imperial Highness, and all that sort of thing. 
 Good-bye!" 
 
 ^^ Good-bye, old boy ! God bless you !" 
 Lieutenant Alexeyev looked as if he wanted 
 to say more, but could not bring himself to 
 say it. Fear of " lapsing into sentimentalism ? " 
 With his usual coolness and nonchalance he 
 went out, and left Captain Maleenovsky alone. 
 But, in a few moments, the door opened ; and 
 the handsome face peeped in, looking more 
 beautiful than ever. 
 
 ^^ Not smoking yet ! " he cried. ^' Now, do, 
 to please me : best cure going. I say, old 
 fellow, you are a Man !" 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 242 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 And the handsome face disappeared again. 
 Captain MaleenoYsky rang the belL When 
 Yanka came, he told him that all was lost ; 
 and left orders not to be disturbed by any 
 one, on any acconnt, as he wished to be alone. 
 Yanka did not interpret the order as forbid- 
 ding Mm to look in. So, from time to time, 
 he peeped into the room. It was touching to 
 see how softly that rough fellow moved about^ 
 and what deep sorrow was pictured on his 
 coarse face. The calamity might have been 
 his own, instead of his master's. Each time 
 he looked into the room. Captain Maleenovsky 
 seemed to be in the same attitude : with his 
 elbows leaning on the table, and his face 
 buried in his hands. 
 
 Well, it was a heavy blow. Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky was not a man to underrate wealth. 
 He knew all that it was, and all that it repre- 
 sented. Hitherto he had lived in luxury ; 
 moved in the highest circles in St. Petersburg, 
 and possessed everything that heart could 
 wish and money buy. Farewell to all that ! 
 Henceforth he would be in the strictest sense 
 a poor man. His pay as captain was a paltry 
 pittance, not large enough to maintain a cor- 
 poral in comfort. But all this he could bear :
 
 TO HA YE, OR NOT TO HAVE. 243 
 
 ay, and bear bravely ; without a murmur or a 
 sigh. If need were, he wouki live on bread 
 and water. So long as he could keep body 
 and soul together, he would not grumble. 
 Life was, after all, more than meat, and body 
 than raiment. Such a paltry thing as that 
 would not make him unhappy. His iron will 
 would cut him a way to pierce through all 
 such petty barriers. 
 
 But, alas, the loss of wealth was not his 
 heaviest loss. As he had said to Mr. Cameron, 
 it entailed other losses. Farewell to many of 
 his friends ! He could not mingle among them 
 freely; because he could no longer live as they 
 lived. Farewell to his home ! The place of 
 his birth ; the playground of his childhood ; 
 once cherished as the destined resting-place of 
 his old age. Farewell to his serfs ! All of 
 them endeared to him by old associations, and 
 some of them by personal ties of the tenderest 
 kind. And, worst of all, and hardest to bear, 
 farewell to Helen Cameron ! At that thought, 
 all the man in him seemed to be bowed and 
 shaken. To dwell upon it, he felt, would un- 
 man him ; and, therefore, by a stern effort of 
 will, he turned his thoughts to another branch 
 of the subject. His serfs ! IN'ow that he was
 
 244 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 about to part from them, solemn thoughts 
 came ov€r him as to his relation to them. 
 Thoughts which, in the time of his wealth, 
 he had utterly lost sight of ! He had been 
 master of souls : had he done his duty by 
 them? He had been, on the whole, what 
 was called a kind master. But had not his 
 kindness been fitful ; guided by changeful 
 whim, rather than governed by wise unbend- 
 ing law ? 
 
 Perhaps it was natural that his thoughts 
 should at last rest on Yanka, as a symbol of 
 his other serfs. Yanka, as his valet, had had 
 the most to do with him, and had suffered the 
 most from his fits of ill-tempen He remem- 
 bered now how often he had struck him with- 
 out a cause ; and the thought of it filled him 
 with something like remorse. The feeling was 
 foreign to his ordinary train of thoughts. His 
 natural bent was to think more of his own 
 authority than of his people's rights. His 
 mind was of that stem, unbending class, to 
 which the idea of order, and therefore of 
 authority to enforce it, seems the foundation 
 of all human relationship. But now his own 
 great trouble had softened his heart, and made 
 him more pitiful to others. The blast of ad-
 
 245 
 
 yersity had rent the veil which had stood 
 between him and his serfs; and he saw the 
 relationship between him and them in its true 
 light. He felt that, if he were to begin life 
 afresh, he would be a wiser and a kinder 
 master. But what use in regretting the past ? 
 Could he do nothing to repair it ? Yes, there 
 was one act of atonement still in his power. 
 He rang the bell again; and Yanka entered 
 the room. 
 
 ^' How often have I beaten thee, Yanka?" 
 asked Captain Maleenovsky. 
 
 Yanka was astonished, as he well might be, 
 at such a question coming at such a time. 
 Was his master becoming light-headed ? Had 
 his trouble upset his reason ? He gave a vague 
 answer : 
 
 ^^I have not counted, your honour." 
 
 ^' How often have I struck thee without a 
 cause ?" continued Captain Maleenovsky. 
 
 ^' Oh, baarin" (master), ^^ don't think of 
 that now," answered Yanka. 
 
 '' I can't help thinking of that now, Yanka; 
 now that I am about to part with thee." 
 
 '^ Oh, baarin, baarin, God knows you have 
 been a kind master to me, as masters go ; and, 
 if ever you struck me without a cause, there
 
 246 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 have been otlier times wlieii I have deserred a 
 whipping without getting it ; so that the one 
 is a set-off against the other, you see." 
 
 ^^Yanka, if I had now the chance of re- 
 maining thy master, I believe I should never 
 touch thee again." 
 
 A^ahka's eyes were dim. He was proud and 
 independent for a serf: but there was one sure 
 way to his heart; and Captain Maleenovsky 
 had taken it. He was struggling with his 
 impulse to do what Eussian serfs did every 
 day, but what he had done only once before ; 
 to fall at his master's feet. 
 
 " "Would to God that I could remain in 
 your service !" he cried with breaking voice. 
 '' God knows I had rather be your valet than 
 Prince Ilinsky's steward." 
 
 Prince Ilinsky had the reputation of being 
 one of the hardest and most cruel masters in 
 Eussia. 
 
 '^ Yanka, wilt thou forgive me every act 
 of injustice I have done thee ?" asked Malee- 
 novsky. 
 
 Yanka could resist no longer. The tears 
 were streaming down his coarse-grained cheeks; 
 and he fell on his knees before Captain Malee- 
 novsky, and sobbed aloud.
 
 247 
 
 '' Oh, baarin, it is I that need forgiveness ! 
 I have often been careless of your interests." 
 
 ^' Eise, then, Yanka ; and let us shake 
 hands, in token of our mutual forgiveness." 
 
 Yanka rose, and shook hands with his 
 master. 
 
 '' I know you now," he said : ^^ I never 
 knew what you were before." 
 
 He then fumbled in his pocket, and brought 
 out a huge leathern purse, which seemed to be 
 well stuffed. This he quietly laid on the 
 table before Captain Maleenovsky, who asked : 
 
 ^' What is this?" 
 
 Yanka took up the purse again, and poured 
 out its contents on the table : bank-notes, gold, 
 silver, and copper coins, 
 
 " This is what I have been storing up for 
 years, to buy my own freedom with," an- 
 swered Yanka : "take it, baarin, and buy me 
 for yourself from Prince Ilinsky." 
 
 It was the master's turn to be touched. 
 But he was amused at the same time. The 
 idea of Yanka' s advancing the money where- 
 with to buy himself tickled him hugely. He 
 burst out laughing. 
 
 "What shall I do with thee when I have 
 bought thee?" he asked: "I can't afford to
 
 248 HELEN CAMEHON. 
 
 keep thee. I must shift for myself now, and 
 learn to do without a yalet." 
 
 '^ Shift for yourself!" cried Yanka : ''how 
 can you? The gentry can't do without us. 
 Besides, baarin, I should not cost you much. 
 And, if that were all, I could work, and earn 
 money for you. I was considered a good 
 craftsman when I was at Moscow; and I could 
 earn a fortune for you in no time, baarin." 
 
 " Xo, Yanka, I will not hear of it. If thou 
 canst earn a fortune, thou must earn it for 
 thyself." 
 
 Yanka looked disappointed, and said : 
 
 '' I suppose your honour is too proud to 
 accept it from your old serf." 
 
 ''It is not that, Yanka : I could take it 
 from thee as readily as from any one." 
 
 " Well, then, take it for yourself, baarin. 
 You must have had some heavy expenses of 
 late. These lawyers and judges are sharks. 
 It will help to pay their bills." 
 
 " It can't be, Yanka : I am as young as 
 thou, and stronger ; and I must learn to work 
 my own way in the world. Besides, thou hast 
 a mother and brothers to look after." 
 
 " They'll do, baarin. What a pity it is 
 that that Mr. Izmailov is not here ! Perhaps
 
 TO HAVE, OR NOT TO HAVE. 249 
 
 lie could help you out of your scrape ; he is a 
 wonderful man !" 
 
 ^'Well thought of!" exclaimed Maleenov- 
 sky : '' I wonder I did not think of that 
 before." 
 
 And the words which Mr. Izmailoy had 
 used at Doobeenovka flashed across his mind : 
 " If you fail in the Senate, appeal to his high- 
 ness, Count Golovin ; and, if he should be in 
 office at the time, he will see justice done." 
 Why not appeal to the count ? In a moment 
 all his hopes revived. Oh, heavens ! Per- 
 haps he might yet call Helen Cameron his 
 own! 
 
 He went at once to the Secret Police Office. 
 Luckily Mr. Tolstoy was within, and received 
 him in very friendly fashion. Could he see 
 the count ? Unhappily, highness not at home ! 
 When would he return ? Quite uncertain : 
 very likely, not for weeks. Oh, the suspense ! 
 The uncertainty ! The past few months seemed 
 likely to be renewed. Still, on the whole, 
 he was inclined to hope for the best. 
 
 Meanwhile, things were taking place, which 
 made it doubtful whether it would be in 
 Count Golovin' s power to help Captain Ma- 
 leenovsky. An intrigue was going on to
 
 250 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 oust him from office. Influences were brought 
 to bear on the Emperor himself to further that 
 end. And, while the gallant captain awaits 
 the count's return, let us go to the Winter 
 Palace, and watch the progress of the in- 
 trigue.
 
 THE RECLUSE. 251 
 
 CHAPTEE XYII. 
 
 THE EECLTJSE. 
 
 " There could I meditate on follies past, 
 And, like a weary voyager escaped 
 From risk and hardship, inwardly retrace 
 A course of vain delights and thoughtless guilt 
 And soft indulgence, without shame pursued." 
 
 WoRDSWOKTH : The Excursion. 
 
 I ASK pardon of the Winter Palace and all its 
 contents, live stock included (crowned heads 
 not excluded), for overlooking them so long. 
 Crowned heads so often appear as mere lay- 
 figures on the pages of history, that they might 
 seem to be of no earthly interest to any but 
 their valets. But, after all, kings and queens 
 are men and women, of like passions with our- 
 selves, with thoughts and aims of their own ; 
 and the owner of the Winter Palace, at this 
 time, was the hero of a life-drama interesting 
 enough to have made him the hero of our book. 
 A man's room is often a type of himself. 
 The Emperor Alexander's private cabinet re- 
 vealed a neat and orderly mind. The tables 
 and desks at which he sat were kejot tidy. He 
 returned every article he used to its right place,
 
 252 • HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 and cleared away the slightest speck of dust or 
 the smallest piece of paper iiiicoiinected with 
 the work in hand. There were several desks 
 in the room ; and on each there lay a folded 
 cambric handkerchief, and ten qnills newly 
 mended. He never used the same pen twice. 
 Pens, supplied by contract : contractor receiv- 
 ing three thousand roubles a year for keeping 
 majesty in pens ; no doubt getting pretty pick- 
 ings out of his contract ! In this neat room, 
 on an easy-chair, sat the Emperor, looking as 
 neat himself, and as still and quiet as if he were 
 a part of the furniture. 
 
 Look at him. No denying it : there is clearly 
 much that is noble and beautiful in that man. 
 Something in that large and lofty brow, that 
 open good-natured face, that kindly-beaming 
 eye, which draws one's heart at once : telling 
 of a high tone of thought, a tenderness of feel- 
 ing, a refinement of taste, which have thrown 
 a halo of poetry round the name of Alexander. 
 In truth, a gentle, loving, lovely character ! 
 Ah, but there is something wanting in that 
 face. A weakness in that mouth, and an air of 
 wavering in the eye, hinting that he had not 
 the strength of purpose needed for governing 
 a great unmanageable country like Eussia.
 
 THE EECLUSE. 25 
 
 ^N'ature had cut him out for private life ; and 
 cruel mocking fate had placed him on a throne. 
 He had all the qualities which adorn society : 
 how happy he might have been as a simple 
 citizen ! 
 
 Was he not happy, then ? "What more could 
 heart wish for than he had ? With no one to 
 dispute his will ; with wealth enough to buy 
 all that the world could sell ; with friends ready 
 to lay down their lives for his ; with a devoted 
 wife, true and loyal to him through faithfulness 
 and through unfaithfulness, through good report 
 and through evil; — was he not happy, then? Ah, 
 brothers, just look into his face and judge for 
 yourselves : a gloom on that brow, a sadness in 
 that eye, a puzzled weary look over the whole, 
 which go far to answer the question. Ay, 
 ^' each heart a secret burden bears." But what 
 was Alexander's burden ? Why, just that 
 weight of pomp and state which you and I are 
 envying in our hearts. Tired of worldly plea- 
 sure ; tired of imperial sj^lendour ; almost tired 
 of life, with its work and its joy ; — he longed 
 to come down from the throne. 
 
 When he mounted it everything had been in 
 a state of disorder. The mad tyranny of Paul 
 had disorganised society. The young Czar had
 
 254 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 honestly tried to remedy this state of things, 
 and to bring the Eussian Government into 
 greater harmony with European ideas of free- 
 dom and right. For a long time all had gone 
 on swimmingly. But there came a check : he 
 was arrested by numberless difficulties. If he 
 had been a man of iron will, like his brother 
 Nicholas, he might, perhaps, have overcome them 
 in time. But he was not the man for the work. 
 Gentle, liberal, large- souled, enthusiastic, as he 
 was, his character lacked depth to match its 
 breadth. He was soon disheartened ; and, as 
 he grew older, and awoke out of the dreams of 
 his youth, he gave up his reforms in despair. 
 Another instance of a man who would have 
 been thought cai^ax regnandi nisi regnasset. 
 But this was not the worst. The difficulties 
 he encountered made him so weary of life that 
 he withdrew from the management of public 
 affairs. The helm of state was deserted by the 
 pilot, and fell into any chance hands that might 
 choose to grasp it. He talked of " abdicating : " 
 better if he had done so when he found himself 
 unfit to rule. Instead of that he did the worst 
 thing he could have done : he kept his post, but 
 intrusted the power to — Count Baranovitch. 
 Had you known him in his earlier years you
 
 THE RECLUSE. 255 
 
 would scarcely recognise in him now the once 
 gallant gentleman : the life of all society, the 
 soul of all gaiety, foremost in plans of amuse- 
 ment as in works of charity. It is true he was 
 far from being well. But that was not all. 
 He was worn out ; bodily as well as mentally 
 worn out ! And worn out before his time : an 
 old, old man at forty-eight ! 
 
 But why was he alone ? Had he no children 
 to brighten him with their smiles ? None ! 
 No wife to soothe him by her caresses ? Yes, 
 
 but There was a cloud between husband 
 
 and wife ! No friends, at least, to cheer him 
 up ? Yes, but he was in one of his low 
 desponding moods, when he always sought to 
 fly the face of humankind. He would retire 
 to his cabinet and remain alone for hours. At 
 such times none but his mother durst approach 
 him. Friends, are you envying emperors and 
 kings ? Envy them not ; but rather thank God 
 for having placed you lower down in the scale 
 of life. An awful thing to have, or think you 
 have, the burden of millions hanging on your 
 shoulders ! Nearly as awful to be shut out 
 from one's kind by a high partition- wall of 
 rank : never to be approached save at a fearful 
 distance, and with a fearful show of forms ; to
 
 256 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 have no friend to speak to, as man to man, with, 
 perfect love and perfect trust ! 
 
 Alexander had sat long, absorbed in thought, 
 when he heard a knock at his door. He knew 
 it was his mother: no one else would have 
 ventured to disturb him in his retreat. He 
 rose and opened the door; and a venerable- 
 looking old lady entered the cabinet. She was 
 seventy years old : but her figure was erect, 
 her movements youthful and quick ; and you 
 would scarcely have taken her to be the mother 
 of the old-looking man before her. It was 
 beautiful to see the ''absolute monarch," the 
 master of fifty millions, meekly bow his head 
 before that feeble old woman. 
 
 '' My son, is this right? " asked the Empress- 
 mother, sitting down in the easy- chair which 
 Alexander had just left. 
 
 '' Oh, mother," answered the master of mil- 
 lions, '' I am weary of life ! " 
 
 " And you are tired of His work already ?" 
 
 '' Ah, mother, it has been a hard task," said 
 the Emperor wearily : '' the age is so corrupt." 
 
 "' If times are bad, why not try and mend 
 them?" 
 
 ''Mother, I have tried: I have done my 
 best. But it is of no use. My purest motives
 
 THE RECLUSE. 257 
 
 have been misunderstood, and my wisest plans 
 laughed down ; and, at this very moment, 
 mother, some of them are plotting to take my 
 life." 
 
 ^^ It is the Cross which the Master has 
 given you to bear. Ah, my son, where would 
 you and I have been, if He had refused to bear 
 His Cross?" 
 
 ^^ Mother, I stand rebuked." 
 
 Thoughts like these had always great power 
 over Alexander's mind : his mother knew it, 
 and often used them with great success in his 
 moments of weariness and grief. There was a 
 meekness in his tone and manner, which was 
 touching to see. Better still, if that meekness 
 had been nerved by firmness and strength ! 
 
 The old lady bade him follow her ; and the 
 Emperor of Eussia, the master of millions, 
 obeyed at once. She led the way to that part 
 of the Winter Palace which was occupied by 
 the reigning Empress : her daughter-in-law, 
 and his wife. They found the Empress in her 
 favourite sitting-room, which looked out on the 
 Xeva, sitting with some of the ladies of her 
 suite. One of these, Anna, Princess Donskaya, 
 we have already met, in the height of her 
 triumph, at the ball which ushered Helen 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 258 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Cameron into the fashionable world. But how 
 changed ! Yon would scarcely have known 
 her again. Dress, look, demeanour, all be- 
 longed to qnite another woman. Ah, Anna 
 was a first-rate actress ! But what role was 
 she acting now ? You will soon see. As she 
 meekly cast her eyes to the ground, every now 
 and then quietly lifting them to the skies (or 
 at least to the ceiling), you would have said 
 that she was, indeed, a fit lady-in-waiting to 
 the lady to whom I wish now to introduce you 
 — THE Empress Elizabeth.
 
 THE WIFE. 259 
 
 CHAPTEE XYIII. 
 
 THE WIFE. 
 
 " The bodily frame was wasted day hj day : 
 Meanwhile, relinquishing all other cares, 
 Her mind she strictly tutor'd to find peace 
 And pleasure in endui^mce. Much she thought, 
 And much she read, and brooded feelingly 
 Upon her own unworthiness .... 
 Meek saint, through patience glorified on earth ! 
 In whom, as by her lonely hearth she sat, 
 The ghastly face of old decay put on 
 A sun-like beauty, and appeared Divine ! " 
 
 Wordsworth : The Excursion. 
 
 At the age of forty-six, the Empress Elizabeth 
 still looked young. Hers was a style of beauty 
 which never grows old : because it was as much 
 beauty of the mind as of the body. Her 
 features, indeed, were regular and classical; 
 and a face which is blessed with such, like good 
 port, rather improves with age. But she had 
 no colour in her cheeks : what little she once 
 had, had long since been chased away by the 
 sorrows which had fallen to her lot, and was 
 replaced by a fixed look of sadness. Ah, what 
 tales that pale, sad face told ! Still it beamed 
 with thought and love. There was a harmony 
 about it which struck one at first sight : the
 
 260 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 thouglitfulness about the brow, and the liveli- 
 ness about the eye, in perfect keeping with the 
 sweetness of the mouth. Her beauty belonged 
 to that class which we may call ^'lovely:" 
 and, at the age of forty-six, she was lovely 
 still ; nay, lovelier than she had ever been in 
 all her life before. A sweet Madonna face ! 
 A Madonna whose soul the sword had pierced ! 
 
 And sorrows she had seen, sure enough ! 
 Married before she was fifteen to a handsome, 
 talented, and amiable young prince, who was 
 himself little more than sixteen, she had given 
 him the whole of her young heart. And what 
 shall I say but that, at that time, he fully re- 
 tiu^ned her love ? For years they lived together 
 in mutual love and bliss, which seemed to 
 grow with every year. Two little ones were 
 born to them: but they both died in babyhood; 
 and "the happy pair" had no other children. 
 But they were enough for each other. She 
 Avas his ''angel in the house." And he was her 
 hero : nay, more, her idol, her god ; for, if 
 ever woman worshipped a man, most certainly 
 Elizabeth worshipped Alexander. 
 
 Why should such happiness not last ? Why 
 need two hearts, which have been so closely 
 knit together, ever be sundered? Yet so it
 
 THE WIFE. 261 
 
 was. Whose the fault ? The husband's. Why 
 hide faults which Alexander himself, in after 
 years, frankly acknowledged and manfully for- 
 sook ? He neglected the wife of his youth for 
 younger and more showy beauties. He has 
 gone to his account ; and a just God has, 
 doubtless, forgiven him. But a just God also 
 punished him for his unfaithfulness, in the 
 solitude and sadness of his later years. Who 
 but a wife shoukl have been with him then, to 
 soothe his sick and wounded soul ? That wife 
 was there, longing to comfort him ; and he was 
 yearning for her love, and for the gladness of 
 their youth. But he himself had ^' fixed " '^ a 
 great gulf" between them which it was hard 
 to cross. 
 
 And she ? Ah, me ! Talk of sorrow ! What 
 sorrow can overtop that which she had borne 
 during those long years of living mart}T:*dom ? 
 To see the husband of her youth wavering in 
 his faith ; to see him estranging his heart from 
 her, and fixing it on others ; to see her rivals 
 flaunting before her in all the insolence of 
 triumph; to live in the same house with him, 
 and see him daily, as if there were nothing 
 wrong ; to meet him every day with the keen 
 remembrance of what they had been to each
 
 262 HELEN CAMEKON. 
 
 other; and to play out the same tragedy over and 
 oyer again, not for one day or one week, but day 
 after day and week after week, month after 
 month and year after year ; — think of that, if 
 yon would understand the story of her sad face. 
 The Empress never murmured : she bore all 
 in silence, with a heroic strength of endurance 
 which went far to insure its own victory. 
 I^one but God and her own heart ever knew 
 what she suffered ; and the only sign which 
 the world saw of it was in her tell-tale 
 face. If she wept, it was in secret. Once, 
 and once only, she had been caught weeping 
 over a miniature of the beautiful but faithless 
 Alexander. All this time her own heart never 
 swerved from the idol of her girlhood. False 
 as he had been to her, she was true to him. 
 In the night of her sorrow, God had revealed 
 Himself to her, as He so often does. In her 
 loneliness she had learned to say : ^' And yet 
 I am not alone ; for the Father is with me." 
 In her helplessness she had learned to pray ; 
 and she never prayed without pleading for the 
 husband of her youth. Somehow or other, she 
 had gained the assurance that he would yet 
 come back to her. The way, she knew, would 
 be dark and long ; but the end, she was sure,
 
 THE WIFE. 263 
 
 would be light and peace. Years passed away ; 
 and her hope seemed further than ever from 
 fulfilment. But she never gave way to despair : 
 still she hoped on ; and still she prayed on. 
 
 Once, indeed, the day of deliverance seemed 
 to have come. It was when Alexander, as he 
 himself said, ^^ recognised the Almighty as He 
 is revealed in His Holy Scriptures." I must 
 do him the justice to say that then he did feel 
 the wrong which he had done to his noble wife. 
 His heart turned to the wife of his youth ; and 
 he yearned after her with a yearning which 
 blended the freshness of youth with the ful- 
 ness of riper years. true and loyal heart ! 
 Is thy hope about to be fulfilled ? Ah, it is 
 easier to estrange two hearts than to make 
 them one again ! The very memory of the 
 Avrong robbed Alexander of the strength to 
 woo his wronged wife back again. He was 
 unworthy of her love : could he hope that she 
 would love him again as in days of yore ? If 
 he had only known how true she was to him ; 
 how, during all those years of estrangement, 
 she had ever turned to him, as the sunflower 
 turns to the sun even when hidden by a cloud ; 
 how, in spite of all her sorrow, and her shame 
 on his account, he had all along remained the
 
 264 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 idol of lier heart ! Eut he did not know it : 
 delicacy and pride alike forbad her to reveal it. 
 
 And so life passed with these two, in that 
 magnificent Winter Palace. Outwardly they 
 lived together, but inwardly as far asunder as 
 if seas had severed them. His mother, as now, 
 made many efforts to reunite them; but, well 
 meant as they were, it is doubtful whether 
 they did more harm or good. !N'o pressure 
 from without can solder hearts. Good okl 
 lady ! Little did she dream that the very fact 
 of being hr ought together raised a barrier be- 
 tween them. If they could have come together 
 of themselves, and by themselves, there would 
 have been more hope. Dear old lady ! Her 
 loving motherly eye shone brightly now ; and 
 a ray of hope lighted up her pleasant face, as 
 she went before her son into her daughter-in- 
 law's apartment. 
 
 The Empress Elizabeth and her ladies rose, 
 as mother and son entered the room. There 
 was greeting between husband and wife : cour- 
 teous enough ; but, ah, so stiff and cold 1 The 
 Empress was struck with her husband's woe- 
 begone appearance. She was on the very 
 point of giving utterance to some glowing 
 words. But she checked herself in time. Deli-
 
 THE WIFE. 265 
 
 cacy and pride alike forbad her to speak. It 
 was for him to make the first advances. But, 
 as she looked at him, her eyes grew dim. Ah, 
 what a change had come over him ! He looked 
 an old man now, bowed down with weariness 
 and care : how unlike the strong bright hero 
 of her young wedded life ! Sic transit I And 
 then she spoke : a sweet gentle voice it was. 
 
 ^'Your Majesty does not look well this 
 morning," she said very quietly. 
 
 ^' I do not feel very well," answered Alex- 
 ander, just as quietly. 
 
 That was all ! He longed to say more ; but 
 he dared not. The anxious tone in which his 
 wife had spoken, and the pitying look which 
 beamed from her lovely face, reminded him of 
 what she used to be in days of yore, in sick- 
 ness and in grief. He longed to fold her once 
 more to his bosom : to pour out his whole soul 
 before her ; his penitence, his change of heart, 
 his re-awakened love. But not before stran- 
 gers ! Then why not see her alone ? Would 
 it seem so very strange for husband and wife 
 to be together ? The very thought was alarm- 
 ing. What could he do ? How could he 
 speak ? He was not strong enough this day. 
 Some other day I
 
 26 (j HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 And so it had gone on for years : ^' some 
 other day," and ^' some other day !" He had 
 put it off day after day ; and, as with the 
 shrinking bather, who stands shivering on the 
 shore, it became harder and harder for him every 
 day to plunge in. Still, at this moment, his 
 longing to be at one again with his wife was so 
 great, that one might have hoped it would over- 
 come even the habit of a lifetime. Yain hope ! 
 
 ^' I am afraid your Majesty does not take 
 enough care of yourself," said Elizabeth. 
 
 All this time, the Empress-mother had been 
 looking anxiously at the couple ; '' hoping 
 against hope " that her well-meant attempt 
 would somehow succeed at last. She now 
 thought it wise to put in a word. 
 
 ^' That he does not," she said eagerly. '' He 
 shuts himself up in his cabinet ; and if I did 
 not come in sometimes, and drag him out, he 
 would remain alone all day." 
 
 Well, it was not a wise speech to make at 
 such a time, and in such a place. It reminded 
 Elizabeth a little too keenly that the mother 
 had still some power over Alexander, while 
 the wife had none. She felt her heart shut 
 up ; and some words, which she was about 
 to utter, were frozen on her lips. Still,
 
 THE WIFE. 267 
 
 she was very anxious about her husband's 
 health. 
 
 " Your Majesty should see more company," 
 she urged. 
 
 '' Ah, if I only knew that you would be that 
 company !" thought Alexander. 
 
 '' Why should I not be with you ?" Elizabeth 
 was saying in her heart at the very same time. 
 
 Then the Emperor spoke aloud : 
 
 ^' Your Majesty knows very well that I 
 never was particularly fond of company " 
 
 And there he stopped : could not finish the 
 sentence. He had meant to add : ^' when you 
 were with me." But it suddenly struck him 
 that that would be going too far. The sen- 
 tence, unfinished as it was, expressed anything 
 but the historical truth. And so Elizabeth 
 thought. But his appeal to her knowledge 
 of him touched her. It took her back to the 
 days that were gone. She pictured him to 
 herself as he used to be : a bright, joyous, 
 handsome, lovely young man; the life and soul 
 of all society, and so kind and loving to her 
 
 ** That he might not beteem the winds of heaven 
 Visit her face too roughly." 
 
 And now what was he ? A withered, broken- 
 down old man at forty- eight !
 
 2G8 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 But an answer seemed to be called for by his 
 appeal, untrue as it was. So she answered, 
 smiling : 
 
 " My memory does not record the fact." 
 
 The Emperor was in a fix. He could not 
 explain what he had meant; and, to get out 
 of his dilemma, he stumbled into generalities. 
 Those generalities : so convenient at a pinch ! 
 
 " The memory begins to be treacherous at 
 our time of life," he said. 
 
 And then he felt as if he had gone too far 
 in coupling himself with her by talking of 
 " our time of life." Such an unheard-of thing 
 for husband and wife to be coupled together ! 
 As for Elizabeth, she felt a choking sensation 
 in her throat ; and it was a hard task for her 
 to go on talking as they had been doing. But 
 she struggled with her feelings, and at length 
 mastered herself. 
 
 There was some more talk : but it was on 
 the most trifling subjects ; the weather, the 
 state of the Neva, the news from France ! l^ot 
 a word even glancing at the thought which 
 was nearest the heart of each. And then the 
 Emperor passed on, and began to talk with 
 Anna. And these two were man and wife ! 
 And they had not seen each other since the
 
 THE WIFE. 2G9 
 
 day before, and were not likely to see each 
 other till the day after ! And once they were 
 all in all to each other ; loving each other with 
 a love which each thought would last '' till 
 death did them part !" 
 
 How can two hearts, which have once been 
 one, be sundered so far? How can a man 
 speak in that fashion, day after day, and year 
 after year, to the once cherished wife who has 
 lain in his bosom and been folded by his arms ? 
 How can they meet without the feeling of what 
 they have been to each other ? And, tvith that 
 feeling, how can they meet and part again in 
 this fashion day after day ? How can they 
 help revealing themselves to each other ? How 
 can two hearts, that have loved each other so 
 well, understand each other so ill ? Life is full 
 of mysteries !
 
 270 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 THE INTEIGUE. 
 
 " For once when Arthur, walking all alone, 
 Vext at a rumour rife about the queen, 
 Had met her, Vivien, being greeted fair. 
 Would fain have wrought upon his cloudy mood, 
 With reverent eyes, mock-loyal shaken voice, 
 And flutter' d adoration, and at last 
 , With dark sweet hint of some who prized him more 
 
 Than who should prize him most." 
 
 Tennyson : Idylls of the King. 
 
 Alexander could speak far more freely to 
 Anna. If yon had seen them as they talked 
 together, you would have said that there was 
 far more confidence between them than be- 
 tween husband and wife. Well, it could not 
 be denied that the bewitching Princess Don- 
 skaya was a favourite with the Emperor. He 
 was a great admirer of beauty; and all ac- 
 knowledged that Anna was handsome. Still, 
 you may be surprised that such a character 
 should have pleased a man like Alexander. 
 Xo need for wonder: the Emperor had but 
 little insight into character. He was naturally 
 open and trustful. It is true, he became more 
 distrustful in his latter years. But that was 
 simply because he had been so often deceived.
 
 THE INTRIGUE. 271 
 
 His distrust did not in the least add to his 
 power of discrimination. His doubts rested as 
 often on the wrong man as on the right. At 
 the very time that he distrusted some worthy 
 people who were too true to humour all his 
 fancies, he trusted the unworthy who adapted 
 themselves to his prejudices and his whims. 
 It was altogether a matter of hap-hazard. 
 
 Again, you must not forget that I was not 
 at his elbow to warn him against Anna, as I 
 have warned you. It is a common mistake 
 among readers of history to fancy that the 
 characters described must have appeared in the 
 same light to the men and women among whom 
 they lived as they do to themselves. In read- 
 ing a scene in a drama or a novel, representing 
 a crafty fellow hoodwinking an honest man, 
 we are apt to look down on the dupe, and cry: 
 ^^ What a simpleton!" Have not you and I 
 said so even in scenes from '^ Othello ?" Do 
 you think Othello would have done what he 
 did, if he had known lago as you and I know 
 him? The villain only let him see just so 
 much of him as he wished. With the clue 
 which I have given you, you know Anna's 
 character as Alexander could not. To him 
 she was simply a remarkably winning, hand-
 
 272 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 some, and clever woman. But there was more 
 than this ; because Anna had taken great care 
 to adapt herself to the Emperor's prejudices, 
 and even to his beliefs. I have said she was 
 a fii'st-rate actress ; and she had studied Alex- 
 ander as a great actor might study Hamlet or 
 Lear. She knew his weak points thoroughly. 
 Above all, she had taken account of his 
 ^' pious" leanings; had sternly drilled herself 
 to the religious views which he held and the 
 religious language which he used. She could 
 talk piously ; could use his '' cant," as she 
 called it, though she had not depth enough to 
 know that it was reality to him. So that to 
 Alexander she seemed, not only a remarkably 
 handsome and noble woman ; but a wonder- 
 fully pious devote J who could enter into his 
 holiest feelings, and his deepest views. 
 
 So the Emperor and the Princess Donskaya 
 entered into what seemed a confidential talk. 
 They were far enough from the rest not to be 
 overheard ; but the Empress could not help 
 remarking the warmth of her husband's man- 
 ner, and contrasting it with the stifihess and 
 coldness of his demeanour to herself. She was 
 not jealous : the day for jealousy had long 
 gone by. But she was pained nevertheless.
 
 THE mTRIGUE. 273 
 
 After a few remarks which no way concern 
 our history, Anna adroitly brought in a sub- 
 ject which lay just then very near her heart : 
 Count Goloyin, the chief of the secret police. 
 An intrigue had been formed against the 
 count, chiefly by great noblemen, whose mis- 
 deeds he had checked. Their aim was to drive 
 liim out of office. Anna had entered heart and 
 soul into the intrigue. She herself had been 
 unpleasantly curbed more than once by the 
 count, and had vowed to have her revenge. 
 And so Captain Maleenovsky's hopes of being 
 righted with Count Golovin's help hung in the 
 balance during the talk which was going on. 
 Anna managed her part of the talk very 
 cleverly. Knowing Alexander's humane dis- 
 position, she spoke chiefly of what she called 
 Count Golovin's '^cruelty:" how his very 
 name was a ^'terror" to men; how he was 
 commonly called '^ the terrible Count Golo- 
 vin." Some truth in that, as in most lies. 
 But not the whole truth : only a half-truth. 
 The whole truth would have run thus : '^ a 
 terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them 
 that do well." 
 
 The Emperor was grieved and shocked. He 
 did not know Count Golovin well; had seen 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 him seldom. But, from what little he had 
 seen of him, he did not judge very favourably 
 of the man. Why disguise the truth ? Count 
 Golovin was too truthful and manly to adapt 
 himself to Alexander's weaknesses and whims. 
 Whenever he met the Emperor, he had so 
 many stern and painful truths to tell that he 
 had no time to waste in pleasing talk. Alex- 
 ander thought Golovin decidedly too stern. 
 So different from himself in that respect ! But, 
 then, Alexander, ostrich-like, was hiding his 
 head in the bush, to shut out the evils around 
 him, while Count Golovin was manfully grap- 
 pling with them. Still it was due to a public 
 servant not to listen lightly to frivolous charges. 
 
 '^ Are you sure about it ?" asked the Em- 
 peror. 
 
 '' I am quite sure," answered Anna glibly. 
 ^^Alas, one hears of it from too many quarters; 
 and of late the public voice has rung too fre- 
 quently with the terror of his name." 
 
 Princess Donskaya spoke with an air of 
 assurance which went far to set all Majesty's 
 doubts at rest. He could only say, in a help- 
 less sort of way : 
 
 ^^ It is strange that I have heard nothing 
 about it before."
 
 THE INTEIGUE. 275 
 
 "Alas, your Majesty has of late been so 
 secluded from tlie j)ublic/' replied Anna feel- 
 ingly ; " and, at the best of times, it is so hard 
 for the naked truth to reach the ears of mo- 
 narchs." 
 
 "True, true; very true!" said Alexander, 
 nodding his head. 
 
 " It is this that has emboldened me to speak 
 of it to your Majesty," continued Anna, assum- 
 ing a bolder tone as she saw her way clearer 
 before her. "Since no one else would set you 
 right in this matter, I felt it to be a solemn 
 duty resting upon me, a duty before God as 
 well as before your Majesty, to speak out 
 honestly, and, if possible, save the poor trem- 
 bling wretches who groan beneath the tyranny 
 of ' the terrible Count Golovin !' " 
 
 Anna was a woman who weighed her words, 
 as well as the general tenor of her speech. 
 It was a clever stroke to wind up her sentence 
 with the dreadful- sounding name. And the 
 stroke went home. Alexander had been grow- 
 ing excited as Anna spoke ; but the name fell 
 like the blow of a sledge-hammer on his ears. 
 It drove the nail in to its very head. 
 
 " It is shameful !" he cried indignantly. 
 
 "And, if, in discharging my painful duty,
 
 276 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 I have overstepped the bounds of modesty, I 
 humbly beg your Majesty's forgiveness," Anna 
 went on to say. 
 
 And she cast her eyes so meekly to the 
 ground, and looked so demure and saint-like, 
 that Alexander was quite carried away by 
 admiration. 
 
 ^' On the contrary, your Highness, I honour 
 you for your courage and honesty," he said 
 warmly: '' you are a noble woman; one of the 
 noblest women it has ever been my happiness 
 to meet." 
 
 In his excitement, Alexander had raised his 
 voice. He was growing deaf, and, like other 
 deaf men, did not know at times how loud he 
 spoke. His wife heard these words, and saw 
 the look of admiration which accompanied 
 them. A strange sickening at her heart : was 
 the shameful past going to be renewed, 
 then ? 
 
 ^' I humbly thank your Majesty for your 
 generous appreciation," answered Anna, ac- 
 tually blushing. ^' Oh, if your Majesty only 
 knew what a trial it has been to me to speak ; 
 if you knew how it is only a solemn and over- 
 whelming sense of duty to my God as well as 
 to your Majesty that has enabled me to speak
 
 THE INTRIGUE. 277 
 
 at all; — yon would understand the relief which 
 youi' Majesty's approbation has given me." 
 
 ^' I understand it all — better than you may 
 imagine," said Alexander, lowering his tone 
 again : ^^ I always feel more than I say ; and 
 I thank God that I have such a noble woman 
 in my dominions." 
 
 And Alexander did reallj^ feel more than he 
 said : his soul was for the moment absorbed in 
 admiration of the noble and generous Princess 
 Donskaya. Such disinterested pity for the op- 
 pressed ! Such courage ! Such honesty ! 
 
 '^ God grant that all your subjects may be 
 as loyal and true !" exclaimed Anna piously. 
 
 ^^Amen!" said Alexander. Then, after a 
 short pause, he added : '' But I wonder that 
 his highness. Count Baranovitch, has not 
 spoken to me about this." 
 
 ^^Your Majesty must remember, that, of 
 late, your precious health has been such as to 
 make the most faithful servant pause before 
 he burdened you with any painful news." 
 
 " True ! " said the Emperor. '^ All the more 
 honour to you who could entertain a loftier 
 sense of duty." 
 
 '^The belief that your glorious reputation 
 for clemency was being compromised and tar-
 
 Z/5 HELEl^ CAMEEON. 
 
 nished strengthened my resolve to speak to 
 yonr Majesty." 
 
 Another clever stroke on the part of Anna. 
 'No point on which the Emperor was more 
 touchy than that of the '^ clemency" of his 
 reign. Alas for Eussia ! The '^ clemency " of 
 Count Baranovitch's government ! But ostrich 
 popped his head into the bush, and saw nothing 
 of what was going on. And yet he was really 
 merciful. He hated cruelty from his inmost 
 soul; and, as much as head-hiding ostrich 
 could do, set his face against it in all its forms. 
 Ko man living more anxious about his place in 
 history : he was honestly proud of the name 
 which he had earned as a merciful ruler ; and 
 there was no personal calamity which he 
 dreaded more than the tarnishing of that 
 name. His heart therefore answered at once 
 to the chord which Anna had so cunningly 
 struck. 
 
 '^ It is disgraceful !" he cried warmly. 
 
 The Princess Donskaya was watching him 
 narrowly ; and, seeing the richness of the vein 
 she had hit upon, she resolved to work it a 
 little f mother. The next haul was just as suc- 
 cessful as the last. 
 
 ^' There was some danger," she said, '^est
 
 THE IXTRIGUE. 279 
 
 the father of his country should acquire the 
 name of a Nero." 
 
 This speech clinched the nail. Nero was the 
 hete noire of Alexander's historical gallery. His 
 excitement grew. 
 
 '' It is too bad ! " he cried. 
 
 Anna judged that this vein had been worked 
 long enough, and went on to open another. 
 But, like a wise engineer, she resolved to sur- 
 vey the ground before she set to work. 
 
 "Will your Majesty allow me to speak 
 freely ?" she meekly asked. 
 
 '^ By all means." 
 
 "Your Majesty has doubtless heard of secret 
 societies, and plots to upset your Majesty's 
 government." 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " I have reason to believe that these socie- 
 ties are greatly encouraged by Count Golovin's 
 cruelties." 
 
 Another "palpable hit." In his latter years, 
 Alexander dreaded the secret societies as much 
 as he had encouraged them at first. He grew 
 nervous and fidgety : indeed, he began to feel 
 alarmed. So he said anxiously : 
 
 " I must speak about it to his highness, 
 Count Baranovitch."
 
 280 HELEN CAMEROj^. 
 
 Now, this was just what Anna had all along 
 wanted him to say. 
 
 '' Youi' Majesty will not mention my name," 
 she said with some anxiety. 
 
 " Certainly not," answered Alexander. 
 
 Anna was fully satisfied: her end was gained, 
 as far as Count Golovin was concerned ; and, 
 when the end was gained, she was not in the 
 habit of wasting any more words u23on the 
 means. She knew when to rest as well as 
 when to work. So she let well alone. 
 
 But she had another end in view ; about 
 which she was still more anxious. I scarcely 
 know how to describe it — so delicate is the 
 subject. In few words, she wanted to gain 
 such a hold on the Emperor's mind as to be- 
 come virtually Empress of Eussia. Such things 
 had been done in the past ; and why not in the 
 present day ? Why not take a leaf out of the 
 book of the Maintenons and the Pompadours ? 
 The price ? She would pay no more than she 
 chose. 
 
 This end she had steadily in view through- 
 out the whole of the foregoing scene. While 
 pleading against Golovin, she had really been 
 pleading for herself; and she had done it so 
 well, that the Emperor could not find words
 
 THE INTEIGUE. 281 
 
 strong enough to express his admiration. She 
 now ventured a step farther : she had been 
 laying the train ; and she now went on to 
 fire it. 
 
 ^' Your Majesty's gracious reception of my 
 humble suggestion emboldens me to speak on 
 another point," she said. 
 
 Somehow there was a subtle change in her : 
 her looks, her tone, her manner, all betokened 
 that she was no longer merely the loyal subject, 
 but the tender friend. The change, though 
 subtle, was unmistakable. Alexander felt it 
 in a moment. He glanced at her uneasily, and 
 asked : 
 
 " What is that, your Highness ?" 
 
 '^ I would implore your Majesty to listen to 
 the counsel which her Majesty gave you this 
 morning." 
 
 ''To see more company? " 
 
 '' Yes, your Majesty : your Majesty's life is 
 too precious to be lightly risked," said Anna. 
 
 She looked bewitching : her face beamed 
 with reverence ; and it seemed as if she were 
 ready to lay down her life for his. 
 
 '' Ah, your Highness," answered Alexander, 
 with genuine meekness, '' my life has been too 
 worthless to be mentioned in such terms."
 
 282 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Anna went on cunningly to take him on his 
 blind side : she drew the very distinction which 
 the Emperor himself was accustomed to draw. 
 Putting on her devoutest tone, she said : 
 
 " It may be in the sight of God, but not in 
 the sight of man. Believe me, there are 
 millions who adore you as their best earthly 
 friend; and pray God, night and morning, to 
 spare your precious life for many, many years 
 to come." 
 
 And Anna looked as if she adored him too ; 
 and glanced upward piously, as if she were 
 praying too. It was not in human nature, at 
 least, not in Alexander's nature, to be wholly 
 proof against such a battery. He looked down 
 on the bewitching princess gently, and said : 
 
 ^' But I have no taste for company." 
 
 *^ I can quite understand that," answered 
 Anna softly : ^' but surely your Majesty may 
 find some one who can sympathise with you ; 
 who can cheer you in your loneliness, and feel 
 delight in sharing all your sorrows and youi- 
 cares." 
 
 " Ah, your Highness, men are so cold and 
 unfeeling ! " 
 
 At that moment, Anna certainly looked most 
 bewitching. And she turned her whole battery
 
 THE INTRIGUE. 283 
 
 of looks and tones upon Majesty, as slie 
 said: 
 
 <^ But women ? " 
 
 She spoke almost in a whisper ; but there 
 was a meaning in her tone, which sent those 
 little words straight to Alexander's heart. 
 His eyes beamed with joy : a new and bright 
 idea flashed across his mind. He tui-ned 
 eagerly to Anna. 
 
 " Are you thinking of any one in particular?" 
 he asked in a low tone. 
 
 I do not know whether it was a part of her 
 original plan, or whether she was really puzzled 
 by an unlooked-for question ; but so it was, 
 that Anna blushed, fell into a state of charming 
 disorder, and stammered out a very vague 
 answer. 'No sooner were the words out of 
 Alexander's mouth, than he felt that that was 
 too public a place for so delicate a conversa- 
 tion. 
 
 '' Oh, your Majesty, if I could only hope 
 that my feeble words have had some weight 
 with you !" exclaimed Anna. 
 
 " I shall have some other opportunity of 
 speaking with you on this subject," answered 
 the Emperor, "when there will be no danger 
 of our being overheard."
 
 284 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 And Alexander passed on, and soon took his 
 leave. 
 
 Oh, the joy which those last words instilled 
 into Anna's heart ! Private assignation ? She 
 was fully satisfied with the progress she had 
 made : her hint had fallen as seed into the 
 Emperor's mind ; and it would by-and-by take 
 root, spring up, and bring forth fitting fruit. 
 
 But what was the Empress Elizabeth think- 
 ing all this time ? She had seen all the tender 
 looks which had been exchanged; she had 
 overheard some warm and glowing words which 
 her husband had uttered. I think there was 
 none of her train but belieA^ed that the shame- 
 ful past was about to be renewed. Could she 
 escape the general belief? Patience, thou 
 long-suffering heart !
 
 COUNT GOLOVIN. 285 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 COUNT GOLOVIN. 
 
 " Frovost. It is a bitter deputy. 
 
 Luke. Not so, not so : his life is parallel' d 
 
 Even with the stroke and line of his great justice : 
 
 He doth with holy abstinence subdue 
 
 That in himself which he spurs on his power 
 
 To qualify in others. Were he meal'd 
 
 With that which he corrects, then were he tyrannous ; 
 
 But this being so, he's just." 
 
 Shakspere : Measure for Measure. 
 
 There was another who was anxiously watch- 
 ing the interview between Alexander and 
 Anna. The Empress-mother could feel for her 
 daughter-in-law. Ah, dear old lady, a long 
 and weary time she had had of it during her 
 own husband's life. The Emperor Paul was a 
 brute. His fii'st wife had lived only three or 
 four years after her marriage ; and many be- 
 lieved that his cruel treatment had hastened 
 her end. Alexander's mother knew better 
 how to manage her half-cracked spouse ; but 
 it had cost her many a pang, and had nearly 
 crushed the life out of her. 
 
 At length, there had come a son to cheer 
 her heart : and it was Alexander, her first-
 
 2S6 HELEX CA:a:ERGX. 
 
 born, the joy of her heart. Alas, in his very 
 babyhood, he had been snatched away from 
 her : not by the kindly arms of holy death, 
 whose rest is calm and peaceful ; but by the 
 stiu'dy arms of that frightful ogress, the Em- 
 press Catherine, her mother-in-law, who meant 
 to bring up the child, away from his father 
 and mother, according to her own notion of 
 things, which 'differed fi'om decent people's on 
 one or two points. The young mother was 
 seldom allowed to see her son ; and all free 
 motherly and filial fellowship was sternly 
 checked. Her honest German heart had re- 
 belled against this cruel arrangement ; but she 
 too, like her daughter-in-law in after years, 
 had learnt in time to bend her neck meekly 
 to the yoke. Years passed away : son after 
 son had been born to her ; and son after son 
 had been snatched away as soon as born. The 
 heart- stricken mother had meekly bowed her 
 head. 
 
 At length, the hour of deliverance came : 
 frightful ogress went to her own place — 
 wherever that may be. Mother and children 
 were reunited. Who can tell the joy of that 
 mother's heart, when she found in her eldest 
 son a tenderness of filial love which his
 
 COUNT GOLOYIX. 287 
 
 wretched training had not eaten out ? She 
 was ready to cry out : ^' Let us be merry ; for 
 this my son was dead, and is alive again — was 
 lost, and is found." 
 
 Alas, poor mother's heart ! Still keener 
 sorrow was in store for her. Who can say 
 what a sword pierced thi'ough her heart, when 
 her darling boy had to wade through her hus- 
 band's blood to mount his throne : when the 
 father was murdered to make room for the son; 
 and, above all, when that son's surroundings, 
 combined with his own weakness, forced him 
 to raise his father's murderers to the chief 
 offices of the state ? There be tragedies played 
 in high places, which we glibly talk of as 
 ^^ public events," and little reck the ''private 
 feelings " which they touch. The mother still 
 bore on, but was no longer dumb. Loudly 
 she proclaimed her horror of the deed. Little 
 cause had she to regret it on her own account: 
 little cause had her husband ever given her to 
 bewail his fate. Still she had been his wife : 
 she had lain in his bosom, and shared his 
 home. She was the mother of his sons; and 
 she had been true and loyal to her childi'en's 
 father from first to last. And she denounced 
 the dastardly murder in no measured terms.
 
 288 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 Count PaUen, the chief of the murderers, per- 
 suaded Alexander to remonstrate with his 
 mother. But the mother was firm. ^^ My 
 son," she said, ^'you must choose between 
 Pahlen and me." The son made his choice : 
 in two hours, Pahlen and the other murderers 
 were on their way to banishment. 
 
 From that time, life rolled on calmly over 
 the mother's head. Alexander proved himself 
 the best of sons : tender, loving, dutiful 
 There was only one point in which he had 
 grieved her heart ; and that was his forsaking 
 the wife of his youth. The gentle Elizabeth 
 had soon won her way to her mother-in-law's 
 heart. The good old lady felt for the wronged 
 wife as if she had been her own daughter. 
 And, now that the wrong of those bygone 
 days seemed likely to be renewed, her kindly 
 heart again turned toward the patient sufferer. 
 Her anxiety was so great, that, after a while, 
 she followed her son. 
 
 She found him pacing his private cabinet in 
 great excitement : a very unusual thing for 
 him. 
 
 "My son, what is this?" she asked anxi- 
 ously : " what has moved you so ?" 
 
 "It is a political affaii', mother," answered
 
 COUNT GOLOVII^. 289 
 
 Alexander courteously: ''I have sent for 
 Count Baranovitch." 
 
 ^'Ancl have you been discussing political 
 matters with her highness, Princess Don- 
 skaya?" 
 
 '' Yes, mother." 
 
 ^^ Is she not somewhat too young a coun- 
 sellor ?" asked the Empress-mother, looking 
 anxiously at her son. 
 
 She was about to follow up this question 
 with another, still more searching, when the 
 arrival of Count Baranovitch put a stop to 
 further questioning ; and she was forced to 
 retire. 
 
 It was not often the Emperor sent for Count 
 Baranovitch; and therefore there was some 
 excitement in the Prime Minister's manner as 
 he entered the cabinet. What was the matter? 
 Majesty heard any fresh news about the secret 
 societies? Alexander's appearance did not 
 reassure him. Screw loose somewhere ! 
 
 '^ I hear complaints against Count Golovin's 
 oppression and cruelty," said the Emperor 
 warmly. 
 
 Count Baranovitch was taken aback. 
 
 " Erom whom has your Majesty heard those 
 complaints ? " 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 290 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Ah, Anna was '^wise in her generation," 
 when she made the Emperor promise that her 
 name shoukl not be mentioned ! 
 
 '' IN'over mind from whom they come," an- 
 swered Alexander, almost angrily. '' Are they 
 trne ? That is the question." 
 
 " His Majesty is seriously angry," thought 
 Count Baranovitch : ''I must look after my- 
 self." Then aloud he said : '' May I ask your 
 Majesty what the complaints are ?" 
 
 ^' I understand that they are too notorious 
 for your Highness not to have heard of them." 
 
 '' Prince Ilinsky's case," thought the count. 
 
 ''Is there any truth in them ?" 
 
 Highness going to be wary. 
 
 '' Some truth, no doubt," he answered. 
 
 '' How is it then that your Highness has 
 not informed me of this ? " asked Alexander 
 sternly. 
 
 " I thought it not important enough to 
 trouble you with in yoiu' present state of 
 health." 
 
 ''Kot important enough!" exclaimed the 
 Emperor angrily: ''when the glory of my 
 reign is being tarnished ! Xot important 
 enough ! What does your Highness mean ? " 
 
 " Though Count Golovin may sometimes
 
 COUNT GOLOVIN. 291 
 
 err in severity, it is always on tlie side of jus- 
 tice ; and I can assure your Majesty that you 
 have not an abler or more honest official in 
 your service." 
 
 Wonderful stretch of faithfulness in high- 
 ness toward a subordinate : highness not sup- 
 posed to have too much of Lord Palmerston's 
 spirit in such matters. If he had not felt that 
 he was fighting for himself quite as much as 
 for Count Golovin, he might have been asto- 
 nished at his own courage. 
 
 '^ I hope I have many able and honest ser- 
 vants beside Count Golovin," answered Alex- 
 ander ; " and, if he cannot act without oppres- 
 sion and cruelty, you must find some one else 
 to fill his post." 
 
 '^ I hear, your Majesty." 
 
 Highness durst not say another word on be- 
 half of a man, whom he knew to be guiltless of 
 the charges brought against him, and whom 
 he believed to be the mainstay of the country 
 in its present critical state 1 But might he not 
 allude to the secret societies, and hint at the 
 important service which Count Golovin was 
 rendering in keeping them at bay ? Alas, 
 Majesty forestalled him on that point. 
 
 '' I understand, your Highness," he said,
 
 292 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 looking straight into the Prime Minister's face, 
 " that Count Golovin's cruelty is one main 
 cause of the energy and success of the secret 
 societies." 
 
 '^ After this, I must be dumb about Golo- 
 vin ! " thought the Prime Minister. 
 
 Fool that he was ! 
 
 Highness saw clearly that Count Golovin 
 must have some secret enemy at court. Who? 
 He thought of several ; but he never thought 
 of Anna. Ah, wise in her generation ! 
 
 " I see I am no longer equal to the task of 
 governing this great country" continued Alex- 
 ander solemnly ; '^ and I think it would be 
 sinful any longer to postpone my purpose of 
 abdicating." 
 
 Highness seriously alarmed. Majesty fond 
 of talking about "abdicating;" but never so 
 solemnly as now. Prime Minister's power 
 likely to end with Majesty's reign. High- 
 ness not a wonderful statesman : Majesty's 
 successor not likely to keep him in his post. 
 Highness therefore alarmed. 
 
 " Your Majesty's health has certainly not 
 been good of late," he said; "but we may 
 hope " 
 
 Majesty cut him short.
 
 COUNT GOLOVIN. 293 
 
 "It is not that only : I am becoming men- 
 tally and morally disqualified from governing. 
 That such abuses should creep in without the 
 slightest check ! That oppression and cruelty 
 should be practised in my name, and I be left 
 in utter ignorance ! Oh, your Highness, it 
 was not right !" 
 
 Highness forced at last, in self-defence, to 
 take up the cudgels for Count Golovin. 
 
 " I feel sure the matter has been greatly 
 exaggerated," he said ; " and, if your Majesty 
 will furnish me with the particulars, I will sift 
 them to the bottom." 
 
 "You haye already acknowledged that there 
 is some truth in it," retorted the Emperor. 
 
 Highness shut up : such the result of having 
 no principles to go upon, and going whither- 
 soever the finger-post of expediency pointed. 
 
 " If your Majesty will deign to give me the 
 authority on which you rely " he was be- 
 ginning to say. 
 
 But Majesty again cut him short. 
 
 "I do not choose to give you my autho- 
 rity I" he cried angrily. 
 
 " If your Majesty has no confidence in me, 
 I do not see how I can carry on your govern- 
 ment," said Prime Minister.
 
 294 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 Higliness as fond of using this threat as 
 Majesty that of " abdicating." Hitherto, when 
 he used it, Majesty had always assured him of 
 his '' unabated confidence." This time, how- 
 ever, Majesty did no such thing, but startled 
 highness by saying : 
 
 "Just what I think, your Highness. Hither- 
 to I have felt that God has placed me in this 
 awful position, and that, till He discharge me 
 from it, I have no right to give it up. But 
 now I begin to feel, that, when I lose the 
 power of fulfilling the duty, it amounts to a 
 discharge from the post." 
 
 " I must not give up Goloyin," thought the 
 count. 
 
 "I have quieted my conscience with the 
 thought that I had your Highness to rely on," 
 continued the Emperor; '^but, now that I 
 hear of such oppression and cruelty carried on 
 in my name, I see that it is indeed time for 
 me to give way to a Sovereign who can per- 
 sonally attend to the government of the em- 
 pire. I will visit my brother I^icholas to- 
 morrow morning, and announce my purpose." 
 
 This looked like business : the first step in 
 carrying out the purpose, which hitherto Ma- 
 jesty had only talked about. Highness saw
 
 COUNT GOLOVIX. 295 
 
 that there must be no more shilly-shallying on 
 his part : that he must grapple with the matter 
 in right earnest, and take his stand on some- 
 thing like reality ; in short, that, at the cost of 
 eating his own words, he must stand by Count 
 Golovin like a man. But he began his task 
 warily, and by slow approaches. 
 
 ^^Your Majesty has mentioned the secret 
 societies," he said: "I have reason to believe 
 that the purity and justice of Count Golovin' s 
 administration has done more than any tiling 
 else to baffle the conspirators." 
 
 '' And yet you would not defend him just 
 now ! " exclaimed the Emperor. ^' Oh, your 
 Highness !" 
 
 If highness could have blushed through his 
 parchment skin, he would have blushed now. 
 What little conscience he had in him smote 
 him for throwing Count Golovin overboard so 
 readily : especially when he saw how little he had 
 gained by his shabby trick; how much stronger 
 his ground would have been if he had stuck by 
 him manfully from the first ; in short, how 
 much wiser it would have been to take his 
 stand on the firm rock of principle, instead of 
 shifting about among the quicksands of expe- 
 diency. So, by way of apology, he said :
 
 296 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^^ Your Majesty did not seem in a mood to 
 listen to any explanation." 
 
 ^' Bnt how about his cruelty ? " 
 
 ^' What your Majesty calls his cruelty I call 
 his necessary severity; and that, I believe, has 
 done more than anything else to silence the 
 discontented." 
 
 '' How ? " 
 
 " Because that severity has always been used 
 against injustice and wrong : I have never yet 
 heard of a case in which he has been severe to 
 the innocent." 
 
 ^'What becomes of the complaints, then?" 
 
 ''Those complaints, which I have investi- 
 gated, have all proved to be misrepresenta- 
 tions : if your Majesty will deign to give me 
 the particulars which have reached your ears, I 
 will at once institute an inquiry ; and I have 
 not the slightest doubt that they will turn out 
 to be, what all the rest have proved, mere dis- 
 tortions of the truth, and exaggerations of 
 necessary acts of justice." 
 
 Majesty puzzled : too fair not to admit that 
 justice to Count Golovin called for an investi- 
 gation ; but, on the other hand, hampered by 
 his promise not to mention Anna's name. 
 
 '' I cannot give up my authority," he said at
 
 COUNT GOLOYIX. 297 
 
 length ; ^' because I have pledged my word not 
 to do so." 
 
 ^' If your Majesty's informants required 
 such a pledge, they must have doubted their 
 ability to prove the charge," answered the count. 
 
 Majesty more puzzled still. 
 
 " I thought the complaints were notorious," 
 he said, after a pause. 
 
 '' Yes, your Majesty, it is notorious that 
 Count Golovin is feared and hated by the 
 guilty and the corrupt ; but it is just as noto- 
 rious that he is reverenced and blessed by the 
 innocent and the oppressed." 
 
 ''That is a new view of the case alto- 
 gether." 
 
 ''It is the true view, your Majesty." 
 
 Eefreshing to see how strong even the weak 
 andwavering Count Baranovitch could become, 
 when he took his stand on truth and right. 
 Highness might have taken this ground from 
 the first ; and then he would have been stronger 
 still. 
 
 "It is due to his highness. Count Golovin, 
 that I should suspend my judgment," said the 
 conscientious Emperor at last. 
 
 " I think so too," replied Prime Minister, 
 smiliDg grimly.
 
 298 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '' And yet you would not defend liim just 
 now ! " repeated Alexander. '' Oh, your 
 Highness ! " 
 
 If highness blushed within, mottled parch- 
 ment skin again concealed it from without. 
 But I fear he did not blush. Indeed, he went 
 on to say, with triumphant look and air not at 
 all akin to blushing : 
 
 "' But I have not done with Count Goloyin 
 yet. Youi^ Majesty, it is owing solely to his 
 unrivalled energy and skill that there is not a 
 rebellion this very day." 
 
 ^' To-day ! " cried Alexander, horror-struck. 
 
 " Yes, your Majesty, the Union had fixed on 
 this day for a rising ; but Count Golovin found 
 it out as usual, and has defeated all their plans." 
 
 The '^ Union^'''^ the name of the secret society, 
 with branches throughout the country, formed 
 for the purpose of upsetting the government of 
 Alexander. 
 
 '' Why not tell me all this before ? " asked 
 the Emperor. 
 
 '^ The danger was over ; and it was not 
 worth while to trouble your Majesty in your 
 present state of health." 
 
 There was a long pause, at the end of which 
 Alexander said :
 
 COUNT GOLOVIX. 299 
 
 '' Your Highness, all this makes it the more 
 important that I should abdicate at once." 
 
 " On the contrarjr, your Majesty, it makes it 
 more important that the commencement of a 
 new reign should be postponed as long as pos- 
 sible," answered the count. 
 
 " In what way ?" 
 
 ^' The leaders of the Union have been so 
 disheartened by Count Goloyin's repeated de- 
 tection of their plans, that they have resolved 
 to postpone the insurrection to the end of your 
 Majesty's reign." 
 
 '' How do you know that ? " 
 
 " Count Golovin has found it out." 
 
 ^^ Why, Count Golovin seems to know every- 
 thing ! " exclaimed Alexander, not without a 
 touch of admiration, and then added with 
 much feeling : '' It seems that I am indebted 
 to Count Golovin for much ; perhaps even for 
 my life and throne." 
 
 '' Undoubtedly, your Majesty ; and allow 
 me to assure you, as I have already done, that 
 you have not an abler or more faithful servant." 
 
 Soon after. Count Baranovitch went away ; 
 and the Emperor was left alone, to reflect on 
 all that he had heard that day. Well, there 
 was something to think about.
 
 300 HELEN ca:merox. 
 
 And so Count Golovin was safe for tlie 
 present : and, with him, Captain MaleenoYsky's 
 chance of recovering his estate ; and, with 
 that, the hope of liis being able to make an 
 offer to Helen Cameron. Ay, for the present I 
 Eut how long would that safety last ? Count 
 Golovin' s enemies were bitter and powerful, 
 and, when one intrigue failed, would easily 
 form another : above all, there was that arch- 
 intriguer, Anna, Princess Donskaya, who 
 had never yet been beaten in any serious work 
 she undertook. On the whole, therefore, Cap- 
 tain Maleenovsky had a bad look-out.
 
 WORKIXG undergrou:n"d. 301 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 WOEKING UNDERGROUND. 
 
 " Well said, old mole ! Canst work i' the ground so fast ? " 
 
 Shakspere : Hamlet. 
 
 Count Baranovitch was wholly unfitted for his 
 post. Ignorant on most subjects; knowing no 
 language but his own ; narrow and bigoted to 
 a degree which we can scarcely understand in 
 England ; — it is not to be wondered at that he 
 failed. To tell the truth, his goyernnient had 
 become a tyranny of the worst kind. Under 
 the mildest of emperors, the most crushing 
 despotism was driving the Eussians to revolt. 
 
 But, bad as this was, it was not the worst. 
 If Count Baranovitch had carried out some 
 principle, however narrow or bigoted, he might 
 have done his country some service. But the 
 fact was, he had no settled political principles 
 at all. The root-fault, which lay at the bottom 
 of his government, was that it had no leading 
 star of any kind. Xo one could ever guess 
 beforehand how he would act in any given case. 
 By turns he was gentle and cruel. His enemies 
 maintained that he was gentle to the strong and
 
 02 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 cruel to the weak : if you were strong enougli 
 to bully him, you might succeed ; but woe be 
 to you (said they) if you were friendless and 
 weak ! Under such a rule, no wonder that 
 everything went wi'ong. Those who could 
 discern the signs of the times saw that some 
 outbreak must come, sooner or later, to clear 
 the political atmosphere. This outbreak was 
 in truth being quietly got ready underground : 
 in spite of all precautions, the Union of the 
 Public Good was preparing to blow up his 
 government. 
 
 The following day Count Baranovitch had 
 another interview with the Emperor. As he 
 was leaving the private cabinet, Alexander put 
 a sealed letter into his hand, and begged him 
 to deliver it to the Princess Donskaya. IS'ow 
 the report of what had passed between Alex- 
 ander and Anna, the day before, had spread at 
 court, exaggerated, as it naturally was, in 
 passing from mouth to mouth. Count Barano- 
 vitch was not sure that he was not intrusted 
 with a letter relating to a private assignation. 
 JSTevertheless he took it, only too thankful that 
 it had been intrusted to no other hands. Just 
 think of a Prime Minister becoming the willing 
 go-between in a private assignation! He
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. 303 
 
 argued, that, if there were any truth in the 
 report, it would be as well for him to be on the 
 best of terms with such a powerful personage 
 as Anna would then become. So, putting the 
 letter into his pocket, he walked on to the 
 rooms which she occupied in the Winter Palace 
 as lady-in-waiting to the Empress. 
 
 On his way there, it struck him that he might 
 as well consult her about Count Golovin. It 
 was not the first time he had consulted her on 
 political matters. He had always found her 
 shrewd and worldly-wise ; had often followed 
 her advice, and had never repented doing so. 
 The fact was, he did not like the chief of the 
 secret police. He admired his talents, and 
 relied on his untiring watchfulness and zeal. 
 But their views, their modes of thinking and 
 working, were utterly unlike. Chief of secret 
 police too unbending; too "romantic'' and 
 ''enthusiastic" in his resolve to see justice 
 done ! Prime Minister often perplexed by his 
 insisting on punishing some great nobleman 
 who could do the government harm : as often 
 annoyed by his dogged refusal to listen to any 
 pleading, from himself and other members of the 
 government, on behalf of their guilty friends. 
 In short, Count Golovin "necessary," but a
 
 304 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '^ necessary evil ; " and, if Prime Minister conld 
 have found another man of equal power, but of 
 softer moukl, to fill his post, he would have 
 kicked present chief out. 
 
 Full of these thoughts, he entered Anna's 
 rooms. He found her busy with her dress- 
 maker, discussing the merits of a new dress : 
 so that many minutes passed before she had 
 leisure to listen to Prime Minister. The shadow 
 of her coming triumph already fell on the 
 handsome coquette : there was a growing inso- 
 lence in her tone and manner which somewhat 
 marred the effect of her saintly look, and might 
 have galled a higher-minded m.an than Count 
 Baranovitch. There was a time when Prime 
 Minister used to keep handsome coquette wait- 
 ing : but now the tables were turned ; and 
 handsome coquette simply paid Prime Minister 
 in his own coin. ^N'evertheless Prime Minister 
 bore it with becoming meekness : might not all 
 Eussia be at handsome coquette's feet in a few 
 days? When the weighty business between 
 her and the dressmaker was over, Anna sent 
 the woman away, and turned to Count Barano- 
 vitch with her fascinating smile. But highness 
 was so absorbed with the thought of Count 
 Golovin, that he forgot all about the fateful
 
 WORKING UNDERGEOrND. 305 
 
 letter lying in his pocket, and opened at once 
 on the subject nearest his heart at that moment. 
 He said : 
 
 ^' It is hard to know what to do when placed 
 between two fires. Here has Count Goloyin 
 been pestering me this morning, as he has done 
 for months past : insisting on an inquiry into 
 Prince Ilinsky's treatment of his serfs, and 
 actually threatening to resign if it is not made 
 at once ! And here is his Majesty talking of 
 the complaints which he has heard against 
 Count Golovin ! One is nearly at one's wits' 
 end between the two ! " 
 
 '' Complaints against Count Golovin ! " cried 
 Anna, with well-feigned astonishment : '' why, 
 I thought his pious highness was immaculate." 
 
 Por some cause or other, Anna fancied that 
 it would be better for her not to seem Count 
 Golovin' s enemy before the Prime Minister. I 
 can't explain her reasoning on the matter : I 
 never could enter into all her subtleties, and 
 sometimes thought that she loved a crooked 
 policy for its own sake. There are those who 
 love darkness rather than light ; and, it may 
 be, that she really preferred to work in the 
 dark. Whatever the motive, she had made 
 up her mind to hide her enmity from Count 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 308 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 BaranoYitcli. He looked at her keenly for a 
 moment, and answered : 
 
 " So tliinks not his Majesty." 
 ''But complaints ahout what?" 
 " About his oppression and cruelty." 
 ''His highness Count Golovin oppressive 
 and cruel !" exclaimed Anna again, with well- 
 acted amazement, lifting her eyes to the ceiling : 
 " I thought he was sternly just, and gracious 
 withal." 
 
 " His Majesty has heard a different account." 
 It would have been hard for a man of greater 
 insight than Count Baranovitch to pierce 
 through the mask which Anna, Princess Don- 
 skaya, had put upon her face. With pious 
 horror she cried out : 
 
 " What IS the world coming to ?" 
 "We all have our enemies, my dear," an- 
 swered the count. 
 
 " From whom does he receive those com- 
 plaints?" asked Anna. 
 
 Through her look of astonishment, a keener 
 observer than Count Baranovitch might have 
 detected a feeling of anxiety. Had Majesty 
 kept his promise not to mention her name ? 
 
 "That is more than I can tell you, child," 
 answered the Prime Minister: "his Majesty
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. 307 
 
 will not inform me ; but I am determined to 
 know — that I can tell yon." 
 
 ''I see I can trust his Majesty's word," 
 thought Anna. 
 
 And, in spite of the mask she wore, a well- 
 contented smile passed across her face. For 
 who can always act? Count Baranovitch 
 detected the smile. 
 
 ''Well, what is your Highness smiling at?" 
 he asked. 
 
 " At your cool determination to find out what 
 his Majesty has refused to tell you," answered 
 Anna, without a moment's faltering. 
 
 " I tell you what," said the count : " I 2vill 
 know it." 
 
 "Ay, but how?" 
 
 Anna was beginning to feel somewhat uneasy. 
 
 " By working on his Majesty's conscience," 
 answered Count Baranovitch, in a rather 
 pompous manner. 
 
 " On his Majesty's conscience ? " 
 
 " Yes : I cross-questioned his Majesty ; and 
 I found that there was nothing tangible about 
 the charges." 
 
 " But, pray, what has all this to do with his 
 Majesty's conscience ? " asked Anna anxiously. 
 
 " He is too conscientious not to see, sooner
 
 308 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 or later, tliat it would be wi'ong to shelter the 
 dastardly slanderers who have poisoned his 
 ears with such empty rubbish." 
 
 ''Ha, ha, ha! That is good!" 
 
 Anna was now in a flutter of anxiety. The 
 worst thing that could happen to her would 
 be to forfeit the character for straightfor- 
 wardness which she had gained in the Empe- 
 ror's eyes. What if Prime Minister were to 
 come to an understanding with Majesty about 
 her ? She was, therefore, becoming excited ; 
 and, as was not uncommon with her, the cur- 
 rent, dammed up by barriers of prudence, 
 frothed and bubbled over in loud bursts of 
 laughter. 
 
 ''And what are you laughing at now?" 
 asked Baranovitch, somewhat testily. 
 
 " At your threatened attack on his Majesty's 
 conscience," answered Anna: "had you not 
 better take a crowbar with you, in case argu- 
 ments should fail ? " 
 
 And she laughed louder than ever. 
 
 " But was it not mean and dastardly in 
 them to poison his Majesty's ears with such 
 lies?" 
 
 "Oh, very!" 
 
 "And ought they not to be punished?"
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. 309 
 
 ^^ Decidedly — if you can catch them ! " 
 
 '' Catch them ? No fear about that ! '' 
 
 '' It seems to me that you are cooking the 
 goose before you've killed it," said Amia, 
 becoming still more anxious. 
 
 " No, no, your Highness ; I am only beating 
 about to catch the goose." 
 
 " But what is this case of Prince Ilin- 
 sky?" 
 
 None knew better than Anna. Prince 
 Ilinsky, having heard of Count Golovin's 
 efforts to bring him to the bar of justice, had 
 come up to Petersburg to look after his own 
 interests. He was an old friend of Anna's 
 father; and, only three days before, he had 
 called on her to secure her influence with 
 Majesty. 
 
 ^^ Why, it seems that one of Count Golovin's 
 agents, Marlinsky or Baranovitch by name 
 (these spies have as many aliases as the thieves 
 they hunt down), was at Prince Ilinsky' s 
 estate at Groozeno, when the prince was knout- 
 ing one of his serfs ; and it turned out that 
 the poor fellow's only fault was his having 
 refused to give up his daughter to Prince 
 Ilinsky for a certain purpose — you will under- 
 stand what."
 
 310 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 "" But I thought that a nobleman could do 
 what he liked with his serfs," Anna put in, 
 
 ^*Yes, to a certain extent; but this was 
 overstepping all bounds of propriety." 
 
 ^^Well?" 
 
 ^^ A certain Ensign Bibikoy had just come 
 in with despatches from Petersbui'g; and, 
 being a rash, enthusiastic young fellow, what 
 does he do but rush in between Prince Ilinsky 
 and his prey ? " 
 
 '' Intolerable impertinence I " exclaimed 
 Anna. ^' To think that a great nobleman can- 
 not do what he likes with his own, but every 
 petty officer in the army is to insult him in his 
 own house, and before his own servants ! " 
 
 Could Count Baranovitch guess that Anna 
 had known Ensign Yakov Bibikov from her 
 very childhood? That his father had been 
 her father's most intimate friend for many 
 years ? That, on the very occasion they were 
 talking of, this very Ensign Bibikov had gone 
 on from Prince Ilinsky' s house to make an 
 offer of marriage to her sister Elena ? Well, 
 certainly he could not : still he fancied that 
 she knew more of the case than she cared to 
 acknowledge. He looked at her keenly, and 
 said :
 
 WORKING UNDERGROrND. 311 
 
 '' You know something about the affair, mv 
 child?" 
 
 ^' IN'othing but what you have told me." 
 
 Anna spoke as calmly as if she had been 
 giving utterance to the most undoubted truth. 
 
 ^' I said nothing about the presence of 
 servants." 
 
 ^^Why, of course, there must have been 
 servants present," answered Anna, somewhat 
 hastily. 
 
 For the first time, she was just slightly 
 flurried. She had made a false step. She 
 laughed, it is true ; but she resolved, never- 
 theless, to be more careful, because the worth 
 of her running criticisms would dejiend on 
 their seeming to be suggested by his own 
 statement. 
 
 '^ Why must there have been servants pre- 
 sent?" asked the Prime Minister eagerly, 
 looking keenly at Anna. 
 
 " He would not flog the fellow with his own 
 hand." 
 
 ^^ Wouldn't he, though? He is capable of 
 it, I can assui'e you. You don't know the 
 man." 
 
 Oh, didn't she ? 
 
 " Well, and what followed ? "
 
 312 HELEN CAMEEON. 
 
 '' The ensign got knonted, and the prince 
 insulted him." 
 
 ^'Served him right!" exclaimed Anna em- 
 phatically. '^ What business had he to inter- 
 fere ? " 
 
 '' And then Count Golovin's agent interfered, 
 and got the poor young officer out of the 
 prince's clutches." 
 
 ^^I would have left him to his fate," said 
 Anna, almost savagely. ^' But the- impudence 
 of these spies is past endurance : they fancy 
 they can do what they like on noblemen's 
 estates. Eeally, your Highness, you ought to 
 put some check upon them." 
 
 '^ Count Golovin's agent made some inquiries 
 in the village about Prince Ilinsky's treatment 
 of his serfs, and he found that the state of 
 things was frightful." 
 
 " All I can say is, that many of these serfs 
 are exceedingly provoking and troublesome," 
 said Anna. 
 
 ^^ Count Golovin is determined to protect 
 the poor wretches. He has been pestering me 
 about it the whole of this past year. Plague 
 take the man! He worries the life out of me." 
 
 '' And what have you done ? " 
 
 " I have managed, till now, to put him off
 
 WORKIXa UNDERGROUND. oio 
 
 with, yagiie promises. But he tells me, this 
 morning, that he will be trilled with no 
 longer ; in short, that, if Prince Ilinsky is not 
 punished, he will resign." 
 
 ^^ And what are you going to do ? " 
 
 ^^ I am so bothered between the two, that I 
 
 scarcely know what to do. The take 
 
 them both ! Here has Prince Ilinsky, too, 
 been with me this morning, threatening fire 
 and vengeance. If he were a poor devil of a 
 small landowner, I should quietly hand him 
 over to Count Golovin's justice. Being what 
 he is, he may do us a world of mischief." 
 
 There was silence for a few moments, and 
 then Anna spoke, in an earnest tone which 
 quite deceived the Prime Minister : 
 
 " Count Golovin is a glorious man," she 
 said ; ^' but it seems to me that you find him a 
 very troublesome master — servant, I should 
 have said." 
 
 Anna had touched a sore point, and the 
 Prime Minister winced unmistakably. 
 
 '^ Yes, he is troublesome at times," he 
 answered, groaning inwardly at the thought : 
 '' and the worst of it is, that he gets romantic 
 notions into his head, and nothing I can say 
 can beat them out of him."
 
 314 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 Anna's green-grey, cat-like eyes had been 
 jealously watching Prime Minister's face. 
 She saw that she had hit upon a fruitful soil, 
 and she made up her mind to till it thoroughly. 
 She went on to speak of Count Golovin in a 
 tone of admiration which would have deceived 
 most people : 
 
 ^'He is too great a man to act as a servant 
 under any man," she said. ^'He was made to 
 be master wherever he went. What a glorious 
 Prime Minister he would make !" 
 
 Anna must have studied Count Baranovitch 
 carefully, and known his weaknesses by heart. 
 Her cunning speech roused him up into a wild 
 j&t of jealousy. I^ever before had he felt so 
 strong a wish to get rid of Count Golovin. 
 
 '' I sometimes think that he fancies himself 
 Prime Minister already !" he cried, grinding 
 his teeth with rage. 
 
 Anna was playing with him as the cat plays 
 with the mouse. 
 
 ^' And well he might," she continued, heap- 
 ing fuel on the raging fire. ^' Men will find 
 their level, you know. He, who is made to 
 be master, tvill be master : your calling him a 
 servant will not make him one. If he is a 
 master in right; he will be a master in fact."
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. 315 
 
 ^'The take liim!" exclaimed Count 
 
 Baranovitch, unable to control himself any 
 longer. 
 
 " Count Golovin will command, wherever you 
 may place him. Ah, he is a glorious man !" 
 
 '^The worst of it is, one can't get rid of him ! " 
 
 At this point, Anna put forth perhaps the 
 highest effort of her genius in the histrionic 
 line. She stared at Count Baranovitch in 
 seeming astonishment and alarm. 
 
 '' Get rid of him !" she cried. '' What are 
 you talking about ? Get rid of Count Golovin ! 
 Did I hear you aright ?" 
 
 " Well, child — and suppose you did V 
 
 '' W^hy, what could you do without him ?" 
 
 '^Ay, that's just it I There isn't another 
 man in Eussia who could handle the secret 
 police as he does." 
 
 '' Do you mean to say seriously that you 
 would get rid of him, if you could?" asked 
 Anna with an air of doubt. 
 
 '' If I could find another man to take his 
 place." 
 
 " I never was more astonished in all my life ! 
 How long has your Highness wished it?" 
 
 "For some time past." 
 
 '' I scarcely know what to say — I am so
 
 316 HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 taken by surprise. And yet I don't know that 
 I ought to be surprised : it can't be a very plea- 
 sant thing to have a master for a servant — 
 certainly not." 
 
 ''He gives himself the airs of a master too ! " 
 
 " I am so bewildered by this strange con- 
 fession of yours, that Will you give me 
 
 a few minutes just to collect my scattered 
 wits ?" said Anna, in the most helpless tone. 
 
 '' Certainly, my child." 
 
 Anna put her hand to her forehead, and 
 seemed to be '' collecting her scattered wits," as 
 a hen collects her scattered chickens. Tchook, 
 tchook ! After a few minutes' pause, she said : 
 
 '' I frankly confess that I am in a strait 
 between two. Count Golovin is a glorious 
 man ; and there is no man living whom I ad- 
 mire so much. But, still, I do not love him 
 as I love you ; and, if I could do anything to 
 help you, I would with all my heart." 
 
 '' Thank you, my child." 
 
 "The great thing is to find some one who 
 could take Count Golovin' s place : is it not, 
 your Highness?" 
 
 " That's the point." 
 
 '' A man as able, but more yielding ?" 
 
 '' There is no such man."
 
 WOEKING UNDERGHOUND. 317 
 
 '' I am not so sure of that." 
 
 The Prime Minister looked doubtfully at the 
 handsome coquette, as if he thought she might 
 be trifling with him ; but finding a thoughtful 
 look on her face, and remembering how often 
 he had proved her resources unfailing, he felt 
 a new hope springing up. 
 
 ^' If you found me such a man, I would give 
 my whole being up to you," he answered with 
 energy. 
 
 ^' I think I know such a man," said Anna, 
 quietly and thoughtfully : " Prince Gregory 
 Ilinsky." 
 
 '' I have thought of him; but he is not equal 
 to Golovin." 
 
 ^^ Who is?" 
 
 Working the former vein, you see. 
 
 "• If we were living in ordinary times, I 
 should appoint him to the post," continued 
 the count ; ''but there are dangers ahead, and 
 we want the strongest man we can get." 
 
 '' It was of those very dangers that I was 
 thinking. It was he who supplied Count 
 Golovin with a good deal of his information 
 about the Union. ^^ 
 
 Anna spoke so firmly, that Count Baranovitch 
 was staggered.
 
 318 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 ^' He has been bragging to you, I suppose." 
 
 '' No, I first beard of it from another quar- 
 ter ; but, when I spoke to him, he could not 
 deny it." 
 
 ^' Who told you?" 
 
 ^' I am not at liberty to inform your High- 
 ness," answered Anna : '^ it was told me in 
 confidence. Ask Count Golovin himself: he 
 is too honourable a man to deny the truth." 
 
 " You astonish me !" exclaimed Count Bara- 
 novitch. " I never dreamt of such a thing." 
 
 " It was Prince Gregory that informed Count 
 Golovin of the meeting of delegates on the 7th 
 of June, last year ; and he has supplied Count 
 Golovin with news, from time to time, ever 
 since." 
 
 ^' He has never hinted this to me." 
 
 '' He is too close for that." 
 
 ''Well, / am surprised ! Count Golovin go 
 to Prince Gregory for information !" exclaimed 
 the Prime Minister. " This throws a new light 
 on the whole affair." 
 
 His respect for Prince Gregory was rising 
 fast ; and his respect for Count Golovin was 
 falling at an equal rate. They were the two 
 buckets in an old-fashioned well — as the one 
 rose, the other 7ntist fall. Might not Prince
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. ol9 
 
 Gregory prove, in every sense, a better chief of 
 the secret police than Count Golovin ? 
 
 ^' Ask Count Golovin himself," continued 
 Anna. 
 
 " I will. But now, my child, what would 
 you advise me to do in this affair of Prince 
 Ilinsky's?" 
 
 '' Consent to Count Golovin' s demand," an- 
 swered Anna, smiling at her success thus far : 
 " but then, you know, you can appoint any 
 one you like to conduct the investigation ; and 
 you can give him what instructions you like." 
 
 "In fact, I can make the whole thing a 
 farce ?" 
 
 " Exactly," answered Anna, laughing aloud. 
 '' Your Highness has grasped my meaning 
 with your wonted sagacity. Give Prince Ilin- 
 sky to understand that it is a farce ; and that 
 will quiet him, you know." 
 
 But the count was far from being satisfied. 
 
 " That is all very well," he said : '^ but Golo- 
 vin will be the first to find out that it is a 
 farce ; and what am I to do then ?" 
 
 '"^ Time enough to think of that. If the 
 investigation is properly conducted," and Anna 
 smiled, "it will be months before Golovin can 
 find it out ; and who knows what may happen
 
 320 HELEN CA:ilEROK'. 
 
 in the meanwhile? By that time yon may 
 have satisfied yoni'self that Prince Gregory is 
 competent to take his place." 
 
 " Trne." 
 
 '' At all cYv nts, they will cease tormenting 
 yon for the present ; and you will gain time 
 to think about the future. If the worst come 
 to the worst, you can thi'ow the blame on the 
 gentleman who conducted the inyestigation : 
 and then you will be no worse off than now ; 
 but you will have gained all that precious 
 time." 
 
 ^^Well, you are a splendid woman!" ex- 
 claimed Baranoyitch, unable to conceal his 
 admiration. 
 
 " I am sorry for Count Golovin, though : 
 he is a glorious man ; the greatest man we 
 have in Eussia. But, for your sake, I am 
 willing to make even that sacrifice." 
 
 And she looked bewitching. Wisest to keep 
 on good terms with Prime Minister, till Majesty 
 was actually at her feet ! 
 
 "You deserve the high consideration in 
 which his Majesty evidently holds you," 
 continued Count Baranovitch. 
 
 And he devoured the handsome coquette 
 with his eyes.
 
 WOEKING UNDERGROUND. 321 
 
 ^^You flatterer!" cried Anna, looking more 
 bewitching than ever. 
 
 By a natural law of association, the mention 
 of Majesty's regard for Anna reminded the 
 Prime Minister of the letter with which he 
 had been intrusted. 
 
 ^^Ey-the-bye," he said, "his Majesty charged 
 me with a letter for you." 
 
 " Indeed ! " answered Anna carelessly. 
 
 Count Baranovitch looked at Anna mean- 
 ingly, as he handed the letter. He could see 
 nothing but an expression of utter indifference ; 
 whereas, if he could have pierced through the 
 mask she wore, he would have seen her heart 
 in a tumult of triumph. He watched her 
 closely as she read the letter; but it might 
 have been her washerwoman's bill for any 
 feeling that it seemed to awaken. 'Not to be 
 caught tripping twice in one day ! 
 
 "What does his Majesty deign to say?" 
 asked the count, his curiosity overcoming his 
 politeness. 
 
 " Oh, nothing particular!" answered Anna 
 carelessly. 
 
 But in her heart of hearts the trumpets were 
 already sounding ; and the car of triumph was 
 half-way up the Via Sacra. "Well might Anna's 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 61\L HELEN CAMEROX. 
 
 heart thi'ob with triumph ! Alexander^ in the 
 letter, begged her "to grant him a private 
 interview in his cabinet, that afternoon, in re- 
 ference to the delicate subject on which they 
 had conversed the day before." How Anna 
 longed to be alone for a moment, to give vent 
 to her oA'ermastering sense of exultation ! It 
 almost seemed as if she had wings, and were 
 floating in the air, so buoyant was she with 
 hope. At last ! 
 
 She was brought back to the realities of the 
 present by a question from the count. In 
 courtier style, very unusual in his intercourse 
 with j^Jina, he asked : 
 
 " May I peruse the august imperial com- 
 munication?" 
 
 Anna was perplexed. She did not want to 
 show the letter. But, if she did not, would not 
 Prime Minister fill his silly old head with all 
 kinds of sui-mises ? Might he not even suiTOund 
 her with a crowd of spies ? Best be on good 
 terms with highness, till. Majesty was actually 
 at her feet ! 
 
 ""Well," she said at last, "it does not seem 
 right to show his Majesty's letters to a third 
 party; but to an old fiiend like you I can deny 
 nothing." And here she put on her most win-
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. 323 
 
 ning smile. '^ The fact is, I had some conver- 
 sation with his Majesty on a delicate subject 
 yesterday; and his Majesty wishes to renew 
 that conversation." 
 
 Siu*mises ! Why, all kinds of surmises now 
 Med the '' silly old head." Yesterday ! The 
 very time that rumour spoke about ! Hastily, 
 eagerly, as if clutching at the ^'subject," he 
 asked : 
 
 ^' And what was that subject?" 
 
 Anna knew that question would come ; and 
 she had been dressing and cooking ^' a delicate 
 subject" that would serve the turn. So she 
 answered without hesitation, and with a face of 
 brass : 
 
 ^' It was whether anything could absolve a 
 monarch from the vows he had taken at his 
 coronation to govern the empire." 
 
 Anna had fixed on this particular ' ' delicate 
 subject," because she knew that the thought of 
 " abdication " was often on the Emperor's mind. 
 The Prime Minister's doubts and surmises were 
 laid to rest at once. Anna's answer had been 
 so prompt, and there was so much seeming 
 frankness in the way in which she put the 
 letter into his hands, that, when ho read it, all 
 looked simple and natural.
 
 324 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '^ And what was his Majesty's opinion V he 
 asked. 
 
 ^^That there were circumstances, snch as 
 physical or mental incapacity, which might 
 exonerate a man from the responsibility." 
 
 The very arguments which Majesty had 
 used ! 
 
 " And what did you say to that ?" 
 
 '^I thought, your Highness, that if there 
 were no such reservations made in the vows 
 themselves, nothing but death could absolve 
 him," answered Anna, glibly enough. 
 
 She was hoping earnestly, all the time, that 
 this cross-questioning would soon cease; because 
 she really did not know how much longer she 
 could invent the imaginary conversation off- 
 hand. 
 
 '' Capital !" cried Baranovitch with an out- 
 burst of joy. 
 
 "Do you fancy I was not thinking of you all 
 the time ?" said Anna softly, with a bewitching 
 smile. 
 
 "Of me!" 
 
 " Ay : the reign of his Majesty, Alexander 
 the First, Emperor, and that of his highness, 
 Count Baranovitch, Chief Minister, would most 
 probably terminate about the same time."
 
 WORKING UNDERGROUND. 325 
 
 '' Ha, ha, ha ! So you are going to renew 
 the discussion ? I hope you will convince his 
 Majesty." 
 
 And the Prime Minister went away. He did 
 not for a moment suspect that the handsome 
 coquette had been hoodwinking him. 
 
 As soon as Count Baranovitch was out of 
 hearing, Anna burst into a loud fit of laughter, 
 and gave vent to her long pent-up feelings.
 
 326 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXII. 
 
 THE PRIYATE INTERVIEW. 
 
 " . . . . For see you not, dear love, 
 That such, a mood as that, which lately gloom' d 
 Yoiir fancy when you saw me following you, 
 Must make me feel still more you are not mine, 
 Must make me yearn still more to prove you mine, 
 And make me wish still more to leam this chann 
 Of woven paces and of waving hands. 
 As proof of trust? " 
 
 Texntsox : Tlxe Idylls of the King. 
 
 I WISH I could give you some idea of the feel- 
 ing of triumph with which Anna went to Alex- 
 ander's private cabinet that afternoon. She 
 was about to realise the highest object of her 
 ambition ! Any doubt about it ? She must 
 be a fool to doubt ! The Emperor was about 
 to acknowledge himself her slave. His eager 
 looks ; his deep sighs ; the pointed way in 
 which he had asked her if she knew any lad}^ 
 who could share his sorrows and his cares ; — 
 all showed that this was the meaning of his 
 letter. The summit of her ambition was gained : 
 in a few minutes Majesty would be at her feet ; 
 and, in a few months, all Russia would bow 
 before her power !
 
 THE rRIYATE INTERVIEW. 327 
 
 Tliis had been her cherished aim for some 
 time ; and the talk, which we overheard, was 
 only the last of a series of conversations which 
 had passed between the Emperor and herself. 
 Conversations always in public. But what of 
 that ? They could retire to some corner, where 
 none durst follow them. And even if they 
 were within earshot? Anna had long learnt 
 to master difficulties of that kind. She could 
 convey a meaning in a word which none but 
 the right person could understand. And now, 
 at last, he was going to grant her a ^'private 
 interview!" It was but the last step to her 
 becoming in fact, though not in name. Empress 
 of Eussia ! 
 
 Young as she was, she had already acquired 
 no small share of power in the government of 
 the country. Whenever she chose to wield 
 her power. Count Baranovitch was her ready 
 tool. Many a measure, which was thought to 
 be the offspring of his wisdom or his folly, had 
 really sprung from her fruitful brain. But she 
 had long been weary of him ; had long felt it 
 humbling to her pride to coax and wheedle 
 where she was born to command. All that was 
 over now. The tables were turned. Ilis master 
 would soon be at her feet; and he himself
 
 6Z6 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 would, of course, be her slave. If he kicked 
 against the pricks, she would simply kick hhu 
 out of the way — in the most approved lady- 
 like style ! 
 
 Having arranged these points to her thorough 
 satisfaction, Anna entered the private cabinet. 
 She found the Emperor sitting there in his easy- 
 chair. He rose gallantly enough to receive her, 
 and handed her a seat. Well, he looked a 
 trifle too grave and serious for so joyous an 
 encounter. But, after all, that was a matter of 
 taste. Perhaps he meant to woo her in a pious 
 way ! At length he spoke. Ah, it was coming 
 at last ! 
 
 " Your Highness must see that this business 
 is too delicate to be transacted before a third 
 party," he said, in a strange, awkward manner. 
 
 '^ Certainly, your Majesty." 
 
 And Anna brought her whole battery of 
 looks and smiles and tones to bear upon 
 Majesty. 
 
 '' That must be my apology, your Highness, 
 for seeking this private interview." 
 
 ^' I see no need for any apology," answered 
 Anna with a bewitching smile : " your Majesty 
 has only to command ; and I should feel it my 
 duty to obey."
 
 THE PRIVATE INTERVIEW. 329 
 
 ^' I wanted your Highness to understand why 
 I wished it to be private," continued Alexander. 
 
 Still harping on that string ! What did it 
 mean ? How could the interview be anything 
 but private ? He surely would not make love 
 to her before the whole court ? 
 
 '^ How cold and formal he is 1 " thought Anna. 
 
 The Emperor went on to say : 
 
 '' Oh, your Highness, if you should be the 
 means of restoring peace to my wounded spirit, 
 I shall have reason to thank God." 
 
 ^' What a singular wooing !" thought Anna. 
 *^ I see how it is. We must woo religiously, 
 keep up appearances, make love in the orthodox 
 style. See if I don't fit your canting moods !" 
 
 '' Your Highness," said Alexander solemnly, 
 '' I believe that you are the instrument which 
 God has appointed to comfort my troubled 
 heart." 
 
 ^^ Decidedly !" thought Anna. 
 
 ^' I pray that the object which lies nearest 
 to my heart may be accomplished through your 
 instrumentality. ' ' 
 
 Was this the pious way of making love ; — 
 the true orthodox style? Eather dull and 
 prosy, — eh ? So thought Anna. But, in spite 
 of the dulness, she was mightily amused.
 
 odll HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 After all, it was a study of limnan nature. 
 She had never come into contact with a man 
 like Alexander before ; and, much as she had 
 studied him, she had not yet fathomed his 
 nature, and was scarcely prepared for such a 
 strange exhibition of manhood. But she tried 
 to adapt herself to his humour ; to '^ fit his 
 canting moods," as she had said. 
 
 ^' All your Majesty's subjects must feel that 
 their first duty, next to God, is to yourself," 
 she answered, putting on her most saint-like 
 look ; ''in fact, that it is alike their privilege 
 and their duty to love, worship, and obey you." 
 
 Ah, she had not fathomed him yet ! Doubt- 
 ful whether she even understood the meekness 
 which led him to say, in a tone of the greatest 
 earnestness : 
 
 "]S'o, your Highness; for it is written, 
 ' Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and 
 Him only shalt thou serve.' " 
 
 " I can consider no sacrifice too great to 
 secure your Majesty's happiness," continued 
 Anna : "I should deem it a religious duty to 
 give up father, mother, husband, all, for the 
 sake of securing your comfort and joy." 
 
 " I thank you from the bottom of my 
 heart."
 
 THE PRIVATE INTERVIEW. 331 
 
 ^' Oh, your Majesty, if I could be the means, 
 in any way, of procuring you peace of mind, 
 I myself would thank God for my own sake 
 as well as for yours," continued Anna, adding 
 to herself: '' There now ! I hope he is satis- 
 fied with that." 
 
 '' Your Highness spoke yesterday of a lady 
 who could cheer me in my lonely hours," said 
 the Emperor, after a short pause, looking 
 eagerly at Anna : '' doubtless you were think- 
 ing of the same lady as myself." 
 
 Anna blushed, and looked very charming 
 indeed, as she answered in a pretty, coquettish 
 way: 
 
 '' I should not be at all surprised." 
 
 There was another pause, after which Alex- 
 ander eagerly asked : 
 
 ^'Does your Highness think there is any 
 hope of my winning her ? " 
 
 Anna blushed again, but did not speak this 
 time. Her silence to be construed as a lady's 
 
 '':n'o!" 
 
 '^ What a roundabout way of making love ! " 
 she thought, really amused, and laughing 
 inwardly. 
 
 The Emperor waited a moment for her answei, 
 and, seeing that none was forthcoming, said :
 
 332 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '' Your Highness does not speak." 
 
 "It is such a delicate subject!" answered 
 Anna coquettishly, hanging down her head, 
 and fixing her eyes on the tesselated floor. 
 
 " So it is, your Highness ; and believe me, 
 if I could have thought of a better way, I 
 should not have troubled your Highness with 
 this interview." 
 
 " What does he mean ? " thought Anna. 
 
 "But, from what your Highness knows of 
 the lady, can you give me any hope ? " 
 
 Anna lifted up her eyes at last, and looked 
 the Emperor full in the face. 
 
 " From what I know of the lady," she an- 
 swered, throwing as much reverence and love as 
 she could at the moment summon into her look, 
 "I should say that she would be glad to do any- 
 thing to secure your Majesty's peace of mind." 
 
 "You gladden my heart," said Alexander, 
 smiling at last : " will your Highness convey 
 her a message from me ? " 
 
 " With all my heart." 
 
 Coming to the point at last ! 
 
 " Will you ask her to grant me a private 
 interview ? " continued Alexander earnestly. 
 
 What did it all mean? Were they not 
 holding theii' "private interview" at that
 
 THE PEIVATE INTEEYIEW. 333 
 
 very moment ? What need for another ? The 
 handsome, clever, shallow coquette was utterly 
 bewildered ! 
 
 ^' I do not quite understand your Majesty," 
 she said. 
 
 The clearing up of the mystery came soon 
 enough. 
 
 ^^ As your Highness is one of her ladies-in- 
 waiting," answered the Emperor, '' I could 
 think of no one more suitable to convey my 
 message to her Majesty." 
 
 So, then, all he had been aiming at was to 
 employ her as a go-between to bring husband 
 and wife together ! Overcome by the shock, 
 Anna for a moment dropped the mask from 
 her face. She suddenly grew pale, and then 
 as suddenly glowed afresh. Her eyes flashed 
 fire ; and, in the excitement of the moment, 
 she rose from her chair, drew up her figure, 
 and cast a withering look of scorn on the 
 bewildered Emperor. Did he mean to make 
 a cat's-paw of her ? Hah ! He would find 
 himself mistaken ! The blow had come upon 
 her so suddenly and so crushingly that, for 
 a moment, she lost all control over herself; and 
 the next moment there would have been a 
 fearful outburst of wrath.
 
 334 HELEN CAMEKON. 
 
 Eut she suddenly checked herself: with a 
 strong effort of will, she mastered her rage, or, 
 at least, dammed it up within her bosom. Her 
 first impulse, to refuse the task with scorn, 
 had given way to other thoughts. If she 
 declined it, it might be intrusted to another, 
 who would, perhaps, accomplish it success- 
 fully ; whereas, so long as it was in her own 
 hands, she could turn it to any issue she chose 
 — might, indeed, so manage it as to widen the 
 breach between husband and wife. And then ! 
 She, therefore, summoned all her histrionic 
 powers to her help in this dire emergency ; 
 and, first of all, she carefully adjusted the 
 mask on her face again. Then she made it 
 play all the varying expressions which were 
 needful for her purpose. She went through 
 all the stages of wonder, and so forth, which 
 were needed for an easy journey from scorn to 
 reverence and loyal obedience. 
 
 ''■ Eorgive me, your Majesty," she said at 
 length : ^^ I was so taken by surprise, that I 
 was scarcely mistress of myself for a moment. 
 But it is over now, and I gladly accept the 
 task." 
 
 Alexander had been watching her narrowly : 
 with amazement, and something akin to shud-
 
 THE PRIVATE INTER YIEW. 335 
 
 dering dread. Was this the saint-like princess 
 who had so strangely won his confidence ? 
 
 '' I thought, for a moment, that yon looked 
 on me with nndisgnised scorn," he said. 
 
 '^ I would not disguise any of my feelings 
 from your Majesty," answered Anna meekly. 
 '^ I will not conceal that, at the thought of 
 your wishing any one to come as a mediator 
 between her Majesty and yourself, a feeling of 
 scorn did take possession of my soul. The tie 
 between husband and wife is so sacred, that 
 it seemed to me a sacrilege for any third party 
 to interyene. But, when I remember the 
 sad history of the past — oh, yoiu^ Majesty, 
 how shall I express myself?" 
 
 ^'Ah!" 
 
 '' And now I can only feel thanldul that the 
 providence of God seems to have appointed me 
 the humble instrument for healing the wounds 
 of the past," said Anna. 
 
 And she left the room with meek reverence. 
 Before visiting the Empress, she went to her 
 own room, wishing to calm herself down. 
 Once in her own boudoir, she gave way to 
 an uncontrolled burst of anger. It was really 
 dreadful, the way in which she paced back- 
 ward and forward, and stamped the floor in her
 
 336 HELEX CAMEROX. 
 
 rage. And there seemed to be cause enough. 
 All her clever plans knocked on the head ; her 
 schemes of ambition and revenge as far as ever 
 from accomplishment. She had been made a 
 fool of ; or, rather, had succeeded beautifully in 
 making a fool of herself. But she would have 
 her way yet ! She a woman to be beaten ! 
 IN'ot she ! She should like to see the man, 
 were he count or emperor, who could baffle 
 her in the long run ! 
 
 And then her thoughts turned to Alexander. 
 ^^ Fool ! '' she cried. " Dotard ! Canting hypo- 
 crite I So, all this time, you were wanting to 
 make a cat's-paw of me ! I'll match you yet ! 
 I'll give your whining message to your snivel- 
 ling wife, and see that it is properly delivered 
 too ! Trust me for teaching her the proper way 
 in which to receive such a message ! If she does 
 not look upon it as an insult, never give me 
 credit any more for clever management ! He 
 has delivered himself into my hands ! "We 
 shall see if he can make a cat's-paw of 7ne ! 
 But let me see : how am I to set about it ? " 
 Anna reflected for a moment, and then sud- 
 denly exclaimed : '^ Charming ! The very 
 thing ! " And she bounded forward with joy. 
 
 She went up to a writing-table which stood 
 
 ^
 
 THE PRIVATE INTERVIEW. 337 
 
 in a corner of the room, unlocked a small desk 
 that was on it, and brought out the letter which 
 the Emperor had written to her in the morn- 
 ing. With this letter in her hand, she went 
 to the Empress, and found her sitting among 
 her ladies. Might she see her Majesty alone ? 
 Certainly. Elizabeth, with Jb.er usual courtesy, 
 dismissed her ladies, and awaited Anna's busi- 
 ness. Anna had never been a favourite with 
 the gentle and guileless wife ; and the last few 
 days had certainly not raised her in Elizabeth's 
 eyes. 
 
 '' I have received this letter from his Ma- 
 jesty," said Anna, holding it up in her hand ; 
 '^ and I feel compelled by my conscience to 
 lay it before your Majesty." 
 
 Poor Elizabeth felt very uneasy at this strange 
 beginning. But she replied firmly : 
 
 '' I have no wish to see any of the letters 
 which his Majesty may think fit to address to 
 any of his subjects." 
 
 '' Ah, but this one is expressed in such warm 
 and tender language," rejoined Anna, " that 
 I feel bound by my faithfulness to your Ma- 
 jesty " 
 
 The Empress at once thought of the painful 
 scene which she had witnessed the day before. 
 
 VOL. I. z
 
 338 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 Poor long-suffering wife, she turned deadly 
 pale, and felt sick at heart. She cut short 
 Anna's speech by saying : 
 
 *' I tell you I do not wish to see it." 
 
 Anna smiled in triumph: her clever plan 
 was working beautifully. 
 
 ^' In this letter, his Majesty requests a pri- 
 vate interview with me," she continued : '^now 
 I wish to know if your Majesty thinks that I 
 do right in granting it. A private interview, 
 too, on a delicate subject." 
 
 The poor Empress shook like a leaf. 
 
 " Your Highness may consult your own 
 sense of duty," she answered indignantly : ^' I 
 am the last person in the world to consult on 
 such a subject." 
 
 She spoke as calmly as she could. But she 
 did not succeed in hiding her feelings : the 
 inner fire would blaze out. 
 
 " Well, your Majesty, I acceded to his 
 request," continued Anna in an impudent 
 manner ; " and I have just had a loAg and 
 private interview with his Majesty in his pri- 
 vate cabinet." 
 
 '^ What is all this to me?" 
 
 '' I thought it only due to your Majesty that 
 you should know it."
 
 THE PRIVATE INTERVIEW. 339 
 
 ^' I wish to know nothing about it." 
 ^' Your Majesty need not be jealous," Anna 
 went on to say with, the most brazen-faced 
 impudence, keenly watching the working of 
 her poison; "because his Majesty wishes to 
 have a private interview with ijou too, and has 
 charged me to request it." 
 
 Surely human nature could have borne no 
 more. The Empress had been trained in the 
 school of sorrow ; had been softened and sub- 
 dued, till all believed her to be as meek as a 
 lamb. But she must have sunk below the 
 dignity of a woman and a wife, if she had 
 bowed the neck to such an insult without 
 a touch of resentment. She fired up, and 
 spoke more harshly than she had done for 
 years. 
 
 "Go, tell his Majesty," she said, "that, 
 when he chooses to insult me, he ought to 
 find a worthier messenger." 
 
 Anna could not hide the triumph which she 
 felt. Much she cared for what her Majesty 
 thought of her ! But to have goaded the meek 
 and gentle Elizabeth into such a strong utter- 
 ance, ivas a triumph. 
 
 "I am much obliged to your Majesty for 
 the compliment," she answered, (bopping a low
 
 340 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 curtsy. ^' Am I to tell liis Majesty that you 
 refuse to grant his request?" 
 ^^ Decidedly." 
 
 Anna had gained her end. She dropped 
 another low curtsy, and majestically sailed 
 out of the room. 
 
 In great glee, she went back to the Em- 
 peror's cabinet, where Alexander was quietly 
 awaiting her. But, before she opened the 
 door, she managed to put a new mask upon her 
 face ; one which the Emperor had never seen 
 before, and might see now with advantage to 
 her higher aim. She was in tears, and wore a 
 look of mingled sympathy and grief. 
 " Oh, your Majesty !" she cried. 
 But there she stopped, and burst into tears 
 afresh. Her utterance was choked : she could 
 not speak for sobbing. 
 
 "I see you have not succeeded in your 
 mission," said Alexander sadly. 
 "Oh, if that were all I" 
 The Emperor was somewhat startled. 
 ''What does your Highness mean?" 
 ''As far as I am personally concerned," an- 
 swered Anna, as fast as sobs would let her, " I 
 glory in receiving insults in your Majesty's 
 service ; and I would willingly submit to con-
 
 THE PRIVATE INTER VIEW. 341 
 
 tempt and disgrace, if I could thus secure your 
 Majesty's happiness." 
 
 ^'Has her Majesty insulted you, then?" 
 
 '^ Her Majesty says that you should find a 
 worthier messenger than I ; and, God knows, 
 your Majesty might easily fijid thousands wor- 
 thier than I. But, if I know my own heart 
 aright, you will not find one more loyally de- 
 voted to yoiu' Majesty." 
 
 And Anna sobbed aloud. 
 
 ''I am sorry youi' Highness has met with 
 insult in delivering my message," said the 
 Emperor. 
 
 ^^ Oh, that is nothing, your Majesty : I am 
 almost sorry I have mentioned it. It seems 
 selfish to think of my own petty grievances, 
 when your Majesty's share of wi'ong is so 
 much greater." 
 
 ^^Ah!" 
 
 A dark shade passed over the Emperor's 
 face. He rose fi'om the chaii' in which he had 
 been sitting, and paced the room in great ex- 
 citement. But there was no sign of anger 
 about him. Anna thought he received the 
 insult very tamely ; far too tamely for the 
 accomplishment of her plan. She felt he 
 needed an extra touch or two of the spur.
 
 342 HELEN CAMERON. 
 
 '^ Her Majesty was very yiolent against you." 
 
 " I deserve it all !" 
 
 It was touching to see how meekly the 
 Emperor of all the Eussias acted and spoke ! 
 
 " I doubt whether she even respects you." 
 
 ^' Ah!" exclaimed Alexander, standing still 
 for a moment. Then he added in a low tone : 
 '' ' Thou makest me to possess the iniquities of 
 my youth ! ' God is just ! God is just ! " 
 
 '^Whining old dotard !" thought Anna. 
 
 The Emperor continued aloud : 
 
 ^' I owe her reparation : and it shall be made ; 
 yes, the amplest atonement in my power. I 
 am only sorry that I have to set out so soon 
 on my journey to the south. I shall be away 
 for many days." 
 
 ''Thank goodness ! " thought Anna, overjoyed 
 at the news. '' I shall have time to work out 
 my plan." 
 
 '^ In the meanwhile, your Highness," added 
 Alexander, coming up to Anna, and looking 
 anxiously into her face, ''I feel sure that I 
 may rely upon you to use all your efforts to 
 soothe her Majesty's mind." 
 
 '' Your Majesty may rely on me." 
 
 At this moment Anna found it a somewhat 
 hard task to keep down her inclination to laugh.
 
 THE PRIVATE INTERVIEW. 343 
 
 But the task was not needed long. The ^' pri- 
 vate interview" was soon over, and Anna went 
 her way to widen the breach between hnsband 
 and wife. As soon as she returned to her own 
 room, she burst into a fit of wild uncontrollable 
 laughter. Her plan for retrieving her false 
 step had succeeded to perfection ! 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 PKINTKU BY VIKTUE AND CC, CITY KUAD, LONDON.
 
 M
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 042061082 
 
 I 
 
 Bint 
 
 iljlMUjjimilj:!