Rabbi and Priest | Page 5

three or four fearless supporters, as
stanch as their leader. In vain he sought by his eloquence to regain his
lost ground, but he was in a hopeless minority, and, gulping down the
remaining spirits which stood before him, he prepared to leave the
tavern.
"Continue to suffer," were his parting words. "No people is worse off
than it deserves to be. But the day is not far distant when the serf shall
be able to hold up his head, a free man, and that will be accomplished
as soon as you all feel the humiliation of being slaves!"
The meeting broke up in great disorder. Sentiment appeared to be
divided, but the radicals were very circumspect in their remarks, for
earlier experience had taught them that, under an autocratic government
like that of Czar Nicholas, silence was golden. The blandly smiling
host, Basilivitch, went from group to group, threw in a word here and a
suggestion there, smiled at this man's eloquence and ridiculed that
man's caution, all the while making a mental inventory of the facts he
would lay before the Governor on the next morning.
The peasants, when they retired for the night, felt none of that

pleasurable exaltation which should accompany a step towards liberty,
but were oppressed by the weight of an undefined terror, as though they
were on the verge of some catastrophe.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: "Looking about, one saw venality in full feather, serfdom
crushing people like a rock, informers lurking everywhere. No one
could safely express himself in the presence of his dearest friend. There
was no common bond, no general interest. Fear and flattery were
universal."--Tourgenieff.]
[Footnote 2: Leroy-Boileau.]
CHAPTER II.
MASTER AND MAN.
A clear April morning was dawning when Basilivitch saddled his horse
and rode off in the direction of Alexandrovsk, at which place he arrived
at noon and at once repaired to the Governor's residence. A crowd of
idle and flashily-dressed servants, all of whom were serfs, lounged
about the new and stately palace, and found exhilarating amusement in
setting their ferocious dogs upon the unoffending farmers who
happened to pass that way. The greater the fear evinced by the victims,
the greater was the delight of the humorously inclined menials, and if
perchance a dog succeeded in fixing his fangs in the garments or calf of
a pedestrian their mirth found vent in ecstatic shouts of laughter.
Basilivitch had on more than one occasion been upon such errands as
that which brought him to-day, and seemed on terms of familiarity with
the liveried guardians of the palace. They obligingly called off their
dogs, and at once announced the innkeeper to his excellency, General
Drudkoff. The Governor had dined sumptuously and received his
henchman graciously.
Stretching himself upon a sofa and lazily rolling a cigarette, he said:
"Well, Basilivitch, what news do you bring? How fare my good

subjects at Togarog?"
"I have bad news, your excellency," answered Basilivitch. "My heart is
sad at the information I have to impart. Insurrection is rife in our
village, and not only your excellency, but also his majesty the Czar is
in imminent danger."
The Governor sprang up from his couch, and his face became ashen
white with fear. There was perhaps no man in all Russia more cruel,
and at the same time more cowardly, than this General Drudkoff.
"Explain yourself," he cried, at length recovering from his terror.
"What do you mean?"
Thereupon the loyal Basilivitch began a recital of the events of the
previous evening. Nor did he spare exaggeration where it suited him to
strive for effect. According to his version, Podoloff had incited his
fellow-peasants to march at once to Alexandrovsk and attack his
excellency in the palace. The line of march had already been formed
with the arch agitator, Podoloff, at the head.
"I saw," said Basilivitch, waxing warm as his recital progressed, "I saw
that it would fare ill with your excellency if the progress of the mob
was not arrested. With a handful of friends, therefore, I threw myself in
front of the insurgents and commanded them to disband."
"Well done," cried the Governor, upon whom every word made a
profound impression. "What did Podoloff do?"
"He would have come on alone, but I overpowered him and secured
him in my barn, where he spent the night in imprecations against your
excellency."
"You did well, Basilivitch, and I shall not forget you. But who were
Podoloff's accomplices? You say a number of men supported him in his
treasonable utterances."
"Yes; there were fully a dozen of them," said Basilivitch, counting

upon his fingers, and enumerating a number of poor innocents, whose
only offence lay in the fact that Basilivitch owed them some private
grudge. "There were quite a number of Jews in the assembly,"
continued the