to take place, he was a captive among the Poles, having formed one of an embassy to treat with Sigismond at Smolensk, and, with the rest of the embassy, having been siezed by Sigismond because he would not favour his personal claims. Philareto was held in the highest esteem by the Russians, on account of his gentleness, ability, and devotion to the welfare of the state; and, upon the refusal of two princes to accept the crown, and the unsuccessful candidature of others, the choice of the council, strengthened by the recommendation of Hermogenes, the patriarch of Moscow, and possibly by a letter to the council from Philareto himself, fell upon Michael, the son of Philareto, and till then unknown among all classes of his countrymen. A young man of sixteen years, unused to power, inexperienced in statecraft, supposed to inherit the virtues of his father but having had no opportunity himself of showing these virtues to the people, Michael Romanoff ascended the Russian throne, at a period when Russia was smarting under long years of anarchy, and sore bewildered as to her rightful king; and he proved himself the worthy head of a new dynasty by steering the vessel through the rocky, intricate channel into deeper and clearer seas. Upon his coronation he swore to observe conditions which limited the power of the crown. He associated with himself his venerated father Philareto, and the ukases were issued in his father's name, as "the mighty Lord and most holy Patriarch of all the Russias," as well as his own. The magnificence and power of the Patriarchate continued until the greatest Romanoff, a century later, Peter, roused by jealousy, struck it so crushing a blow as to make it reel to its ruin; and in him appeared again, to the full, that hydra-headed despotism apparently indigenous to Russia, and which, while it has contributed largely to Russia's barbaric splendour, will prove in the end Russia's heaviest curse and surest ruin.

CHAPTER IX.

THE RUSSIAN PEOPLES.

Different races-Muscovy and the Muscovites-House of Rurik-Cossacks and Tartars-Cossack troops-Music-No middle classArtificial government-The tchin-Its effect-Personal appearance of the State officials-Lower orders-Contrast between the Russians and the Greeks Dress - Dhrosky drivers Recreation - Teadrinking-Vatké Domestic life - Marriage customs-WomanWomen's rights-Education of women-Development of tradeJews and Greeks-Russian labourers-Development of particular industries-Cotton - Woollen, silk, iron, oil, &c. -Repressive power of the Government-Domestic policy-Foreign aggression.

WITHIN the far-reaching confines of the Russian Empire we might reasonably expect to find many different races. But we might not expect to find that the Czar of all the Russias autocratically governs a hundred different peoples -many of them allied in race, it is true, nevertheless so different as to speak originally a hundred different tongues, and to possess, at one time or another, independent national existences. That is a marvellous fact, and more marvellous still when we consider the increasingly rapid advancement of this enveloping process during the last two hundred years. A map of Russia, showing the acquisitions of the Empire since the accession of Peter the Great, is an interesting study, and, in connection with Russia's favourite idea of Pan-Slavism, a significant indication of her future history, if she be wise enough to suppress internal revolution, and strong enough to overcome external foes.

The true Russians live in the heart of the Empire. The fortress of Russia is Muscovy, and the central citadel of the fortress is Moscow; and, to true Russians, in whom the national sentiment is deeply rooted, from whom the Czar receives the most implicit obedience, by whom the very name of Russia is revered as holy, Moscow, and not St. Petersburg, is still the metropolis, the mother city. Thither the monarchs of Russia must repair to receive the iron crown, and put on the robes of royalty; and, sanctified by the oil of God's grace, be made meet to rule over Holy Russia in God's name, and as God's representative. In Muscovy serfdom had its seat; in Muscovy absolutism was developed; in Muscovy first arose those institutions introduced into, and then securely fastened upon, one conquered province after another: and the vast dominions of the Czar are more surely becoming every year reflections of the original Empire, which included very little more than that central region of forests and rivers, long cut off from the influences of European civilization, and known by the name of Muscovy.

The true Russians are Slavs. And yet the ancient founder of this greatest of the Slav powers was a Teuton. A thousand years ago, when there was so much agitation among the free, brave, hardy peoples of the North; when they went forth to fight for, and win, richer lands than their own, and, in the providence of God, sow the seeds of future empire, and hasten on the accomplishment of God's "increasing purpose," a thousand years ago Rurik, and his Varangian warriors, went eastwards, and became first protectors and then possessors of the populous, peaceful, wealthy mercantile city of Novgorod. These Varangians were few. They were soon swallowed up and forgotten in the surrounding Slav myriads; their language was lost in the Slav tongue; but the descendants of Rurik were able and brave men, commanding respect, compelling acknowledgment, until, themselves more Slav than the Slavs, they became the Grand-Princes of the Slav cities, and the rightful inheritors of the Russian throne.

The predominant element in the population of that part of Southern Russia bordering upon the Sea of Azov is not Slav, but Cossack and Tartar. The province of South Russia is divided into five governments. Of these, the one embracing the towns of Taganrog and Rostoff, and having for its capital Novo-Tcherkask, is called "The country of the Don Cossacks." The origin of the Cossacks is obscure. Several authorities think them to be the descendants of Nomadic tribes who were attracted by the rich pasturelands on the banks of the South Russian rivers, and finally settled there under the government of separate military chiefs. Others, however, are of opinion that the Cossacks came from Central Russia; that they found unbearable the autocratic yoke of the Muscovite princes of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and fled southwards, beyond their reach; and that, in their newly formed political constitutions, they retained a considerable measure of the individual freedom and privilege which was a chief characteristic of the republicanism of the ancient Russian cities. The Tartars are near relatives of the Turks, and the remnants of the last mighty invasion of South-Eastern Europe by the hordes of Central Asia. Mingled with the Tartars are many Slavs, but because of the gradual intermixture of races, and the influences of climate, food, labour, and common religious and social customs, the distinguishing facial features of these two peoples are not generally well marked. Cossacks are easily noticeable, but it would puzzle an ethnologist to say whether many of the rest are Slavs or Tartars.

The finest troops in the Russian army, the wildest, bravest, and most tenacious, are the Cossacks. They are a fairly tall, muscular, bony race; with dark-skinned oval countenances, full foreheads, noses depressed between the eyes, but large about the nostrils, firm and closely drawn lips, and quick bright eyes; easily roused to vigorous passion, and ready to obey all orders unquestioningly, pitilessly, and without remorse; strong in their attachment to each other, and very loyal to the Russian throne. They have political privileges above many. They have been conciliated, and an important and distinguished position in the Empire secured for them, by appointing the Czarevitch their Hetman, or acknowledged chief; and it was partly for the purpose of presenting the Czarevitch to them in this capacity that the Emperor undertook his journey to the South in April, 1886. This purpose, however, was partially defeated by the activity of the Nihilists. After many years of singular freedom from political agitation, the country of the Don Cossacks even has been sown with revolutionary literature, yielding the usual results in plots to assassinate the Czar.

The Cossacks have a passion for music. This passion is fostered in the army by the formation of military bands. To sit and listen to their correct and spirited rendering of martial airs, accoutred in a pleasing dark and crimsonembroidered uniform, their figures erect, their long hair nearly falling upon their shoulders, their fine eyes all aglow with musical sympathy, is a favourite evening recreation; and, to a foreigner, the scene gathers additional interest from the curiously attired groups, moving round and round, unconsciously stepping to the music, and engaged in animated conversation. A goodly proportion of these crowds are women, whose appreciation of the music is keener than that of the men.

There are only two classes in Russia, the high and the low. The great want of Russia is a middle class. This would give the Empire security and stability, cohesion and firmness; and it would suggest a different way out of the slavery of absolutism into the freedom of constitutional government than that advocated in the secret revolutionary press, and attempted by desperate and mistaken men. But how to create a middle class, under the present conditions of Russian political life, is the grand difficulty ! Nevertheless,