er rose in calm statesmanship, and admitted Bessarabia
into the Empire under a proviso which excluded serfage forever.

Hardly was the great European tragedy ended, when Alexander again turned
sorrowfully toward the wronged millions of his Empire. He found that
progress in civilization had but made the condition of the serfs worse.
The newly ennobled _parvenus_ were worse than the old _boyars_; they
hugged the serf-system more lovingly and the serfs more hatefully.[G]

[Footnote G: For proofs of this see Haxthausen.]

The sight of these wrongs roused him. He seized a cross, and swore upon
it that the serf-system should be abolished.

Straightway a great and good plan was prepared. Its main features were,
a period of transition from serfage to personal liberty, extending
through twelve or fourteen years,--the arrival of the serf at personal
freedom, with ownership of his cabin and the bit of land attached to
it,--the gradual reimbursement of masters by serfs,--and after this
advance to _personal_ liberty, an advance by easy steps to a sort of
_political_ liberty.

Favorable as was this plan to the serf-owners, they attacked it in
various ways; but they could not kill it utterly. Esthonia, Livonia, and
Courland became free.

Having failed to arrest the growth of freedom, the serf-holding caste
made every effort to blast the good fruits of freedom. In Courland they
were thwarted; in Esthonia and Livonia they succeeded during many years;
but the eternal laws were too strong for them, and the fruitage of
liberty has grown richer and better.

After these good efforts, Alexander stopped, discouraged. A few
patriotic nobles stood apart from their caste, and strengthened his
hands, as Lafayette and Liancourt strengthened Louis XVI.; they even
drew up a plan of voluntary emancipation, formed an association for the
purpose, gained many signatures; but the great weight of that besotted
serf-owning caste was thrown against them, and all came to nought.
Alexander was at last walled in from the great object of his ambition.
Pretended theologians built, between him and emancipation, walls of
Scriptural interpretation,[H]--pretended philosophers built walls of
false political economy,--pretended statesmen built walls of sham
common-sense.

[Footnote H: Gurowski says that they used brilliantly "Cursed be
Canaan," etc.]

If the Tzar could but have mustered courage to _cut_ the knot! Alas for
Russia and for him, he wasted himsel