freed, despite volleys of
assertions that they _could_ not work if freed, the peasants, when set
free, and not crushed by regulations, have sprung to their work with an
earnestness, and continued it with a vigor, at which the philosophers
of the old system stand aghast. The freed peasants of Wologda compare
favorably with any in Europe.

And when the old tirades had grown stale, English writers drew copiously
from a new source,--from "La Verite sur la Russie,"--pleasingly
indifferent to the fact that the author's praise in a previous work had
notoriously been a thing of bargain and sale, and that there was in full
process of development a train of facts which led the Parisian courts to
find him guilty of demanding in one case a "blackmail" of fifty thousand
roubles.[L]

[Footnote L: _Proces en Diffamation du Prince Simon Worontzoff contre le
Prince Pierre Dolgornokow_. Leipzig, 1862]

All this argument outside the Empire helped the foes of emancipation
inside the Empire.

But the Emperor met the whole body of his opponents with an argument
overwhelming. On the 5th of March, 1861, he issued his manifesto making
the serfs FREE. He had struggled long to make some satisfactory previous
arrangement; his motto now became, Emancipation first, Arrangement
afterward. Thus was the _result_ of the great struggle decided; but,
to this day, the after-arrangement remains undecided. The Tzar offers
gradual indemnity; the nobles seem to prefer fire and blood. Alexander
stands firm; the last declaration brought across the water was that he
would persist in reforms.

But, whatever the after-process, THE SERFS ARE FREE.

The career before Russia is hopeful indeed; emancipation of her serfs
has set her fully in that career. The vast mass of her inhabitants are
of a noble breed, combining the sound mind of the Indo-Germanic races
with the tough muscle of the northern plateaus of Asia. In no other
country on earth is there such unity in language, in degree of
cultivation, and in basis of ideas. Absolutely the same dialect is
spoken by lord and peasant, in capital and in province.

And, to an American thinker, more hopeful still for Russia is the
patriarchal democratic system,--spreading a primary political education
through the whole mass. Leaders of their hamlets and communities
are voted for; bodies of peasants settle the partition of land and
assessments in public meetings; discussions are held; votes are taken;
and though Tzar's