should be freed.
The Russian Revolution was not a class revolution, it was brought about
neither by the proletariat nor by the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy;
all classes contributed, it was a national revolution. So worthless had
the monarchy become that all the people were glad to get rid of it and
see it go. They who helped to bring about its ruin were the first to
deny it and seek safety; and even the Synod, in an almost unseemly
haste, took out the names of the imperial family from the prayer book.

The revolution was picturesque and full of color. Nearly every morning
one could see regiment after regiment, soldiers, Cossacks, and sailors,
with their regimental colors, and bands, and revolutionary flags,
marching to the Duma to take the new oath of allegiance. They were
cheered, they were blessed, handerchiefs were waved, hats were raised,
cigarettes were distributed as mark of appreciation and gratitude to
these men, without whose help there would have been no revolution. The
enthusiasm became so contagious that men and women, young and old,
high and low, fell in alongside or behind, joined in the singing of the
Marseillaise, and walked to the Duma to take the oath of allegiance and
having taken it they felt as purified as if they had partaken of the
communion. Another picturesque sight was the army trucks filled with
armed soldiers, red handkerchiefs tied to their bayonets, dashing up and
down the streets, ostensibly for the purpose of protecting the citizens
but really for the mere joy of riding about and being cheered. One of
these trucks stands out vividly in my mind: it contained about twenty
soldiers, having in their midst a beautiful young woman with a red
banner, and a young hoodlum astride the engine, a cigarette in one
hand and a sword in the other. The streets were full of people, or
"tovarishchi" (comrades), as they called one another, not only the
sidewalks but in the very center, for the tramways were not running.
Great events were transpiring and every one who could came out to hear
and to see what was going on. There were no newspapers and the street
was the news center. Automobiles came dashing through scattering
proclamations and copies of the _Izvestiia_ (a news-sheet published by
a committee of newspaper men with the authority of the Duma); and as
the crowd made a rush to pick these up it looked for a moment as if the
whole world was walking on its head and feet at the same time. Those who
we