acknowledgment of subjection to the empire. He then commenced
his long march of toil and suffering back again to Moscow, over vast
plains and through dense forests, having really accomplished nothing
of any moment.

The reign of Vsevelod continued for thirty-seven years. It was a scene
of incessant conflict with insurgent princes disputing his power and
struggling for the supremacy. Often his imperial title was merely
nominal. Again a successful battle would humble his foes and bring
them in subjection to the foot of his throne. But, on the whole,
during his reign the fragmentary empire gained solidity, the
monarchical arm gained strength, and the sovereign obtained a more
marked supremacy above the rival princes who had so long disputed the
power of the throne. Vsevelod died, generally regretted, on the 12th
of April, 1212. In the Russian annals, he has received the surname of
Great. His reign, compared with that of most of his predecessors, was
happy. He left, in churches and in fortresses, many monuments of his
devotion and of his military skill.

His wife, Maria, seems to have been a woman of sincere piety. Her
brief pilgrimage on earth, passed six hundred years ago, led her
through the same joys and griefs which in the nineteenth century
oppress human hearts. The last seven years of her life she passed on a
bed of sickness and extreme suffering. The patience she displayed
caused her to be compared with the patriarch Job. Just before she
died, she assembled her six surviving children around her bed. As with
tears they gazed upon the emaciated cheeks of their beloved and dying
mother, she urged them to love God, to study the Bible, to give their
hearts to the Saviour and to live for heaven. She died universally
regretted and revered.

The reign of Vsevelod was cotemporaneous with the conquest of
Constantinople by the crusaders. The Latin or Roman church thus for a
season extended its dominion over the Greek or Eastern church. The
French and Venetians; robbed the rich churches of Constantine of their
paintings, statuary, relics and all their treasures of art. The Greek
emperor himself fled in disguise to Thrace.

The Roman pontiff, Innocent III., deeming this a favorable moment to
supplant the Greek religion in Russia, sent letters to the Russian
clergy, in which he said:

"The religion of Rome is becoming universally triumphant. The whole
Grecian empire has recognized the spiritual power of the pope. Will
you