possession of all the country by the way, he arrived at last at
the head waters of the Dnieper. The renown of the kingdom of Ascolod
and Dir had reached his ears; and aware of their military skill and
that the ranks of their army were filled with Norman warriors, Oleg
decided to seize the two sovereigns by stratagem. As he cautiously
approached Kief, he left his army in a secluded encampment, and with a
few chosen troops floated down the stream in barges, disguised as
merchant boats. Landing in the night beneath the high and precipitous
banks near the town, he placed a number of his soldiers in ambuscade,
and then calling upon the princes of Kief, informed them that he had
been sent by the king of Novgorod, with a commercial adventure down
the Dnieper, and invited them to visit his barges.

The two sovereigns, suspecting no guile, hastened to the banks of the
river. Suddenly the men in ambush rose, and piercing them with arrows
and javelins, they both fell dead at the feet of Oleg. The two victims
of this perfidy were immediately buried upon the spot where they fell.
In commemoration of this atrocity, the church of St. Nicholas has been
erected near the place, and even to the present day the inhabitants of
Kief conduct the traveler to the tomb of Ascolod and Dir. Oleg, now
marshaling his army, marched triumphantly into the town, and, without
experiencing any formidable opposition, annexed the conquered realm to
the northern kingdom.

Oleg was charmed with his conquest. The beautiful site of the town,
the broad expanse of the river, the facilities which the stream
presented for maritime and military adventures so delighted him that
he exclaimed,

"Let Kief be the mother of all the Russian cities."

Oleg established his army in cantonments, strengthened it with fresh
recruits, commenced predatory excursions on every side, and soon
brought the whole region, for many leagues around, under his
subjection. All the subjugated nations were compelled to pay him
tribute, though, with the sagacity which marked his whole course, he
made the tax so light as not to be burdensome. The territories of Oleg
were now vast, widely scattered, and with but the frailest bond of
union between them. Between the two capitals of Novgorod and Kief,
which were separated by a distance of seven or eight hundred miles,
there were many powerful tribes still claiming independence.

Oleg directed his energies against them, and his march of conquest