son,
accompanied by a very imposing retinue of her best warriors. Having
thus brought them to subjection, she instituted over them a just and
benevolent system of government, that they might have no occasion
again to rise in revolt. They soon became so warmly attached to her
that they ever were foremost in support of her power.

One year had not passed ere Olga was seated as firmly upon the throne
as Oleg or Igor had ever been. She then, leaving her son Sviatoslaf at
Kief, set out on a tour through her northern provinces. Everywhere, by
her wise measures and her deep interest in the welfare of her
subjects, she won admiration and love. The annals of those times are
full of her praises. The impression produced by this visit was not
effaced from the popular mind for five hundred years, being handed
down from father to son. The sledge in which she traveled was for many
generations preserved as a sacred relic.

She returned to Kief, and there resided with her son, for many years,
in peace and happiness. The whole empire was tranquil, and in the
lowly cabins of the Russians there was plenty, and no sounds of war or
violence disturbed the quiet of their lives. This seems to have been
one of the most serene and pleasant periods of Russian history. This
noble woman was born a pagan. But the gospel of Christ was preached in
the churches of Kief, and she heard it and was deeply impressed with
its sublimity and beauty. Her life was drawing to a close. The
grandeur of empire she was soon to lay aside for the darkness and the
silence of the tomb. These thoughts oppressed her mind, which was, by
nature, elevated, sensitive and refined. She sent for the Christian
pastors and conversed with them about the immortality of the soul, and
salvation through faith in the atonement of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. The good seed of Christian truth fell into good soil.
Cordially she embraced the gospel.

That her renunciation of paganism, and her confession of the Saviour
might be more impressive, she decided to go to Constantinople to be
baptized by the venerable Christian patriarch, who resided there. The
Christian emperor, Constantine Porphyrogenete, informed of her
approach, prepared to receive her with all the pomp worthy of so
illustrious a princess of so powerful a people. He has himself left a
record of these most interesting ceremonies. Olga approached the
imperial palace, with a very splendid suite composed of nobles of her
co