urt, of ladies of distinction, and of the Russian embassadors and
merchants residing at Constantinople. The emperor, with a
corresponding suite of splendor, met the Russian queen at a short
distance from the palace, and conducted her, with her retinue, to the
apartments arranged for their entertainment. It was the 9th of
September, 955. In the great banqueting hall of the palace there was a
magnificent feast prepared. The guests were regaled with richest
music. After such an entertainment as even the opulence of the East
had seldom furnished, there was an exchange of presents. The emperor
and the queen strove to outvie each other in the richness and elegance
of their gifts. Every individual in the two retinues, received
presents of great value.

The queen at her baptism received the Christian name of Helen. We do
not find any record of the ceremonies performed at her baptism. It is
simply stated that the emperor himself stood as her sponsor. Olga, as
she returned to Kief, with her baptismal vows upon her, and in the
freshness of her Christian hopes, manifested great solicitude for her
son, who still continued a pagan. But Sviatoslaf was a wild,
pleasure-seeking young man, who turned a deaf ear to all his mother's
counsels. The unbridled license which paganism granted, was much more
congenial to his unrenewed heart than the salutary restraints of the
gospel of Christ. The human heart was then and there, as now and here.
The Russian historian Karamsin says,

"In vain this pious mother spoke to her son of the happiness of being
a Christian; of the peaceful spirit he would find in the worship of
the true God. 'How can I,' replied Sviatoslaf, 'make a profession of
this new religion, which will expose me to the ridicule of all my
companions in arms?' In vain Olga urged upon him that his example
might induce others to embrace the gospel of Christ. The young prince
was inflexible. He made no effort to prevent others from becoming
Christians, but did not disguise his contempt for the Christian faith,
and so persistently rejected all the exhortations of his mother, whom
he still tenderly loved, that she was at last forced to silence, and
could only pray, in sadness, that God would open the eyes and touch
the heart of her child."

The young prince having attained his majority in the year 964, assumed
the crown. His soul was fired with the ambition of signalizing himself
by great military exploits. The blood of Igor, of Oleg and