had
great influence with the mass of the common people.

At length this opposition party became so extended and so strong that
the leaders thought the time had arrived for them to act. They
accordingly arranged the details of their plot, and prepared to put it
in execution.

The scheme which they formed was this: they were to set fire to some
houses in the night, not far from the royal palace, and when the
emperor came out, as it is said was his custom to do, in order to
assist in extinguishing the flames, they were to set upon him and
assassinate him.

It may seem strange that it should be the custom of the emperor himself
to go out and assist personally in extinguishing fires. But it so
happened that the houses of Moscow at this time were almost all built
of wood, and they were so combustible, and were, moreover, so much
exposed, on account of the many fires required in the winter season in
so cold a climate, that the city was subject to dreadful
conflagrations. So great was the danger, that the inhabitants were
continually in dread of it, and all classes vied with each other in
efforts to avert the threatened calamity whenever a fire broke out.
Besides this, there were in those days no engines for throwing water,
and no organized department of firemen. All this, of course, is
entirely different at the present day in modern cities, where houses
are built of brick or stone, and the arrangements for extinguishing
fires are so complete that an alarm of fire creates no sensation, but
people go on with their business or saunter carelessly along the
streets, while the firemen are gathering, without feeling the least
concern.

As soon as they had made sure of the death of the Czar, the
conspirators were to repair to the convent where Sophia was imprisoned,
release her from her confinement, and proclaim her queen. They were
then to reorganize the Guards, restore all the officers who had been
degraded at the time of Couvansky's rebellion, then massacre all the
foreigners whom Peter had brought into the country, especially his
particular favorites, and so put every thing back upon its ancient
footing.

The time fixed for the execution of this plot was the night of the 2d
of February, 1697; but the whole scheme was defeated by what the
conspirators would probably call the treachery of two of their number.
These were two officers of the Guards who had been concerned in the
plot, but whose hearts failed them when the