Petersburg theatrical season of '24-'25 had been particularly
brilliant, and nowhere more so than at the Italian Opera. I came away
laden with presents, among others one from the Czar--a magnificent
necklet of very fine pearls. When the theatre closed at Lent, I was very
anxious to get away, in spite of the inclement season, and
notwithstanding the frequent warnings that the roads were not safe.
Whenever the conversation turned on that topic, the name of Trischka was
sure to crop up; he, in fact, was the leader of a formidable band of
highwaymen, compared with whose exploits those of all the others seemed
to sink into insignificance. Trischka had been steward to Prince
Paskiwiecz, and was spoken of as a very intelligent fellow. Nearly every
one with whom I came in contact had seen him while he was still at St.
Petersburg, and had a good word to say for him. His manners were
reported to be perfect; he spoke French and German very fairly; and,
most curious of all, he was an excellent dancer. Some went even as far
as to say that if he had adopted that profession, instead of scouring
the highways, he would have made a fortune. By all accounts he never
molested poor people, and the rich, whom he laid under contribution, had
never to complain of violent treatment either in words or deeds--nay,
more, he never took all they possessed from his victims, he was content
to share and share alike. But papa n'ecoutait pas de cet' oreille la;
papa etait tres peu partageur; and, truth to tell, I was taking away a
great deal of money from St. Petersburg--which was perhaps another
reason why papa did not see the necessity of paying tithes to Trischka.
If we had followed papa's advice, we should have either applied to the
Czar for an armed escort, or else delayed our departure till the middle
of the summer, though he failed to see that the loss of my engagements
elsewhere would have amounted to a serious item also. But papa had got
it into his head not to part with any of the splendid presents I had
received; they were mostly jewels, and people who do not know papa can
form no idea what they meant to him. However, as we were plainly told
that Trischka conducted his operations all the year round, that we were
as likely to be attacked by him in summer as in winter, papa reluctantly
made up his mind to go in the beginning of April. Papa provided himself
with a pair of large pistols that would not have hurt a cat, and were
the laughing-stock of