lcontent was Pobiedonostsev, the Chief Procurator of the
Holy Synod, who, despite his grey hairs, was detested only less than he
was feared.

His gloomy mien and his shake of the head had not escaped the presiding
Grand Duke, and the latter evidently considered it to be his duty to
give this man who had enjoyed the confidence of three successive Tsars
an opportunity of recording his divergent opinion.

At his summons the Chief Procurator arose, and, amid complete silence,
said--

"It cannot be my duty to deliver an opinion as to the possibility or on
the prospects of an alliance with Germany, for I am as little acquainted
as any here present with the intentions and plans of the German Emperor.
William II. is the greatest sphinx of our age. He talks much, and his
speeches give the impression of complete sincerity; but who can guess
what is really behind them? That he has formulated a fixed programme
as his life's work, and that he is the man to carry it out, regardless
whether public opinion is on his side or not, thus much appears to me
to be certain. If the subjection of England is a part of his programme,
then the hopes of the French Minister would, in fact, be no Utopia,
only supposing that the Emperor William considers the present the most
suitable time for disclosing to the world his ultimate aims. It would
be the task of our diplomatic representative at the Court of Berlin to
assure himself on this point. But it is quite another question whether
Russia really needs an alliance either with Germany or with the Western
Power just referred to, and my view of the case leads me to answer this
question in the negative. Russia is, at the present time, the last and
sole bulwark of absolutism in Europe, and if a ruler called by God's
grace to the highest and most responsible of all earthly offices is to
remain strong enough to crush the spirit of rebellion and immorality
which here and there, under the influence of foreign elements, has shown
itself in our beloved country, we must, before all things, take heed to
keep far away from our people the poison of the so-called liberal ideas,
infidelity, and atheism with which it seems likely to be contaminated
from the West. In like manner, as we, a century ago, crushed the
powerful leader of the revolution, so also shall we to-day triumph
over our foe--we single-handed! Let our armies march into Persia,
Afghanistan, and India, and lead throughout all Asia the dominion of the
t