458 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-I 



&quot;When those river pirates who murdered a sailor in 

 New York harbor had to be hanged, the sheriff of the 

 county hadn t the courage to do it and ordered me to 

 hang them. I rather hated the business, but I made every 

 thing ready, and when the time came I took an extra glass 

 of brandy, cut the rope, and off they swung. 



The two Eussians started back in consternation. Not 

 all their politeness could conceal it: horror of horrors, 

 they were dining with a hangman! Besides their sense 

 of degradation in this companionship, superstitions had 

 been bred in them which doubled their distress. A dead 

 silence fell over all. I was the first to break it by remark 

 ing to my Russian neighbor : 



&quot;You may perhaps not know, sir, that in the State of 

 New York the taking of life by due process of law is 

 considered so solemn a matter that we intrust it to the 

 chief executive officers of our counties, to our sheriffs, 

 and not to hangmen or executioners. 



He looked at me very solemnly as I announced this 

 truth, and then, after a solemn pause, gasped out in a 

 dubious, awe-struck voice, &quot;Merci bien, monsieur/ But 

 this did not restore gaiety to the dinner. Henceforth it 

 was cold indeed, and at the earliest moment possible the 

 Russian officials bowed themselves out, and no doubt, for 

 a long time afterward, ascribed any ill luck which befell 

 them to this scene of ill omen. 



Another case in which this irrepressible compatriot 

 figured was hardly less peculiar. Having decided to re 

 turn to America, and the blockade being still in force, he 

 secured a place in the post-coach for the seven days and 

 seven nights journey to the frontier. The opportunities 

 to secure such passages were few and far between, since 

 this was virtually the only public conveyance out of the 

 empire. As he was obliged to have his passport vised 

 at the Russian Foreign Office in order that he might leave 

 the country, it had been sent by the legation to the Rus 

 sian authorities a fortnight before his departure, but 

 under various pretexts it was retained, and at last did not 



