RUSSIAN STATESMEN -1892-1894 35 



and more every day. To return to M. de Witte, it seemed 

 strange to most onlookers that the present Emperor 

 threw him out of the finance ministry, in which he had 

 so greatly distinguished himself, and shelved him in one 

 of those bodies, such as the council of state or the senate, 

 which exist mainly as harbors or shelters for dismissed 

 functionaries. But really there was nothing singular 

 about it. As regards the main body at court, from the 

 grand dukes, the women, etc., down, he had committed the 

 sin of which Turgot and Necker were guilty when they 

 sought to save France but found that the women, princes, 

 and favorites of poor Louis XVI s family were deter 

 mined to dip their hands into the state treasury, and were 

 too strong to be controlled. Ruin followed the dismissal 

 of Turgot and Necker then, and seems to be following the 

 dismissal of De Witte now : though as I revise this chap 

 ter word comes that the Emperor has recalled him. 



No doubt Prince Khilkoff, who has come in as minister 

 of internal communications since my departure from Eus- 

 sia, is also a strong man ; but no functionary can take the 

 place of a great body of individuals who invest their 

 own money in public works throughout an entire nation. 



There was also another statesman in a very different 

 field whom I found exceedingly interesting, a statesman 

 who had gained a power in the empire second to no other 

 save the Emperor himself, and had centered in himself 

 more hatred than any other Eussian of recent times, the 

 former Emperor s tutor and virtual minister as regards 

 ecclesiastical affairs, Pobedonostzeff. His theories are 

 the most reactionary of all developed in modern times; 

 and his hand -was then felt, and is still felt, in every part of 

 the empire, enforcing those theories. Whatever may be 

 thought of his wisdom, his patriotism is not to be doubted. 

 Though I differ from him almost totally, few men have so 

 greatly interested me, and one of the following chapters 

 will be devoted to him. 



But there were some other so-called statesmen toward 

 whom I had a very different feeling. One of these was the 



