102 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XIII 



suddenly the proper authorities served notice upon the 

 press that nothing more must be said on the subject. 



This mandate was obeyed; the matter was instantly 

 dropped ; nothing more was said ; and, a year or two after 

 ward, on my inquiring of Admiral Makharoff whether 

 anything had ever been discovered regarding the lost ship 

 and its crew, he answered in the negative. 



But more serious efforts than these were made to con 

 trol thought. The censorship of books was even more 

 strongly, and, if possible, more foolishly, exercised. At 

 any of the great bookshops one could obtain, at once, the 

 worst publications of the Paris press ; but the really sub 

 stantial and thoughtful books were carefully held back. 

 The average Russian, in order to read most of these better 

 works, must be specially authorized to do so. 



I had a practical opportunity to see the system in opera 

 tion. Being engaged on the final chapters of my book, and 

 needing sundry scientific, philosophical, and religious 

 treatises, such as can be bought freely in every city of 

 Western Europe, I went to the principal bookseller in St. 

 Petersburg, and was told that, by virtue of my diplomatic 

 position, I could have them ; but that, in order to do so, I 

 must write an application, signing it with my own name, 

 and that then he would sell them to me within a few days. 

 This took place several times. 



Still another difficulty is that, owing to lack of publicity, 

 the truth can rarely be found as regards any burning 

 question : in the prevailing atmosphere of secrecy and re 

 pression the simplest facts are often completely shut from 

 the foreign observer. 



Owing to the lack of public discussion, Eussia is the 

 classic ground of myth and legend. One sees myths and 

 legends growing day by day. The legend regarding the 

 cure of the Archbishop of St. Petersburg by Father Ivan 

 of Cronstadt, which I have given in a previous chapter, 

 is an example. The same growth of legend is seen with 

 regard to e very-day matters. For example, one meets 

 half a dozen people at five-o clock tea in a Russian house, 



