144 OSTROGORCHSK 



Making allowances for differences of pay, I don't think that 

 Russian officers are more inclined to help themselves than 

 those of other countries. Anyhow they are not hypocrites, 

 so we should not darken the pictures drawn by them of 

 official corruption. The story is told of a certain Russian pro- 

 vince which was particularly unlucky in having a succession 

 of greedy rulers, whose rapacity caused such discontent 

 among the people, that the Central Government, to put things 

 right, sent as administrator of this province a General who 

 had the reputation of being absolutely incorruptible. The 

 reforms instituted by Hercules in the cleansing of the stable 

 that belonged to Augeas, were mild in comparison with those 

 carried out by this new broom, who was specially severe on 

 a contractor that had made immense sums under previous 

 governors. About this time a railway contract amounting 

 to many millions of roubles came under discussion, but the 

 contractor in question found himself rigidly barred from 

 competition in all public works. Nothing daunted by this 

 rebuff, he proceeded to lay siege to the affections of the 

 General's dvornik (hall porter), who was too frightened for 

 his master to grant the intriguer any active assistance despite 

 the fact of his having been freely bribed. The game con- 

 tinued without result for about a month, until one afternoon 

 when all good officials are asleep, the contractor on approach- 

 ing the General's house, saw the dvornik slumbering in his 

 chair. Taking this opportunity, he glided past the porter, 

 softly entered the room where the General was reposing, 

 and drawing from his pocket a roll of notes amounting 

 in value to 20,000 roubles, he laid them on the table 

 and departed as noiselessly as he had entered. When the 

 General awoke, the first thing he did was to clap his eyes 

 on the roll of notes, and then he shouted for the dvornik to 

 come to him. When the trembling porter had made his 

 appearance, he asked him who had dared to enter his room 



