foreground stood the Czarina Natalia, holding by either hand the Czar Peter and the Czarevitch Ivan. Even at a distance, I could see her deep agitation; her face was as white as marble, and she held the two boys close to her. The contrast between the young princes was more marked than ever; Ivan cowered beside his step-mother, manifestly terrified at the crisis, while the young czar stood undaunted, his bold, dark eye sweeping over the crowd with an imperious glance. No doubt the recollections of that day’s pain and humiliation increased the horrors of the vengeance that he wreaked upon the Streltsi in later years. I learned afterwards that, by the advice of Matveief, the czarina had brought out the two children to satisfy the rioters of their safety. The sight of them at that distance did not content the mob; and after a moment’s quiet, they made a rush for the palace, and, by means of ladders, some of them clambered up to the balcony, pushing aside the patriarch, who tried to interpose his person between them and the imperial family. It was a moment of great excitement, and the czarina’s nerve failed. I saw her give one look at the advancing mob; and then, taking the two princes, she hurriedly withdrew, her retreat precipitating a scene of terror. The rioters had swarmed up the Red Staircase, and although, as yet, but little violence had marked the outbreak, it was only a question of time; unless something quelled the tumult, nothing could save the palace. I had been too closely hemmed in to move; but this new rush gave me an opportunity to advance, and I pushed on, determined to reach the Czarevna Sophia. But the forward movement was halted by the sudden appearance of Matveief upon the Red Staircase. The ex-chancellor had once been one of the most popular commanders of the Streltsi, and his appearance had an immediate effect. He was a man not only of great personal dignity, but of diplomatic address, and the moment he began to speak, the rioters quieted down. He appealed to them eloquently to be true to their reputation as loyal soldiers of the czar, assuring them of the safety of the imperial family and of the absolute fealty of the Naryshkins, and denouncing the rumors which had poisoned their minds as absolutely without foundation. I could not hear all his speech, but could divine much from his tones and gestures, and saw at once that he had grasped the situation, and was handling it with a dexterity worthy of the politician that he was. It was just at the time when a pebble could turn the scale, and it seemed as if he had won the day. The conclusion of his speech was greeted with thundering applause, and for the moment the whole aspect of affairs was changed. The rioters began to talk among themselves, their weapons were less in evidence, and, apparently, the crisis had come and passed. But the next instant I saw that a new danger threatened. Prince Michael Dolgoruky, second in command of the