And now in the autumn of her life (it is impossible to associate the word winter with so vital a personality) Madame Novikoff has seen her years of work crowned with success. To-day she is as keen in regard to public affairs, especially where her beloved Russia is concerned, as she was in the days when her life was one continuous fight with the war-spirit. In the preparation of these Memories I have seen something of her application, her industry and her personality. In the past I have often asked myself what was the secret of Madame Novikoff's remarkable success. But now I know. Time after time when we have seen things from a different angle, I have found myself accepting her point of view before I was even conscious of weakening. Of all the compliments ever paid to Madame Novikoff, the one that probably pleases her most is that which recently appeared in a London daily written by a famous writer upon Russian life, who described her as "a true Russian." This is not an autobiography; for Madame Novikoff has always refused to undertake such a responsibility. In the first place she thinks it {10} would be too long, and in the second too personal. "I have been talked about quite enough," she will say, "without starting to talk about myself." In 1909 there appeared _The M.P. for Russia_, edited by the late W. T. Stead, which told much of her association with her distinguished friends, Gladstone, Kinglake, Villiers, Clarendon, Carlyle, Tyndall, Froude and others. "These have been taken," she says, "and I am left." But she has continued her work, and many of her friends have told her that at this time, above all others, she should tell personally something of her Russian memories. As she phrases it, "For forty years I have been wandering in the Wilderness, and now I have been permitted the happiness of entering the Promised Land. At last the gates have been opened. We are now brothers-in-arms." THE EDITOR. {11} CONTENTS EDITOR'S PREFACE CHAPTER I THE RUSSIAN SPIRIT July 1914--Enthusiasm at Moscow--My Ambition Realised--England and Russia Allies--A War of Right--Wounded Heroes--Russia's Faith in Victory--Our Emperor's Call--England's Greatness--I am Introduced to Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli--"The M.P. for Russia in England"--Mr. Gladstone's Championship--An Unpopular Cause CHAPTER II THE AWAKENING OF RUSSIA A New Era--My Brother Nicholas--Hadji Ghiray: Hero--Terrible News--A Heroic Advance--My Brother's Death--Aksakoff's Famous Speech--Russia Aflame--A Nation's Sacrifice--My Heart-broken Letters--Mr. Gladstone's Response--Mutual Suspicion--My Visits to England CHAPTER III MR. GLADSTONE AND I STRIVE FOR PEACE