Among the inmates of the “hospital” room was Vlastòpoulo, formerly an officer in the army, condemned in 1879 to fifteen years’ “katorga,” this sentence having been subsequently increased to the life-term, in punishment for an attempt at escape. He was a man of many gifts and well equipped with varied information, firm in character, very proud and ambitious; and he was held by us to be unalterably fixed in his terrorist principles. His comrades placed great confidence in him, and esteemed him highly, as they testified by twice electing him _stàrosta_. In the spring of this year (1888) Vlastòpoulo’s roommates, of whom I was one, noticed that he was becoming short-tempered, peevish, and restless. About this time we were visited by an official of the Imperial Police Department—one Russìnov by name, a privy councillor. Tours of inspection were often made by high officials from Petersburg, and had for their real object the inciting of political prisoners to “repentance,” and the urging them to sue for pardon. These efforts were sometimes successful. Weak-minded people were occasionally found who would sing, “Pater, peccavi”; but it is worthy of note that such instances never occurred among the women “politicals.” On this occasion we were unaware that Councillor Russìnov had made proposals of recantation to any repentant souls among us; but one morning, shortly after his departure, Vlastòpoulo left the prison in the company of gendarmes, handing to one of the comrades as he passed through the door a note, which when read aloud, left us all perfectly thunderstruck. Vlastòpoulo informed us that he had lost all faith in the justice of the revolutionary struggle, and had therefore resolved to “cast himself at the foot of the throne,” as he expressed it, _i.e._ to petition the Tsar for pardon. No previous occurrence of the kind had been at all like this, and the impression on us was overwhelming. Vlastòpoulo was, as I have said, a most prominent person in our ranks, and his example might well be followed by others, especially considering the frame of mind in which many of the prisoners were known to be.