“Doesn’t this sound like the Inquisition of the Middle Ages?” we said to one another, talking over this specimen of “administrative exile.” The officer of the convoy heard us, and there arose a lively discussion, in which, of course, he combated our views on Russian politics. A witness for the crown was soon forthcoming. During our halt at some big station (probably Tula or Oriel) Anna Ptshèlkina opened the barred window to get some air; and a young peasant of about twenty-two or twenty-three who was passing, stopped and stared at the young lady, and cried jeeringly, with a mischievous grimace, “Aha! so you’re caught, are you? _Now_ you’ve really got something to grumble at!” We all burst out laughing. How simple was this peasant lad’s view of political difficulties! “Caught,” “grumble”—the situation was as clear as daylight to his philosophy, and left nothing to be explained. But indeed millions of people, from peasants to the highest dignitaries, make use of the same logic; witness the choice expression of the Public Prosecutor Kotliarèvsky—“Where trees are felled there must be chips.” Everything can be summed up and accounted for in this classically simple way; and our officer could add nothing more. When a few Russians get together, however, their gloomy disquisitions on the terrible state of things prevailing in our country are always varied by enlivening interludes of jokes and harmless chatter, funny stories and witticisms. Malyòvany was in this respect inexhaustible. Like most natives of Little Russia, he had a rich vein of humour, and was a born _raconteur_. No wonder, then, that from the corner in which the soldiers had established us, there frequently issued sounds of irrepressible mirth. The journey from Kiëv to Moscow took forty-eight hours, but at last we arrived at our goal. I again chose to walk to the prison; Anna Ptshèlkina, Malyòvany, and the Romny youths followed my example, while the girl-conspirators elected to drive. One of them, named Serbinova, was rather delicate; and the other, Melnikova, clung to her friend with such tender affection that she would not be separated from her for a moment.