St. Nicholas’ Day--Fears and expectations--The Black Hundred Perils of night--The new Governor-General--The sacred Banners--The crowd of worshippers--The procession--The bishops and the Iberian Virgin--The Krasnaya--Incitements to massacre--Appeal to Dubasoff--The stampede of the patriots 120 CHAPTER VIII THE DAYS OF MOSCOW--I My start for the Caucasus--The railway strike begins--The peasants on the train--General strike--Provisions cut short--Friendly discussions with soldiers--A red flag procession--A Cossack charge--Silence at night--Government preparations--Revolutionists unwilling to rise--The Government’s design to bring on the outbreak--The attack on Fiedler’s house--Revolutionary force and arms--Reported danger of English overseers--The guns begin--The district of fighting--The revolutionary plan--The barricades--Difficulties of the spectator in street fighting--Interest of the crowd--Casualties begin--The red cross--Assistance to the wounded--The Government guns 129 CHAPTER IX THE DAYS OF MOSCOW--II Reports of the revolution--Guns on the Theatre Square--Explosion in a gun-shop--Increase in the fighting--Sledges refuse the wounded--The merciful soldier--A schoolboy killed--The revolutionist position--The barricade forts--Barricades never held--The revolutionist tactics--Varieties in barricade--The troops protect their right flank--Barricades still growing--Police in disguise 155 CHAPTER X THE DAYS OF MOSCOW--III The beginning of the end--My attempts at photography--Unsuspected presence of revolutionists--Search for revolvers--Labels for identification--Fresh fighting on the Government’s left--But the main movement was failing--Revolutionists appeal for volunteers--Official estimate of casualties--Assassination of the chief of secret police--The Sadovaya at dawn--The police receive rifles--The barricades destroyed--Business resumed by order--Relief of business people--Fighting continues in Presnensky District--Mills held for the revolution--Arrival of the Semenoffsky Guards--Bombardment of the district--The murder of Dr. Vorobieff for assisting the wounded--The district from the inside--Attempts to escape--End of the rising--Various estimates of dead and wounded--The executions--The slaughter of prisoners--The flogging of boys and girls--Christmas Day--The ceremony in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour 169 CHAPTER XI IN LITTLE RUSSIA