Many other instances have been mentioned to me in which the Emperor has displayed as much humanity as justice; undoubtedly there would be fewer abuses were it possible that the knowledge of them could reach him; but thousands of vile and unjust actions are committed that are hushed up and escape the punishment they deserve. The Russians stand infinitely more in fear of the Emperor than they do of their Creator. The common saying, “The Czar is near, but God is far off,” gives a good idea of their feeling on the subject. I was once staying with a friend whose husband had at that time a great deal to do with the judicial department; and the horrible tales of crimes and cruelties committed by some of the proprietors that came under his excellency’s consideration would not be credited. It is true that there are badly-disposed people in every country, but happily they have not, as in Russia, such power in their hands. The very recital of such deeds was enough to make one shudder. It is difficult to know the exact extent of the evil existing, as no accounts really authentic are published. I may mention a few that came under my _personal knowledge_. When we were at Nova Derevna, not far from St. Petersburg, two hands recently severed were found near our house in a wood: they were tied together, but it was never discovered to whom they belonged, or who had done the dreadful deed. When we were on a visit on Count ——’s estate, the head servant found in the garden the corpse of a woman who had evidently been murdered; the act had not long been perpetrated, for the body was yet warm. In this case also it was never discovered either who she was or who was the assassin. One of the trials that took place before my friend’s husband was that of a proprietress who had amused herself with shamefully cutting and maiming several children on her estates; when asked what could have induced her to commit acts of such demoniacal cruelty, her reply was, “C’était pour me distraire!” She was exiled to Siberia. It cannot be expected of human beings, although they be born bondsmen and serfs, that they will _always_ quietly submit to a tyrannical master, or that they will forego _revenge_ when they cannot obtain _justice_. Many examples of the most dreadful vengeance have come under my knowledge in different parts of Russia. The first anecdote I will give is rather laughable than serious, and I mention it _en passant_, as it was one that occurred in my presence.