It was said at the time that Yakoob Beg was so desirous of showing his goodwill to the Russians that he had insisted on signing it on that day in honour of the Grand Duke Constantine. Now there were two or three improbabilities in this statement that struck several observers. In the first place it was extremely improbable that Yakoob Beg knew it was St. Constantine's day at all; and again, in the second place he was quite as probably ignorant of the existence of a Grand Duke Constantine. At all events, there was no valid reason why a Central Asian ruler should conceive that his politeness to that Grand Duke in particular would demonstrate his desire to be on good terms with Russians in general. The other version, which, like many other circumstances, has only leaked out in the pages of Mr. Schuyler, is altogether more probable, and is not open to the same objections. According to this, it was Baron Kaulbars, who of course was aware of the saint's day, who demanded that the treaty should bear that date, and who, as soon as it was signed, sent off a message to General Kaufmann saying that the Athalik Ghazi, out of friendship to that general, had specially requested that the treaty should be signed on that day in honour of General Kaufmann's patron saint. However flattered that distinguished general and governor may have felt at the delicate attention of his ambassador, he had to decline the proposed honour; and in the despatch that was sent to St. Petersburg, describing the event, the name of the Grand Duke Constantine was substituted for his own. There is little doubt that this is the correct statement, and it certainly suggests quite a revelation as to the system in Russian Asia of making things pleasant and agreeable to one another, always, however, assuming that there be an exceptional degree of power and pomp reserved for his Excellency General Kaufmann.