But when Yaroslav came to Novgorod an outburst so tremendous was taking place in the city, that no man had ever seen its like before. The passions of the people and the wild rage of parties had never been so violent. It turned out, too, that Yaroslav himself was of those called “young, but early.” Men were mistaken when they thought to find in him a son-in-law who would agree with Mystislav. He was a genuine Vladimir prince, hence in no way inclined to preserve the famed liberties of Novgorod. He had one thought alone: to acquire additions for Vladimir. Mystislav’s adherents immediately conceived a deep hatred for Yaroslav, the most irascible among all the sons of Big Nest. So acute was their feeling that, while warming his palace, he was threatened with banishment. To make up for this hatred, his adherents “raised their heads and stood up for the prince like a mountain.” They advised him to go to Torjok and rule from there, holding Novgorod with all firmness. Yaroslav went to Torjok, and then chose his own method. When a message was sent to him saying: “Come thou to Novgorod,” he seized the envoys and conveyed them to Pereyaslavl Beyond the Forest, imprisoning them on an island. Novgorod now rose as one man against Yaroslav. Meanwhile, he sat in Torjok very quietly, laughed at the city, and gave command to seize Novgorod merchants and their wares on all roads in Vladimir. A multitude of Novgorod men were arrested and imprisoned. To add to the misfortunes of the city, the harvest that year was a failure in Novgorod regions. Yaroslav did not let one load of wheat reach the city. From these severe measures, there was such hunger that parents sold their children for bread, and unclean things were eaten. People died on the streets, and their dead bodies lay on the roads, where hungry dogs devoured them. Novgorod sent envoys to Yaroslav, begging him to return to the city, but he gave no answer, and arrested the envoys. Novgorod sent a third time. “Come to thy place; come to Holy Sophia. If thou wilt not come, declare thy intention,” begged they. Yaroslav, as usual, detained the envoys. The men in confinement at this time numbered two thousand. There was “wailing and great sorrow in Novgorod.” All at once, in the midst of these terrors, Mystislav the Gallant appeared in the city. No man there knew whence he came. Yaroslav, who learned of his coming, sent a detachment to arrest him, but this detachment surrendered to Mystislav. The first thing the gallant prince did was to seize all known partisans of Yaroslav, and put them in irons. Then, summoning the assembly and kissing the cross before the whole people, he said to them: “Either the men and the lands of Great Novgorod will be freed, or I will lay down my life for the city.” “In life or in death we are with thee!” called out the citizens in answer.