Father Peter guessed at the death of the captive, from the tears and insinuations of the _commandantsha_, and said to himself, “Oh, God! Thou hast at last delivered the poor unfortunate captive from her burden, and given rest to her soul.” And, without any fuss or noise, went immediately to the church and celebrated a funeral mass, for the fallen asleep bond-slave of God, Elizabeth; and at the oblation, remembering her soul, cut a small piece from the consecrated loaf. “For whom did you have that funeral mass?” asked Vâra of her uncle, noticing the loaf on the breakfast table. “For that person you know of, that poor sufferer.” “But who was she?” “A slave, and child of a bond-slave,” mysteriously answered Father Peter. “We are all in the hands of God, the rich and the poor, the slaves and the kings.” * * * * * The Field-Marshal Galitzin was unable for a long time to decide on the means of letting the empress know of the death of Tarakanova. He would take a pen, write a few lines, dash them out, and again begin thinking. “Ah! come what may,” said he to himself, “the dead will not be called to account, and for the living, it’s a vindication.” The prince took out a clean sheet of paper, dipped his pen in the ink, and began very carefully to trace, in an old-fashioned hand, the following words:-- “The person so well known to your Imperial Highness as having usurped a name and rank not belonging to her, died on the 4th of December, an unrepentant sinner, having confessed to nothing and betrayed no one.” “And if any of the great should learn anything about her, and let it out,” thought Galitzin to himself, “we can set rumours afloat that she was drowned in the inundation. Just at that very time, they fired enough cannon from the fortress, and the lovely Neva played her pranks.” And this is the origin of the legend of the drowning of Tarakanova.[50] * * * * * Irena Lvovna Rakitina, after having gone about from department to department, was at last convinced of the hopelessness of her case, and returned to her native village accompanied by Vâra. This was in December, 1775. In Moscow, she tried to give a personal petition to the empress, but this was just the day before the departure of Ekaterina for Petersburg. The petition of Irena was graciously accepted; but somehow very likely, in the confusion dependent on the departure of the Court,--it got lost and was forgotten, as she never received any answer or resolution. Irena, while at Moscow, determined to find out Orloff, but afterward was dissuaded from her purpose. On her arrival in Petersburg, the empress most assiduously questioned Galitzin about the last days of the captive; and notwithstanding all the endeavours of the old man to soften his tale, she understood what an awful tragedy had overtaken the blind victim of foreign intrigue.