“Very well I think of him. He is a square man, and, what is better, he is not selfish. He needs no glory. He works only for the welfare of the people, and not only his people but for all the Allies, too. He is all around a good man. It is not strange to have a good man; but to have a man who is good and brave and clever is unusual. I esteem him from the profound of my soul.” During the Korniloff rebellion she amply proved her faith; for day and night she went from barracks to barracks, urging the soldiers to stand by Kerensky. From Babushka I went to Red Cross Headquarters at the Hotel Europe, to find a dismal group. Some suave and kindly gentleman had just confided to Colonel Thompson, quite pleasantly, that the hangings would begin at three o’clock that afternoon. “If the old crowd comes back to Russia, I’m through. I don’t want to stay,” said the Colonel; and Raymond Robins nodded a gloomy second. If the weight of Russia and of the world had been upon our shoulders, we could have been no more serious about it. We wept for the Petrograd front. We wept that only a few miles distant Russians were killing Russians, and nothing could be done to stop it. We might have saved our tears. The “savage” forces of General Korniloff and the troops of Kerensky had taken things into their own hands and were settling them in their own way. They were using the new Russian method of liquidation--they were fraternizing. The only shot fired was that with which one of Korniloff’s officers killed himself. The soldiers turned the bloody civil war into a fiasco. The “wild” Cossacks refused to kill their fellows. Korniloff was captured and placed under arrest, and the government announced that the Korniloff adventure had been liquidated. The serious consequences were of another nature than bloodshed. The workers declared themselves through with all attempts to coöperate with the bourgeoisie. Korniloff’s friends accused Kerensky of double dealing. He was unable to explain himself to the satisfaction of his followers, and they began to distrust him. As nearly as I can gather from the investigation of many stories, Kerensky became possessed of knowledge that Korniloff, probably without his own knowledge, was being used by counter-revolutionists to overthrow the government. Kerensky made overtures to trap Korniloff into admissions that would condemn him. By the time he had gained his object, he had involved himself so far that it was impossible to explain. His intentions were unquestionably of the highest, but his methods were not those that a popular hero can use and remain on the high pedestal that his followers demand. The first attempt to instal a man on horseback resulted in driving the radical forces further and further to the left and creating a mass solidarity that was ultimately to prove fatal to the existing order. The Korniloff adventure paved the way for the Bolsheviki Revolution. CHAPTER IX THE CENTRABALT MAKES AN EXCEPTION