Some one near the front started the _Marseillaise_ in a low key. In a minute the atmosphere of the room seemed charged with electricity. My blood tingled to my fingertips as that deep-throated chorus in subdued tones repeated the refrain of the most soul-stirring hymn ever written. At the close the sailor who had been our guide to the place leaned over to Pasha and said: “Shall we begin?” Without formality of any kind Pasha mounted a box which had been brought in for the purpose, and gathered herself for her address. My eyes were accustomed to the dimness now, and as her shawl had fallen away from her head and was caught over her shoulders, I could see the delicate flush on her cheeks. The hush that fell over the gathering was deep, like the emptiness of a nautilus. At the beginning she spoke very quietly. She talked simply and directly. She appealed to the soldiers and sailors as men who had been peasants and working-men, who were to be again peasants and working-men. There was fervor in her voice. She spoke not for party, not for section, but for Russia--unhappy Russia! Bleeding from border to border; her people oppressed by rulers who should be guardians of her peace and happiness! Without the support of the army and navy the overthrow of the present régime is quite impossible. With the support of the army and navy it would be simple. “What are we to do with our officers when we rise?” asked a sailor when an opportunity for questions was given. That was a leading question and I awaited her answer with as breathless interest as did the men. “I cannot agree to the shedding of innocent blood,” she began. “I am a terrorist because the terror strikes down only the guilty.” “But if we do not kill our officers we would all suffer. We might indeed lose the fight.” “Wise members of our liberty movement believe that when we are actually in armed insurrection we should cling to war methods. The government kills our leaders first. Perhaps we should kill the officers. I must leave that to you. I would not hold you back. I would not argue against your doing it. But I cannot sanction it. I would prefer you bound them hand and foot and stored them away until you could consign them to a prison.” A very ingenuous answer, this--and so woman-like. After something more than an hour the cooler ones reminded the meeting that to prolong the discussion unnecessarily was tempting discovery. The speaker then closed the meeting with a few earnest words of warning not to be premature in rising. The policy of the whole country then was to wait so that all Russia might rise simultaneously. Occasional tilts with the government only result in excessive blood-spilling and do not materially further the cause. “When the next uprising comes it must be the death-grapple.” There was a distribution of leaflets, and the meeting closed, as it had opened, with the guarded singing of the _Marseillaise_.