All proprietors have the misfortune to come under his sweeping denunciations, because they are inconsistent with his ideal of a peasant Empire, but he recognises amongst them degrees of depravity.  Some are simply obstructive, whilst others are actively prejudicial to the public welfare.  Among these latter a special object of aversion is Prince S——­, because he not only possesses very large estates, but at the same time has aristocratic pretensions, and calls himself Conservative.

Prince S——­ is by far the most important man in the district.  His family is one of the oldest in the country, but he does not owe his influence to his pedigree, for pedigree pure and simple does not count for much in Russia.  He is influential and respected because he is a great land-holder with a high official position, and belongs by birth to that group of families which forms the permanent nucleus of the ever-changing Court society.  His father and grandfather were important personages in the Administration and at Court, and his sons and grandsons will probably in this respect follow in the footsteps of their ancestors.  Though in the eye of the law all nobles are equal, and, theoretically speaking, promotion is gained exclusively by personal merit, yet, in reality, those who have friends at Court rise more easily and more rapidly.

The Prince has had a prosperous but not very eventful life.  He was educated, first at home, under an English tutor, and afterwards in the Corps des Pages.  On leaving this institution he entered a regiment of the Guards, and rose steadily to high military rank.  His activity, however, has been chiefly in the civil administration, and he now has a seat in the Council of State.  Though he has always taken a certain interest in public affairs, he did not play an important part in any of the great reforms.  When the peasant question was raised he sympathised with the idea of Emancipation, but did not at all sympathise with the idea of giving land to the emancipated serfs and preserving the Communal institutions.  What he desired was that the proprietors should liberate their serfs without any pecuniary indemnity, and should receive in return a certain share of political power.  His scheme was not adopted, but he has not relinquished the hope that the great landed proprietors may somehow obtain a social and political position similar to that of the great land-owners in England.

Official duties and social relations compel the Prince to live for a large part of the year in the capital.  He spends only a few weeks yearly on his estate.  The house is large, and fitted up in the English style, with a view to combining elegance and comfort.  It contains several spacious apartments, a library, and a billiard-room.  There is an extensive park, an immense garden with hot houses, numerous horses and carriages, and a legion of servants.  In the drawing-room is a plentiful supply of English and French books, newspapers, and periodicals, including the Journal de St. Petersbourg, which gives the news of the day.