“No,” continued the other; “we never had a Republic, and after a time they arrested the chief agitator, who was the soul of the revolutionary movement in our town, a wonderful orator.  I had heard him speak several times and been carried away.  When he was arrested I saw him taken to prison, and he said ‘Good-bye’ to the people, and bowed to them in the street in such an exaggerated theatrical way that I was astonished and felt uncomfortable.  Here, I thought, is a man who can sacrifice himself for an idea, and who seemed to be thoroughly sincere, and yet he behaves theatrically and poses as if he were not sincere.  I felt more puzzled than ever, and I asked my husband to let me go and see him in prison.  I thought that perhaps after talking to him I could solve the riddle, and find out once for all who was right and who was wrong.  My husband let me go, and I was admitted into his cell.

“‘You know who I am,’ I said, ’since I am here, and I am admitted inside these locked doors?’ He nodded.  Then I asked him whether I could be of any use to him.  He said that he had all that he wanted; and like this the ice was broken, and I asked him presently if he believed in the whole movement.  He said that until the 17th of October, when the Manifesto had been issued, he had believed with all his soul in it; but the events of the last months had caused him to change his mind.  He now thought that the work of his party, and, in fact, the whole movement, which had been going on for over fifty years, had really been in vain.  ‘We shall have,’ he said, ’to begin again from the very beginning, because the Russian people are not ready for us yet, and probably another fifty years will have to go by before they are ready.’

“I left him very much perplexed.  He was set free not long afterwards, in virtue of some manifesto, and because there had been no disorders in our town and he had not been the cause of any bloodshed.  Soon after he came out of prison my husband met him, and he said to my husband:  ’I suppose you will not shake hands with me?’ And my husband replied:  ’Because our views are different there is no reason why both of us should not be honest men,’ and he shook hands with him.”

The conversation now became a discussion about the various ideals of various people and parties holding different political views.  The large lady kept on expressing the puzzled state of mind in which she was.

The whole conversation, of which I have given a very condensed report, was spread over a long time, and often interrupted.  Later they reached the subject of political assassination, and the large lady said:—­