Russia, under the leadership of D’Gengis, in the thirteenth century.  Vaninka’s naturally haughty disposition had been fostered by the education she had received.  His wife being dead, and not having time to look after his daughter’s education himself, General Tchermayloff had procured an English governess for her.  This lady, instead of suppressing her pupil’s scornful propensities, had encouraged them, by filling her head with those aristocratic ideas which have made the English aristocracy the proudest in the world.  Amongst the different studies to which Vaninka devoted herself, there was one in which she was specially interested, and that one was, if one may so call it, the science of her own rank.  She knew exactly the relative degree of nobility and power of all the Russian noble families—­those that were a grade above her own, and those of whom she took precedence.  She could give each person the title which belonged to their respective rank, no easy thing to do in Russia, and she had the greatest contempt for all those who were below the rank of excellency.  As for serfs and slaves, for her they did not exist:  they were mere bearded animals, far below her horse or her dog in the sentiments which they inspired in her; and she would not for one instant have weighed the life of a serf against either of those interesting animals.

Like all the women of distinction in her nation, Vaninka was a good musician, and spoke French, Italian, German, and English equally well.

Her features had developed in harmony with her character.  Vaninka was beautiful, but her beauty was perhaps a little too decided.  Her large black eyes, straight nose, and lips curling scornfully at the corners, impressed those who saw her for the first time somewhat unpleasantly.  This impression soon wore off with her superiors and equals, to whom she became merely an ordinary charming woman, whilst to subalterns and such like she remained haughty and inaccessible as a goddess.  At seventeen Vaninka’s education was finished, and her governess who had suffered in health through the severe climate of St. Petersburg, requested permission to leave.  This desire was granted with the ostentatious recognition of which the Russian nobility are the last representatives in Europe.  Thus Vaninka was left alone, with nothing but her father’s blind adoration to direct her.  She was his only daughter, as we have mentioned, and he thought her absolutely perfect.

Things were in this state in the-general’s house when he received a letter, written on the deathbed of one of the friends of his youth.  Count Romayloff had been exiled to his estates, as a result of some quarrel with Potemkin, and his career had been spoilt.  Not being able to recover his forfeited position, he had settled down about four hundred leagues from St. Petersburg; broken-hearted, distressed probably less on account of his own exile and misfortune than of the prospects of his only son, Foedor.  The