sense and inventive power, had distinguished him even at this time, but the peace which was concluded barred before him the gate of progress.  He was sent with many discharged officers back to the Don.  Let them go again and look after their field labors!  Pugasceff’s head, however, was full of other ideas than that of again commencing cheese-making, from which occupation he had been called ten years before.  He hated the Czarina, and adored her!  He hated the proud woman who had no right to tread upon the neck of the Russians, and he adored the beautiful woman who possessed the right to tread upon every Russian’s heart!  He became possessed with the mad idea that he would tear down that woman from her throne, and take her afterwards into his arms.  He had his plans prepared for this.  He went along the Volga, where the Roskolniks live—­they who oppose the Russian religion, and who were the adherents of the persecuted fanatics whose fathers and grandfathers had been continually extirpated by means of hanging, either on trees or scaffolds, and this only for the sole reason that they crossed themselves downwards, and not upwards, as they do in Moscow!

The Roskolniks were always ready to plot if they had any pretence and could get a leader.  Pugasceff wanted to commence his scheme with these, but he was soon betrayed, and fell into the hands of the police and was carried into a Kasan prison and put into chains.  He might thus go on dreaming!  Pugasceff dreamed one night that he burst the iron chains from his legs, cut through the wall of the prison, jumped down from the inclosure, swam through the surrounding trench whose depth was filled with sharp spikes, and that he made his way towards the uninhabited plains of the Ural Sorodok, without a crust of bread or a decent stitch of clothing!  The Jakics Cossacks are the only inhabitants of the plains of Uralszk—­the most dreaded tribe in Russia—­living in one of those border countries only painted in outline on the map, and a people with whom no other on the plains form acquaintanceship.  They change locality from year to year.  One winter a Cossack band will pay a visit to the land of the Kirghese, and burn down their wooden huts; next year a Kirgizian band will render the same service to the Cossacks!  Fighting is pleasanter work in the winter.  In the summer every one lives under the sky, and there are no houses to be destroyed!  This people belong to the Roskolnik sect.  Just a little while previously they had amused themselves by slaughtering the Russian Commissioner-General Traubenberg, with his suite, who came there to regulate how far they might be allowed to fish in the river Jaik, and with this act they thought they had clearly proved the Government had nothing to do pike!  Pugasceff had just taken refuge amongst them at the time when they were dividing the arms of the Russian soldiers, and were scheming as to what they should further do.  One lovely autumn night the escaped convict after a great deal of wandering