The Shadow of the Czar

by John R. Carling

The tumult and din that filled the Zapolyska Square penetrated the Sobieskium to the distant chamber where the Sejm or Diet sat, the Ministerialists or Poles to the right, the Opposition or Muscovites to the left of the dais, where was the chair, table, and bell of the President Brunowski, he who had been one of Paul's opponents in the salle d'armes.

The presidential bell was in constant requisition on this particular night, for the debate had taken an extremely acrimonious turn. The temper of many of the deputies had not been sweetened by the treatment they had received at the hands of the populace.

Lipski boldly accused the ministers of hiring ruffians whose orders were to stop certain members of the Opposition from reaching the Diet-house and thus to prevent them from recording their votes.

Zabern, pointing to his own frayed uniform and to the ugly scratches on his face, replied that though it would be easy to retort with a "Tu quoque" he would refrain; that the charge was absurd, for the mob had bestowed their favors impartially upon both sides of the House.

The Duke of Bora sat in the chamber, for though no longer of cabinet rank he was still a member of the Diet, and he gave clear indication of the way in which he intended to vote by vacating his usual seat and taking a place next Lipski himself.

Lesko Lipski, deputy for Russograd, editor of the "Kolokol," an anti-dynastic newspaper, leader of the Opposition, and author of the Secular Appropriation Bill, was, as regards appearance, the very antithesis of the typical Russ. He was slim and beardless, and dressed in the latest Parisian fashion, though his costume at that moment, owing to the playfulness of the mob without, was not quite the same as when it had first left the tailor's hands. He had black beady eyes, and his habit of constantly questioning ministers upon every topic under the sun seemed to have permanently impressed his face with an eager, hungry look.

There was in the air of the chamber that nervous feeling of expectancy which always arises when the issue of a contest is problematical. On the previous evening every member of the Diet, Pole and Muscovite alike, had departed with full conviction that the Appropriation Bill would pass.

The attempted assassination of the princess had given a different turn to the matter by creating a feeling of sympathy for her, a feeling which was likewise extended to her political views. To secure the triumph of a measure known to be hateful to the young princess in the first hours of her joy at escaping the assassin's bullet seemed an unchivalrous proceeding; and those of the Poles who had hitherto regarded the bill with favor now began to reconsider their attitude.

The attempt on the princess's life, deplorable from one standpoint, was from another decidedly advantageous, and the ministry were hopeful that they would capture from the Opposition the minimum six votes necessary to secure the rejection of Lipski's measure.

Half-an-hour before midnight Zabern rose to wind up the debate for the ministerial side.