Thetwocorrespondentsthereforebeganbycautiouslysoundingeachother。
“Really，mydearsir，thislittlefeteischarming！“
saidAlcideJolivetpleasantly，thinkinghimselfobligedtobegintheconversationwiththiseminentlyFrenchphrase。
“Ihavetelegraphedalready，’splendid！’“repliedHarryBlountcalmly，employingthewordspeciallydevotedtoexpressingadmirationbyallsubjectsoftheUnitedKingdom。
“Nevertheless，“addedAlcideJolivet，“Ifeltcompelledtoremarktomycousin——“
“Yourcousin？“repeatedHarryBlountinatoneofsurprise，interruptinghisbrotherofthepen。
“Yes，“returnedAlcideJolivet，“mycousinMadeleine。ItiswithherthatIcorrespond，andshelikestobequicklyandwellinformed，doesmycousin。Ithereforeremarkedtoherthat，duringthisfete，asortofcloudhadappearedtoovershadowthesovereign’sbrow。“
“Tome，itseemedradiant，“repliedHarryBlount，whoperhaps，wishedtoconcealhisrealopiniononthistopic。
“And，naturally，youmadeit’radiant，’inthecolumnsoftheDailyTelegraph。“
“Exactly。“
“Doyouremember，Mr。Blount，whatoccurredatZakretin1812？“
“IrememberitaswellasifIhadbeenthere，sir，“
repliedtheEnglishcorrespondent。
“Then，“continuedAlcideJolivet，“youknowthat，inthemiddleofafetegiveninhishonor，itwasannouncedtotheEmperorAlexanderthatNapoleonhadjustcrossedtheNiemenwiththevanguardoftheFrencharmy。NeverthelesstheEmperordidnotleavethefete，andnotwithstandingtheextremegravityofintelligencewhichmightcosthimhisempire，hedidnotallowhimselftoshowmoreuneasiness。“
“ThanourhostexhibitedwhenGeneralKissoffinformedhimthatthetelegraphicwireshadjustbeencutbetweenthefrontierandthegovernmentofIrkutsk。“
“Ah！youareawareofthat？“
“Iam！“
“Asregardsmyself，itwouldbedifficulttoavoidknowingit，sincemylasttelegramreachedUdinsk，“observedAlcideJolivet，withsomesatisfaction。
“AndmineonlyasfarasKrasnoiarsk，“answeredHarryBlount，inanolesssatisfiedtone。
“ThenyouknowalsothatordershavebeensenttothetroopsofNikolaevsk？“
“Ido，sir；andatthesametimeatelegramwassenttotheCossacksofthegovernmentofTobolsktoconcentratetheirforces。“
“Nothingcanbemoretrue，Mr。Blount；Iwasequallywellacquaintedwiththesemeasures，andyoumaybesurethatmydearcousinshallknowofthemto-morrow。“
“ExactlyasthereadersoftheDailyTelegraphshallknowitalso，M。Jolivet。“
“Well，whenoneseesallthatisgoingon……“
“Andwhenonehearsallthatissaid……“
“Aninterestingcampaigntofollow，Mr。Blount。“
“Ishallfollowit，M。Jolivet！“
“Thenitispossiblethatweshallfindourselvesongroundlesssafe，perhaps，thanthefloorofthisball-room。“
“Lesssafe，certainly，but——“
“Butmuchlessslippery，“addedAlcideJolivet，holdinguphiscompanion，justasthelatter，drawingback，wasabouttolosehisequilibrium。
Thereuponthetwocorrespondentsseparated，pleasedthattheonehadnotstolenamarchontheother。
Atthatmomentthedoorsoftheroomsadjoiningthegreatreceptionsaloonwerethrownopen，disclosingtoviewseveralimmensetablesbeautifullylaidout，andgroaningunderaprofusionofvaluablechinaandgoldplate。Onthecentraltable，reservedfortheprinces，princesses，andmembersofthecorpsdiplomatique，glitteredanepergneofinestimableprice，broughtfromLondon，andaroundthischef-d’oeuvreofchasedgoldreflectedunderthelightofthelustersathousandpiecesofmostbeautifulservicefromthemanufactoriesofSevres。
TheguestsoftheNewPalaceimmediatelybegantostreamtowardsthesupper-rooms。
Atthatmoment。GeneralKissoff，whohadjustre-entered，quicklyapproachedtheofficerofchasseurs。
“Well？“askedthelatterabruptly，ashehaddonetheformertime。
“TelegramspassTomsknolonger，sire。“
“Acourierthismoment！“
Theofficerleftthehallandenteredalargeantechamberadjoining。
Itwasacabinetwithplainoakfurniture，situatedinanangleoftheNewPalace。Severalpictures，amongstotherssomebyHoraceVernet，hungonthewall。
Theofficerhastilyopenedawindow，asifhefeltthewantofair，andsteppedoutonabalconytobreathethepureatmosphereofalovelyJulynight。Beneathhiseyes，bathedinmoonlight，layafortifiedinclosure，fromwhichrosetwocathedrals，threepalaces，andanarsenal。
Aroundthisinclosurecouldbeseenthreedistincttowns:
Kitai-Gorod，Beloi-Gorod，Zemlianai-Gorod——European，Tartar，andChinesequartersofgreatextent，commandedbytowers，belfries，minarets，andthecupolasofthreehundredchurches，withgreendomes，surmountedbythesilvercross。
Alittlewindingriver，hereandtherereflectedtheraysofthemoon。
ThisriverwastheMoskowa；thetownMoscow；thefortifiedinclosuretheKremlin；andtheofficerofchasseursoftheguard，who，withfoldedarmsandthoughtfulbrow，waslisteningdreamilytothesoundsfloatingfromtheNewPalaceovertheoldMuscovitecity，wastheCzar。
THECzarhadnotsosuddenlylefttheball-roomoftheNewPalace，whenthefetehewasgivingtothecivilandmilitaryauthoritiesandprincipalpeopleofMoscowwasattheheightofitsbrilliancy，withoutamplecause；forhehadjustreceivedinformationthatseriouseventsweretakingplacebeyondthefrontiersoftheUral。IthadbecomeevidentthataformidablerebellionthreatenedtowresttheSiberianprovincesfromtheRussiancrown。
AsiaticRussia，orSiberia，coversasuperficialareaof1，790，208
squaremiles，andcontainsnearlytwomillionsofinhabitants。
ExtendingfromtheUralMountains，whichseparateitfromRussiainEurope，totheshoresofthePacificOcean，itisboundedonthesouthbyTurkestanandtheChineseEmpire；
onthenorthbytheArcticOcean，fromtheSeaofKaratoBehring’sStraits。Itisdividedintoseveralgovernmentsorprovinces，thoseofTobolsk，Yeniseisk，Irkutsk，Omsk，andYakutsk；containstwodistricts，OkhotskandKamtschatka；
andpossessestwocountries，nowundertheMuscovitedominion——
thatoftheKirghizandthatoftheTshouktshes。Thisimmenseextentofsteppes，whichincludesmorethanonehundredandtendegreesfromwesttoeast，isalandtowhichcriminalsandpoliticaloffendersarebanished。
Twogovernor-generalsrepresentthesupremeauthorityoftheCzaroverthisvastcountry。ThehigheroneresidesatIrkutsk，thefarcapitalofEasternSiberia。TheRiverTchounaseparatesthetwoSiberias。
Norailyetfurrowsthesewideplains，someofwhichareinrealityextremelyfertile。NoironwaysleadfromthosepreciousmineswhichmaketheSiberiansoilfarricherbelowthanaboveitssurface。
Thetravelerjourneysinsummerinakibickortelga；inwinter，inasledge。
Anelectrictelegraph，withasinglewiremorethaneightthousandverstsinlength，aloneaffordscommunicationbetweenthewesternandeasternfrontiersofSiberia。OnissuingfromtheUral，itpassesthroughEkaterenburg，Kasirnov，Tioumen，Ishim，Omsk，Elamsk，Kolyvan，Tomsk，Krasnoiarsk，Nijni-Udinsk，Irkutsk，Verkne-Nertschink，Strelink，Albazine，Blagowstenks，Radde，Orlomskaya，Alexandrowskoe，andNikolaevsk；
andsixroublesandnineteencopecksarepaidforeverywordsentfromoneendtotheother。FromIrkutskthereisabranchtoKiatka，ontheMongolianfrontier；andfromthence，forthirtycopecksaword，thepostconveysthedispatchestoPekininafortnight。
Itwasthiswire，extendingfromEkaterenburgtoNikolaevsk，whichhadbeencut，firstbeyondTomsk，andthenbetweenTomskandKolyvan。
ThiswaswhytheCzar，tothecommunicationmadetohimforthesecondtimebyGeneralKissoff，hadansweredbythewords，“Acourierthismoment！“
TheCzarremainedmotionlessatthewindowforafewmoments，whenthedoorwasagainopened。Thechiefofpoliceappearedonthethreshold。
“Enter，General，“saidtheCzarbriefly，“andtellmeallyouknowofIvanOgareff。“
“Heisanextremelydangerousman，sire，“repliedthechiefofpolice。
“Herankedascolonel，didhenot？“
“Yes，sire。“
“Washeanintelligentofficer？“
“Veryintelligent，butamanwhosespirititwasimpossibletosubdue；
andpossessinganambitionwhichstoppedatnothing，hebecameinvolvedinsecretintrigues，andwasdegradedfromhisrankbyhisHighnesstheGrandDuke，andexiledtoSiberia。“
“Howlongagowasthat？“
“Twoyearssince。Pardonedaftersixmonthsofexilebyyourmajesty’sfavor，hereturnedtoRussia。“
“Andsincethattime，hashenotrevisitedSiberia？“
“Yes，sire；buthevoluntarilyreturnedthere，“repliedthechiefofpolice，adding，andslightlyloweringhisvoice，“therewasatime，sire，whenNONEreturnedfromSiberia。“
“Well，whilstIlive，SiberiaisandshallbeacountrywhencemenCANreturn。“
TheCzarhadtherighttoutterthesewordswithsomepride，foroften，byhisclemency，hehadshownthatRussianjusticeknewhowtopardon。
Theheadofthepolicedidnotreplytothisobservation，butitwasevidentthathedidnotapproveofsuchhalf-measures。Accordingtohisidea，amanwhohadoncepassedtheUralMountainsinchargeofpolicemen，oughtneveragaintocrossthem。Now，itwasnotthusunderthenewreign，andthechiefofpolicesincerelydeploredit。
What！nobanishmentforlifeforothercrimesthanthoseagainstsocialorder！What！politicalexilesreturningfromTobolsk，fromYakutsk，fromIrkutsk！Intruth，thechiefofpolice，accustomedtothedespoticsentencesoftheukasewhichformerlyneverpardoned，couldnotunderstandthismodeofgoverning。
Buthewassilent，waitinguntiltheCzarshouldinterrogatehimfurther。
Thequestionswerenotlongincoming。
“DidnotIvanOgareff，“askedtheCzar，“returntoRussiaasecondtime，afterthatjourneythroughtheSiberianprovinces，theobjectofwhichremainsunknown？“
“Hedid。“
“Andhavethepolicelosttraceofhimsince？“
“No，sire；foranoffenderonlybecomesreallydangerousfromthedayhehasreceivedhispardon。“
TheCzarfrowned。Perhapsthechiefofpolicefearedthathehadgonerathertoofar，thoughthestubbornnessofhisideaswasatleastequaltotheboundlessdevotionhefeltforhismaster。
ButtheCzar，disdainingtoreplytotheseindirectreproachescastonhispolicy，continuedhisquestions。
“WherewasOgarefflastheardof？“
“IntheprovinceofPerm。“
“Inwhattown？“
“AtPermitself。“
“Whatwashedoing？“
“Heappearedunoccupied，andtherewasnothingsuspiciousinhisconduct。“
“Thenhewasnotunderthesurveillanceofthesecretpolice？“
“No，sire。“
“WhendidheleavePerm？“
“AboutthemonthofMarch？“
“Togo……？“
“Where，isunknown。“
“Anditisnotknownwhathasbecomeofhim？“
“No，sire；itisnotknown。“
“Well，then，Imyselfknow，“answeredtheCzar。“Ihavereceivedanonymouscommunicationswhichdidnotpassthroughthepolicedepartment；
and，inthefaceofeventsnowtakingplacebeyondthefrontier，Ihaveeveryreasontobelievethattheyarecorrect。“
“Doyoumean，sire，“criedthechiefofpolice，“thatIvanOgareffhasahandinthisTartarrebellion？“
“IndeedIdo；andIwillnowtellyousomethingwhichyouareignorantof。AfterleavingPerm，IvanOgareffcrossedtheUralmountains，enteredSiberia，andpenetratedtheKirghizsteppes，andthereendeavored，notwithoutsuccess，tofomentrebellionamongsttheirnomadicpopulation。
HethenwentsofarsouthasfreeTurkestan；there，intheprovincesofBokhara，Khokhand，andKoondooz，hefoundchiefswillingtopourtheirTartarhordesintoSiberia，andexciteageneralrisinginAsiaticRussia。Thestormhasbeensilentlygathering，butithasatlastburstlikeathunderclap，andnowallmeansofcommunicationbetweenEasternandWesternSiberiahavebeenstopped。Moreover，IvanOgareff，thirstingforvengeance，aimsatthelifeofmybrother！“