Anonymous

“ The good couple had done all without any hope or prospect of reward, but they both repeatedly declared that Gerald had already more than repaid them for the services they had rendered him by the generous sacrifice he had made, which had, they said, been the means of saving Michael’s life.
Gerald returned with his mother to Moscow, and then commenced his studies with a cheerful spirit. He lived to be a comfort to his widowed parent, and an ornament to society; but he never had an opportunity of serving his country beyond what he could do as a private individual. ”

“ While a man possesses a feeling of independence, he may meet difficulties and hardships with a bold front; but when he feels himself to be a slave, (and these poor people were slaves though they bore not the name,) his energies are in most cases benumbed, and his spirit is broken.
Margaret used to look very sad and often to weep, when she and Gerald returned from their visits to the works, for with the keen eye of affection she saw [Pg 18] what he was suffering, though he said not a word. ”

“ As Gerald was too young to carry on the fishing craft alone, he and Margaret resided wholly with her parents. Gerald helped the old man to make and mend fishing-tackle, which was now their principal means of support; and Margaret did anything she could to earn a trifle, still their circumstances were very much worse than when Michael was at home following his trade. Though Michael was naturally strong, and had all his life been used to hardship, he could not bear the labour to which he was set, so well as many of his companions. ”

“ Every book we read should do something more than amuse the fancy and interest the feelings. It should inform our minds and teach us some valuable lesson for practice. We have seen that our hero’s generous action was made in the Providence of God to lead to its own reward. Had he not sought an interview with the Czar he would not have discovered his mother. Again we may observe, that circumstances do not affect the conduct of individuals so as to prevent the possibility of their performing noble deeds. ”

“ I am a soldier, myself, but I wish not to put a restraint on your [Pg 37] inclination—nay, should you prefer following some useful art, I would give you all encouragement. My nobles here know that I patronise the useful arts, and have set them an example by working at some of them myself.’
‘My inclination, Sire, has always been to pursue a studious life,’ Gerald ventured to say.
‘Ha!’ exclaimed the Czar, ‘I am now founding a university in Moscow, would you like to enter it?’
‘That is what I desire above all things, Sire,’ Gerald replied with great earnestness. ”

“ He knew that they would be grieved to purchase their own comfort at the sacrifice of his liberty, and it might be of his health also; but he hoped that his youth and good constitution would enable him to bear the toil for a time, ‘and perhaps,’ thought he, ‘I may find favour in the sight of the Czar, and he may not doom me to spend all my best days at such work.’
In his way to the island where the Emperor’s humble court was kept, Gerald passed the spot where Michael’s cottage had once stood, the spot where he had been rescued by his kind guardian from a watery grave. ”

“ Having been carried prisoner to Russia, during one of the numerous wars between the Russians and Swedes, he had been compelled to obtain his living as a fisherman. He taught his son Michael all that he had himself learned, and also brought him up to his trade. When Michael became a man, he married a young woman, the daughter of one of the same craft; they were very poor, but they lived happily together, for Margaret was thrifty and affectionate, and Michael steady, sober and industrious. ”

“ Mentzikoff beckoned him to follow, and they proceeded together to the Czar’s hut. It is an odd fancy for an Emperor to live in such a place when he might live in a grand palace, thought our hero; however, he wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
Peter had been put out of temper the night before, by meeting with some trifling opposition to his wishes and plans; and the minister, though a very great favourite with his sovereign, was not quite sure that even he could get a hearing at that time. He had taken a fancy to Gerald, however, and he was determined to do all he could to serve him. ”

“ The inhabitants of Moscow were at first jealous of the new city. They foresaw that it would, in the course of time, from its very situation, be a more desirable abode for purposes of trade than the ancient capital; and they greatly opposed the plan, lest their dignity should decrease as well as their interests suffer; but the Czar was not a man to yield to any, however high their rank might be ”

“ You know you have yourself taught me that God takes care of good people, and I am sure father and you are good. You have taught me, too, that God hears our prayers if we pray to him with sincerity; and I have prayed very earnestly and very often that he would bring dear father back. Courage, good mother, do not weep; you will have him with you again, and that before long.’
We must now tell our young readers that Gerald had formed a determination to offer himself as a substitute in Michael’s place. He made this resolution very soon after the fisherman was taken from his family ”

“ The poorest classes never failed to attend the baths at least once in the week.
It was Palm Sunday when Gerald and his companions arrived, the place was consequently in a state of universal excitement. The bells too were ringing merrily. Moscow was famous for the size and number of its bells. To present a large bell to a church was considered by some a very pious act, therefore almost every new sovereign had a bell cast larger than that which had been given to the city by his predecessor. [2] Palm Sunday was a day on which a very grand festival was always held. ”

“ Ten years glided away and very little change took place in the fisherman’s family, excepting that the infant foundling grew up, by degrees, into a fine intelligent boy. In the long nights of the Russian winter, unless there is some kind of mental employment, time passes very wearily. Michael had so far profited by his father’s instructions, as to be able to impart the elements of useful knowledge to Gerald, who was both an apt and eager scholar. ”

“ Exposed thus to hardships of every kind, the men, as might be expected, perished by hundreds. But these disastrous results were not allowed to interrupt the work: for as fast as they died off, others were pressed into the service and marched off to the place. In Russia the Emperor has absolute power over all his subjects: even the nobles, therefore, dared not to oppose the mandate, had they been so disposed. ”

“ The charge of an infant of three or four months old, of course added to their cares and difficulties; but both the fisherman and his wife had stout hearts which would not soon sink under dangers; and the Russians are naturally a hardy people. Their winter abode was the cottage in which Margaret had spent her childhood and early youth, which was still occupied by her parents, they were therefore sure of a hearty and affectionate welcome when their journey was over. ”

“ Our hero and his companions met the procession as it was just leaving the palace, and they stood for a while to watch it pass. Gerald’s associates were delighted at having arrived in time to witness it, and Gerald was himself pleased with the sight, for he had never seen anything of the kind before. But looking on it as a religious festival he could not help feeling pained. These men he knew were about to fall before images and offer up prayers to saints and angels, and they would afterwards spend the sacred hours of the Sabbath in feasting and drinking ”

“ No one, to see him, would have imagined that he was seeking to be placed in circumstances, at the thought of which many stout-hearted men quailed. He did not dwell however, on the hardships and dangers that might await him; he only thought of how he should gladden the spirits of those who had so long acted the part of parents to him. ”

“ Your father,’ she continued, ‘was one of those patriots who did not take part with either the Swedes or the Russians; but who nobly stood out for Polish [Pg 43] independence and the right of electing a king for ourselves. This being the case, he fared ill when Charles of Sweden got the mastery; and he would have done the same when Peter of Russia had the supreme power, but for the private friendship which I told you existed between him and the Czar. He fell at last, however,’ and as she ceased, the lady buried her face in her hands and wept afresh. ”

“ As the men rowed the boat across the river, one commenced a song, and the others joined in chorus. The Russian people are noted for their love of music, and they generally lighten their labours by singing.
On reaching the island, they conducted our hero at once to the house of the minister.
The house of Prince Mentzikoff was very superior to the one occupied by his sovereign, for Peter took pride in demeaning himself when he was in the mood [Pg 25] to do so; still it was but a rude affair, as our young readers will no doubt think when they hear it described. ”

“ Even the highest classes amongst the people were extremely ignorant, very few of them could even read or write, and they spent the principal part of their time in feasting and drinking. They had neither ships, nor sailors, and no manufacturing class of people, except a few of the serfs who worked for the sole benefit of their masters. ”

“ In consequence of this victory, Stanislaus was deposed and Frederick Augustus was restored to the throne.
Most of our young readers are no doubt aware that Poland is no longer a kingdom, but a Russian province. Subsequently to the period of which we have been speaking, the fall of the Polish nation was rapid, and their final overthrow took place about twenty years ago, under Nicholas, the present Emperor of Russia. ”

“ Gerald had been at the palace about a week, when he received a message from the Emperor, bidding him prepare himself for an interview with a lady who, he said, had taken a great interest in his story. The officer who delivered the message further informed him that the lady, whose name was Madame Koski, was the widow of a Polish noble who had been personally attached to the Czar; and that having lost her property in Poland, she was now living on a pension which was allowed her by the Emperor.
Our hero listened to these particulars with great [Pg 40] eagerness ”

“ If our young readers will take a map of Europe, and look to the west, they will see a broad wide sea called the Baltic, stretching northward and separating the countries of Norway and Sweden from Russia. To the east of this sea is a gulf, called the Gulf of Finland, and at the extremity of that gulf, at the mouth of the river Neva, stands the city of St. ”