CHAPTER VI

THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS I

A Pacific Emperor--An Imperial Fault--The Pauper's Funeral--The Emperor's Visit to my Mother--My Dilemma--The Emperor's Kindness--He is Snubbed by an _Ingénue_--The Emperor's Desire for an Alliance with England--Prince Gortschakoff's Rejoinder--The Slav Ideal--Russia and Constantinople--Bismarck's Admiration--He Discomfits a Member of the Reichstag