Russia had to make ready for those campaigns in which Napoleon gained
every battle. Then came that peaceful meeting on the raft at
Tilsit--worse for Russia than any warlike meeting; for thereby Napoleon
seduced Alexander, for years, from plans of bettering his empire into
dreams of extending it.
Coming out of these dreams, Alexander had to deal with such realities as
the burning of Moscow, the Battle of Leipsic, and the occupation of
France; yet, in the midst of those fearful times--when the grapple of
the emperors was at the fiercest; in the very year of the burning of
Moscow--Alexander rose in calm statesmanship, and admitted Bessarabia
into the empire under a proviso which excluded serfage forever. Hardly
was the great European tragedy ended, when Alexander again turned
sorrowfully toward the wronged millions of his empire. He found that
progress in civilization had but made the condition of the serfs worse.
The newly ennobled _parvenus_ were worse than the old _boyars_; they
hugged the serf system more lovingly and the serfs more hatefully.
Pages:
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783