. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across ; furthermore,an officer can misbehave himself as much as he pleases, and run very littlerisk of being arrested like an ordinary offender. What can you tell us about the secret police ? one of the youthsasked. I cant tell you much about it, was the reply; and if I could it THE SECRET POLICE. 189 would not be a secret police. It used to be a saying that where threemen were together one was sure to be a spy, and one or both the othersmight be
. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across ; furthermore,an officer can misbehave himself as much as he pleases, and run very littlerisk of being arrested like an ordinary offender. What can you tell us about the secret police ? one of the youthsasked. I cant tell you much about it, was the reply; and if I could it THE SECRET POLICE. 189 would not be a secret police. It used to be a saying that where threemen were together one was sure to be a spy, and one or both the othersmight be. The sjjies were in all classes of society, and paid by the did not know each other, and it quite often happened that two ofthem would report against each other, doubtless to the amusement of theofficials who compared their documents. If common gossip is true, theevil was greater in the time of Nicholas than under any other emperor,but many people say it is about as bad at one time as another. • The clerk in the hotel, the waiter in the restaurant, the shopkeeperwho was so polite to us, the tailor, hatter, boot-maker, milliner, or any. WHO IS THE SPY ? other tradesman, any or all of them—women as well as men — may bein the employ of the Government, and report your movements andconversation. Nobody knows who is a spy, and nobody knows who isnot. Consequently it is an excellent rule in Russia never to say any-thing in the hearing of any one else than ourselves that can be calledin question. Mind, I dont know of my own knowledge that there issuch a thing as a secret police, nor that such a person as a police spyexists in Eussia. Having never said or done anything to M-liich the 190 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. Emperor or his most zealous officer could object, I have no fear of beinginterfered with. ,7/<cr;:< Here are some of the stories which were-current in the time ofNicholas : A retired officer of the English army lived for several years in
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