One of the most noted eccentrics of the Emperor Alexander's time belonged to a family not reckoned among the nobles, although one of the richest in the land. All the members of this family are said to have shown some singularity in their demeanour. The person of whom we are about to speak was the singular son of a very singular father, the brother of two originals, and the father of several children noted for whims and spleen. His wife he chose in the following manner. When he had resolved on marrying lie would not venture on any of the St. Petersburg fair ones, but sent an order to the overseer of his estates to hold a general review of all the maiden serfs between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years, and to send him three of the handsomest and best conducted, whicli was done accordingly, and their lord selected one to be his better half. When lie announced his intention to the girl, who supposed she had been sent for only to fill some menial office, she was so frightened that she ran away, crying " I must not, I won't." With some difficulty the servants dragged her from under tiie wooden benches in the kitchen, where she had sought refuge, to instal her as mistress of the house. As soon as she had mustered up courage to meet her fortune all went on swimmingly. With the help of teachers she polished up, with a rapidity possible only to those formed of such pUable stuff as the Russians are, into an admired and welcome member of a gay circle, and her graceful and pleasing exterior soon bore no traces of her peasant birth. Once only, and that was at the birth of her first child, she ran some risk of being dethroned by her husband. A few drops of some narcotic had been prescribed for the child to lull it to repose in some triffing indisposition. The inexperienced mother administered the dose so effectually that the repose became eternal. The agonized father, in his f.rst fury, would have done his wife some injury had he not been withheld by a lady who was much with her as companion and counsellor, and who dragged him before the picture of a saint, where she made him swear that he would do his wife no harm, but rather spare and comfort her, which oath he faithfully kept. His wife afterwards brought him many children in place of the lost one. As his daughters grew up, being pretty and rich, many a young officer cast loving eyes upon them ; but the father would not hear of such a thing as marriage, and never invited a young man to his liouse, nor permitted his daughters to go to a ball. A proposal of marriage drove him quite beside himself, even the most advantageous ; however, one general after another contrived not the less to steal all the daughters successively out of the house.
Every day at a certain hour he went to take a walk on the Neva ProS' pekt. Here he had several acquaintance ; an Italian, a German, an artist, or an officer ; with whom he conversed witli great animation walking up and down. But they were only promenade friends ; he had no other business with them, and never asked them to liis house. At the end of the promenade he generally went into a coffee-house or confectioner's and gave his friends a splendid breakfast. It was his law, that the same Prospekt friend was not to make his appearance there two days running. If one of them ventured to do so, he was in disgrace, and had long to wait and manoeuvre before he was honoured again with a salute from the old humorist, or an invitation to join his walk or his breakfast. When he dined in his own house, whether guests were present or not, he had all the dishes put on the table at once, and then it was necessary to work away and lose no time, for in half an hour they were all cleared away again, and satisfied or unsatisfied every body nmst wipe his mouth and say grace.
After the death of his wife, his life seemed imbittered by constant uneasiness and dread. As if he feared attempts at murder, he used the precaution, said to have been taken by some tyrants, of changing his sleeping-room every night ; and so arranged his sitting-room, that he could remain concealed for a while from every one wlio entered, or withdraw altogether unobserved. It was divided into a number of small spaces by silk hangings ; he sat now in one and now in another, occasionally drawing back the curtains to call out to the servants in attendance, " Are you there, Feodor?" or, " What is the matter, Paul ? What noise was that?^'