288 A JACOBITE EXILE

“T calculate the work will occupy ten years, and will
cost a hundred thousand, may be two hundred thousand
lives,” the other said calmly; ‘but what is that to the mak-
ing of a nation? Before, Russia was stifled, she could not
grow; now we have a communication with the world. ‘The
island that lies at the mouth of the Neva will be fortified
and become a great naval arsenal and fort. Along the
walls which will rise here will be unloaded the merchandise
of Europe, and in exchange the ships will carry away our
products. Some day we shall have another port on the
south, but for the present this must suffice. You will say
that this is dangerously near our frontier, but that will soon
be remedied. As we have pushed the Swedes out of Ingria,
so in time shall we drive them from Livonia on the west
and from Finland on the north. But I must to work.”
And he motioned to a group of five or six officers, who had
been standing a short distance away, to approach him.

Charlie was struck with the air of humility with which
they saluted his companion, who at once asked a number
of questions as to the supplies that had arrived, the progress
that had been made at a point where they had met with a
deep slough into which the piles had penetrated without
meeting with any firm ground, the number of huts that had
been erected during the past three days for the reception
of labourers, the state of stocks of meat and flour, and
other particulars. ‘To each he gave short, sharp orders.
When they had left he turned to Charlie.

“You guess who I am, I suppose?”

“T guess now, your majesty,” Charlie said respectfully,
“but until now the idea that my kind friend was the czar
himself never entered my mind. I understood from Dr.
Kelly that you were a surgeon.”

“I don’t think he said so,” the czar replied. “He
simply said that I could perform an amputation as well as
he could, which was not quite true. But I studied surgery