Petersburg. Great numbers of workmen pass
down our street. They all seem to know who the Prince is, and the
first days we were here, they saluted him with a deference which I
supposed was due to his rank, in spite of the greasy clothes he wore.
Since the explosion an indefinable change has come over these workmen.
They salute the Prince still when we meet them on the street, but
there is in their attitude a certain sly sympathy, if I may so term
it; a bond of camaraderie which is implied in their manner rather than
expressed. Jack says this is all fancy on my part, but I don't think
it is. These men imagine that Prince Ivan Lermontoff, who lives among
them and dresses like them, is concocting some explosive which may yet
rid them of the tyrants who make their lives so unsafe. All this would
not matter, but what does matter is the chemical reaction, as I
believe Jack would term it, which has taken place among the
authorities. The authorities undoubtedly have their spies among the
working-men, and know well what they are thinking about and talking
about. I do not believe they were satisfied with the explanations Jack
gave regarding the disaster. I have tried to impress upon Jack that he
must be more careful in walking about the town, and I have tried to
persuade him, after work, to dress like the gentleman he is, but he
laughs at my fears, and assures me that I have gone from one extreme
to the other in my opinion of St.
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