Page:Anthology of Modern Slavonic Literature in Prose and Verse by Paul Selver.djvu/85



appreciate your wish to acquaint the readers of the N.C. with the biographies of those men who through their capabilities and achievements have worked their way upwards from the obscure and inarticulate ranks of the common people. Narratives of this kind—so it seems to me—might rouse many to a realisation of their human dignity, without which all chances of a general development among the lower classes in Russia appear to me impossible. My own destiny, presented in the light of truth, may lead to deeper contemplation, not only on the part of the common man, but also those from whom the masses are so completely dependent; and thisshould be of profit to both sides. Such, then, is the reason why I propose to reveal in public a few sad facts concerning my life. I should have Rh