Page:Brandes - Poland, a Study of the Land, People, and Literature.djvu/103

 Rh clock struck one, and sent in to the Governor-General. Nevertheless, as I declared I would not go, but was fully determined, as I was, to find my way to General Gurko, I quietly took a seat on a sofa and waited. A Pole with a great star on came to me and asked if I was possibly on the list of petitioners, meaning on the list of the poor petitioners in the ante-room. When I replied no, he promised to put me on the top of this list. Then the General, as soon as he had got through the private audiences, and came out of his apartment, would turn first to me.

I was obliged to wait more than three hours. Then the General came with his staff. "You wish to speak with me? Your business?"—I presented my request for liberty to speak in March, since February was almost over—"Mais c'est tout simple."—I declared that I had met with obstacles which were insurmountable for me.—"Who forbids you then?"—"Your Excellency, there is no need of any prohibition. But I need a permission, and they do not give it to me."—"Very well, I allow it."—"But they will not believe me unless I bring a written word from your Excellency. I have a written petition here addressed to you." He took the letter and my pencil and wrote across the paper, "Ordered. Gurko."

The principal difficulty was thus happily removed. But still it was impossible to advertise the lectures, as the Russian text had not yet been returned from Apuchtin.

Twice I personally sought to obtain an interview with him. Each time I received the answer from his subordinate, that M. Apuchtin could not receive me, but that he himself was reading my lectures with the greatest interest—an interest I would very gladly have dispensed with, and which seemed to augur ill.

At last I got them back. Nothing was erased. Only by a few pencil marks on the margin my attention was called to certain phrases where the manner of expression was offensive to a delicate Russian national feeling, as, for instance, where I had said that Mickiewicz had had an influence on Lamennais and Pushkin among foreign authors. These marks indicated a keen and cultured reader, and I had to admit