Page:Ossendowski - From President to Prison.djvu/284

272 "There are still many things to be reformed within these walls!"

It turned out that he was Prince Shirinsky-Shikhmatoff, the Inspector-General of all the Russian prisons, who was at this time on a tour of inspection through the institutions of the Far East. He had the name of being a wise and liberal official, a reputation which his acts frequently justified.

The Prince began asking the prisoners whether they had any complaints to make regarding their treatment. As was usually the case, no one responded, for the prisoners almost never phrase complaints to these higher inspecting authorities but prefer to fight their own battles over their rights and privileges. When, however, the Prince asked if they had any petitions to submit to the tribunal, the whole room crowded around him and handed him all manner of requests, scribbled in untutored hands on dirty bits of paper. It is difficult to understand why they persist in doing this, for these petitions are never given any consideration; yet the ceremony of presenting them stubbornly persists and, in the jargon of the prisons, is called "volinka." The secretary of the Prince collected all these documents which the prisoners thrust forward and carelessly shoved them into his dispatch case.

The last to approach the Inspector-General was Saloff, the old patriarch. In a mysteriously impressive manner he recited to the Prince the story of his incarceration and made out a very logical case, showing himself to have been the victim of a judicial error. The words and the voice of the patriarch were fraught with such sincerity that Prince Shirinsky became so interested that he listened attentively and finally came close to the old man, questioned him and began making notes on some paper