" "If it were hot," Prince Andrew would reply at such times very dryly to his sister, "he could go out in his smock, but as it is cold he must wear warm clothes, which were designed for that purpose.

That is what follows from the fact that it is cold; and not that a child who needs fresh air should remain at home," he would add with extreme logic, as if punishing someone for those secret illogical emotions that stirred within him.

At such moments Princess Mary would think how intellectual work dries men up.

Prince Andrew arrived in Petersburg in August, 1809.

It was the time when the youthful Speranski was at the zenith of his fame and his reforms were being pushed forward with the greatest energy.