Page 281 - A Jacobite Exile

Charlie was struck with the air of humility with which they saluted his
companion, who at once asked a number of questions as to the supplies that

had arrived, the progress that had been made, at a point where they had met
with a deep slough into which the piles had penetrated without meeting

with any firm ground, the number of huts that had been erected during the
past three days for the reception of labourers, the state of stocks of meat
and flour, and other particulars. To each he gave short, sharp orders. When

they had left, he turned to Charlie.

"You guess who I am, I suppose?"

"I guess now, your majesty," Charlie said respectfully, "but until now the

idea that my kind friend was the czar himself never entered my mind. I
understood, from Doctor Kelly, that you were a surgeon."

"I don't think he said so," the czar replied. "He simply said that I could
perform an amputation as well as he could, which was not quite true. But I

studied surgery for a time in Holland, and performed several operations
under the eyes of the surgeons there.

"I saw that you did not recognize my name. It is known to every Russian,
but doubtless you never heard of me save as Peter the Czar. Directly you

mentioned it to the commandant at Bercov, and described my appearance,
he knew who it was you were speaking of, and despatched a messenger at

once to me. He will be here in the course of a week or so. Upon your report
of the state of the prison, I at once despatched an order for him to hand over
his command to the officer next in rank, and to proceed hither at once. He

is evidently a good administrator, and heaven knows I have need of such
men here.

"I was pleased with you, when I saw you with my friend Doctor Kelly. It
was pleasant not to be known, and hear a frank opinion such as you gave

me, and as you know, I sent you back on the following morning. I certainly
told Kelly, at the time, not to mention who I was, but I did not intend that

he should keep you in ignorance of it after I had left, and it was not until I
heard, from your jailer at Bercov, that you were ignorant that Peter