Telegram-herald., 1889-09-07

friends and al his relatives dead. In
fact. he viii have 10 DO supported by
the charity Of strangers
And what aid Tschernischewski do,
Did he XIII anybody. Did be blow up
some fortress with dynamite, Did he
attempt either of these thingss
No. tie wrote some articles which
appeared ia The Sovremenik (Contem-
porary). published IN 81. Petersburg. aud
a novel entitled What's 70 Re DoneY'
ENTHUSIASTICALLY first prominent ap-
pearance IN the field OF literature. says
correspondent Of The New York Times.
dates 10 1856, when he published the first
Of bis famous series Of "unsddresssd let
ters' IN The SOyremenik, the review 10
which reference has already been made
above. They contained the first public
appeal T. the car 60 abolish serfdOm,
and month after month the review con-
tinued TO print similar missives couched
in the most impassibned eloquence, and
urging the autocrat, on the grounds Of
humanity. civilization and national pol
icy. 20 aiIix ms signature 20 the ukase
which Vas 90 abolish the slavery Of one
half u the population Of the empire.
The tenor and tone OF these series Of
letters electrified the people from the
Baltic "a the Black sea. and it IS stated
that they made deep impression on the
late emperor. Indeed. they are regarded
as having primarily contributed to bring
about the aooitiOn of the slavery of the
Muscovite peasantry. Emboldened by
his success IN this particular direction,
Tschernischcwski now branched out in
his letters all other publications in a
somewhat socialistic direction. He de-
manded that all private OWNERSHIP Of
real estate and land should be abolished,
aud that It's possession should be vested
in tho "mirs" or communes. He next
asked that the nobility should be de-
prived of their special privileges, that
the army should be diSbanded, and final
". as n climax, that the fair sex in Rus
sia should be emancipated and endowed
with the same civil rights and political
advantages as the men,
This move on his part. Of course, re-
suited in his becoming the popular idol
Of almost every petticOat IN the empire,
and caused such an amount of ferInent
among all classes OF society that the ter
rible third section of the imperial chan
cellerie pounced down upon him and in
carcerated him in the prison fortress of
Saints Peter and Paul. While there be
managed TO write, unbeknown to his
custodians, the extraordinary book which
bears the strange tide Of What's to Be
Doneg" With almost incredible ingenuity
he succeeded in making two copies Of
the manuscript. One Ot these he con-
fded 20 a man and the second 10 a wo-
man. with instructions to find some
means Of conveying them to his friends.
The man became alarmed az the possible
consequences 70 himself in case Of dis
covery, and burned the copy conided to
his care.
The woman. however, being Of bolder
and more energetic nature. succeeded in
getting her copy Of the manuscript be
yond the prison walls and into the hands
OF the authors friends. The latter lost
no time in publishing It. It's appearance
caused an immense sensation and sealed
Tschernischawski's doom as far rs tho
government was concerned. The novel
in question is nothing more OF less than
a gaids 70 the practical application Of
The Nihiist doctrine.