About thirty-five years after Dmitri's death a little boy of ten years old came to the throne. Then for a time there were great troubles. For he was conquered by an evil man called Shemyaka. Shemyaka was so unjust, that now when the Russians want to say, "That is a great injustice," they say, "That is Shemyaka justice.”

Shemyaka put out the little prince's eyes, but for all that he could not keep Moscow long. When the little prince came to the throne he ruled well and strongly. He was called Vassili the Blind.

Great things had been happening at Constantinople. In 1453 Mahomet II., a great Turkish king, made war against it, and conquered it. The Greek Emperor had to flee, and Russia feared worse oppression yet.

How glad the Russians would have been if they could have known what we know! For we know that all the time there was growing up at Moscow a boy, now only thirteen years old, who was to break the Tartar yoke and make Russia free.

That boy was Ivan the Great.

CHAPTER VII.

BREAKING THE YOKE.

Now we come to the man who is first really to shake off the Tartar yoke. That was a great and wonderful deed, and the man who did it was great and wonderful in his way. He was not like Dmitri of the Don, open and straightforward and ready to fight. He was cautious and prudent, and very clever. He knew one great secret-how to wait.

When he was born, so the story goes, an old man in Novgorod came to the archbishop and said, "Today the Grand Prince triumphs; I see this child making himself famous by glorious deeds. But woe to Novgorod! Novgorod will fall at his feet and never rise again."

Ivan grew up full of cleverness and keenness. He was so terrible to look at that when he slept after dinner his boyards sat fearing him, not daring to move. And behind his wonderful dark eyebrows and piercing eyes plans were being formed to bind up broken Russia into one nation again.

And to do this Ivan saw that he must first bring Russia itself under his empire. After that, when he had many soldiers and money at his command, he could do more. He could throw off the Tartar yoke. Little by little, with long patience, he began to gain the Russian kingdoms. When one of his brothers died, Ivan took his kingdom.

Then his eyes turned towards the great city Novgorod. And Ivan's eyes were like the eyes of the god Swifteye. At his glance all enemies crumbled away like dust and ashes.

Some people from Novgorod had ill-treated Moscow people. Ivan sent to ask for redress. But the Possadnik replied that My Lord Novgorod had given him no orders on the subject. Ivan said not one angry word. But he quietly invited all the citizens of Novgorod who were friendly to him to come and see him.

Now, at this time Novgorod was divided into two sets of people. One was headed by a wonderful woman called Marfa, who spoke well and was very brave. This set wished Novgorod to ally itself with the King of Poland, and not to be subject to Ivan. The other set desired to ally Novgorod with Ivan. So while Ivan was giving grand dinners to the archbishop and others off gold plate, Marfa and the Vetché were quarrelling on the bridge. Some shouted, "Long live Ivan !" and others, "The King of

Poland!" At length Marfa and her party conquered, and the men of Novgorod sent to the King of Poland and asked to ally themselves with him.

Then Ivan felt his time was coming. So he sent an army into the land round Novgorod. Then there was much bloodshed and cruel treatment, and Ivan's army always won, until at last the men of Novgorod were forced to give in, and agreed to pay a tax.

So for the time matters were settled. But Ivan had made up his mind to be the only ruler in Novgorod. He waited five long years. All the time he quietly made friends with the lower classes of the city, who were ill-treated by their masters. He invited them to come to a Court he held in Novgorod. Many came, serfs and merchants and all kinds of people. Ivan heard them all so fairly, that when he went back to Moscow many followed him.

Soon after that a lucky chance happened. For one of the clerks, in writing out the document which said how much Novgorod was subject to Ivan, made a mistake. He wrote that Ivan was sovereign of Moscow, instead of lord. Ivan's quick eye spied out the mistake, and he showed it to the men of Novgorod.

Then the men of Novgorod, fearing lest Ivan should take advantage of the mistake, rose up foolishly, and killed his messengers. Then Ivan

said that the Novgorodians had written that he was sovereign, and were now bold enough to deny it. And when he said that, all the priests were on his side, and so many of the poor people joined him also. Ivan called it a Holy War, and marched up to Novgorod with a large army.

He laid siege to the city, and waited. Marfa and her party inside cried out, "Let us die for liberty. We will never yield!" But presently their provisions gave out, and there was no hope of help. So they begged for peace.

Ivan gave them fair terms. He promised to take no lives, and not to make the Novgorodians fight in his army. But when he marched into the city, he took away the great bell, and said that there should no longer be a Vetché.

So My Lord Novgorod fell at the feet of Ivan the Great and never rose again.

Now you see what sort of a man Ivan the Great was; how he went on patiently and cleverly working and waiting. He was not a good man or a religious one, but he did great things for Russia.

Then he gave his mind to carrying out the great aim of his life. He determined to throw off the Tartar yoke, and make Russia free. But he did not fight the Tartars, like Dmitri of the Don, openly and fiercely by bloody battles. No; he managed to drive away the Tartars without striking a single