Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Impressions of Russian Literature - VI
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The accused were taken to the castle and isolated in
the casemates. They were there eight months without
any other amusements than their examinations by the
magistrate. It was not until towards the end of their
time of imprisonment that they were furnished with
some books of devotion. The poor poet, who was
reduced to the necessity of communing with his own
thoughts alone, felt as if he had been under an air
pump.
December 22, twenty-one of the accused who had
been found guilty were taken out to Semenovski Place,
where a scaffold had been erected. With the thermometer
at —15° Fahr. they were compelled to strip to their shirts
to listen to the reading of the sentence. This reading
occupied a half-hour. When it began the perpetually
optimistic Dostoyevski turned to his neighbor and said:
“Can it be possible that they are going to execute us?”
Instead of answering, the person to whom the inquiry
was addressed pointed to some objects, which were
concealed under the coverings of the wagons and which
looked like coffins. The sentence ended with the words,
“ ... are condemned to be shot.” A priest with a
crucifix in his hand now came forward and urged the
prisoners to confess. They refused with a single
exception. They then fastened Petrashevski and two others
of the leaders to the stake. An officer directed his
company to load their guns and wait for the word of
command. At this moment a white flag was waved and it
was announced to the condemned that the Tsar had
commuted their punishment. At the foot of the scaffold
sledges were waiting which were to carry them to Siberia.
Dostoyevski was sentenced to ten years hard labor. But
his punishment was changed later to four years in the
house of correction, and four years service as a soldier in
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