ABSTRACT
When the Emperor Alexander Pavlovich 2 finished attending the Council of Vienna, he decided to take a tour of Europe and to look at the wonders different nations had to show him. He traveled through all the countries, and everywhere, and because of his gentle manner, he always had the most heart-to-heart chats with all sorts of people, everyone had something amazing to show him, and they all wanted to get on his good side. But the Emperor had a Don Cossack with him—Platov 3 his name was—who did not like his taking sides in that fashion, and, being homesick, he kept trying to convince the Emperor to go back to Russia. Whenever Platov noticed the Sovereign getting really interested in something foreign, the rest of the entourage would be silent, but he would say right away, "That's how it is, but things back home are no worse," and somehow he'd divert the Emperor's attention.
