DISGRACE AND EXILE 197Nizhnii Novgorod viewed his contacts with the populace with more
than normal suspicion.
The Governor's misgivings at Speransky's presence in the city en-
trusted to his care appeared to find confirmation in an incident which
the police dutifully reported to him. In spite of his status, Speransky
was at liberty to maintain social intercourse with prominent personal-
ities in the city. In particular, he sought the company of the local
Metropolitan, partly because of his own clerical past, and partly be-
cause of his intense preoccupation with religious questions. Speransky
was a fairly regular guest at the Metropolitan'S residence and table. One
day, at dinner, the conversation turned to the most serious concern of the
day, the invasion of Russia. The Metropolitan'S guests voiced their fear
over the consequences of French behavior in the occupied provinces.
Speransky observed that the Church and the clergy, at least, had nothing
to fear. In all the countries he had invaded or conquered so far - most
recently in Germany - Napoleon had shown himself very respectful of
the Church and had treated the clergy better than the rest of the
population. The remark was merely a statement of fact, a piece of in-
formation gratuitously - albeit inadvisedly - contributed by Speransky
to the general conversation. But under the circumstances it was given
an ominous interpretation by the authorities.
The suspicions entertained by the local police received added sup-port from a report concerning Speransky's financial dealings. It was
observed that he had exchanged all the assignats in his possession for
gold coins or foreign currency. In a letter to Masal'skii Speransky
explained that he was doing it because the value of the ruble-assign at
was falling constantly and his very limited means did not make it
possible for him to take chances on a further depreciation of the
currency. The police, however, interpreted this monetary operation
much more crudely as speculations on the misfortune of the country.
In due course, a report of Speransky's remarks and actions was sent
to St. Petersburg. The Minister of the Police ordered the Military
Governor of the Province of Nizhnii Novgorod, Count Tolstoi, toverify the information. If the facts cited by the police turned out to
be correct, Count Tolstoi was empowered to send Speransky further
East. But Tolstoi was not in a mood to make an exhaustive investig-
ation to check the accuracy of the reports. He had plenty of other
problems, much more serious and important than the fate of a
disgraced official. He was also under strong moral and psychological
pressure from his friend and colleague, Count Rostopchin. Rostopchin,
now Governor General of Moscow, was endeavoring to deflect from