myself and others. Physically there was no effect for no one seemed hit. I
tried to locate the gun and the man behind it, but did not succeed. When
the firing ceased, I went on my way. As I neared the Nicholas station,
there came rushing forth from around the corner a crowd of hoodlums and
soldiers, with drawn swords, which they had taken from the officers,
and such other weapons as they could pick up, shouting, "Down with the
Government!" Then it dawned upon me that the revolution was on in earnest,
that the anarchists of yesterday's prayer had become the heroes of a great
cause. What struck me most of all was the kind of men and women who made
this world event. I watched them during the week, and they seemed to be
in great part boys and girls, hoodlums, students, poorly dressed men and
women, without organization, plans, or leaders. It is difficult to analyze
the various motives that brought them out into the street. Not one of the
so-called revolutionists was seen, heard, shot, or wounded. When it was
all over they appeared on the scene, rushing from Switzerland, the United
States, France, and other parts of the world, to make speeches and to
divide the spoils. It was a revolution without revolutionists, unless you
call the soldiers that, but they were not consciously making a revolution,
and when it was done, they were thoroughly surprised and frightened. There
are a number of reasons why the Government collapsed so easily. It was not
really overthrown but it toppled over like a rotten tree, and until
it fell, the people did not realize how decayed it actually was. Its
misconduct of the war, scandals like that of Rasputin, ministers such as
Protopopov discredited and disgraced the dynasty and when the end came, it
had few friends who shed tears.

Another important factor in helping the revolution was the large number
of students and liberals who served in the army. To fill the ranks and to
provide educated men for officers, it was necessary to call on university
students, experts in various fields of engineering, all of whom, more or