had given;" and they invoked the punishment of David for numbering the people of Israel.
The inflexible determination of the tsar was met with equally persistent opposition from these enthusiasts. They were astounded by his conduct, and, in their amazement, began to question his identity and to deny his authority. Fabulous stories were secretly circulated, some to the effect that he was the son of Nikon; others that the true "white tsar," Peter, had perished at sea; and that a Jew of the accursed race, a son of Satan, had usurped the throne, slain the imperial family, and married a German adventuress, who brought with her into Russia myriads of her countrymen. He was the Antichrist, whose coming had been foretold by the prophets, and his reign was the reign of Satan.
In the presumptuous efforts of Nikon Old Believers had seen portents of impending evil; and in the impious acts of Peter, levelling the venerable institutions of the past, insulting religion and morality, they realized the fulfilment of the prophetic vision of St. John; the last days had come, and the end of the world was at hand. The tsar's abolition of the patriarchate, the restrictions he imposed upon the Church, his attacks upon the rights and privileges of the clergy, the war he waged upon ancient customs, his persecution of true Orthodoxy, his fondness for the hated heretical foreigner, his wonderful triumphs after repeated and crushing defeats, the irregularities and wild excesses of his private life, even his gigantic stature, his strength, and his striking personal appearance, designated him as the Beast of the Apocalypse. Fanatical ingenuity found ample confirmation in the prophecies for this popular belief. He abandoned the national and sacred title of tsar for the infidel appellation of imperator, and as therein, by the suppres-
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