Herzen's complaints left Arthur and Blackwell stunned.
Was this really the way to raise a son?
Even in a conservative place like Britain, only noble ladies were subjected to such strict control.
Noble ladies in Paris lived much more freely than Herzen.
Arthur joked, "Does His Majesty the Tsar know that his country's officials are under such high-level surveillance? Perhaps I should recommend to the Tsar that your father replace Count Benkendorf in the Third Bureau."
Herzen retorted, "Is that so? According to you, there is more than one Benkendorf among the parents of Moscow University's students."
"Do your classmates' parents act like this too?"
"Perhaps not as severely as my father, but quite a few do secretly open our correspondence."
