The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-31 00:00:00

LIFE. IN THE INTERIOR OF IiUSSIA

•
(From the New No. of " Blackwood's Magazine.").
[The writer of the article in last number, on the " In-
ternal Sufferings.of Russia from the -War," -having ie-
trusted to us his papers; containing his observations • dur-
ing his residence in Russia, we extract from them the fol-
lewing intelligent statement of the Social Condition of the
Russian people—a subject at present possessing unusual
interest. Rissia, the Power of all-otherS which his most
to tear from such a course, is now bringing on a' war of
opinion in 'Europe, the political effects 'of which • will in
due time extend into her own dominions. In order to
appiehend.what may 'be the effects of such an event, we
[lend first know the elements upon which the new ideas
will have to work; and viewed in this light, the following
sober and authentic resume of the social state of the -Rua-
sia nation seems to useeo possess more than ordinaryinv
portance in the present times.]
Landed-Proprietors—Nobles.—Many of the landed pro
prietors in Russia, especially the,small ones, would iiko to
see serfdom abolished, as it would be more profitable for
them to cultivate their land with hired labourers than
with serfs, who eat up the greater part Ofthe produce. I
ern very well acquainted with one small proprietor, who
possesses about 1,500 acres of land, and possibly some 70
or 80 peasants, and I know well that he does not get more
clean 1001. per annum from his property. He is, however,-
.ktt exception to the general rule, being very easy with
them; but it is not to be supposed that they are better off
for that. On the contrary, they are in general much poorer
than the peasants of the neighbouring great estates, though
their master pays the poll-tax, which is never the case in
iarge properties, where there is more trark, and the pea-
ant has an opportunity of disposing of his produce, and
vhere there are fairs held; which gives 'him e: chance of
selling many little articles, ouch as hay, oats, '&o.
In general, the state of the smaller landowners is one
touch to be pitied, for in many cases they are as ignorant
Is their own peasants, and yet have all the pride of caste,
mhieh is in general very strong in Russia, where much
,f the old feudal feeling remains. If they enter the public
-ervice and leave home, their small properties become still
dueller, as their means will net allow them to keep an in-
cendant ; nor is the service sufficiently remunerative to live
• n ease, or even without running into• debt, for in general
rfficials are very badly paid indeed. Of this I can give you
n example in the case of a young man, the sun of a small
oaprietor, who pinched himself in order to give his son a
;eel education at the university, where he remained till he
vas twenty-three years of age, when the father thought,he
would be able to obtain some good government employ-
;uent—at least that he would be at no further expense.
After waiting nearly a year, he obtained a' place with a
salary of four roubles a month, one of which• was deducted
for his rank, leaving him three (rather less than 10e. a
month) to provide himself with a lodging, table (which are
o be had for about 30s: a month), clothing, and everything
eecessary for a gentleman. After that, it is wonderful that
the Russian officials accept bribes, a tort et z travers
None but nobles have the right to 'possess serfs, thotigh
it does not follow that all nobles possess them, for there is
. very large class of poor nobles in Russia who possess
Nothing, never did possese 'anything, and are never likely to
eessess anythiug—and these are the most miserable of all
~he others ; fur they are nothing----neither Peasants' nor gen-
' lemon. It will:naturally be asked how they became pes-
,eesed of their nobility? They are for the most part sons
of ambitious clerks of churches, &c., whose fathers orfrieuds
have taught them to read and write, and through the inte-
rest of some great man got them admitted into some
Government office as copying clerks, where they receive
a rank After a certain number of years, and become
noble, and of course their children too, who do as their
fathers have done before them—leading a wretched exist-
ence, without any prospect of advancement, upon e. miserable
pittance, unless they have great abilities for plunder, when,
by dint of accepting bribes, they get a smell sum together.
There ,ieeno sum so small that they will not accept,; you
may even offer them articles ef, wearing apparel—any-
thing ; and this latter is too frequently done when the poor
suitor has nothing wore to offer. I myself have given
such small sums as 4d. and 6d. for trifling services which
they hsve seemed reluctant to perform, which has always
had the desired effect of accelerating their movements,
and saved me the ennui of waiting half an hour for them
to perform their duty. Some, again, of thieolass, live by
,ping from house to house in the country. They stay at a
[muse till the master gets tired of theme- .then he gentle
;hem -,tes''hiriaelli7st neighbour, who does the like. The
Itussiene in general, are very hospitable ; and in the
country, where they lead a very solitary, monotonous life,
,are glad to see any one who can procure them a, little
variety, as they have no sources of amusement whatever
except 'shooting or coursing'; but when a man is not a
sportsman even these fail him, fur books are very rare,
very expensive, and not very interesting, on account of the
extreme severity of the ' censure , that is exercised. A.
really good werk is a great luxury, and seldom to be met
with, iu a Russian country-house; honer) they are glad to
see anybody whe can give them a little news, be it ever so
stale. But I must give the Russians. their due they are,
from the highest to the lowest, very hospitable; a general
invitation there always ineans,lin town,that you are ex-
pected to drop in two or three times a week about dinner
time, and, without being asked, take your seat at table
like one of the family. If you decline staying they will
feel quite hurt ; even the very servants will press you to
remain and take dinner with the family. When you are
asked to the country, you are never expected to give any
previous notice of your intended visit, but to go at any
time you feel inclined ; and you are sure to meet with a
warm reception, and are expected to remain just as long
as may suit your own convenience.

Souie of the smaller proprietors, from leading such a
solitary life, get into habits of beastly intoxication, in which
they consume days and nights, while their property goes
to ruin: I have even known' instances where they have
kept casks of spirits in their bedrooms, and been in the
habit of crawling on all-fours from the bed to the cask-
seldom being in a state to walk—drinking out of the tap,
and then crawling back again to bed, to sleep till they
should be ready to take another slight refreshment in the
same manner. This must seem very much like exaggera-
tion •, but I can assure my readers that I advance nothing
but the pure truth, and what fell under my own personal
observation. Without doubt such are exceptional cases,,
and are soon brought to a conclusion by death; but some
can support this life for two or three years.
One great cause of the poverty of the nobles is the sub-
division of estates that takes place on the death of the pro-
prietor. Every son has an equal share in the property,
with an equal share of the debts. Some, though few, of
them may acquire more land, and so add to their heritage,
but with the greater number the reverse is the case, so
that the debts are increased, and the estate in a similar way
subdivided, and thus eventually the heirs are obliged to
sell off their portions to pay the mortgage, or surrender
the land to the crown, and the son of the late proprietor
becomes a beggar. With all this before their eyes, they
raise a terrible outcry against the English law of majority,
which, if it were the law of their country, would preserve
it solvent, whereas they now have national bankruptcy to
look forward to.
Many of the poorer class of nobles obtain admittance into
the universities at the expense of the crown, where they
are educated as army surgeons. They receive their education,
hoard, lodging, and clothing—everything (luring the time
they are in the establishment—on condition that they serve
the government during two years for every one they spend
in the university, with the same emoluments that the other
army surgeons receive. These men are generally very unfor-
tunate, as they are for the most part appointed to situations
for which there would be no volunteers—such as small
forts in unhealthy parts of the Caucasus, in the interior
cf Siberia, or in the fleet, to which many Russians have
a great aversion. There are not many of these crown stu-
dents, as they are called, who do not feel themselves under
a kiwi of noble slavery ; for when once they have finished
their studies, they cannot, upon any consideration, refuse
to serve, though they may obtain their liberty by paying,
before they have finished, a certain sum for every year
they have been ou the establishment ; but even then it re-
quires powerful influence to secure their liberation. Others
are received into the faculties of mathematics and belles
kilns, for the purpose of becoming masters in the different
educational establishments; bit they always receive ap-
pointments that others who are free will not accept. The
number of these is very small—army surgeons are what
the country wants and will have. At the present moment
there is a large bounty offered to all young men who are
finishing their course of medicine to enter the army ; and
instead of the five years' study that are generally required
before they can pass, they are examined and passed in
three years and a half if they volunteer, which, of course,
nine-tenth' of them do, as those who remain are very sus-
piciously looked on by the Government as disaffected; and
they are expecting an order to join nolens volens--for the
want is now greater than ever it was before. [The results
of this pernicious system were pointed out in the article
in last month's number.].
esiiie, does not present anything very
The relation betweepneasthanetnaonbuleshiasnmdasttheeri,rwhseernfoi—ooTk
hede
he mind or feelings ; for with a kind
rauheploolsontki oionnughietesittwhf
aeeierrnetsott.th
master, the position'of the serf is anything but pitiable in
the southern districts of Rus4a, where the soil is very
their i
that
hpaatr part
thea s
thinly peopled. The serfs are obliged to give half of their
time to their master, and to do any work he may require
of them. Of course, the cultivation of the land is their
chief employment, in which
well as the men. Thegeneral
peasant should work three days a week for his master, and
three days for himself, during which time he tills hie own
plot of ground; and as land is very plentiful in those parts,
the
arrangement women
take
he can always,have as much as he chooses to plough ; so
that an industrious man will always have a great advan-
tage over one that is idle, more so than in any other coun-
ances of hard-working, labour.
loving serfs, who possessed their 20,000 or 30,000 roubles ;
but these instances are rare. Having worked three days
for his master, the serf is quite at liberty to work for
wages, either for his richer and more fortunate neighbours,
or for his master, which is very frequently doge, ae .it is
not every, one of them who•possesses oxen, or the means of
tilling land on his own account. Those,. however, who
possess cattle, are obliged to bring their oxen with them
when they go to their task, which are employed in plough-
ing, or anything else that requires draught cattle ; and as
the soil is very, stiff, there are generally eight oxen yoked
to each plough, and never less than six—so that the num-
bar required to cultivate some 5,000 or 6,000 acres of land
ie enormous. Where the master is an ahsentets,-the_in,
*Wpt will mutinies force tilt info to 'work flack own
,

clays without
.paying them any wages, as lie will promise
.tb do. -The average rate that a labourer can earn is from
6d, to Bd. a day; •but during • hay-time his' earnings are-
much- greeter—irom ls.;tia is. Id. a day, with hiiS'food, '
In case of a failure of the harvest, every, prpprietor is
obliged' to feed his own peaiants ; ilia to provide against
• that_ emergency, *there are. established i every, tillage
shat are called provident magazines of porn, in which
there is obliged, to, be kept i certain cinantity. otrya alid
barley—(l think it is three, quarters for every soul; but.
as only thecrea.les are taken in;the census of course it will -
only give half that quantity per head). it rarely hap-
pens that the harvest is a complete toile ,'-these- stores
are seldom drawn upon more than two or toile
ree months in-
the worst of years, although,' in—the Afars 1848 and 1
13
1849,, they were completely exhausted, qin account nf'j
the failure of the crops for two sticeessive years. In fact,
in the spring 00'49, solo places were rendered desegt by
the entire `population dying' from want, and scurvy pro-
duced by batUiving. Even in the lest-orgai)hite&villageta,
where the owners spared neither p tine noe,expense, the
mortality was at the rate of from-fire to ten per cent. in
the courseof the winter. Wbat is very remarkable is, that
at this fiery time; at a distance of perhaps 300 miles, corn
'was very plentiful, and' selling at prices little,above the or'-'
dinary rates; but as the tracks were all broken no, there
were-no memo, of transporting' it+there being.no.roads;
pr. perly so called, in the interior of the country, andwhen
the frost hreaki up; the mud is more than knee-deeplor a
apace of perhaps three weeks or a month, tmd sometimes
two -months, whin the frostbreak'sup Very early—as it did
in the,year 1849, and again in 1853. • • •
To give a faint idea of what a Russian road is like in its
worst state, I shall just relate. what occurred to a friend of,
'mine who was obliged to travel frein Ekaterinoslav to
libarkoff in the month of March,lBs3,, The distarce is about
200 versts, or 140,English miles,, and is generally done in
24 hours or lei-C-in the winter .br summer. 1-I,e was quite
alone, without servant or luggwexcept-asmagportnnana,
teau, ) and travelled in the orilinsaar.puOtaissiie,4*bia4"
will not weigh altogether more than 3 or 4 cwt.—had :five •
post-horses to it, the usual number being three ; and,' not-
withstanding all this, he was 7 _days and,,6lniglits on the
road, travelling day and night, as is the custo in Russia
there being no inns on the road where to a . Now, if
travelling by post is attended with so many fficulties in
the spring of the year, what must be the pence and
trouble of traneporting corn at that time ? tis utterly
impossible, for..its value would be doubled p about 25
miles ! I remember the attempt being niad for rather
less than a hundred miles with horses, but over uch-fearful
roads they could not load more than 4or 5 eivt: to each
horse, About a third of the horses perished on the road,
tt
and a portion of the corn was conEequently abandoned,
while the keep of the cattle on the journey cost as much
or more than the corn itself, for hay was verfr dear that
year; and they were about a month going' and returning
—the men and horses being all that time away/ awl coned:-
quently unable to do any useful labour. '
The sufferings of the people during the year 1448 an&
1849 were really dreadful. At that time I ivas in the
town of K --- ; and, as there are never any account, ptili-
lished of the calamities that may befal the people, of course
it was only , after wards that I obtained my formation
from medical men, who were sent by. the Government to
inquire into the state of affairs, and to renderuph assist-
ance as the state of things required, from the awards of
estates, and from the proprietors themselves, ho are re-
eident on their properties at the time. Thee was one'
who, I remember, told me that he was obliged leaVe hie
village, which was a small one, as all his pe. ants were
dead, and he only made his escape,with one ma , who was
his servant—that all the others were lying de in their
huts, without anybody to bury them. Scurvy n its most
malignant form was the disease . that. carrie them off,
which was no doubt prOduced by improper fo , for in
many instances straw was chopped up and mixcid with the
flour to make bread, which at the best of tinges is not very
good,. being quite black, and very. course in appearance..
01 this the quantity was so small that it was insufficient
to keep body and soul together.
happily for the country, it is not often that this_ state of
things occurs, but then it was pro,luced by theishplerain ,
1847 and 184 i and bad harvests combined..

The want of medical ai;lisseverely felt in all pits of the
empire, for the immense number of surgeons required for
the army completely drains all the establishments of their
medical students; and leaves the country a pre to all the
diSeases known; which, when serious,' are genedally fatal.
In a large district, containing perhaps four or five hundred
square miles, there will be nut more than two doctors, and
sometimes only one. It is true that some of t,he larger
propiietors, who reside on their, own property, keep con-
stantly a medical man in their house ; but these instances
are very rare, though on most estates there are two or
three barber-surgeons who understand copping and bleed-
ing, and just enough of medicine to do harm. I know a
large estate of upwards of 2,000 males, and with the females
about double that number,. without any medical man; and
the nearest town is distant. 50 miles, where re,d,les the dis-
trict doctor, who has as far to go in every direction, so
that when sent for he may be as far ma the other side of tini
town. But the peasants themselves have more faith iu
charms than physic, which they can only be prevailed upon
to take with difficulty. As for restricting them to any par-
ticular diet, it, is useless to attempt it, unless you can shut
them up in a room and serve them yourself.
The corporal punishment of Beds is very common--in
fact of hourly (wenn once, and very often arbitratily admi-
nistered, though, according to the law, no proprietor of
serfs can give more than fifteen blows with a stick at one
time ; but this limitation is never atten4ed to, hecaukethe
peaaanrean get rur possible redress, as the very man to
whmn-he ought to apply in such a ease is often a guest at
his master's table, and known to be in his pay. But not-
withstanding all this, when the master is a kind-hearted
man, and resident upon his own property, the peasants look
up to him liko their fathes and protector ; and it often
happens even now, though some years ago it was much
more frequent, that the free peasants will come and beg
to be set down as serfs, knowing at the same time they
cannot recover their liberty again. It is when the master
is a cruel man, which the majority of them are not, or
when the property iv left to the care of intendants and
agents, that the poor peasants suffer most ; they are ground
down 'to supply either the avarice of the men to whose
care they are committed—who are, for the most part,
Poles—or in order to support their master, who is revel-
line in all the luxury of the cripital, or possibly Paris, and
who has not the slightest idea as to the means by which
his luxuries are procured ; nor does he wish to know.
This last case is certainly the exception to the rule, '
and only occurs when a man is living beyond his means.
Ou most large estates there is generally about 20 per
cent. of the entire population who are domestic servants,
bailiffs, or ta,lt masters, who are divided into classes, the
highest of which is pricashchick, or a man to transmit
orders; to these is the task assigned of seeing that the in-
tendant's orders are punctually obeyed. Under them,
again, come desiatnie,b who are always placed over the
men at their work, to see that theydo not shirk their duty.
Besites servants and bailiffs, there are storekeepers, dis-
tillers (there is generally a it istillery in every large village),
shepherds, neatherds, carpenters, joiners, and a great many
ether trades that are carried on in the villages. In the vil-
lage where I resided some years we had some very good
tailors, and even bookbinders, who of course were appren-
ticed in the neighbouring towns ; and the embroidery that
used tobe done by a number of young girls was really asto-
nishing. Done of these things, however are• to be found
where the master is an absentee. Not only those who hold
any office of this kind are exempted from more laborious
work, ,but their families are seldom called upon to work
with the rest, and consequently. all their labour goes to
make up for the constant employment of the heads, who
receive no wages except during the haymaking season,
when all hands are turned out and a great many more
hired, as the quantity of hay made for sheep fodder is
something fabulous. The greater part of thc men employed
constantly enjoy great advantages over the others, as their
families being quite free to work for them, the greater the
number of chil iron the greater the quantity of labour, and
the greater the amount of produce, and consequent riches,
of the head of the family.
none of the peasants can marry without the previous con-
sent of their master; nor can they intermarry with those of
neighbouring villages without the consent of both owners,
and then the owner of the bride generally makes her a pre-
sent to the master of the bridegroom, who of course does
the same on a similar occasion ; but each matches are of
very, rare 'occurrence.

lieg;eirtestgrierance that both proprietors and pea-
sants have to complain of is the frequent levies of soldiers,
which is a great burden upon thein. But it is here the
master shows his greatest power, as ae has the right to
send whoever he may think proper; and of course if he
has a' drunkard, a thief, or a man with any other great
moral defect, he is made a soldier of
.; or if there be a man
who is teo clever (i.e., understands too well his position,
and is likely to bree discontent among the others), he,
too, is sent for a soldier ; in fact, all who are likely to be
in the way. During the present war, the number they
have been obliged to send is enormous; but the details of
this have been given in our previous paper.
In all the southern governments there are great numbers
of Jews, who are not allowed to live in the northern, who
are encouraged on many of the large estates under a pre-
tence of commerce, but really because they pay the owner
for permission to live there ; and they cause great distress
to the poor serfs by letting them have the corn-brandy
(nearly all the drinking houses are kept by Jews) on credit,
and then taking their produce at half its real value, thus
robbing the poor fellows of their hard-earned money. The
lower orders of Russians are generally much addicted to
drinking; which is not so much to be wondered at, when it
is taken into consideration that the corn-brandy of the
country is not much dearer than good beer is in this coun-
try, and at the same time stronger than our gin., When an
inhabitant Of the 17kraitie can get a glass of his favourite
liquor, he is happy, though you never see them merry
when intoxicated, but always more or less thoughtful ; and
if they sing, their songs are always of a melancholy de-
scription; their dances, indeed, have very little animation
in them. The old feeling of freedom that existed in the
time of the Hamann is gone, and almost forgotten by these
degenerate sons of Cozaks-iaporojtsi. who in eastern Eu-
rope played a not unimportant part in the fate of nations.
They have one very beautiful allegory of the fate of their
country in a song said to have been composed by Mazeppa,
but nobody appears now to understand it. Mazeppa him-
self is execrated by the people, and you cannot insult a man
rnore than.by calling him Mazeppa-
The most interesting sight, perhaps, to be seen in Little
or. rather New Russia, is the steppes during the haymaking
season. Then these vast solitudes become thickly sprinkled
over with an active population : where before all was soli-
tude, now appears life ; the mower re-setting his scythe,
its sharp passage through the stiff long grass, the hum of
voice, the cries of the overseers of the workmen---all serve
to enliven a scene that at all other times oppresses one with
a sense of deep solitude. The immensity of the tracks of
fmoremn citutintthoe rocks,
grass, and the
when it
grass-growing land on some estates is really amazing ; I
know on one estate 20,000 acres of grass in one piece. The of hands required to make the hay is in propor-
tion to the size of. the hayfield. In this spot have fre-
quently seen from five to seven hundred men, women, and
others children
-rake
workeit totgoegtehtehrei an
r : the
becomes dried by the heat of the sun. To turn it, as in
England, is entirely out of the question, on account of the
immensity of , the quantity. As the grass falls's° it dries.
It is also stacked on the spot, being drawn to the aback by
oxen. - •

Masters and Servants.—The servants, for the greater
part, are the serfs of their masters ; or, when the latter do
not possess any of their own, they hire them from those who
dot, In' the northern governinetrts, wheiretlia popttlition is
xuaoti dam' then in the sonth,l believe it is a very

•
mon thiug
,for the proprietor to give his ,serf a kind of
ticket-of-leave, on coalition that- he pays him a certain
sure armually for thit privilege; the serfs then become do-
inestic servants' or, possibly knowing a trade, become
journ4rnen, and sothetinies, masters, themselves : when
the lattv. case occurs, their owners frequently recall them
to the vrllage again, whichof 'course they object to, anti are
madreto pay a good price for their freectern. When a servant
is a serf, and is guilty of anything that may appear to hii
master against the rules of his house, the police are sent for,
and the delinquent is wallserkoff to receive a good flogging
-not with the kuout, however but simply with a tench
of rods like aschoelbey ; \or he is put into solitary confiee.-.
merit, according to the request of his master, no inquiry what-
ever being made as to why he is punished,..if the order for
punishment be aceompanied by the present of
,a rouble to
the police-officer. Men are punished in. this Waylay mis-
take, and no notice tdren-of it: The Men themselvekrdo not
consider ip as any disgrace.to be flogged, and they.even
" boast of hovi much they can 'support: 1' could (neVer see
that .this eystem :produced _any beneficial result ; on the
contrary. it. only hardened the men, who, said that.if they
were flogged for nothing thiS time, it should be for.senie-
thing the next. A coachman who was driving into a gate-
way met another coming out, and as neither the horses of
the'oiie nor theether centring made to bank there was. a:
stoppage for foot:passengers . than lasted two or three
mintites.' An officer of police•happetiitig to be pissing at
the time, ortkred .Iho soldient takejene of them off to the
police, where he was severely flogged for what was no fault
of hie. If a drOshlii-driver overcharges or is impudent, you
have only to tell him to drive to.the police,; and he falls at
your feet, and will'not ohly'return - you the overcharge or
.begyotu-pardon, as the case may be, bat offer to buy :Pm
'Off with a present, because he knows. he will not only re,
ceite flogging, but be made to pay smartly too, and.
perhaps lose one of his horses.
The servants frequently conduct thereselves badly, on
purpOse to be sent-to-the v,illage again:. Some•masters are`
-notorttrus-for i'll-nrrig their servants, knocking them about,
pulling their hair, merely for-their amusement. • The ser-
yenta are.Mso rarely to be defended oft, heing much ad-
dicted to petty theft, se that nothing can be left about the
room that isnot under lock and-key. The , Yarely, how-
ever attempt anything on a grand scale. 9Wetimes -they,
will, when pushed td extremity by the cruelty they expe-
rience at the hands of _a master. revenge themselves by.
trying to take his life, and generally effectually. One must
,be especially careful with servants who are very Obliging,
as they have frequently an _interested 'motive in gaining
-the confidence of their mastere—tbeY are police spies.
There is a -much greater• degree of familiarity between.mas-
ter and servant than elsewhere. This arises from the fact
of the servants being slaves; and about their master's person
from infancy; hut they are not the. More to be trusted for
that. This, howeier, is not asserting that all servants are
-spies, but there is known to be a large proportion among
them. This is the cause why the French language is so
,extoueively employed in society; for, with that language,
'one, has no necessity for learning Russian '(which few fo-
reigners do), except to speak to the servants. -Within the
last four or five years, hoVreVer;the Russian language has
some into more general use, from a feeling ef`pittriotism—
real or pretended ; but it is no uncommon-thing to meet
people, ladies especially,-who speak !French much better
than their own language, which they term barbarous, and
always give the preference to the elegant stranger. The
late Emperor was always pleased when he found 'a
fo-
reigner who could speak Russian, which is really a very
fine language, though at present little cultivated; it con-
tains all the elements of a\ fine tongue, though very diffi-
cult for both natives and foreigners.
The nobler; keep e. great number of servants in their
houses, especially in the villages; chiefly men and boys,
who are very often extremely ragged, but that matters nut
if every one in the house have his servant, who does little
else all day than sleep, for nowhere is one so badly waited
on as in Russia. It seems a general .rule, that -the more
ntinaerous the servants, -the-worse the attendance. lam
quite convinced that whoever has been in the interior of
Russia will bear me out in this assertion. On entering a
hetise you have a servant given you, whose sole duty is to
attend to your wants, which he understands to mean pre-
senting you all your clothes while dressing, at the same
time assisting you to put them on if necessary, taking
thein off when you undress, and sleeping outside your door
in the era? ectes of these cperations. They do, however,
pretend to make your bed and clean your room, but it is
only a pretence. If you should be so unfortuuate as to
haves for attendant a son of nature freith from his,native
fields, you must expect,to have a great amount of trouble
with him, for he will know nothing of the uses of, any of
the utensils necessary in civilised life, and"will frequently
make the most ludicrous applications of them.
Crown Peasants.—The state of the free peasants, or '
rather the peasants of the crown, is in theory much better
than that of those belonging to private individuals, but
practically it is much worse, as they are subjected to the
tyranny of petty officials, who grind them down to the
lowest degree. They have no task work, and the land be-
longing to the community is equally divided. They are
only bound to, furnish a certain proportion of corn eyery
year to the public granary, which, in case of need, is sup-
plied to them, or goes to the benefit of the crown, as at
the present time of war; besides this they are subjected to
an annual poll-tax for each male, and are required to fur-
nish horses for any official who may be travelling through
the country on the crown service, or for the transport of
any stores that belong to the Government, for which they
receive no payment. These are their chief duties, and
they have the privilege of drawing lots for soldiers, with
the liberty to circulate over the empire, which many of
them do, engaging in trade, and even making considerable
fortunes; they have also the right of changing their deno-
mination, and becoming merchants in towns, by paying
for the guild. The officers of the rural police oppress them
very much, taking from them anything they. may fancy ;
and woe be to the unfortunate man who -should think of
refusing them what they demand. They are-made to give
up all they have, in some instances even to borrow or
steal, to satisfy the demands of justice ! They have often
soldiers quartered upon them, who tyrannise over them to
a fearful extent, and appear to glory in the idea that they
have come one upon whom they can wreak their revenge
for the tyranny of their officers. There is nothing the
peasant fears so much as to have soldiers quartered upon
him, for, by bitter experience, he knows that neither his
wife nor his property will be respected. The soldier will
take whatever he thinks proper for his own use, an i not
unfrequently steal for the use of his officer, the ideas of
officers on the score of honesty being as lax as those of the
men.

I will now attempt to describe the interior of alittle Rus-
-len hut. It is built by inserting a number of posts into
the ground at distances of about four feet from esch other,
which are wattled between, with spaces left for the doors,
and three or four swell holes, about nine inches or a foot
square for windows. This done the walls are plastered
with mud (this is the work of the women) till they acquire
a thickness of about 5 or 6 inches, and the building, when
covered in with straw, is complete : there remain only to be
provided the internal fittings and furniture, etessisting of
a stove that occupies about a third of the room, with a
wattled chimney in the lobby, a bench of planks running
round the room, and a large box or chest that is placed hi
the opposite corner of the room to the stove, and serves for
a table as well as for a general receptacle for all the mobile
property of the family. The stove in front is built nearly
up to theceiling, but behind there is a large opening, which
serves as a bed for the aged members of the family ; for in
this one room of about 10 feet square, you generally find
three generations—the patriarch and his wife, with two or
three married sons and daughters, with their children. The
old folks, as wo have said, sleep upon the stove, the other
members of the family upon the benches or earthern poor;
they have generally no beds but their sheepskins, their tall
caps serving them as pillows. In Russia Proper, I have
be .n told, they carry these things still further, by keeping
all the family together for centuries, and adding to the
house as it increases; but in Little Russia the children
leave their homes when the parents die, giving up the hut
to one of the family, who pays the others their share, which
of course is very small in amount, as the whole would not
cost more to construct than 41. or 5/.
The Little Russians are very cleanly in their persons and
houses, compared to the inhabitants of Russia Proper ; the
houses are generally nicely whitewashed both inside and
out, and have when new a very pretty appearance. The
costume of the men in summer consists of a shirt and
drawers of very coarse home-made linen : the drawers are
made very wide, like Turkish trowsers: to these are added
boots and a svitka, with a tall cap made of lamb-skin,
with wool outwards. On holidays and great occa-
sions the svitka is made of coarse undyed wool,
and fastened with a button, and at the waist with
a belt of some gaudy colour. In the winter they add a
sheepskin fur, and that completes their wardrobe. The
costume of the women consists of a shirt reaching to the
knees, and a piece of course undyed cloth bound round the
waist, and reaching also to the knees, leaving the feet and
legs bare; boots like the men, except that sometimes they
are red or yellow, and a svitka, are added for holidays.
The girls wear on their heads a fillet, with long streamers
of various-coloured ribbons down the back, or a cornet of
rudely-made gaudy paper flowers ; the married women tie
up their heads in a kerchief, hiding all their hair; in the
winter they also add the sheepskin fur. The women, how-
ever, have many variations in their costume there as every-
where : the petticoat is often made of party-coloured
printed cotton, and the svitka of blue calico, with a num-
ber of red worsted tails sewn on tesit like ermine.
There are few trades followed in the crown villages, so
that they have to make a great many things for themselves
or go without them, or wait till there is a fair somewhere
in the neighbourhood, when they can lay in a stock of ne-
cessary articles that cannot be produced at home. These
fairs are very curious in their way' and generally collect
all the peasantry of the adjoining' villages, with a good
sprinkling of the smaller class of proprietors, who have not
the means of going often to the town. The goods chiefly
sold are pots for cooking, and dishes of coarse earthenware,
hardware goods, small windows ready glare l, common
printed calicoes, cheap ribbons, paper flowers, ear-rings of
cop;,er gilt, of the very commonest description, grocery
and indifferent wines from the Crimea and the Don for the
small gentry, tanned hides, boots and shoes, rough wheels
for bullocks' csrs, and the cars themselves. Here it is that
the peasants dispose of their spare stock and corn. Their
horses are generally sold to and bought of the gypsies,
who attend the fairs in great numbers, and are very
expert in cheating in their dealings, as well as in
ho; se-stealing. Their oxen, sheep, &c., are generally
bought by dealers or exchanged amongst themselves ; the
corn usually finds its way into the hands of the Jews, who
cent, ive to make a rich harvest out of these gatherings. On
the whole, the scene has a very animated appearance, but
it is one which must be seen to be thoroughly appreciated.
On one side you see a group of the swarthy sons of Egypt
examining the merits of a horse, and huckstering for the
price with some sturdy peasant with a fine beard ; on the
other, a Jew pedlar trying to dispose of his wares, and
swearing that his copper ear-rings are soli: gold ; here a
woman in holiday attire is bargaining for pots in which to
cook her borsheh ;" there a priest, with long hair and beard
and sweeping robes, buying incense for his church, hag-
gling with the huckster, and giving his blessing to some
one at tho same time A little on the outskirts of the
fair is erected a booth for the sale of kvarl- and tea ; op-
posite to this is the brandy shop, where most of the horse
and cattle bargains are concluded, and where some of th:
purchase-money is left under the name of mugger h'*

* A kind of soup made with cabbage and othor vegetables.
± A sour liquor, made from rye flour, which is also used
in the preparation of borsheh.
T. In striking all bargains with a Little Russian, it is always
a question as to who shall find muggeritch, or drinking.
:annoy, as pothing can be dose without drink.

' • But the finest sight of all the fair is what is called krcts-
niriad, or the' street of the finery, which is usually &s-
-played on tempOrary shelves and ,covered in with coarse
canvas, each merchant adding his piece to form a long
covered avenue • and here you will generally find con-
gregated all the 'fielles of the country, in yellow and red
boots, with Streamers flying, or flowers on. their heads,
buying ornaments in order to touch the hearts of the
; swains with loVe, or 'those of their companions with envy ;
or perhaps You- may find some rustic, lover purchasing pre-
gents fer his lady-love. In all this assemblage of rude un-
cultivated people—l-have seen as many as four or five
• thousand pf them' congregated together —there are never
any serious dietarbances ; all "is order and quiet-; they
seem pleased and amused. with the rude gaity; of the scene,
and enjoy it till it becomes dark, when some go to their
homes, others to the brandy shop ; 'while those who have
; goods-lie down arid gq sleep under them, no matter how
inclement the weather. These fairs in -winter generally
last a week, but in summer rarely more than oneair wo
day®, as time isjvery valuable during haymaking and har-
vest. If it Were not for these institute` edis; there would be
no poisibility .bf ihe peasant procuring ,anything besides
what was produced in his own village, where he would
lead the lifer of atind of Robinson CrtisOe in the• society
of others like himself. , ' • - •
The serfs, in general, have very limited ideas on the sub-
tjeet of religion, as they; for the greater- parts, can neither
read nor write; they go to church; where they, repeat,
With great' devotion, a certain number of Ayes 'and Pater-
nostere in their own language, or rather Slavonic, and cross
themselves while the priest is celebrating mass, which is
done with more or less pomp according 'to' the'occasion or
the riches of the church. If you ask a peasant where is God,
he will generally point to-the corner of the room where
there are hanging one or more coarse, badly-executed
paintings, representing some of their saints, and which he
is firmly persuaded are so many gods, This will, perhaps,
sireatesse-smile iz,-,,,SaglantiOratitits the natural re-
suit of their uneducated state, which precludes them from
umlerstanding all abstrac t ideas: They must have something
corporealsomething they can see and feel,; consequently,
to abolish these would be to do away with all religion in
their eyes. In their way they are very religions. I have
even known some of them who, when they are about to
commit a sin, will cover carefully their images, that God
may not-see what they are about. They are very strict
in their fasts, • which are very' severe, as neither
milk, butter, eggs, nor anything that is produced by ani
male is permitted ; and, of course, animal food is forbid.
den. The principal and longest fast is, of coarse, Lent,
when they do not even eat fish during the first and last
weeks, nor on Wednesdays and Fridays; from Good Fri-
day till after Mass on Easter Day, many of them eat no-
thing, but epend their time in watching,,fasting, and pray-
Mg,' being firmly persuaded that Christ dies and rises
again every year at this time. Bat when the' mass is over
on Easter Day. (generally about 4 a.M.), ample amends is
made for the long fast, by stuffing to a degree that is really
disgusting to look at and think of. Ndr is the brandy cup
forgotten ; for, during the three days that Easter lasts, it
is almost a sin not to be drunk, nor are the- priests back-
-ward in setting the example both in eating and drinking.
There is another custom, which is universal throughout
the empire—that of kissing. You frequently see two men,
who can hardly keep their legs, stop and uncover in the
strode, one saying " Christos voskres," the other answer-
ing Vi-istino ,voskres;" they kiss each other three times
on alternate cheeks, and then Walk on to perform the same
ceremony with the next acquaintance they may happen to
meet. They are blindly attached to their .religion ; and
this has been the means employed to arouse their enthusi-
asM for the present war, svhiph, I am told, his been very
successful itt i:s..ussia Proper; but in Southern Russia it has
only met with partial success, for there the people are not
strongly attached to the paternal government of the Czar,
and still have many traditions of their former freedom,
before the • hated Mtszepps.. They think themselves the
only orthodox nation in the world, and all others they call
• &merman, or 'infidel. They have very curious notions
of the rest of the world, and regard all foreign countries as,
so many provinces belonging to the czar. I have fre-
quently been told that the Turks, incited by the French
and English, had revolted, -and that the latter, finding
that the Turks were not able to de anything against
the White Czar alone, had revolted too, • although they,
the peasants,- could not understand why the French
and English 'should revolt, since, by all accounts,
they weremuch :better off than the Russian peasants, who
were the Czar's own particular people. That is their idea
of the present war, and; of course, the rebels are to be
utterly destroyed by the power of the Czar; for they rea-
son that; if they were to revolt, they, who are a great
people, would soon be annihilated ; what must it then be
for those whom they esteem insignificant in proportion to
their knowledge of them'?
The priests are objects of great veneration, although
many of them are not far removed, in point of education;
from their flock. I have met with those who could
scarcely read, except their church books, which they had
learned by rote. There are, however, many who are well
educated, and even learned, but these are chiefly in towns. '
These are the two extremes, whereas the great body of
them can read and write, and understand enough of the
dogmas of the Russo-Greek Church to keep the people in
their present state. Here also we find the same system of
feeing going on as elsewhere ; for if they take a fancy to
anything that a peasant possesses, the owner knows that
it is no longer his property, or be will not receive abso-
lution when he goes to confession or the. priest may re-
fuse to bury any of his family-that may die, or to baptise
his'children, or may even excommunicate him. All classes
fall upon the poor peasant ! Their greatest oppressors are
the rural police, who exact from them to their last shirt
when they can. I knew one very intelligent man among
the crown peasants, who said that his position wonld be
very well for an uneducated man like himself, if it were
not for the creel and unjust exactions of these locusts.
These were his very words. He was always glad when I
talked of England, and the people there, which I did but
very circumspectly : he made frequent and very shrewd
comparisons between the two countries, but could not
understand how ,the upper classes could exist if there
were no serfdom, or how we could get soldiers if we had
not the same system as that existing in Russia. When I
told him how our soldiers were paid and treated, he only
wondered how it was that every man was not a soldier.
That the law was alike for rich and poor he could under-
stand, and remarked that it was the wish of the Emperor
that it should be so in Russia. but that those who were
charged with the execution of it there had all the power in
their own hands; that there was no redress for the poor
peasant, who must suffer till the change came that would
sweep away all their oppressors. He could not explain
what change was to take place, but -was fully persuteledi
that it must come ; and if it were not for the question of
religion mixed up in the present war, I am fully convinced
that this would 'be looked upon as the time for effecting
that change.
The peasantry have to endure great hardships when
troops pass through their district. The passage of troops
in Russia presents many singular and striking features.
Every. Russian regiment is composed of four battalions,
each a thousand strong. On the march, two of these
battalions are sent on, followed by the other two, at the
interval of a day or two. These battalions are broken up
into companies of 200 men each, under a captain, and di-
rected to hold a parallel course, These companies are
again subdivided in detachments of about 50, and take their
way among the villages, only concentrating before enter-
ing a large town, so that they generally march over about
double the actual distance by the road. It is a curious
sight to meet one of these detachments on' the march. In
front of esch party generally marches a man singing mili-
tary snatches, with a tambourine, or some instrument, to
keep up the spirit of hiti comrades, while the others join
him in the chorus. The effect of this is very strange, sur-
rounded as one is by the dreary landscape of a Russian
winter, without tree, house, or human being in sight—
nothing but snow above and below, for the atmosphere
seems impregnated with it, as the air of London is with
smoke—there, in the midst of such a wilderness, to meet
a body of armed men, with one of them at their head, sing-
ing, and perhaps dancing some war dance.