The Sun.
London, England, 1855-08-14 00:00:00

THE PEASANTRY.

The sufferings of the inhabitants of those villages
situated on the lines of march taken by the armies '
that traversed the country from north to south, during
the winter of 1853-1854, were so intense that even the
soldiers themselves pitied them ; and it takes something
to touch the heart of a Russian soldier. The troops, in
order to obtain sustenance, were obliged to disperse them-
selves over a large tract of country, marching in a parallel
direction, and falling on the poor peasantry, whose stock
of winter provisions was only prepared for the wants of
their families ; like locusts, eating up everything, and re-
ducing the inhabitants to the greatest distress ; while the
male population, who generally earn something consi-
derable with their horses during the winter, in trans-
porting merchandise from one fair to another, was en-
gaged on the main road in the transport of artillery and
tumbrils, which, by the wise arrangements of the _Rus-
sian Government, had to be dragged over a country co-
vered to the depth of six or eight feet with snow, upon
wheels ; so that tumbrils, which could have been drawn
easily by four or six horses if placed upon sledges, re-
quired twelve or fifteen to move them with their large
wheels imbeded in the snow. Baring a journey I was
obliged to make in February, 1854, I met more than 500
tumbrils transported in this laborious manner. It made
my heart bleed to see the treatment both horses and
peasants received at the hands of the soldiery who were
frequently obliged to use double, and even treble, the
number Of horses required on the level ground. Roads
had to be cut in some places through the snow, to admit
of the passage of the heavy artillery. The peasants are
seldom kept at this work for more than a fortnight to-
gether ; but they are frequently a hundred miles from
their homes, so that after an absence of a month they
return only to find their home swept clean by the hungry
warriors whose fighting materials they have transported
with so much difficulty. That many died of the artifi-
cial famine caused by these preparations for glorious
war, I have no doubt. The Russian soldier, too, is
mush imbued with a strong propensity for thieving, and
there is nothing he will not steal if the opportunity of
so doing should present itself. Finding all the houses
where they were billetted without the master, of course
many of the little articles of furniture were missing after
the visit. These things were generally taken to the next
halting-place and sold for brandy, only, perhaps, to be
stolen again by the next party. It frequently happened
that soldiers and recruits met in the same villages,
and the number billetted in one house was so
great that the master and his family were obliged
to sleep out in the sheds with cattle, or upon
the snow, for sluyba (as the peasants call the soldier)
must have his lodging. Nor were the sufferings of the
troops themselves less acute, marching as they did at
such an inclement season of the year. They strive, how-
ever, to enliven their dreary marches by songs and jests,
for in every company there is always a certain number
of singers, who march in front, led by a man with a
tambourine or an old violin, who dances, sings military
songs, of which the other singers take up the chorus, or
•else he cracks jokes at any one's expense. It is a curious
sight to meet a party of soldiers in the midst of a snowy
desert, where nothing is to be seen but snow below and
snow above ; for the very air is impregnated with it.
These armed men are wending their way to destroy, or
be destroyed, as the case may be.

WORKING TRADESMEN.
Among those who feel the pressure of the war in the
towns, are the working tradesmen, such as tailors and
bootmakers. In all regiments there are a certain num-
ber of men who work for their comrades in time of peace,
making for them their clothing, boots, &c. ; but as now
all are called upon to bear arms, they have to quit the
needle and awl for the rifle and bayonet. The duty of
providing the troops with their grey greatcoats falls upon
the tailors, who are suffering enough from the depressed
state of all trades. They are supplied with so much
cloth or leather, as the case may be, and are required to
return a certain number of articles ready for use ; but
the materials have already passed through the hands of
the officials, who make their profit out of the affair by
keeping back for their own use a good per-centage
of the materials, exacting at the same time the re-
quired number of articles. The poor tradesman has
to make good the defalcations of this grasping
rapacity, out of his own pocket, besides the loss of
the labour he is compelled to perform. Before I
left the town where I was last May, I could not
get a pair of boots made, as all the bootmakers were
working upon this Government work, to the detriment
of their owi interests and that of their customers. For
this work they get a mere nominal price, the greater
part goes into the pockets of the same men who robbed
them of their cloth ; but they can obtain no redress for
this, and look upon it as a necessary evil.

THE MERCHANTS.
The merchants are not subjected to such heavy losses
as might be supposed, considering the perfect annihila-
tion of all external commerce. It is true they are obliged
to subscribe largely to the voluntary contributions for
the expenses of the war ; but as nearly all business is
carried on with ready money, they merely withdraw their
capital, and wait patiently the course of events. It is
among this class that the greatest number of patriots
is to be found ; for, as they understand no other lan-
guage but their own, and are strongly attached to their
country, not knowing any other, they get all their
information of what passes, from the highly-coloured
misrepresentations that are published for then by the
Russian government. They were enchanted with patri-
otic verses, that were to be found in all the Russian
papers, describing the prowess and victories (future ?) of
the holy Muscovite armies. Lord Palmerston is repre-
sented to them as a monster, and the author of the war.
In one of these poetical effusions his lordship is carica-
tured as a great warrior, who fights his battles on a
map with his forefinger. Since the battles of Alma and
Inkerrnan these productions have become less frequent.
There is one that appeared in the spring of 1854, that I
Insist mention. It is an allegory, composed by an actor,
I believe ; and relates that a Russian molodetz (young
roan) was going quietly on his way, when he found his
passage stopped by three men—a turbaned Turk, a
bearded Frenchman, and a red-haired English merchant.
With a few swings of his powerful arm he made the
Turk and Frenchman bite the dust, while the English.
man was glad to escape the same fate by surrendering
the contents of his pockets to this fine fellow. These
may serve as specimens of what is allowed to poison the
minds of those who can read ; while those who cannot
are excited by yet grosser fictions.
Since the beginning of the present year there has been
a great scarcity of silver and gold coin in the southern
provinces of the empire, though gold was very plenti-
ful last autumn. This scarcity may be accounted for by
the merchants withdrawing their capital from trade. As
few of them have any confidence in the paper circulation,
they availed themselves of the gold, then very plentiful,
which all Disappeared in this way in a very few weeks.
A friend of mine, who was in Simpheropol in February,
wishing to change a 100-ruble nute into notes of one,
three, and five roubles each, was obliged to pay 10 per
cent. for the exchange ; and he assured me that, if any
small article were purchased, the value of which did not
amount to a rouble, the merchant would rather lose the
sale than give coin in exchange, though he was perhaps
making a profit of 100 per cent. This state of things is
gradually travelling northwards. In Ekaterinoslav it was
the same in April ; and in Kharkoff, in May, there was a
great difficulty in procuring coin, especially gold and
the smaller silver money. Kharkoff is a large commercial
town, and the capital of the Ukraine. The issue of notes
has recently been very great. All this tends to prove
that every sinew is now strained to bursting to carry on
the war.

TIIE RUSSIAN SOLDIER.
Many persons have expressed surprise at the smallness
of the returns of
Theßussian system
an
engagement ; killed on the part of the Russians after
practice is 3 this
but, to any one who understands the
will not appear strange at all.
be in the field, and receive
to Bend in returns of only a small proper- RATHER RARE.—There was caught by one of the ash.
tion of the • killed, while the remainder are supposed to ing boats last
igs
sm entire week
in itsa slitnotawthh.i_chi,
owithneon,Goipoeante Jo,
Journal.
rated and rations, to the benefit rabbit's I
of the colonel,. Asa pay
lated this in England, great personage, to whom I re- [Alma:
i—No TGirs WAR IN TITS EAST.—POWERFUL
dead men's rations ?'' Nmorairsktei(ll, " the colonels eat the PATENT RECON..BNNOITTI
tMessrs. S. and B. Solo-
tion, for the greater part of the ere any danger of detec- mons, opticians, 39, Albemarle-street,
By her
Observe
same thing before, and are pracrganerals have done the opposite the York Hotel:" Majesty's Royal
at all times, while the subalternalaV something similar Letters Patent for valuable and extraordinaryy improvementscam-Re
come colonels themselves. I knowoape some day to be- in the most powerful and brilliant Telescopes,
course, Opera, and Perspective Glasses, to know the Camp,
s-
commanding a regiment, who, from tnheinatancoefof a man of objects viewed through them—of great importance to the
went taking the field in the summeroftime his regi" army, navy, and others. These
last year up to telescopes possess such extra-
the end of last November, was in
the habit of . A. ordinary powers that som 3, • inches, with an extra eye-two or three thousand roubles every week to his sending piece, will show distinctly eJ
ithliteer'smoons, Saturn's ring,
while he is known to possess no private fortune.s Afairinhy, and the double stars; samea
utdc lea s rapl o can bo
money was of course squeezed ore of the soldiers' this seen a person's countenance three mile
rations and au object from 16 to 20 miles. They are of largerf distant,.
and forage, for it is a cavalry giment.
The life of a sizes •th • ;
whilei,heirand al.
Russian soldier is so miserable that I think half of the lug
fir wi increasing powers accordingly
o ma
nad
theto 6 inches enable us to discover more thavnatriym. would prefer to be killed to dragging on such a wretched above
existence. They are torn from their homes by the arbi- Exhibition,eorgian, with his 6 satellites, Scc.__Th
ie Royal
1851'—Valuable, newly-invented, very small,
trary hand of despotism, and made to form part of an powerful waistcoatocket pand glass,the size of a walnut, by which
immense machine called a regiment, which again forms eavpeerson can be seenknown 11 miles distant ; they answer
17 PurPoso on the race-course,
part of another called a division; but they have not the country scen, -course, and at the opera house
remotest idea why they are made to execute certain They are inval, , and ships are clearly seen at Bto 10 miles.''
movements. The English officers who were taken psi- I sportsmen,
gentlemen
elteefor shooting, deer-stalkin,,, yachtin,to
Boners at different times admired the severe discipline of race-course, camp, ani:agarnekeepers, and tourists. qera,
Perspective glasses, with wonderful
the Russian army, little thinking that it. was purchased Lewer.—Newly-eonstructPeed
• power.
that
Lenses of the great-
at the expense of every moral feeling ; for the soldier is 1
from transparentthis
andmvention is, that valuablevisien advantage deriveC. brutalised at the treatment he receives, every officer preservedvery
becoming impaired is
strengthened
i , and
having the right to buffet and cuff him as he may enabled to employ sight at ther mosta ged
ipersonsnut
think proper. An old cavalry officer once told me, that pation—ean seo wththtehers
a much less e magnify_
cause 2.
-
if a horse died there was a rigid inquiry into the ing power—and they do neotiel2Se• q 8 of
the frequent ctoanse of his death ; and if the least thing appeared to the dangerous effects of furtheeiMre f changes-.
ness—New Discovery.—The OrganpiocwVirh-nli assistance. Deaf-
Wasshiow that it had been neglected, the subaltern who
I nary powerful, small, new, en
instru'amtclerhalit extraordi-
r_ . n command of the squadron was placed under ar- fur deafness,
"t J. but if
,on the other hand, a man died, on his ! entirely different from all others, to surpass anything of th
death being kind that has been or probably ever Can be, e
fellow ! „r reported to the colonel he would say, "Poor
Being of the same colour as the skin, is
not produced.
perceptible ; it
I hope he is in
heaven ! " This may be ac-
counted for ea •persons to hear distinctly at ch •
1 enables deaf inch and at
nual easily enough.
sum to
provide
The colonel receives an an- '
public assemblies; sensation of singing noises
every loss ft horses for his regiment,
so that in the cars is entirely removed it affords Ia 1 the assist-
a ectFi directly .
cost him
n_,,,, , . his pocket ; whereas the
men ance that possibly could be desired. 39, Albern i
ar e-street,
v""ng l Tile ti,„ •
are allowed meat by the Piccadilly. Observe—opposite the York hotel.