New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-05-10

I'D 10 their despairing WEAKNESS
The population Of Siberia Is divided into three
classes-peassntso OF the cro"n "~No's' auu 0
Gals Of every kind. r..
The ne,,ant owns no master and Ia free from
forced labor. With little gift 70 the Czn ne
finds everything easy. Cunning from tue lIsr 10
throws himself eagerly into the stream 0. ''aue'
and soon becomes false, as DIS business !" 81
erDed neither by religion nor mor11y Exen
il !. of no personal advantage be lies ioftne 'o1S
il ard with sly satisfaction desPlses the deaoaeu
victiro whom he regards az bis intellectual me-
rior If you AJAX him whether ne Il husslau uT
ansvers-No, | am Siberian. but you WIN
much mistake if you expect TO IND IN MIN Pe00-
liar nationality .L.orcb and
sbayes ali the Russian virtues and vices DE mas
no inspiring recolections Of the past-no na'ionsI
preiudices and songs-and 10 the most PrOsao
man upon Gods earth. He Is even lnIcfoi ~
these respects to the Tartars whose oesceuu@ ~
are scattered about among the Russians, IiHe @
snds Among these meB fingers yer SOM SuAuo"'
a, il were of their former dignity and DON mon;
Altboueb today slaves, from whose hearts al
hone of freedom has died away, and VINO nave
M longer even the idea OF fatherlano' YET Ia
their songs sounds still vague yearnihs 'oTalu
the great days departed and their simple arIieSs
ness touches the heart like q beautiful dream. IL
matters not that YOU do not understand the WORDS
of the song-its sense is evident enough Is
the heir of an invincible race saying, upon tue
graves Of his fathers, prayer which ne does nut
himself understand .eho
The Siberian Russian has no tnougnt 10Y tue
Past There 10 no yesterday to him nothing oat
the present moment-an and that moment com
biped ENJOYMENT of brandy, bathing ana tea.
VAinIv do YOU speak to him OF heaven Tor MS
heaven ia where he finds schnapps, tea and
vapor-bath God, he knows only as an image or
more properly az carlcature, os'o.e J n.o..es
lamp burns and by which he bends and crosses
himself when be enters the room: ms cete-
nopv ia the whole ritual Of the Siberian and qulIe
,ufices for his spiritual needs As long as have
lived in Siberia, and God knows, 1t 10 no snort
time have never heard another teach her cnlio
to pray. ,.r. A.. =
appearance. But he is quite as false and, as he
is of more consideration in the world, be goes
more skilfully to work. II he does not surPass
the Jew in cunning, be does not yield to him.
This ia shown in the proverb-" Where Russian
trader settles, Jew has no chance"
Among the traders must be reckoned the Nus
sian priests for they are merchants, too, and trade
in objects Of religious devotion. The priest ad'
vises the sick Siberian peasant to have the Virgin
Mary for him, and chafers with him about the
price Of the visit. 1t depends upon the amount,
whether be shall have large or small image and
whether it shall come to the patients house on
foot or in a carriage. This last style OF visit, n
costing much more, is held to be much more eitcs'
cious in it's results TO the invalid The priest &C.
companies the image to the house attended by
retinue of people sppsreled according to the ex'
travagaDce OF the expense. Not only does this pro-
family obtain in Siberia bat also throughout Russia
When Siberian dies, the Priest issues GER
tifcate for him, which, of course, must be paid
This certificate the corpse bears In his hand 70
open the gates OF heaven, and the heavenly po'
lice, who, it seems, are as severely disciplined as
on earth permit him 10 pass. The Emperor, as
head of the ChuEch is obliged to sanction such
blasphemy, and the Government takes no care to
stop these practices or raise the people out OF such
darkness.
The faults which characterize the peasant and
trader. belong also to the official, only he must be
yet more sly and skilllul, for he wears the lmpe'
rial uniform and the tokens of imperial grace in
the button.hole. But just there 10 the ground Of
bis brutality that the Government knows con-
stantly his conduct, and the severer he is the
higher and faster he rises. Liquor and cards
sweeten the fatigues of labor he CANDLES, how
ever, not for amusement but for gain. The Off
ciAl invites q select party OF his prisoners to
game of Boston, knowing, perfectly well, that he
10 to be the winner; for wo TO the thoughtlem
He learns soon enough that the game in Stberisis
played after quite other rules than elsewhere and
that if an imperial Russian official honors a ban
shed man by sitting with him at table, he should
be eager to pay roundly for that honor
Among the Siberian curiosties, however, l
must not fail TO mention the bell OF glitsch which
was banisbed by Boris GOdunow, the miserable
brother in law of the weak and inefficient FeodOr
lst because 1t opened its iroh mouth and wildly
changed the news of the murder Of The Prince
Demetrius. 1t hangs in Tobolsk, in the upper
Church, but so near the ground that the passen-
ger can easily read the reason and date OF It's ban
ishment engraved upon it. The image of Jeho
yah in the same Church is striking, the face of
which, several ellis lOrg, seems intended to I'M
press the spectator with sense OF the size OF
God. But the most remarkable OF all, in my judg'
ment, is the Brodaga or Nagsbond genuine
national production, OF which | must say some
thing.
He is either a native or q condemned of
one of the two lower grades, who has some
where committed an awful murder, and has
then escaped with the booty hundreds of Russian
miles in order TO consume it at leisure. AS the
Winter approaches and his gold gives out he be-
takes himself steathily to city in which he has
never been, and where he is sure that no one
knows him. There he announces himself to the
local authorities, but in a very peculiar manner.
He says, with seeming simplicity, that he is
Bro6iags, that he does not know where he was
born or what his name is, nor where he has hith-
erto lived, or been doing Such a confession in
political cases would be quite sufficient 10 insure
vigorous application OF the knout 10 refresh the
memory. But the question is now OF something
less than Politics st most, nothing more than
q murder-so Justice must have its way. What
then does the Judge dol He sends the deln
Quent to Jail, and endesvors TO discover or rather
allows chance TO discover, If there be any Wit
ness against the prisoner The Brodjags, who
knows well enough how little danger 10 him
there is in this proceeding, throws himself conf
IDENTITY into the arms of Justice, and has thereby
obtained all that for the moment he wants.
warm room, food without work, and company
which he Immediately sharply scans, and selects
for associates those who belong to him by mutual
sympsthes. As the Winter ends the way of
escape is smoothed by diplomatic arrangements
with the overseer or at fitting opportunity, the
watch being won over, the prisoner digs his way
out under ground, and goes TO his old work
Should it unluckily chance that the BrodjagS is
recognized in the Jail, and that some witness ap-
pears against him, then place in the mines, or
companionship with some other convict, is his lot
He receives a generous share Of the knOut and