Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1855-03-29
EBENsBURG, MARCH %, 1865.

white paint, and, as it contains mercury, it
Injuries alike health and skin A young man
paying his court TO girl generally presents
her with box ofred and white paint. to inn
prove her looks ;sand In the upper classes, la
dies are often to be seen by one another, as
they arrive at house, openly rouging their
faces before entering the drawing room.
These are small things, indicative of an ex-
tensive principle. Peter the Great undertook
to civilize Russia by coup de main. A walk
| is shown. at st. Petersburg along which be
made women march unveiled between files of
soldiery to accustom them to 60 unveiled. L.
But civilization is not to be introduced into
nation by imperial edict, and ever since Peter
| the Greats time the Russian empirc has been
laboring to stand for what it is not, namely,
| the equivalent to nations that have become
civilized in the slow lapse of time. It can only
support, or attempt to support, this reputation
| by deceit It must hide, or attempt to hide
| --and it has hidden from many eyes with
much success its mass of barbarism, while by
clever and assiduous imitation, as we'll as by
pretensions cunningly sustained. it must put
| forward show of having what it only in some
| few directions even strive to get.
The elements of civilization Russia has, in a
copious language, soft and beautiful without
being efeminate,r and good hearted people,
that would become a nobler people under bet
ter government. Their character is stained
chiefly by ignorance and fear. The best class
of Russians-especiall those who are not
tempted by poverty to the meanness that in
Russia is almost the only road to wealth-are
beyond the borders OF sincerity, but not with
the design of being insincere. They are hui
name to their serfs; and although this class
suffers in Pussia troubles that surpass those
of the negro slaves, it is not from the proper
gentlemen and ladies of the country that this
suffering directly comes When the noble
proprietor himself lives in the white house
that peeps from among trees, side by side
with the gilt dome of its church, the slaves
on the estate are reasonably happy. 1t is not
true that Russian gentleman is frequently
intoxicated A Russian lady never is So
Of the government functionaries, who form a
large class of the facitious nobility and gentry
of the empire, no good is to be said: they are
tempted to pillage and extortion under a sys-
tenn that all radiates from great centre of
deceit. 0stentation is the rule A post
master, a colonel in rank, receiving forty
pounds year. and without private estate, is
to be seen keeping carriage, four horses,
two footmen, and a coaohman. His wife
goes extravagantly dressed she has two or
but she can afford to pay costly visit every
season to the capital. This system of false
pretension ruins the character of thousands
upon thousands. 1t makes of Russia what it
is,-a Land eaten up with fraud and lying
Living near such colonel l-postmaster, the
Englishwoman could observe his mode ofopera-
ton He was about to pay visit to st. Peters
burg, but wanted money. His expedient was
to send an enormous order for iron, for the
use of government, to rich iron master in
the town. The iron-master knew that gold,
not iron, was the metal wanted; and as he
dared not expose himself to the anger of
government official, he was glad to compromise
the matter by the payment of round sum of
silver roubles as fine for default in execution
of the order. The habit of ostentation-bar-
barous in itself, which destroys the usefulness
and credit of the employers of government
tempts the poor mobiles also to forfeiture of
their own honor and self-respect
1t runs into everything. Even in the most
cultivated classes, few Russians who have not
gone out of Russia for their knowledge are
really well-informed. They have learnt two
or three modern languages, and little else
Yet they cultivate q tact in conversing with an
air of wisdom upon topics about which they
are almost wholly uninformed, and after an
hours sustainment ofa false assumption, show,
perhaps, by some senseless question, that they
cannot have understood properly syllable
upon the points under discussion Their
emptiness of mind is political institution
s.H three Russians talk together, one Isl spy"
stands with them as social proverbs They
are forbidden to express their own opinions,
upon great movements in the world their
censorship excludes from them the noblest
literature; they have no common ground of
conversation left but the merits of actors and
actresses, the jests of the last farce or trashy
comedy, or the state of the opera,-in which
place, by-tbe-by, such operas as William Tell
and Massanello are performed with new libretti,
from which all faint of love of liberty has
been expunged. Feeling the weakness Of this.
and in a great many cases secretly resenting
it, the men shrug their shoulders and say,
What would you have We must play
cards and talk Of the odd trick" While our
countrywoman was staying with a friendly
Russian lady, an old gentleman called to bor-
row few ronbles, got them, and departed. -
- All. poor man." said the lady. when he was
gone, g think how unfortunate he has been.
He once possessed fourteen thousand slaves,
and he has lost them all at cards" The En-
glish visitor expressed regret that q man of his
years should be the prey of such vice. stHow
old do you think him r. was then asked ssOh,
sixty at the leastr ssSixtyl He is past eighty,
only he wears a wig, paints hiapye-brows, and
rouges to make himself look younger"
The Russian ladies have little to do but
read dissolute Frencn novels (which the CEN
sorships does not exclude,) dress and undress,
talk slander, and criticise the dresses of them
selves and one another. Their slaves do all
that might usefully occupy their hands and
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