The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-11-28

COUNT roLsroRI's EsrArH-A PHEASANT VILLAGE
VISITS TO THE PEASANTS.
rcouespsudssc. OF III. Nov York Evening Pos. !


have been spending week In q Russian coun-
try house, and have had an excellent chance TO
see something Of the country life here of both
gentlemen aud peasants. YssEapa Polysna .(lit-
tboussnd acres about twelve miles from Tnls, and
belongs to Count Tolstoi. one Of the most eminent
OF Russian writer's. The house stands on little
hill at the end OF hLe avenue of old birch trees;
in front lie the remains of a magnificent garden,
with ponds and slopes Of grass, and behind the
O. urt and stables commence the woods and fields.
Tie large manor house bad become ruinous, and
was taken down last year, but the family live in
one of the detached wings. All large Russian
houses, both in city and country, were formerly
built with two or three detached wings. which
we're always found useful and convenient in the
times when q whole family, with half dozen I
servants, would come for three months visit.
Country life 10 very much the same everywhere.
though the hours and occupations may vary.
bere We assemble for coffee at about eleven A.
NJ, after which we smoke, and then take walk
or ride. Dinner Is at FIVE, and after dinner ia q
long evening Of music, conversation and social
enjoyment. In this case the evening had special
charms. for Count Tolstoi was in the University
of Kazan, had served three years in the Caucasus,
quaipted with all the literary men of Russia. and
many of those of England, France and Germany.
He is now about forty, and in the height OF his
celebrity and bis power as writer. DE has a hsa
copies) of his last novel, War and Peace" be-
fore the fifth and last part Is printed, and must
have received something like SIC. 900 from 1t.
here are fu,ly as beautiful and mild as those Of
n @ nave ose s Ss
estate, and my. host has given me many new
ideas on the subject of Russian rural economy.
He tells me that IL is now impossible to cultivate
grain at profit in this northern half of the gov
eminent Of Tula. The drawbacks are the wages
Of The peasants-twenty TO thirty kepeks per
dsy-apd the competition of the black earth
lands, which have been opened to the Moscow
market by the new railways. The black earth
lands begin just four miles south Of this place,
and cover the whole Of Southern Russia, extend
il z even to the Ural on the east. They are im.
mensely rich and productive. Count Tolsto has
therefore abandoned the culture of grain, and Is
planting his whole estate with birch woods. p,
AS wood is becoming desrer and dearer every
year, on account OF the immense consumption,
in twenty years this will give large and steady
revenue. Five coal and iron mines have been dis
covered few miles to the south. and there is
every indication Of both on this estate, and it il
proposed to search for them.
The great occupation of every Russian country
gentleman is shooting, and this is the very time
tor 1t. heavy rain which came on the day
before my arrival unfortunately drove away the
woo6cock. but there are plenty of hares, and we
have been out several times with good luck. both
with the hounds and also with our guns Game il
very plenty here, as through all central and
northern Russia: There are several species Of
grouse, blackjack and psrridge. hares. foxes and
wolves. There are no bears here.
PEASANT VILLAGE.
Close to the ruined pillars of the large gateway
Of the park is the peasant village of the estate.
There are about one hundred and fifty peasants
here. The houses are low hute OF one story, built
generally of logs-brick houses are not thought 30
warm. The entrance takes you into the court, on
one side OF which are the cattle and horse sheds
made of interlaced twig and covered with straw:
the other eide Ia the door leading into the hut,
which consists usually of a single room lighted by
two small windows, each with double frames to
keep out the cold. There is no ceiling. but the
room is open TO the ceiling, which is matched with
straw. The floor is sometimes of earth, but more
generally of brick boards. There is a large
brick stove which keeps the house perfectly
warm. There is seldom more than single chair.
but rough benches are disposed about the sides
Of the ROOM and there one or two tables.
Behind screen Is usually q sort of bed for the
master of the house, and cradle "a square
board suspended from q beam by four cords
attached to the corner and gathered into
a knot, resembling the scale of balance.
There is small shelf 10 one corner, with the
usual holy picture, end perhaps small lamp
burning in front of it. Except the wooden dhshes
and other utensils, there Is no other furniture.
The families are always very large, and they
sleep on the stove, on the benches, or on the
foor-ls ~ quite customary here for the younger
married members Of the family to sleep In the
sheds in the cart. They do this even in winter
though sometimes 10 the morning they are COW
cred with snow. The peasants' houses in this
part OF Russia, where wood is abundant, though
the peasants are actually poorer they have larger
and better houses and more furniture. All the
peasant huts which saw on. the Volga, or even
st hundred miles from it in the government of
Ssmara, where wood was so scarce that they
burned dung for fuel, were larger, usually OF two
or even three rooms, and had more furniture, and
well carved cupboards for the crockery and for
the holy pictures.
One evening paid visit to an old peasant in
one of these huts. The room was lighted with q
l'dclina, or piece of brentwood, which gave out
bright blaze. This Is narrow strip Of wood
held between three nails on the top of wooden
standard, and as each piece will burn not more
than two minutes, little girl has TO be constantly
replenishng the burner. TIE ashes are caught
in an earthen vessel. An old woman was weav.
ing coarse linen cloth with rude machine. A
man was making very neatly and deity L0pt. or
the shoes of linden last which the peasants usu-
ally wear. The most Interesting sight was man
beating wool. He had fixed to the wall a large.
strong bow, strung with heavy gut string. He
kept the string in continual vibration by striking
it with heavy notched piece Of wood, and at
each vibration the string caught up and tore
apart the wool, and sent down 70 the floor
in white snowy fiocks like soapsuds. II was
as well carded as II 1t had been done with ma
chine. nr En- I
This was the trade of this man, who goes from
house TO house and earns perhaps arouble and .
half day, II be works steadily. Bis coming 10
rather festival in the house, as he il usually
merry fellow. and sings to the music of his bow
string. The winter Is the Intellectual for
the Russian peasant as Tor the rest OF the world
| They begin TO use lights on the 18th (27th) OF
| September, and from that time on they work In
the evening, while the old women tell stories and
| the young people sing. Uususlly all the young
girls meet together for singing and spinning, and
| go from house TO house on successive evenings.
CONDITION OF THE PEASANTS.
In this cottage was a very intelligent boy about
four cen, who knew something about America,
| end had a fair elementary education. About six
| years ago Count Tolstof established school 10
one of his vacant rooms. which he taught himself
| en- winter evenings. He kept II Ep for three
| years. The children were bright and showed
great desire TO learn. Nearly all the children In
| the village can read and write. aud understood
| the fonr rules Of arithmetic. Ihave seen some OF
| the compositions which they wrote when ct the
| school, and even since, which are very good.
| There Ia no church in the village, bat half way
between this and the village Of the next proprietor
is neat old church, called st. Nicholas Of the
| Anthills.
miraculous image Of St. Nicholas IN said to
| have been found on some a1thllls 10 the neigh
borhood. am told that the priest has absolutely
| no influence on his flock. The peasants are rsi-
eious, but respect the perpetrators more tHan tne
| priests and are more influenced bs rem pom ior
IL vH Counf Talsfef rays tDdl the entlfo