Union and American. [volume] (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1875-1877, 1877-03-29
ovERwoRKED NJ


The terrible burdens which the
government and social system of
Russia heap upon the pessant-mar
can best be realized from a descrip
ton OF its effects upon the unhap-
py creature whom this man, hlm>
self a slave in an but name, NAV
treat-nav, almost must treat-as
a slave. To pay the quit-rent
and taxes the peasant hires him
self to the neighborlng lord to
NOW his corn at sixty-6ve cents an
acre-a price which falls to forty
cents an acre before the harvest is
completed. At the most, be car
earn an average of twenty 6oe
cents a day, for his food has heen
poor, his body is weak, his hands
trembIe, his scythe is Anticipated
and blunders at it's work. Yet
swath after swath marks the sweep
Of his arms, and his poor dull
mind is filled with the thought of
the day of liberation that is draw.
ing nigh. Still, be has not earaet
by a good del the sum that will
save him from starvation. S,arv,
alton! Why? Because should be
fail to pay, the lord has the power
and will not fail, to seize every
piece of property which thespeas-
ant has IN the word bis COW, bis
bed, his clothing, even the uncut
corn upon his little field, the very
bread from OFF his table. Where
is that lord? Has he no heart,
no mereya AlasI he is far away,
IN Vienna, in Rome, in Paris He
is-aiee-G Carnival, the opera, the
clubhouse He has presented a
| diamond necklace to Schneider, he
has bought a new race.horse, he
has lost fifty thousand francs at
| rouge net or. Meanwhile, his
agent and the law do his cruel
bidding far away at home upon the
/ bleak plains of Russia, and the
/ peasant works under them as Da-
moe es sat under the sword.
In such peril and fear shall wo
man stan idle? Idle she never is
even from inclination. her house,
hold duties. the care of the young
the ministration to the sick, and
feeble, the preparation Of the daily
meal, being sufficient to keep her
fully employed. But shan she
stop at these weeA failure on the
mans part may to, morrow sweep
away not Only The few articles of
| clothing and the one or tive OF fur-
nlture they possess, but also the
food which is to last them during
the coming year? The thought is
death itself. She must 60 to the
fields. No matter how young her
child, nor how near TO death her
aged mother or father; no matter
how rigorous the climate or deff>
Gent her clothing: she must 90 to
the fields. They are miles away,
perhaps-for in Russia, serfdom.
he communal system and other
circumstances have forced the peas
antry to live in villages-but 90
she must, with the child on FER
back or left ailiug, and uncared
for in the hut, with the sick or dy-
ing behind her and misery around.
Arrived at the scene Of her unnat
ural laborg, she applies herself to
chem with ansensrgy which despair
alone could engender, and which
ends in completely unsexng her.
She becomes weatherbeaten coarse
and repalsHe. Her hands are like
knots Of wood; she is covered with
dirt: her bones have grown large ;
her step is ungainly: she speaks
in husky tones: she Swears, drinks
and fights. Meanwhile the corn
ripens. After gigantic Efforts she
succeeds in harvesting it. At
best il would have repaid the seed
but three ires, but gathered and
thrashed with insufficient skill or
tools, 1t scarcely more thao doubI 9
the perilous uvestment Then
tbs poor creature casts herself ~
on the earth and weeps, for are
not both parent aad child dead