The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1877-05-25
rHE RUSSIAN PEASATS sEH.-
WEIR ROURLES
A Story OfRussian Life and
Character.

reign of Catherine of Russia, who
died in 1896, but his memory went
no further back than the war OF
1912. The Russian peasant has
very little memory for past events,
unless, indeed, he gives up farm
labor, and expands his intelligence
by trading.
What possible "reminiscences
can a man have who never saw
changes except the changes of the
seasons, for whom all other things
remain the same as they were on
the day he was born?
There are, however, two dates
which have made a deep impress
sion ON the Russian peasants
mind; one is February 8 (19),
1861, the date of the emancipa-
ton of the serfs throughout the
empire, the other is 1872, the date
of the French invasion.
Nikita was a serf on a very
large estate in the government OF
His life till 1912 had
been passed in the usual mono
tony. He had been married, had
had half q dozen children, had
lost three of them, his stalwart
form was getting somewhat bow
ed by scanty food, and by hard
labor, he paid his dues regularly
to his master in days work or in
kind, and got tipsy no oftener
than his neighbors, when a rumor
got abroad that the MusseImen
were attacking Holy Russia.
BY Musselmen the Russian
peasant meant all foreigners, at
that day and even now in distant
provinces in the empire it is more
than likely that he still calls every
stranger a Musselman or pagan,
so strong IS the impression left
by three centuries of struggle
with the Turks upon the nation
al memory. No newspaper ever
circulated on the estate of a great
proprietor-why should it? since
nobody on the estate could read
except the proprietor himself, the
parish priest, or the family chap
lain.
But love of country needs NO
book learning to nourish il.
When news came of the French
invasion every creature who could
carry arms shouldered his scYthe,
his fork, or pickaxe, and made
ready for the enemy.
The route of the advancing
host did not pass near Nikita' S
village, the inhabitants of which
growled at the disappointment,
and sullenly waited for the return.
They had not long to wait.
When the first snow came the
French army was in full retreat
from Moscow, and this time the
line of march was not SO well pre-
served. The main body indeed
followed its route, but many col
umn lost it's way, and 80 surely
as any party attempted short cut
it new er rejoined its regiment.
The peasants had laid plans how
they would hide in ambush, in
woods, ravines, and bushwood, to
defend their country. Their coun-
try wanted no defending now, but
they were eager to avenge her.
Forty years later Niklta, who
had forgotten the incidents of his
wedding, and the ages of his chill
dren, distinctly recollected all that
happened at that day.
1 came down on them, he would
growl under his breath, with his
gray, bleary eyes lighted up with
the recollections, the pagan dogs,
who came to attack our country
But we got rid of them. At first
we cut them off with picks, and
scythes, and axes, but afterwards
we killed them with their dead
mems guns. / had never seen a
gun till then, but I soon learnt
how to shoot one, and when all
who could run had run away, we
buried the rest of them. Hi! but
there were lots of guns, and
swords, and knapsacks, and every
thing! We loaded carts full OF
them. We sold them in the towns,
and shared the money. Had't /
money at that time? hadn't !
thought? 1 never thought there
was so much money in the world
as I saw then.
The proverb says, Ill-gotton
gains will never prosper. Nikita
prospered however in a small way;
and it may be questioned whether
arms and munitions stolen from
invaders On their retreat can be
justly considered ill-gotteR. This
is a matter that we leave to mora
lists-perhaps it will be solved
only at the Last Judgment.
Nikita's fortune, however, was
not that OF a millionaire. He
bought two cows, and. with the
money made by butter, introduce
ed into his village the use of pins,
and tiny looking-glasses, and
other similar wares. Peddling
the knick-knacks from town to
hamlet, and from hamlet to town,
he accumulated a good deal OF
latent rheumatism. brought on q
slight stroke of paralysis, and
scraped together in all about
twenty-five silver roubles; the
silver roubles being equal to ou1
dollar.
A commercial crisis swept over
Russia in those days, taking its
revenge on capital and accumala-
ton, but it did no damage to the
capital of Nikita, for his was in
hard cash, and not in paper.
When he found himself possess
ed OF twenty-five silver roubles,
all in small silver or copper coins,
which he had tied in an old rag,
and hid in q hole in the wall, he
grew full Of anxiety about their
future safety.
A peasant family in Russia lives
like the Esquimax, in one hut,
containing emily one large room,
sometimes divided by a thin par
tition. Generation after genera
ton inhabits the same cabin
grandparents, aunts, uncles, faith
ers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and
children sleen at night on the