The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1878-07-20
MY RUSSIAN BISHOP.

LII L nUOOlAN OlNuUI {.
Keep her steady, Mac, and tell
Brown, in the engine-room, to stick to
her present rate of speed. Seven knots,
all things considered, is decent going,
q even down stream, on one of these Rus
I'll sian rivers and then we are in duty
M bound, you know, to economic the COM
M pany's firewood, cheap as it is.
cay, ay, Captain Burton" cheerfully
d responded my tall, raw boned first Off
Ger, entering with national alaerityi into
question of thrift.
"A careful man shouldna waste the
sticks, when the vara current, since the
ralns, would almost serve our purpose"
Macgregor, chief mate, and Brown,
chief engineer, were, with myself, John
Burton by name, the only three English
men on board the Fair Helen, fine
steamer, of light draught, but consider
able engine-power, belonging to the Am
glo Russian Steam Navigation Company
and built expressly for service, on the
Dnieper We were pretty far to the
north just then, in the governments of
Mohilew, where the great river first
becomes navigable for anything bigger
than skif or fatboat, and were, CONS
ing down now with string of RATS in
tow. ~s-~9
Macgregor left me in his round of in
spection, but |, who had Just then. no
Acall of duty, remaining idle leaning
against the taffrail. and gazing, now at
the swampy and reed-grown shores,
s where herds Of black buffaloes and
flocks of sickly sheep browsed on the
! rank grass, and once again at the brown
waters Of the sluggish Borysthenes. now
swollen by recent rain. Astern of the
steamer was the long array of RATS
8 which we were towing, composed of tim
~ Der, cut down in the forests farther north,
q which forms a valuable article of export
to the more pastoral and treeiess south
Of Russia. Most of these RATS had sheds
or straw-thatched novels built upon them
u TO screen the labOrers from sun and rain,
and at the edge of each some half dozen
men, with long poles in their hands, kept
watch in case the clumsy craft should
ground among the shadows and mud
banks.
| had now spent over two years in
Russia, and had acquired some little
4 knowledge of the country, and, what
was harder, a tolerable smattering of its
very difficult language, while there were
those who retarded me as singularly
lucky in having been appointed, young
as | was, to the command of the Fair
Helen. The duties, however, incumbent
on me as skipper of river steamer in
Russia, were not much to my inclina-
81 ton, and | believe | should long before
hax cd 70
blue water and sailors life, had it not
been that fell in love, and that my love
was returned.
Pretty Annie Clements, only child of
the English manager of Prince Demi-
doif's paper-mills at Mohilew, was the
enchantress whose bright eyes detained
me in Russia, and only two months had
elapsed since our troth-plight had re-
ceived the sanction of Armies father,
Mr.. Clements, who had from his youth
up filled lucrative positions in the ear
dominions, and had saved money, was a
4 good type of a class of Englishmen who
may be described as Anglo Russians.
His industry and business habits had
given him marked superiority over the
people among whom he dwelt; but at
the same time he was imbued with an
almost superstitious respect for the des-
potic government under which he had
long lived, and for every abuse and
every freak of administrative tyranny
on the part of the higher power
This must be Byk now,". said j,
starting from my revery, as [ caught
sight of the copper coated eupoia of the
church of ST. Michael, overlapping the
wooden roofs of the tiny town q but
what have we here?" [ added, as boat
put oft from tie wharf, and was soon
alongside of the steamer, which had
slackened speed in obedience to a signal
from the shore. Why, it is bishopl2
And, indeed, the most prominent per-
sonage of the group which presently
boarded us was, TO Judge by his garb
and mlen, a prelate of the orthodox
church. He wore gracefully flowing
robes, OF almost oriental aspect, and the
quaint mitre, with its narrow edging of
il purple and gold, which distinguishes a
n Muscovite bishop. Behind him came
three attendants-his chaplain, his GRO
sier- bearer, and another, who tinkled a
little silver bell; at the sound of which
our Russian sailors and deekmen dropped
upon their knees, and struggled with one
NtASA VIM cttOIliU DC tile HfSI 10 KISS
sthe bishops ungloved hand, on which
gllstened great amethyst ring.
found the bishop, who was young
man, not more than two years older than
myself, very urbane and afable. He
spoke French, and German too, fluentlv.
and was, in tone and bearing, quite a
citizen of the world.
These poor, good people!' he said,
apologetically for the slavish reverence
with which the Russians of ourscrew be-
sought his blessing. 'sThey have well
learned the only Two lessons that for
centuries past we have taught them, 70
obey and to believe. They are children.
and we must humor their prejudices."
The bishops business with me was
soon stated. He wanted a passage to
the city Of Kew for himself. and his
cross bearer chaplain, and acolyte and
also for a party of ecclesiastical students
from the great monastery of Glinka, Iwho
were bound for the same place, to be
solemnly indicted within the pale of
the Russo Greek priesthood by the
Archbishop of Kew. There were, more