Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-04-13

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1881.
"La RusSio,' said the Marquis de Gus
tine, "ea IN pays on tout (e monde donne
deS ro"ps;,'M,nd although corporal pun
l7AmenL of ais\kind has long since been
abolished by law throughout the empire,
1t is certain that vast numbers OF the
people were smitten by the hands of
authority on the day Of translation of the
imperial remains. But these acts of
physical coercion did not, us rule,
extend beyond u harmless punching OF
heads One pasty faced young gentleman,
in u sheep skin, with Il muffin cap, who, in
the middle of dense struggling mob
beneath the window whence / viewed
the c0riege, had been dragged from oft
one of the cannon which formed Il solid
barrier of bronze between the mob and
the roadway of the Nicholas bridge, was
incautious enough to strike full in the
breast of the gendarme who had collared
him. 1t was all over, | thought, with that
plsty-faced young gentleman. The mines
of Siberia, or entertainment to II wheelbar-
row in the Caucasus, must be the most
ipnient doom that he could expect; he got
Off however, with having his heal thor
oughly well punched bv ut least fifteen
successive gendarmes, and ut last an agent
of authority leaned down from his saddle
as the culprt was borne past him, and
administered TO the pasty-faced young
man, with his large buckskin covered
hand several singing boxes on the ear.
which, for moment ut least, must have
stimulated the circulation in the pa!led
check of the wearer of the muffin cap.
But chastisement went no further.
thought at least that they would have
run him in" but no, the fifteen gend-
armes dismissed him with fearful
shower of clouts and cuffs, and sent him
living into the midst of mass of moniiks
cuughr sight of him about an hour
afterwards, carefully climbing up one o
the street telegraph posts, from which
exalted attitude, ut IL risk of disturbing
the insulation of the wires, he watched
the passage of the pageant with counte
nance caring more cheerful than a
chastened expression.
These wild cavaliers of the Don and Tho
Ukraine are doing excellent good service
in preserving the peace of the city, thu
streets of which, in couples, they contin
ually patrol. Mounted on his little weedl
screw of II pony, with the oldest military
seat in the saddle it is possible to conceive
with his oil skin, covered shlk like sauce
pan without handle, swathed in his gre
gaberdine. with his buShiik, or kerchiefe,
hood and his long lance with II red staff
the Cossack, all booted bearded. spurred
and armed to the teeth as he is, | canno
help fancying to be in the main far les
ferOcious than he looks. AS a soldier b
is heroically brave; but rs "a militar
policeman he is not so very il!-natureC
His terrible whip with the short stoc
makes II fearful noise when it is FLASHED
but imagine that it frig0tens peopl
more than it hurts them. For example
on the day of the funeral procession, tn
people were strictly forbidden to cross tn
ice bound river, on even to venture on tn
bosom of the Neva at all, and larg
detachment of Cossacks was told off t
enforce the order. OF course, the peopl
did try to cross the river hundreds c
times, and it was rare sight to see ther
chased over the ice and snow by tn
Cossacks, uttering wild hurrahs of menace
but when the delinquents, after mucl
dodgng and doubling, were finally ru
down by the Cossacks, they were usual
dismissed with u little harmless bullying
and flick of the whip, to all appearances
more ceremopous than affective.