Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-04-16
Tie Manners of Russian Police

lat Petersburg Letter to the London TELEGRAPH /
These wild cavaliers OF the Don and the
Ukraine are doing excellent good service In pre-.
serving the peace Of the city. the streets of
which, In couples, they continually patrol.
Mounted On his little weedy screw Of pony,
with TIE oldest military seat 10 the saddle 1t is
possible to conceive, with his Oilskin- covered
snake IKE saucepan without a handle
s%atbed In bis gray gaberdine, with mis- bash.
uG. or kerchlefed hOoo, and his long lance With
req stan, the COsSack, all booted, bearded
spurred and armed to the teeth as he is, can,
lot help fancying to be in the main far less
ferocious than he looks. As soldier he is he
Is not so very tllnatured. His terrible whip
with the short stock makes a fearful noise
when 1t Is clacked; but / imagine that Il
frightens people more than It hurts them.
For example, on the day OF the funeral pro-
cesslon The people were strictly FORBIDDEN to
cross the Ice bound river, or even to venture
detachment of Cossacks was told off to enforce
the order. OF course the people did try 60
cross the river hundreds OF times, and it was O
rare s1ght TO see them chased over the ice and
snow by the Cossacks, utterlng wild hurrahs OF
menace; put When the deltIquentS, after much
doog1ng and doubling, were finally run down
Oy lhe COssacks they We're usually dismissed
Win little harmless bullying, ana flick OF
tLe WHIP, TO all appearance more ceremonious
than affective.
La Russle." said the Marquis de Custine,
est I'm pays gu tout lie monde dome DIES
all kinds has long since been abolished by law
throughout the empire, it 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 phvs-
1cal coercion did not, as rule, extend beyond
harmless punching OF heads. One pasty-
raced young gentleman, In O sheep-skin, with
muIiin cap, who, In the midst OF dense
struggling mob beneath the window whence
| viewed the c0rtege, had been dragged
from on one OF the cannon which formed
a SOLID barrier OF bronze between the
mob and the roadway OF the Nicholas Bridge.
was 1ncautious enough to strike full In the
breast the gendarme who had collared him. It
was all over, / thought. With that pasty faced
young gentleman. The mines Of Siberia or
enchainment to a wheel barrow In the eau
cusus, must be the most lenient doom that be
couid expect; he got off, however, With having
ms mead thoroughly wei punched by at least
H1teen successive gendarIneS, and at last an
agent OF authority leant down from his saddle
as the culprt was borne past him, and admin.
lstered 10 the Pasty-faced young man, with his
large Ducks ktn-covered hand, several singing
BOXES on the ear, which, for moment at least
must have stimulated the circulation In the
pallid cheek OF the Wearer OF the muffin can
But chastisement went no further. / thought
at least that they would have run him In"
but no, the fifteen gendarmes dismissed him
with fearful shower OF clouts and cuffs. and
sent him flying into the midst OF mass of
moujtks. caught sight OF him, about half an
hour afterward, carefully climbing up one of
the street telegraph posts, from which exalted
altitude. at the risk of disturbing the insule-
ton OF the wires, he watched the passage OF the
pageant With cOuntenance bearing more a
Cheerful than chastened expression.