The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-10
The Average Russian.


As Tor the Russians being ssbarbar-
lans' and to a great extent incurably
paarparous, that is position susceptible
oI u great deal of argument from many
dliterent points of view The most IA
nllhar, most ad captdadun3, and per-
maps the most unjust theory is that even
the better educated and refined of Rus
slaLs are at the very best only coated
WILMA thin veneer of civilization. The
greisS master of cynical terseness In ex-
Pfesson, Prince Bismarck, has lent the
1rlllf ase weight of his celebrity and his
reptae for far-reaching sagaeity In ludsJ
ing ne characters of mankind to be
yenering and barbarian hypoth-
esls 1sa his famous dictum. The Rus
sian lSa eaeital fellow till he tucks his
shirt ID . 10 understand the tremendous
f1na.-ff this mercilesss resume of the
/ MA esite character Que must have lived
III Russi1 Ivan IvanoEfcir; tine nse'ajii.
peasant, droschky driver, mechanic,
laborer, or what not-wears his shirt
usually a red cotton one-Outside his
other garments. All those familiar with
Russian humanity know Ivan Ivanovich
to be, on the whole, "capital fellow.
He Is frank, brave, generous, affection
ate and dOcile. He Is a fervent devotee
of the grossly idolatrous rights Of the
Russo Greek Church which some Angh-
can Rituahsts are insane enough to think
can. without much difficulty, be brought
into communion with the Church Of
England He is grossly ignorant; but
he has the utmost reverence for the
offices of the church, and does not think
the worse Of his pope or priest when, IN
his village. he Is occasionally called
homo from the
dramshop the ecclesiastic, dead drunk,
on stretcher Ivan himself gets tipsy
whenever he has the chance of doing so:
but he is the best-natured of sots, and
too much beer or vodka scarcely ever
makes him riotous or pugnacious. Inc
briefly the rather incites him to the
shedding of maudlin tears, or to an ex-
cess of piety IN eXpectOrahng TO the
right and left IN order to exercise the
devil
Truthful he can scarcely be said to be.
He has been too recently a slave TO be
able to understand the moral culpability
of telling lie, but he Is passing honest.
He Is. in fine, good wood, capable Of
being seasoned and fashioned 10 many
useful purposes, and he is III particular,
Industrious, patient and submissive. He
Is not very inventive, but he has a cuIl-
ously strong initiative faculty, almost
Chinese in its concentration and labori-
ous fidelity to the thing to be initiated.
Thence he can be taught to be an admi-
rable cabinet-maker, an inlayer, an
EVANGELIST, pottery painter, and a worker
IN metals Similarly his womanlnnd are
the most skilIful of embroiderers. He IS
7ery domesticated and very fond OF his
children, although he occasionally
hrashes his wife. OF strong liquor, as
have limited, he Is passionately fond;
Otherwise he Is content to live on the
simplest and coarsest fare. White bread
he seldom tastes; brick tea" Is, after
corn brandy, his favorite beverage; half
picked ogurts, or dwarf cucumbers. en-
ter largely into his diet, and with bad
drainage, help to give him typhus and
the cholera; and he can sleep anywhere
the top of a stove is his most chosen
! restng-place - quite indifferent as to
bed-clothes. There is no braver soldier
than Ivan Ivanovich when he is drawn
for the conscription, and cropped and
shaveD. and put into a hodden-gray
gaberdine, with a spiked helmet on his
head and a rife IN his band. .-E,rchange