The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1902-12-05
COUNTRY LIFE IN RUSSIA.
1t Is There Only That the Real Rus
sians Are to He Found with Their
National Characteristics.

The Russians do not take the pride
and interest in their country homes
that the English, and latterly the
Americans, have taken in theirs,
says a writer in London Mail.
The Russians prefer to know you
and to be known from their life in
the town, and they seldom extend in
vitations to foreigners to visit them
in the country. But it is only In the
country that one finds them Rus
slams; in town they are cosmopolitan,
with the language, the social arts,
and graces, especially of the French.
1t was upon an early autumn morn
ing at five o'clock that party of
three foreigners found themselves at
small station in the Russian step
pes after a nights railroad journey.
drive of nearly five hours lay be-
fore us to the home of our hostess,
and the troika stood ready, having
been sent over night. At the station
there was plenty of hot tea-tea
such as one gets only in Russia-and
soon the horses dashed across the
steppes, following some car tracks in
the grass, and with nothing but grass
peting the land for miles and miles,
encroaching upon the path itself.
Soon we came to small stream,
and the horses plunged in without
a minutes delay. A bridge was there,
but the driver laughed as he looked
with pride at his splendid Orloff
horses, and said: my horses do not
need bridge" Then we passed
through a villa where the cottages
stood upon the grass, no paths be-
tween them. nothing but grass, grass.
The curtains were drawn at the win
dows, and apparently all the cot
tagers We're asleep. But suddenly
there was terrific din, and we
seemed surrounded by an army of
sprang yelling at the horses nose
trying to bite them. There were a
dozen or more of them, and they
looked fierce enough to terrify any
one; but the driver was as cool and
collected as though he had only
some playful puppies gamboling
about him. He turned to the one
man in our party, said that he him
self must hold the plunging horses,
and directed him to take the knout
with its lash IS feet long, to stand on
the step of the troika, and drive off
the dogs. They fell away bowling
with pain, and as much frightened as
the two women who crouched in the
troika, clinging to one another and
to the man. He by this time sat
calmly triumphant, like true Brit
ish sportsman, and smiled conde-
scendingly upon us, although we both
declared we saw his hands tremble
when he flung out the long lash OF
the knout.
We raced through another village
like the first. where the matched
roofs came down to about three feet
from the ground, but the dogs did
not modest us there. and then across
a river too wide to ford. The horses
galloped over the bridge. every plank
shaking beneath us. They galloped
through the gate of the park so that
we had but a glimpse of the stone
lions which guarded it. They gal.
Hoped faster than ever up and down
hill, fairly flying over the ground.
and then came to stop sudden and
exciting befo. the broad steps of the
house.
Russian country houses are not old,
because, as rule, they are built of
wood. but this one dated from the
time of the great Catherine. She
gave it to one of her nrave-and
amorous-ge generals and his descend
ants. It's present owners have fitted
it up entirely in the style of the
period with few rooms in keeping
with the Italian architecture. Marble
steps led up to the terrace, where we
entered through long glass doors into
an immense hall with countless small