In the foothills of the forked area lay a large German colony, with attractive church and handsome houses, named Kleinliebenthal. To the right of this village lay the large village of Alexandrovka, which is inhabited by Greeks.Our way took us through the Greek colony of Alexandrovka. It was founded in the days of Catherine the Great, who had settled a group of unhappy Moreitoses here. The people were now all Russianized and spoke Russian much more fluently than the German colonists. They had also adopted most of the Russian customs, lived in indolence, and squandered their money in the taverns. They are inefficient farmers and even though they received much more generous grants of land from the Empress than was allotted to the Germans--depending on his rank, each Greek settler received eight to ten times more--they are now all in debt to the two neighboring German colonies. The latter find time, after having worked their own fields, to cultivate the fields they have leased from the Greeks. Indeed, the latter will often lease their land ten years in advance, in order to obtain ready cash. After the money is squandered, they eke out an existence in their wretched huts. The difference between the outward appearance of their village and that of the German colonists is that between night and day. Everything is in a state of unsightly decay. There are no trees and no gardens. The village church also had the same dreamy aspect. Instead of a bell they simply hooked up a piece of scrap iron on which the blows of a hammer called the community together. With sad thoughts we drove on.