Part 9 (1/2)
The houses in the neighbourhood were evidently built only for su in shape, of a Swiss-cottage style The travellers had been so busily engaged all day, that, having satisfied their curiosity by seeing the gipsies, they had no inclination to re in search of their carriage, they drove back to Moscow
They had now seen a good deal of the outside of the city--not all, perhaps, that was to be seen, but enough to give theeneral idea of it There were es, and hospitals, and other public institutions, which they had not had tireat event which was to take place in a feeeks, the coronation of the Emperor, at which it was expected that the representatives of all the nations of Europe would attend; but our friends preferred seeing so for it, and they therefore resolved on setting off at once, and returning, if possible, in time for the occasion
Since the period spoken of the serfs have been eer in force The peasantry are, however, subject to the fearful conscription, and are liable to be torn from their homes to serve in the armies of the Emperor
CHAPTER TEN
Journey in a Tarantasse--Monotony of Scenery--Description of Population in Russia--The Mujicks or Peasants--Their Habitations and Mode of Life--The Religion of Russia--The Priests--The Landed Proprietors and their Habits and Characteristics--Civil Officers of Governanisation--Russian Officers--A Breakdown--A Russian Inn--The City of Vladier--His Mysterious Conduct
Away rattled the tarantasse, with our travellers inside, through the gates of the Holy City of Moscoards the town of Nishni-Novogorood, where the great annual fair of Russia was then taking place The rough vehicle bu at a rapid rate over the uneven road, in a way to try the nerves and bones and tempers of those inside; but none of the tu the equani their joints, each buh more heartily than ever Once clear of Moscow, the road was tolerably sepoles to which it was slung Such is the principle of the tarantasse The body of the carriageAcre, or it on covered in with a tarpaulin The ihest materials, so that it is not likely to break, or, if it does, any peasant on the road can mend it Cousin Giles had hired one of the coon with a tilt over it, and ood supply of straw and leather cushi+ons, for which the Russians are famous All travellers carry theht Our friends had brought a supply of provisions with them, so that they were entirely independent of inns, which are very bad throughout the country
The party in the tarantasse consisted of Cousin Giles and his two young friends, of Mr Allwick, their interpreter, and of Mr Evergreen, who had begged leave to join them Cousin Giles would rather have had a ood-natured and so ready to sacrifice his own convenience to that of others, while his quaint and simple observations afforded so much amusement, that he was more desirable than many persons with superior pretensions
The road was very unpicturesque, running chiefly between forests of birch and fir-trees, with few or no hills to vary itsThey passed various parties of traders with their waggons going to the fair; also a group of exiles on their way to Siberia, already weary and footsore, though they had perfor journey There oodcutters in the forests, and peasants in the few patches of cultivated ground which here and there appeared Mr Allwick, too, had travelled over the greater part of Russia, and gave them much information about the country
”I divide the population of Russia into five classes,” said he, ”with the Czar, for a sixth, at their head First coreat mass of the population; then co frohtly their superiors; the third class are the _pameshtchiks_, the landed proprietors and serf owners In the fourth class may be included the _chinovinks_ or civil functionaries; and the _grajdanuns_ or citizens; while in the fifth may be reckoned the military of all ranks
”Of the mujicks or peasants, upwards of two-thirds are serfs or slaves
The other portion have either purchased their liberty or have been liberated by their masters They are co them or imprison them, but may not take away their lives nor remove them from the land on which they were born An owner may, however, let his serf out to soreater nu and Moscow are serfs belonging to landed proprietors, who receive a part of their wages
Many serfs follow trades, and some have become wealthy e surant their serfs their freedo in riches, remain with the chains of slavery round their necks, liable at any moment to be called back and co, even in the eneral faults of slaves, being cringing, cunning, and delighting in falsehood; but they are intelligent, kind-hearted, and e Their dress consists of a cap, a long sheepskin coat in winter, and a cotton one in summer, a red-striped shi+rt, worn outside their very full breeches, and high leather boots on grand occasions; but usually they wear on their feetor birch-bark sandals, their legs being swathed in rags of all sorts A vest and sash of soether their costuh much less so than that of Swiss or Spanish peasants Their cottages are built of logs of pine, laid one above the other, the ends being notched to fit into each other, exactly like the log-huts of Canada, and having always a porch in front They are roofed with straw They contain two apart wall In each room there is a very smallIn a conspicuous place is seen the picture of the saint worshi+pped by the falazed, and always having a la before it The first act of each person who enters the cottage is to salute the ie; indeed, the same veneration is paid to it as was paid to the household Gods of the ancients The tees, both in suhted at night by a pine stick stuck into the wall As the interstices between the logs are filled up with hemp and other coes are frequently burnt down In order to extinguish these conflagrations, each serf is bound to bring some particular impleet his duty, the i is painted on the board with his name, which is placed in front of his hut Thus, as soon as the signal is given that a fire has broken out, so many serfs rush forth with ladders, so many with pails, and so ration
”The serfs on an estate are allowed a certain portion of ground and es They labour three days in the week for their owners, and three days for theood, they can easily provide themselves with the necessaries of life But, at the same time, they are entirely in the power of unjust stewards or crueltheed they are often contented and happy, and have no wish for freedom
”Some proprietors are anxious to free their serfs, so as to be able to ether of the charge of keeping them The well-known Count Sheremetieff, however, ns some of the richest , will not consent to eh soe sums for their freedom He is content with a small annual payment as tribute When he dies, however, if his successor is avaricious, their condition ed
”The Greek is the Established Church of Russia The priests are as a class illiterate, and but little removed above the mujicks in their habits of life A priest is expected to marry, but can only marry one wife When she dies, he enters the monastic order His sons enter the clerical sehters e When a priest dies, or becoenerally given to so lady, and who is willing to y have beco fros is very s 15 pounds per annueneral held in very little respect by all classes, even by the peasants, who, however, kiss their hands when they ard for them There are numerous dissenters, who are frequently treated with the most bitter persecution by the orthodox Church
”The _Pameshtchiks_ or landed proprietors may be divided into two classes,--those who have vast estates, and, honoured by titles, live chiefly at courts, while they coe of stewards; and those who reside on their property and look after it theenerally polished in their manners, well-informed, and luxurious in their habits, and are courtiers, diploh they occasionally visit their estates, when they keep up considerable pomp and ceremony, they reside chiefly in the capital
”The landlord who lives entirely on his property is of a very different character, and thoroughly unlike an old English gentleman of the same social rank Supre but how he can , his attendant slave brings him his pipe, and he smokes till his first meal of tea and rusks is prepared; his bailiff then comes and makes his daily report, and serves as a vent for his ill-hureasy meal, which enables him to exist while he takes a drive round his estate till dinner-tireasy than the former one He then sleeps for a couple of hours, soes to bed,-- not a satisfactory way for a person with a soul to spend his ti paper cigarettes instead of a pipe, andthe female domestic serfs instead of the nisance of the _Pameshtchik_, as no serf can marry without his permission This, however, is rarely withheld, as it is his interest to have as large a number of people as possible beneath his rule
”Owners often treat their serfs kindly, and make their lives happy, but a capricious or tyrannicalevery person on his estate miserable
”The above description refers to the Russian landowners as a class
There are undoubtedly exceptions, andentirely on their property, devote themselves to its improvement, and to the amelioration of the condition of those who have been placed in dependence on them
”The worst class in Russia are the Tchinovniks, or those erades, frohest to the lowest They are badly paid, and thus indemnify themselves by every description of peculation, and by endeavouring to wring bribes out of all hom they come in contact The Emperors have at tih they have punished delinquents, when discovered, with the greatest severity, they have failed to put a stop to the evil
”The enerally respectable No person can trade unless he is ato the first guild are purchased by an annual tax, calculated on the declared capital, but which cannot be less than 150; and those of the other guilds by su which they afford
”The Russians are certainly not a warlike race, though their governors have endeavoured to make them so The conscription presses most cruelly on the peasants, and it is with the most painful reluctance that its summons is obeyed When they join, the officers may ill-treat them, pull their hair, and strike theenerally a fair supply of professional knowledge, and soer a bravery; yet they will usually follohere their officers lead the to the rank of an officer after twelve years' probation, and even sooner by so act of bravery; and several even thus have becoes in which cadets are educated, but a commissiontwo years in the ranks No officer may appear on any occasion without his unifor the sureater part of the army, to prepare theot thus far in his description of the people of Russia, when, as the horses were galloping along at a great rate, a crash was heard, and over went the carriage on its side;--one of the long poles of the tarantasse had broken The travellers got out in disht delay thees ahead A peasant standing at the door of one of the up with his axe in his hand to ascertain the ae Two or three other ,” said they; ”ill soon put this all right” They were as good as their word While the travellers stood at the roadside watching what they would do, they disappeared into the forest, out of which they speedily issued with a young fir-tree, which in an incredibly short space of tie A rouble amply satisfied them for their trouble They wereall the time they were at work, so that Fred and Harry were quite sorry that they could not understand what they were saying The tarantasse was soonthey stopped at a place with a name too difficult to pronounce, to take tea The inn was an unclean, straggling-lookingashed corridor, and ashed roo out of it The whole place was redolent of an odour which appears to be a arlic, and stale tobacco sh or low degree, its intensity only being greater in those of the lower orders Evergreen cone_ was doubled, he said, and he declared that it alone would prevent hi up his abode in Russia, irrespective of his dislike to the despotic systeovernment under which it was placed
The travellers were ushered by a waiter into a rooht-backed, leather-covered sofa, chairs ooden seats, and an old card-table; while the walls were ornamented with some coloured prints of battles between the Circassians and Russians, in which a host of thebefore a handful of their enemies The waiter would have astonished one of his brethren in England; for he wore jack-boots, into which were tucked his full Oriental breeches, a pink shi+rt, showing the tail outside, and a dirty, collarless, long coat, like a dressing-gown, fastened round his waist by a sash ”_Tchai_, _tchai_!” (tea, tea!), exclaih e ”_Si chasse, si chasse_,” replied the jack-booted waiter,it as suited his convenience Mr Allwick, however, added a few persuasive words, and in a short ti _samovar_ made its appearance, with a teapot and cups The tea, which would anywhere be considered excellent, the travellers had brought with them The principle of the _samovar_ is very simple In the centre of a co at the bottom of it The urn is filled ater, and the cylinder with charcoal A brass chiht is then applied to the lower end, which soon ignites the charcoal from the bottom to the top, and boils the water in three or four minutes A frame fixes on to the top of the cylinder, on which the teapot is placed to keep it warm There is a damper or cap, which can be placed on the top of the cylinder when it is required to put out the fire There is no more convenient machine for travellers, as breakfast can thus be prepared in a very fewwas paid for the accoht have slept all night, but then they would have had to wrap themselves up in their cloaks and pick out a soft plank on the floor