Part 9 (2/2)
In an hour fresh horses were procured, and oncethe road About twenty-four hours after leaving Moscow, the travellers reached the ancient city of Vladimir, with the Golden Gate It was once upon a time the capital of the Empire, and is still a city of considerable size It is picturesquely situated on a hill, on which stand about twenty churches, overlooking a wide extent of wooded country, with a h it The Golden Gate, which still rises in dignified solitude, a proudIt is no longer used as a gate
The temptations held out by the hotel here did not induce our travellers to stop, but, ordering fresh horses, they pushed on towards Nishni
They were now entering a fertile tract of country; but, fertile as it is, the population is not more dense than that of the most barren districts of Scotland Mile after h, varied occasionally, as they approached the river Okka, by large villages These villages have a strong sis, and the gable-ends being turned to the road, and being inhabited by people with a very great likeness to each other At length the town of Nishni-Novogorood appeared before them
At most times of the year it contains but few inhabitants It was noded by persons from all parts of Russia and the provinces to the south and east, who had assembled to dispose of the produce of their respective districts, or to make purchases for exportation Here asseians, Persians, and Arlish and French, fro and Moscoho coe theh proa, on the other by its tributary the Okka The Kremlin, or Citadel, with its low, ehest point, and overlooks a vast plain, through which, at the base of the hill, the Volga flows proudly past On this plain, close to the banks of the river, was a whole city of booths of various styles of architecture--those for the teain the shape of paGodas So, in fact, storehouses for a large amount of valuable s in this quarter is acrescent, towers above all others This mosque is said to be the most northern Mohammedan temple, with the exception of the humble little structure at Moscow
Our friends found the hotel in the upper part of the town far more comfortable than they expected The rooms and beds were tolerably clean, and the eatables contained no larger aht reasonably be expected Having refreshed themselves with a quantity of fresh-water, which somewhat astonished the Russian attendants, and partaken of a substantial meal, they sallied forth to visit the fair Mr Allwick, who had been there before, acted as their guide The upper part of the town presented no unusual bustle, but as they descended to the plain they found thes in every variety of costuh-booted Russians predoht they could distinguish veryin an earnest, energetic way, showing that they had met for business, and not for pleasure There was, in truth, no gaiety either in their manner or their costurave, soay sashes, or caps, or vests, or turbans were to be seen They walked up and down the long lanes of booths, in which the traders sat in state ready to dispose of theirpart of their employment was the visit they paid to the various storehouses In soes of tea, done up in skins, in which ht all the way from China by caravans; in another were piles of hides, in another heaps of dressed leather, in another bales of hea and its tributaries froions There were also less bulky manufactured articles--leather work and embroidery, slippers and belts, from Kazan, shawls and cloths from Persia, and saddles from Tartary; indeed, it would be difficult to name one-half of the articles exposed for sale
There were no lish or Gers, though there were eating and drinking booths in abundance, where the buyers and sellers and carriers hty Volga, even here a fine river, presented an interesting scene It was covered with a great variety of boats, soht to market the produce enumerated above, and were ready to carry off as taken in exchange for it
There were stea froth to itsabout the fair, Cousin Giles, who had a great facility for re countenances, had observed athem His dress was dusty and travel-stained, but it was neither torn nor patched, nor had he the appearance of a poor rave and somewhat careworn, so that it did not appear to Cousin Giles that he had any sinister motive for his conduct Our friends were sodarkness alone reminded them that it was time to return to their hotel
They had even then seen but a very small portion of the fair Cousin Giles had before this lost sight of the mujick They were on their way to the upper town, and were passing through a street, if so itfrom under a dark archway, the mujick presented himself before them
He walked up at once to Cousin Giles, and took his hand, which he pressed to his lips, and then spoke several sentences in a low, earnest tone; but as the language was Russian, Cousin Giles could not understand a word Mr Allwick, however, came up to interpret
”He tells you,” said he, ”that he knows some of our countryious, and able to sy you, he feels that he may put perfect confidence in you and your companions”
”What does he want us to do?” asked Cousin Giles ”I shall be very happy to assist the poor man if a few roubles will be of consequence to him; but I do not see how otherwise I can help him”
”He says that, if you will let him call on you at the hotel in a short tiot to say, but that now he dare not re to you, lest he should be observed He says that he will not appear as he now does, and he hopes you will allohoever asks for you to be admitted,” replied Mr Allwick
”Very mysterious,” said Cousin Giles ”It may perhaps be a device of the police to entrap us”
”I do not think that, sir,” replied Mr Allwick ”The man is, I believe, honest; at the sa to do with him In this country one cannot be too wary With the best of intentions, we , indeed, to be taken up and sent off to Siberia,”
observed Mr Evergreen ”Tell the good ive him ten roubles if that will help hiain--in case of accident, you know Tell him that”
”It is not pecuniary assistance that he requires,” said Mr Allwick, who had again been speaking with the stranger ”He says that he will explain everything by and by if he is allowed to visit us He throws hiht, and the gain to hiive hireen's curiosity was aroused, and he forgot his fears After consulting a minute, Cousin Giles replied: ”Tell him that I will see him if he thinks fit to call, but I cannot promise to help him”
Mr Allwick translated what had been said into Russian, and the stranger, bowing low, retired into the retreat from which he had come forth, while the travellers returned to their inn
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Stranger Merchant coress aers--How the Bible was prized by them--Its Distribution--Captain Martineff--His Endurance of Persecution--Sad History--His Christian Fortitude--General Persecution of the Sect--Flight--Transported to a New District--Atte _sarant _tchai_ had just been h boots and pink shi+rt entered to say that a oods for the travellers to inspect Cousin Giles desired that thedark coat, with a case slung before hian to display soold and silk embroidery, several articles of silver, spoons orna, little hand-bells, snuff-- boxes, slippers of leather richly worked, and lish travellers in Russia are accustomed to purchase The prices he na hishim narrowly
”Why, he is our friend the mujick,” he whispered to Mr Allwick ”The man can masquerade well”
The waiter had now left the room The merchant went to the door and looked out He then came back to the table on which he had spread out his merchandise, and addressed Mr Allwick in a low, earnest voice The latter no very much interested, apparently, hat he heard
The stranger perceived that his cause was ress, and continued his story with increased earnestness At length he stopped to allow Mr Allwick to translate to his friends what had been said Cousin Giles looked inquiringly at him for an explanation
”I will translate, as nearly as I can, what he has told me,” said Mr Allwick
”I am, you must know, sirs,” said he, ”one of that class of dissenters fronate as _molokani_ or milk-drinkers You have not heard of theo the unadulterated word of God--the Holy Bible, translated into our native language--was brought into Russia without note or comment Some copies of it reached ladly by many of our peasants