Part 16 (1/2)
”'Oh, give us bread!--oh, give us bread!' they shouted, in piteous tones 'We have had no food for these three days We have been seven days thus driving on, and unable to reach the shore'
”On hearing this, I galloped along the bank, so as to get before the vessel, and succeeded in finding soes a little way on The peasants willingly brought it out, and by my directions endeavoured to heave it on board the vessel Oh, it was sad to see the eager way in which the starving wretches held out their hands for the food, but in vain Loaf after loaf was thrown by the strongest men present; but the bread, which would have preserved their lives, fell into the water, or on to the masses of ice which surrounded the vessel, soalloped on, in the hopes that she ht she was approaching, the current swept her away again into the middle of the stream It was a melancholy exemplification of the story of Tantalus
There were those poor fa down a river in the ions!--and yet they were unable to procure a er
”I endeavoured to devise some plan to send them help; but all the plans I could think of seemed hopeless No boat could approach them, could one have been procured, or people to ht have carried a thin line on board, but no thin line could be found I asked for one at every cottage I passed, but in vain At length, with a sad heart, I saw the vessel with her hapless crew drive by ht of her I had but faint hopes of the people being saved If, before starvation deprived theth to ht be saved If not, they would be carried onward, down the stream, till she reached the Caspian Sea, where, perhaps, leaky fro she had received froo to the bottoht be picked up, the bones of her crew telling plainly their melancholy fate
”That very day, as I rode back, I witnessed another scene, which I shall never forget High up the streae slab of ice which ca doards a, a country cart, with a horse harnessed to it Near it I saw a hu, which, fro up into his ht have fancied theroup chiselled out of ure was that of an oldwhite locks were strea in the wind His hands were lifted up in prayer, and his lipslooked up wistfully and inquiringly, as if to say, 'Master dear, what is the ned fully to his fate, and not inclined to make an effort to save himself He turned his head, and then saw farther down the strea their anxiety to save him At first when he saw them, he shook his head, and once iven up all hope of being saved But when the cheering voices of his fellow-creatures reached his ears, and he saw their friendly gestures, the desire to live returned, and he rose fro poles He seized one of theerly towards the shore He called to his dog, 'Now, erous work to perform Life or death depends on the course we take' He approached the edge of the floe, which was now driven close to another largeleft between the whined, and drew back with dis waters close before hie, friend!' shouted the people on the shore, as the floe on which the old man stood approached another sheet of ice at that moment attached to the shore 'Leap, leap, friend!' His tall sinewy figure showed ht justly in his youth have trusted to his athletic powers to save hie, alas!
Had unstrung his nerves and weakened his e, courage!--leap, leap!' He looked up to Heaven for afollowed There was a shriek of horror; the treacherous ice, worn at the edges by the constant abrasion of the other pieces, was rotten and unable to bear the weight suddenly placed on it It gave way ere he could take a second leap, and sank beneath hi waters closed over his head His dog, lighter of foot, reached the shore in safety, and was till his death in ave a shudder at the recital
”We have had enough of tales of horror for one day,” said the Count
”Have you ever tried our Russian bath, Fairlected that duty of a traveller, who ought to taste every dish, go through every operation, and see every ceremony characteristic of the country,” answered Cousin Giles, laughing ”I cannot fancy a roll in the snow after a hot bath”
”Whether it is injurious or not depends on the effect which the hot bath produces on the frame,” answered the Count ”Every country mansion has a bath, placed near a stream, if possible It is a very simple affair
The bath-house is divided into two portions In the inner half is a large oven, and high up round the walls are rows of seats In the oven are placed large stones which are coh In the room stand ready some buckets of water The people who are to bathe then co left their clothes in the outer room; the door is closed, and the water is thrown over the hot stones This fills the whole roohly penetrates the pores of the skin The bathers are then rubbed over with towels and brushes, and a profuse perspiration ensues, which continues till all superfluous moisture has exuded from the body
There is then, it must be understood, no lassitude, no weakness, such as is produced by physical exertion, while also perspiration has in reality ceased The frame, therefore, is not liable to receive a chill, but is, on the contrary, strengthened to resist it Consequently, a personair and roll in the snow, or e into a bath of pure cold water with impunity For this purpose the bath-houses are, as I said, built near a strea it is, after taking the stea strea capable of any exertion”
Cousin Giles and his companions declared, after the description they had heard, that they should be anxious to take a true Russian bath before they left the country
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of soers, who came expressly to aood, and received, as it reat a was a contest between two rival singers On their introduction they bowed to the company, which was composed evidently of persons much superior to thein,” said the Count, addressing a tall man with a very quiet, almost sheepish expression of countenance
Thus su for soan an air, which it was evident could only be accohest notes He soon showed that he was equal to what he had undertaken It onderful the mode in which he played with his voice: it rose and fell, and swelled again, now seeh the roof fro notes succeeded each other with rapid transition Then others present joined in chorus, and this seee him to still further exertions, he quickly surpassed all his first efforts, till, utterly overcoround had not soht hiht broke from every one present, and it appeared as if there was no use in his rival atte to coer, the Count, however, beckoned to hiin He rose and stood forward At first his voice eak, but his notes seemed to rivet the attention of his audience As he proceeded, it beca a wonderful combination of freshness, sweetness, and power; so exquisitely plaintive, so overfloith poignant grief--for it was of a roans broke from the breasts ofover hus, and the paler
”I auests were retiring for the night ”We Russians are celebrated, I believe, for our musical talents, and I think you have heard a fair speci”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Preparations for a Hunt--Ride to Cover--Account of an Insurrection of Peasants--Ga--Desperate Encounter with a She-wolf--Harry's Bravery--Saved by Saveleff the Molokani--The Count promises to assist Saveleff--Return to Moscow
A fine bright ave pro over at an early hour, the Count and his guests mounted the horses, which were led forth in front of the house by high-booted, long pink-shi+rted, wide-trousered peasants, looking as unlike English grooms as a polar bear does to an opera-dancer Cousin Giles was not a bad horsehted with the steeds provided for thereat doubts whether he should risk his neck on the back of an animal hich he was unacquainted The Count, however, assured hiood character for quietness, so at last he persuaded himself to mount People of all ranks came from far and near to join the hunt They were dressed in all sorts of costu much of a military character, and the steeds which they rode were as varied in character as their ers and cart-horses than hunters of the English staer than ponies, with long tails and shaggy coats
”Don't laugh, my friend,” said the Count to Cousin Giles, as five or six tall picqueurs, in splendid green-and-gold liveries, rode forth on the above-described style of little steeds, driving before therel appearance, at wholish hounds would most certainly have turned up their noses ”You see, my predecessor was of the old school, and I do not wish to es in matters of small importance, lest I should be considered to hold his rees I hope to es do not suit this country”
A large number of persons, very picturesque in appearance, had now collected in front of the mansion The huntss barked and yelped and gave tongue in a variety of ways, the horses pranced and kicked, the peasants shouted, and the whole party set off towards the spot appointed for the ht the on the borders of a wood
”That house was erected as a hunting-box by one of o,” observed the Count Many hundreds of people used to assenificence which has now become obsolete Open house was kept, and all comers elcome Intimates of the family, or those of rank, were accommodated inside, some in beds and some on the floor, while others bivouacked outside as best they could under arbours of boughs or beneath the vault of heaven They used to hunt all day and feast all night for a whole week or longer, without intermission From the secluded position of the place, it was for many months of the year totally unvisited There existed at that tie nureat harshness, if Ithe unhappy people groaned helplessly under their tyranny, which wasdispositions of their overseers The laws existing for the protection of the serfs were in every way evaded, and every kopeck which could be wrung from them was exacted without mercy A ill turn on the foot which treads on it The e of this house was educated above his fellows He had read in history of peasants, poor and siainst their rulers when tyrannised over to excess, and thought and th he persuaded himself that he could emancipate his fellow-serfs froe themselves on their tyrants He opened his plans at first to a few, and by degrees to others They used to asse disturbed Often they met, and much they planned, till they believed, their plans were ripe for execution At first they drew up a remonstrance, which in the humblest manner they presented to their masters It was treated with the bitterest scorn They resolved on wreaking a dreadful vengeance on their oppressors; they supplied themselves with fire-arms--how procured the authorities could not discover--others ar-hooks, hatchets, pikes, and weapons of every description With these in their hands they rushed through the district, calling their fellow-serfs to ar the consequences should the outbreak prove unsuccessful, as the ht say thousands, rose to wreak a fearful vengeance on the heads of their lords; but they had no one capable of co them They murdered all the inround They rushed fro all that came in their way For many days they set all authority at defiance, and there appeared no power capable of ste the torrent of their fury
”In theplace, was sending down troops at once to crush the insurrection The largest body of the insurgents were , were driven before thehtered without mercy; the re to defend themselves to the last It is said theywas stormed, and not one of its defenders was left alive to tell the tale The house has ever since rehbourhood